30-something needs help

I'm a 32 year old professional who screwed around too much in his college days and never earned a degree. Since then I've buckled down and started two businesses and had great jobs despite my lack of degree. But I want to take that next step to the executive level and my lack of degree is becoming an impediment.

I'm trying to decide between local traditional classroom colleges (taking classes part-time) or Distance Learning. What I am most concerned about is accreditation, reputation, cost and how long it takes to get a degree.

My specialized fields are business and computer science. Does anyone have advice of which DL colleges to look at and things I should be aware of?

Also is this site even still active? There haven't been new articles for 2 years and the database for schools seems to be down.

 

Check out www.bain4weeks.com

Abner

 

Re: Re: 30-something needs help

A good suggestion, and something I did less than 2 years ago when in almost the exact same situation (background, age, IT/business field).

I'm now a college graduate going for my MBA.

It can be done, once you get started. Don't get put off by the catchy title - it's unlikely you'll do it in 4 weeks - but by all means take the plunge if you have the time available to study and test. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get it done in a year (or less).

Cheers,
Mark

 

A cursory reading of the subject index to John B. Bear, Ph.D. & Mariah P. Bear, M.A., _Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning_, 15th ed. (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2003), pp.363-364, 386-388 reveals the existence of the following bachelor's degrees in business administration, business & commerce, leadership, and management:

