Free/Cheap (mostly) self-paced BSIT degree

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by Rachel83az, Oct 28, 2022.

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  1. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Metropolia University in Finland offers a BSIT degree that costs 579€ for EU residents/citizens and 11579€ for everyone else.

    The first 3/4 of the degree is 100% self-paced and can be completed online. This costs 579€ for everyone. Sign up for the "Degree Programme of Information Technology, online studies 180 ECTS" on this page.

    The remaining 1/4 of the degree may be fully online, but it might not be. It looks like you're supposed to be in Finland for occasional classes/lectures. It would be free for EU residents/citizens. Everyone else pays 10000€/year.

    The final 1/4 of the degree does not appear to be self-paced, though it looks like a substantial portion of it is writing a final thesis.

    https://www.metropolia.fi/en/academics/bachelors-degrees/information-technology-part-time-studies
    https://www.metropolia.fi/en/academics/bachelors-degrees/information-technology

    Even if the last portion isn't self-paced, if it's at least online it's still a full degree in, potentially, 18-24 months.
     
    xorben likes this.
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Thanks to Brexit, I guess I no longer qualify for the cheap deal. I would have qualified, otherwise. Seeing as it's now $14, 400 Canadian, including the initial payment, PLUS a trip or two to Finland --- Nähdään myöhemmin. (See ya later.)
     
  3. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I'm not sure if it requires a trip to Finland. It might not. Still waiting to hear back on that front.
     
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I don't think I'd take them up on this - at the higher price. Even if I were 50-60 years younger. A trip to Finland could be very enjoyable, and I could see doing one without having anything to do with formal study. But I'd want to be OK with at least basic Finnish, first. And that could be very interesting. I have zero background in that language group, Finno-Ugrian, which includes Finnish, Hungarian and Estonian.

    Finland appears to be "regional" to a high degree. Some have a high level of decorative and folk crafts going for them. I like those, a lot. Trip to Finland? --- Yeah, you got me thinking. IT degree -- likely not. But thanks anyway. :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2022
    Rachel83az likes this.
  5. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Finnish education seemed to serve Linus well.
    I don't understand smugness directed towards Finland. Least of all, from Canada, which, let's face it, feels "regional" to a high degree.
     
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes. Linus Torvalds' Master's project (Linux) is serving me well, as we speak. I don't think I said a word against Finnish education, or Finland, here. I'm sure the program is good --- but if I were seeking an IT degree (which I'm not) it might not be my first choice. At the higher price - I have lots of choice. Not that Finnish education is inferior. Dunno how you got that impression.

    And yes - Canada, too is "regional." I LIKE "regional." I think that's a good thing. I was just talking about the vibe I get from the country and how this factor adds to the cultural interest. How in the blazes you perceive that as "smugness" -- I have no idea. Maybe you'd explode if I said the same thing about Ukraine -- I also perceive cultural differences in different regions there, from what I've learned. They're all Ukrainians, but Hutsuli, for example, do a few things, e.g. their traditional music, differently from Kyiv folks --- don't they?

    Smugness? You have a powerful imagination, I think. If I'd said a country was "provincial" you might have something to go on. As it is, you don't.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2022
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    continued rant...

    As you know, Stanislav, in the Ukrainian tradition of pysanky - the coloured Easter eggs - designs vary according to locality. Another good thing about "regionality." I got to make some of those, 'way back in the late 80s. I really got into that - that's a holy thing - even to an atheist - it was as close to life and nature as anything else I've ever done in my life.

    Yes. regionality is a good teacher. Maybe it makes mentally dull people "smug." But you and I, of course, have no idea how that would work... do we? :)
     
  8. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Confirmation from the other forum: the 579€ portion is the first 3/4 of the degree. The remaining 1/4 can also be completed online, no need to visit Finland. It is free for those in the EU or 10k/year for everyone else.

    This is the first (mostly) self-paced and fully online undergrad offering I can remember seeing from a European university. The price isn't terrible, either. Still cheaper than the average American uni.
     
    Messdiener likes this.
  9. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    One can earn the 3/4 and then traransfer to another DL school finishing the degree there.
    Many universities can allow transfer up to 75% of credit toward a degree.
    This way the final year may be by DL from a US or UK univ or other.
     
    Messdiener likes this.
  10. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    This sounds like a great deal. Now, to find that perfect US or UK university to do the top-up at!

    Any adventurous DI folks willing to give this a go?
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I don't think it's a slam-dunk to transfer 75% of a degree, in Finland-earned credits to US or UK - I'm not saying they're inferior; I don't believe that for a second. But they're "foreign" - and a lot of schools, I imagine would balk at that.

    Accepting a complete foreign degree, e.g. Finnish one, whole-hog? Yes, they can do that. Pretty easily. Probably a foreign credential evaluation --- and that's about it. Evaluating PART of a degree? 3/4 of a degree? That's more complex. Course-by-course evaluation, I guess, to say the least. Bring your wallet.

