Good/Affordable Online Associate Degree? - Criminal Justice

Hi everyone,

I'm here to ask for help in choosing a good/affordable online program for my brother to achieve an Associate Degree that is geared towards Criminal Justice. He got his GED a couple of years back and he enrolled in the Traffic Agent department of the NYPD. However, he wants to become an NYPD officer and he now needs 60 credits to be able to apply. He asked for help but I do not know much about online degrees (I am enrolled in a more traditional CUNY college). The last thing I want to do is screw him over. Would anyone be kind enough to help?

Also, I searched around for a while and I am still a little confused on why "The Big 3" are so highly recommended versus other programs. Is it because DeVry, UoP, etc are such low-quality programs? Can anyone clear this up for me? Thanks for your time, and I apologize if I seem ignorant with these questions but I have to start somewhere, right? =)

 

Can't comment specifically on a good CJ associate degree, but the big 3 are recommended often because they are very liberal with the amount of transfer credit and testing-out that they allow, not necessarily because they are the best schools to actually take classes at, though from what I've heard all three are decent.

They are, however, regionally accredited, and probably neutral in the minds of most potential employers (since the employers likely won't be familiar with them, they won't think they're good or bad) whereas DeVry & UoP may have negative connotations to employers.

 

The big three are regionally accredited, 100% (or close to 100%) of credits can be earned at ant RA college or thru chalenge exams such as CLEP and DSST, an Associates degree can be earned at low cost, and their degrees can be used towards a BS degree.

UoP is RA but is expensive but is an OK institution with several co-workers earning bachelors or masters degree with full company paid tuition. I do not know anything about DeVry.

Your brother should visit the NYPD recruiting office and ask what their education requirements are. I'm sure they would be happy to talk to him.

If he lives in NY then the Exelsior College sounds like a great start.

 

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up guys. It really did help alot.

My brother does live in New York City so I will be looking at Excelsior for him. Also, I forgot to mention earlier that he will be applying for financial aid, so hopefully he receives some help and that opens up his options more.

 

Go check out my thread here--> http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=28175&highlight=tesc

It will help give you an idea of how he may be able to get it done. It's not a CJ degree but the path might be similar. If you have any questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer.

 

Excellent advice. I would also ask what degrees are preferred. Even if they say any college degree, a degree in management or administration might get one further than a degree in CJ.

True story. I took flying lessons to get a private pilots license one summer while in college. My instructor was also a college student. He was teaching flying to get the hours needed to apply for airline flight school while getting his degree. I asked him what he was studying. I would think management of some sort is a good, general purpose degree. Perhaps languages as he would be meeting people from all over the world. Maybe even humanities to better appreciate what he saw in his travels around the world.
He was studying criminal justice. He said one simply needed a degree to get into airline flight school so one got the easiest degree one could, usually CJ or political science.

 

Our Fearless Mod Bruce Almighty Is A Cop.

Look up Bruce Tait's profile and go to any of his posts. You will find that his sig line has weblinks to two foxfire lists of cj degrees.

 

If all he needs is 60 credit hours, an associate degree (AA/AS/AAS) will suffice in either criminal justice or general studies. Afterwards, he could complete a bachelor degree transferring in those 60 credit hours. Excelsior College in NY and Thomas Edison State College in NJ are both regionally accredited (RA) and are quite flexible in terms of the sources from which the credit hours can be earned: testing out - CLEP, DSST, etc., professional courses - law enforcement training, FEMA training, etc.

 

Check out Liberty University.

 

Criminal Justice Online Associate's Degree

In regard to an online criminal justice associate's degree for your brother, you might be interested in Bryant & Stratton College Online’s Criminal Justice programs. The programs now provide an enhanced online learning experience for students studying criminal justice by incorporating interactive elements. Multimedia software program, Criminal Justice Interactive, was recently implemented into the Introduction to Criminal Justice classes. Now students at all levels (certificate, associate’s degree and bachelor’s degree) learn through dynamic simulation activities and criminal justice learning modules. Visit Bryant & Stratton College - Online Degree Information for more information. Crystal (Bryant & Stratton College Online)

 

OK, so I'm going to try to make a point and I'm going to use our new friend CTCSG as the example.

So CTCSG is a shill for his employer. That's not, by definition, a bad thing. It provides information to our members and lurkers that might be useful. However, if CTCSG continues to pump this message into our board in an indiscriminant manner then it will end badly. I promise this.

 

It would be a good thing if they are offering constructive advice to help potential students. If someone has a question about their program, then great, we have an expert right here. I don't like the idea they are using the site as a marketing tool for free.

 

Getting back on topic one of the big three would be great for him. I just did my first clep test today. It was easy, cheap and fast. Best of all I got 6 credit hours. That’s a whole part time semester in one hour.

 

according to this
NYPD | BENEFITS & SALARY | RETIREMENT BENEFITS
you don't even need a degree

you just need 60 credits

between DANTES and CLEP you could whip out a basic associates degree in no time and practically no cost at excelsior

 

I apologize for any intrusion. My intention was to shed light on another credible criminal justice program while being transparent. I have no intention of posting indiscriminately and will cease participating if the forum should members deem my postings are offensive. Crystal (Bryant & Stratton College Online)

 

I think you are fine at this point. Please continue to participate. Please understand that we are very careful on this board to keep it spam free. One mention of your employer is OK because Kizmet sees value in it. Multiple postings about your employer will be interpreted as spam.

 

OP are you are currently licensed police officer?

 

With all the mentioning of the big 3 that goes on around here, it is natural that people recommend them due to convenience, cost, etc. However, you should ensure first that your brother wants to study by himself at home then go in to a testing center to attempt to pass clep/dsst/etc exams to get credit, instead of taking a standard course.