Acadia University http://conted.acadiau.ca/distance/index.html(BG15, 153)
American Intercontinental University www.aiuonline.edu (BG15, 97)
American Military University www.apus.edu (BG15, 97)
Andrew Jackson University www.aju.edu (BG15, 97)
Antioch University www.antioch.edu (BG15, 155)
Athabasca University www.athabascau.ca (BG15, 98)
Atlantic Union College www.atlanticuc.edu (BG15, 155)
Baker College www.baker.edu (BG15, 99)
University of Baltimore www.ubalt.edu/ubonline (BG15, 135)
Bellevue University www.bellevue.edu/Online/index.html (BG15, 99)
Bemidji State University www.bemidjistate.edu/cel/html (BG15, 99)
Brunel University www.brunel.ac.uk/courses/dl (BG15, 155)
Caldwell College www.caldwell.edu/adult-ed (BG15, 156)
University of Calicut http://collegeskerala.com/calicut (BG15, 177)
California College for Health Sciences www.cchs.edu (BG15, 100)
California National University for Advanced Studies www.cnuas.edu (BG15, 100)
California State University Fresno www.csufresno.edu (BG15, 101)
Capella University www.capellauniversity.edu (BG15, 156)
Central Michigan University www.ddl.cmich.edu (BG15, 102)
Central Missouri State University www.cmsu.edu/extcamp (BG15, 102)
Central Queensland University www.dtls.cqu.edu.au (BG15, 103)
Charles Sturt University www.csu.edu.au/study/de.html (BG15, 104)
Charter Oak State College www.cosc.edu (BG15, 104)
City University www.cityu.edu (BG15, 105)
Columbia Union College www.cuc.edu/ntp/ext_degree.html (BG15, 106)
Crown College www.crowncollege.edu (BG15, 107)
Curtin University of Technology http://cea.curtin.edu.au/distance-ed.html (BG15, 107)
Dallas Baptist University www.dbu.edu/online (BG15, 107)
Davis & Elkins College www.dne.edu (BG15, 158)
Eastern Oregon University http://www2.eou.edu/dde (BG15, 109)
Elizabethtown College www.etown.edu/cce (BG15, 159)
Empire State College www.esc.edu/cdl (BG15, 110)
Excelsior College www.excelsiorcollege.edu (BG15, 110)
Franklin University www.alliance.franklin.edu (BG15, 112)
Griggs University www.griggs.edu (BG15, 114)
Hope International University www.hiu.edu (BG15, 115)
Indiana State University www.indstate.edu/distance (BG15, 115)
Judson College www.judson.edu/academic/external/external.html (BG15, 117)
Kansas State University www.dce.ksu.edu (BG15, 117)
Kaplan College www.kaplancollege.com (BG15, 118)
Kentucky Commonwealth Virtual University www.kcvu.org (BG15, 118)
Kettering University www.kettering.edu (BG15, 118)
Liberty University www.liberty.edu/DistanceLearning/index.cfm(BG15, 162)
University of London www.lon.ac.uk/external (BG15, 138)
Madurai Kamaraj University www.mkuniversity.org (BG15, 120)
Maharishi University of Management www.mum.edu (BG15, 162)
Manchester Metropolitan University www.unigis.org/uk/default.htm (BG15, 121)
Mary Baldwin College www.mbc.edu/adp (BG15, 162)
University of Maryland www.umuc.edu/gen/virtuniv.html (BG15, 140)
Memorial University of Newfoundland www.ce.mun.ca/distance/default.html (BG15, 121)
University of Memphis (BG15, 141)
Mercy College www.mercy.edu/merlin/index.html (BG15, 121)
Monash University www.monash.edu.au/offcampus (BG15, 122)
Mountain State University www.cwv.edu/sedfl/index.html (BG15, 123)
Myers University www.dnmyers.edu (BG15, 108)
National-Louis University www.nl.edu/nlu_programs/online.html (BG15, 124)
Napier University www.napier.ac.uk (BG15, 164)
National University (California) http://online.nu.edu (BG15, 124)
University of New England www.une.edu.au (BG15, 141)
Northeastern Illinois University www.neiu.edu/Distance.htm (BG15, 165)
Northwood University http://northwoodonline.org (BG15, 165)
Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu (BG15, 165)
Old Dominion University www.odu.edu/home/distance.html (BG15, 125)
Open University and Open College www.ola.bc.ca (BG15, 126)
Open University (England) www.open.ac.uk (BG15, 126)
Open University of Hong Kong www.ouhk.hk (BG15, 126)
Open University of the Netherlands www.ouh.nl (BG15, 166)
Oral Roberts University www.oru.edu (BG15, 127)
Park College www.park.edu/dist/index.htm (BG15, 167)
University of Phoenix http://online.uophx.edu (BG15, 143)
Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education www.puk.ac.za (BG15, 128)
Prescott College www.prescott.edu (BG15, 167)
Queens University www.queensu.ca/pts (BG15, 128)
Regis University www.regis.edu/regis.asp?sctn=onl (BG15, 129)
Rochester Institute of Technology http://distancelearningf.rit.edu (BG15, 129)
Roger Williams University http://rwuonline.org (BG15, 130)
Royal Roads University www.royalroads.ca (BG15, 169)
University of Saint Francis www.stfrancis.edu/online/index.htm (BG15, 144)
Saint Francis Xavier University http://www2.stfx.ca (BG15, 169)
Saint Joseph's College www.sjcme.edu (BG15, 170)
Saint Mary of the Woods College www.smwc.edu (BG15, 170)
University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za (BG15, 144)
University of South Australia www.unisa.edu.au (BG15, 145)
Southern Cross University www.scu.edu.au (BG15, 172)
Southern New Hampshire University www.snhu.edu/Prospective_Student/distance_ed.html (BG15, 130)
University of Southern Queensland www.usqonline.com.au (BG15, 146)
Southwestern Assemblies of God University www.sagu.edu/sde (BG15, 173)
Stephens College www.stephens.edu (BG15, 174)
Strayer University www.strayer.edu/online/frtr.htm (BG15, 132)
University of Sunderland www.sunderland.ac.uk/international(BG15, 180)
Technikon of South Africa www.tsa.ac.za (BG15, 132)
Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu (BG15, 133)
Touro University International www.touro.edu (BG15, 134)
Union Institute & University www.tui.edu (BG15, 175)
Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu (BG15, 149)
University of Victoria www.distance.uvic.ca (BG15, 147)
Washington State University http://distance.wsu.edu (BG15, 150)
University of Wisconsin Platteville www.uwplatt.edu/~disted (BG15, 149)

 

HOW 'BOUT THIS?

A year ago, Feb. 2004, at the tender age of 47, 25 years since I saw the inside of a classroom, many years of success and a few very hard years, in between, I found Dr. Bear's book and this website and BAin4weeks, and I now have a BSc, working on getting a CPA and getting admitted to Law School.