    ...IF the recipient university is even willing to go that far, for a box of credits they're not going to earn that much $ by accepting. I think this is a BIG ASK. I'm guessing quite a few might decline. You'll need a Plan B.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2023
    Rachel83az likes this.
  12. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    For example the Middlesex Univ in UK has a top up by DL for
    6K BP.

    https://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/information-systems-top-up

    So not a lot of savings in this example but there maybe other more affordable options.

    Overview
    Top-up your degree from anywhere in the world
    The rapidly growing demands of the IT industry mean that graduates equipped with the right
     
    Messdiener likes this.
  13. Messdiener

    Messdiener Active Member

    6,000 GBP is around 6,850 EUR at the current exchange rate. Ignoring the fees for credit recognition, that's a savings of around 3,000 EUR. That's a pretty good deal!

    And depending on your country of residence, an English-language degree from the UK may be valued more than an international program (even if in English) from a Finnish university.
     
  14. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    UK is about 800 to 850 BP per 15 units.
    So many such top up programs if needed 120 credit units will be at 6600 BP.

    I didn't check how Finish Universty 3 years earned academic credit translates to UK credit.
     
  15. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Another option is to complete the degree at TESU and transfer your credits into the BACS, you will have 30 foreign RA equivalency credits and you can either pay the residency waiver fee or pay the flat rate tuition fee, you can get the degree relatively cheap that way instead: Flat Rate Tuition Plan | Tuition and Financial Aid (tesu.edu)
     
  16. datby98

    datby98 Active Member

    Just have some off-track sentiments.
    Honestly, I envy EU residents and those in some US states. They could access knowledge at relatively lower prices. In contrast, I had to spend more than 15 years saving money and changing them to currency for my desired degrees abroad.
    However, I won't blame the Lord, the past did make me stronger when I realized it. I read that post about an older lady who got her master's degree. Last time, when I talked to my mom, I said, "Look, Mom, the door's over there. If you still dream of being a college student, your son's ready now to help you."
     
  17. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I had someone on the sister forum ask me if they could take these credits and just transfer them to a different European university in their home country. I told them the truth - I didn't think that would work very well. Despite the ECTS "standardization", universities don't like to accept credits from another university. Less so when the universities are in separate countries. TESU and Excelsior are both "weird" in how open they are to transfers, both domestic and foreign. Sadly, Excelsior won't accept Finnish credits because the evaluator they require won't accept Finnish university transcripts as given to us.
     
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - I remember people hoping, on the other forum that they could convert their Finnish (XAMK) ECTS to Big 3 credits. IIRC - ONE person managed eventually to get credit at TESU. Nobody at Excelsior, for the reason you stated.

    Before those results were in, I questioned in that forum, how feasible it would be to get ECTS converted and accepted as US credits. The answer I got was simply "We get all our ECTS from XAMK." It was like "We get all our cornflakes from Kellogg's in Battle Creek." ...Because they're the best, I guess.

    It's WAY harder, on average, to get credit for a partial (incomplete) degree, than it is to get credit for the whole thing. Especially a foreign partial-degree.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2023
  19. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    In the US one can get a 2 year AS in community college for low tuition
    Agree, its not straightforward when it comes to credit transfer.
    Some times NARIC in UK can be of help as long as the credit is from US RA school or similar other country credit.
    But usually is up to the institution to decide what will be accepted and if any at all.

    Finish university appears very affordable.
    A kid I know (well no longer a kid he is 30) completed a community college locally with ASS degree in IT its converted to 120 ECTS. Around 75% by DL the rest on the campus.
    He had a state grant and scholarship so the tuition was very low, sponsored in state was 100$ per credit and with grants etc his ASS degree was about 2 K total including fees and books.
    With some top up UK school he applied and was accepted in to Bachelors in IT programme that is total 180 ECTS. So basically 60 ECTS all that was needed and he was working so PT 2 years would be required to complete.
    He ended up using state grant and scholarship to attend local state university, but he came close to earning a 3 year bachelors at UK .
    The hybrid program in state university and social life - dating appealed to him more.

    I wonder if US ASS in IT is another rout to top up UK degree?
     
    MaceWindu and Johann like this.
  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    From your example, I guess it must be. It's two years of study, so it should suffice. British Universities can make up their own minds, as to whom, and what credentials they accept. They're not strictly bound by Accreditors' rules, as in the US. There are degrees that UK-NARIC will not recognize -e.g. ALL US NA degrees, no matter what. "RA or the um - Motorway," I guess. But "One monkey don't stop the show!" If a person presents an NA degree, and the UK University thinks they have a good chance of success - they can admit that person, regardless of UK-NARIC or anyone else.

    I think that's the way it ought to be, in more countries. Too dang many little fiefdoms and pockets of totalitarianism, for my liking - where I live and in other countries.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2023

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