I don't know how many credit hours you have, I had ALOT (embarassingly so) I found MY best deal at Charter Oak State College, and I recommend it highly!

Although all of the "Big Three," Excelsior, TESC, and COSC should be explored to find the one that fits YOU and YOUR situation best.

Know too, that you have come to the RIGHT place to ask questions. The great folks here are very knowledgeble and very willing to share their experience and wisdom with you.

Whatever choices you make, I wish you the very best of luck and all of God's blessings on your journey!

 

I was also on the 25 year plan to finish school. When I started, I was still traveling internationally, so I used what was then called Electronic University Network, and banked my credits at Regents (USNY). When they disbanded the international group, I moved to University of Phoenix. Expensive, but fast. I completed my BS at UoPhx in 18 months.

While the UoPhx degree helped, I went on to get an AACSB accredited MBA. That is what employers (when I was in the market) focused on.

 

Gunsmoke...you are truly encouraging. My daughter will be getting her bachelor's from Charter Oak and has law school on the horizon, most likely after a DL MBA. I will share your post with her so she knows that there are others out there who are heading down the same path.

Thanks for the post...Mary

 

Meatnog,

If you have the means to do so; I did (am doing) both. I returned to the local state U full-time resident and I've enrolled at Excelsior College DL. It's been a great experience that I expect to be finishing within the next 10 months.

The only caution is that there are 2nd degree rules you would have to meet in order to do it this way.

Originally, I intended to do coursework at state U for the purpose of meeting Excelsior remaining requirements. I found I like the resident full-time student world (even at 42 years old) and decided to stay in both.

The advatages/disadvantages (point of view to consider) are this:
* With the Excelsior BS-LS program I have near total freedom of program design.
* At State U I have face-to-face interaction with professors and staff. I expected interaction with students to be problematic (or awkward at best) -- it has not been. It has been a great experience.
* Excelsior accepts alot of credit and methods State U won't - saving bunches of time and 10s of thousands of $.
* State U offers some pretty interesting courses (example: Thea 354 Theatrical Costume Design which I really enjoyed).
* Excelsior requires 25% new work for a 2nd undergrad.
* State U requires 45 semester hours for a 2nd undergrad.
[either way, I'm good there]
* I can do DL classes and test prep (Excelsior) at 3:00AM in my underwear if I want.
* State U has classes in real time that one need not miss. Though many students do attend in pajamas, bathing suits, and/or underwear (we're at the beach).
* Plenty of B&M grad programs will accept an Excelsior undergrad for admission.
* State U has a grad program I'd like to attend...
* A high GPA is not all that hard to achieve at Excelsior and you can leave "bad" grades off your Excelsior transfer.
* A high GPA has been fairly challenging to maintain at State U. They don't ignore any grade from the past.
* Some material is really hard to grasp by DL. This varies by individual.
* Some material is so basic that a B&M lecture is very boring.
* DL gets lonely sometimes without peers and motivation to proceed.
* State U peers sometimes want to do things other than study.
* Excelsior really doesn't care if I take one three hour exam this semester or 10 (30 hours). You really can get a BA in 4 weeks -- but it takes most people a little longer.
* State U thinks I ought to keep to about 18 semester hours per semester though they let me do 23 once. It's hard to complete a program in 4 years full time.
* Excelsior doesn't have a football team or a choir or ....
* State U would like me to attend all manner of cultural and athletic events as an active student in the university.

just a few thoughts. Whatever you decide, do something. Even if it's only a single course at local community college to get your feet wet. I tell people though -- "jump in all the way" it's a blast!

 

Charter Oak's major drawback is that they offer only degrees in general studies with concentrations. And while the concentrations are like majors, the fact is that the degree is still in general studies.

I think Excelsior is unfairly criticized for its customer service because its reps do not provide academic advice until after the student enrolls. I never had a problem with Excelsior and finished my degree in a short time.

 

I concur - I found Excelsior to be very helpful after enrollment. Given their student population (at least 10x COSC's) I can see why they don't give the same pre-enrollment personal service as Charter Oak.

Cheers,
Mark

 

Go Excelsior!

I'm biased and I always recommend Excelsior. I managed to earn all my credits before I applied to them because they provided enough free information to guide me along the way. In the end I paid tution and graduation fee at the same time. I received my diploma in 2 months.

 

Hey, thirtysomething!

You're still young! And here are some DL bachelor's degrees in computer science and computer information systems.

Acadia University http://conted.acadiau.ca/distance/index.html (BG15, 153)
American College of Computer and Information Sciences www.accis.edu (BG15, 96)
Athabasca University www.athabascau.ca (BG15, 98)
Baker College www.baker.edu (BG15, 99)
Caldwell College www.caldwell.edu/adult-ed (BG15, 156)
University of Calicut http://collegeskerala.com/calicut (BG15, 177)
California National University for Advanced Studies www.cnuas.edu (BG15, 100)
California State University - Chico www.rce.csuchico.edu (BG15, 101)
Capella University www.capellauniversity.edu (BG15, 156)
Central Missouri State University www.cmsu.edu/extcamp (BG15, 102)
Central Queensland University www.dtls.cqu.edu.au (BG15, 103)
Champlain College www.champlain.edu/cool/index.html (BG15, 103)
Charles Sturt University www.csu.edu.au (BG15, 104)
Charter Oak State College www.cosc.edu (BG15, 104)
Christopher Newport University www.cnuonline.cnu.edu (BG15, 105)
City University www.cityu.edu (BG15, 105)
Columbia Union College www.cuc.edu/ntp/ext_degree.html (BG15, 106)
Crown College www.crowncollege.edu (BG15, 107)
Excelsior College www.excelsiorcollege.edu (BG15, 110)
Florida State University http://online.fsu.edu (BG15, 112)
Grantham College www.grantham.edu (BG15, 114)
Jones International University www.international.edu (BG15, 117)
Kaplan College www.kaplancollege.com (BG15, 118)
Kettering University www.kettering.edu (BG15, 118)
University of London www.lon.ac.uk/external (BG15, 138)
Madurai Kamaraj University www.mkuniversity.org (BG15, 120)
Mary Baldwin College www.mbc.edu/adp (BG15, 162)
University of Maryland University College www.umuc.edu/gen/virtuniv.html (BG15, 140)
University of Massachusetts Lowell http://continuinged.uml.edu/online/default.html (BG15, 140)
University of Memphis www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/campus/Memphis (BG15, 141)
Mercy College www.mercy.edu/merlin/index.html (BG15, 121)
Monash University www.monash.edu.au/offcampus (BG15, 122)
Murdoch University http://wwwonline.murdoch.edu.au (BG15, 123)
University of New England www.une.edu.au (BG15, 141)
New Jersey Institute of Technology http://cpe.njit.edu (BG15, 124)
Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu (BG15, 165)
Old Dominion University www.odu.edu/home/distance.html (BG15, 125)
Open University and Open College www.ola.bc.ca (BG15, 126)
Open University (England) www.open.ac.uk (BG15, 126)
Open University of Israel www.openu.ac.il (BG15, 127)
Oscail National Distance Education Centre www.dcu.ie/oscail/index.html (BG15, 127)
University of Phoenix http://online.uophx.edu (BG15, 143)
Queens University www.queensu.ca/pts (BG15, 128)
Regis University www.regis.edu/regis.asp?sctn=onl (BG15, 129)
Rochester Institute of Technology http://distancelearning.rit.edu (BG15, 129)
Saint Mary of the Woods College www.smwc.edu (BG15, 170)
University of Saskatchewan www.extension.usask.ca (BG15, 144)
University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za (BG15, 144)
Southern Cross University www.scu.edu.au (BG15, 172)
Southern New Hampshire University www.snhu.edu/Prospective_Student/distance_ed.html (BG15, 130)
Strayer University www.strayer.edu/online/frtr.htm (BG15, 132)
University of Sunderland www.sunderland.ac.uk/international (BG15, 180)
Technikon of South Africa www.tsa.ac.za (BG15, 132)
Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu (BG15, 133)
Touro University International www.touro.edu (BG15, 134)
Union Institute and University www.tui.edu (BG15, 175)
University of Victoria www.distance.uvic.ca (BG15, 147)