Looking for an RA Bachelors without residency requirements.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Deviant, Sep 9, 2005.

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  1. Deviant

    Deviant New Member

    Can anyone provide a listing?

    I'm not overly interested in what Bach degree I end up with, but I would like one that will allow me access to most Master programs.

    Specifically, I'm looking at Master Security.

    I have about 80-90 credit hours, plus whatever I can get from clep, dantes, challenge etc.

    Currently, I have about 10 years experience, 4 mcses and a couple cisco certs.

    Mainly, I'm just looking to finish the degree to go on my resume. As alot of jobs now require a minimal of a Bachelors.

    So, the quickest degree that is RA would be the goal.

    I've looked at excelsior, and Tesc, however I'm not sure how people view those degrees in regards to master programs and reputation.

    Any suggestions would be great.

    Thanks.
     
  2. Rob L

    Rob L New Member

    If you are looking for the quickest route to an RA degree in IT, without residencty requirements, you may want to look at AIU Online. The school is a bit expensive (around $30,000 for a Bachelor's), but you can complete the program in about 13 months.

    I don't know exactly what you mean by most access to Master Degree programs. I am not going to kid you and say that AIU is in the same class with Ivy League universities. But, it does satisfy the degree requirement for most accredited Master's Degrees Programs. Hope this helps.


    Here's a link:
    www.aiuonline.edu

    Good Luck.
     
  3. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  4. Deviant

    Deviant New Member

    I guess I wasn't really clear.

    I'm looking for a RA school that allows 100% online access with no limit on the number of transfer credits. ((residency?))

    I have 80+ hours currently, and I haven't taken any clep exams.

    I'd like to find a school where I can transfer all or most of my credits.

    Then begin taking clep, dantes, challenge exams to fill in most of the degree requirements.

    The end result would be a BS/BA degree that I can continue on to get a masters.

    Sadly, I'm not over concerned with the BS/BA degree I get. It's mainly for resume, but my concern is that it's reputable school.

    I'd like to get a masters degree eventually. I'm currently leaning toward a network security, but I haven't decided 100%.

    Short term, I'd like to pick a school that I don't need to sell a kidney to attend and that I can finish quickly.
     
  5. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Any of the big 3 will work, I would think. That would be Thomas Edison, Excelsior, or Charter Oak. There are so many threads on this forum about those three schools it would make your head spin.

    If you had every course ready to transfer in (or clep or whatever) I think it would be around $1800 or so to have it evaluated and graduate. I might be off a few hundred, but thats about right.

    If you enrolled and transferred in what you have, they could tell you what you are missing and you could then go clep out. If you did it within a year the price wouldn't go up, except the cost of the cleps.

    clint
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Don't worry, the big three are fine

    I was in your position -- interested in grad school but needed to get a Bachelor's out of the way as quickly and cheaply as possible.

    You say you're concerned about the acceptance of Excelsior and TESC by grad schools, but I don't think it should be a serious impediment to you to use one of the big three. I personally finished a Bachelor's through Charter Oak State College, and was easily accepted into a Master's program at George Washington University, a top 25 school in my field.

    Good luck!

    -=Steve=-
     
  7. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Re: Don't worry, the big three are fine

    COSC accepts computer certs for credit. I used my MCSE (NT 4.0), MCP+I, and A+ for credit. I also wanted to complete a BS just to go for a masters. I was accepted into Touro University International and California State University - DH with my COSC BS degree.
     
  8. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    Deviant, you are a good candidate for Bellevue University. They have accelerated I.T. degrees entirely online and are not terribly expensive. They are very liberal in accepting transfer credit, too. I was in a very similar position to you (without all of the transfer credits) and chose Bellevue. I earned 82 semester hours in a year before I transferred in, and they accepted all of it. I finish in a few weeks and I've not been disappointed.
     
  9. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Deviant,

    You say you ultimately want a fully-distance-learning masters degree in IT security... and, presumably, one that's fully-accredited, as well. Right?

    Fine. In this post -- this very one you're reading right now -- I will tell you how to get what you want in probably the most fun, easy, fast and relatively inexpensive way available out there, anywhere! Brace yourself... I think you're gonna' like this!


    First, as you seem to be on the right track to doing pretty much without any help from me, go get your bachelors degree out of the way by whatever means you can. Follow the recommendations of others in this thread... beg it, borrow it or steal it, if you have to... but just get it out of the way. Don't short-change yourself by not making sure it's fully-accredited and reputable and all that kinda' stuff... but just get it out of the way somehow. Then, when you're done with that, do exactly as I recommend below and, I promise you, you'll have precisely what you're looking for, and you'll have fun, and save time and money, while acquiring it...


    MICROSOFT-PLATFORM-SPECIFIC OPTION:

    If you want your fully-distance-learning, fully-accredited IT masters degree in security to be very specifically Microsoft-platform-related, then:
    1. Review your body of Microsoft and CompTIA exams and make sure that the following is/are among them:

      - Microsoft 70-210 (or, if you prefer, 70-270)
      - Microsoft 70-290
      - Microsoft 70-291
      - Microsoft 70-293
      - Microsoft 70-294
      - Microsoft 70-298
      - Microsoft 70-299
      - CompTIA SYO-101

      If you don't already have them, then go out and quickly get them by whatever is both the cheapest and fastest means available to you. Once you have these under your belt, then they will, combined, be worth around $6,000 toward the cost of the $12,000 IT masters degree that I'm about to recommend to you. So, go get whichever ones you don't already have as cheaply as possible so that the cost of getting them, when balanced against the aforementioned $6,000 savings, will not degrade (eat into) said savings too awfully much.
    2. Get a piece of paper, and write down the following... even though, for the moment, it won't make any sense to you:

      - Microsoft 70-298 and 70-299, combined, satisfies ITI553.

      - Microsoft 70-210 (or, if you prefer, 70-270), and 70-290, combined, satisfies ITI555.

      - Microsoft 70-291 satisfies ITI556.

      - Microsoft 70-293 satisfies ITI557.

      - Microsoft 70-294 satisfies ITI558.

      - CompTIA SYO-101 satisfies ITI581.
    3. Gather together roughly $6,000 (probably more by the time you purchase textbooks and other stuff). Call it $7,000 to be safe. Once you have it, then...
    4. Make sure you have time (probably about a year, maybe less), plus the energy, interest, etc., to complete an IT masters degree via distance learning. If so, then...
    5. Go apply to this $12,000 IT masters program, making sure to point-out in your application that you have already satisfied half of the degree's course requirements through your having passed/acquired the appropriate manufacturer/industry exams/certs, as set forth in item 2, herein, above... which means that you'll only have to take 6 of the degree's 12 courses in order to complete it, for an overall savings on said IT masters program of roughly $6,000!
    6. if you're in the U.S., since the degree is from an accredited Australian university, then once you've completed and been awarded said degree, you'll need (or you'll at least probably want) to have it evaluated by one of the foreign credential evaluation services used by most U.S. universities, government, and some U.S. private employers to have foreign degrees declared equivalent to U.S. regionally-accredited degrees. Most U.S. universities, government agencies and private employers that understand accreditation will realize that if the degree is accredited by the Austrailian government (which this one is), then it's just as good as a U.S. regionally-accredited degree; but those who don't may need some kind of independent verification or proof, and a foreign credential evaluation from one of the reputable evaluators eliminates all doubt. It's a one-time (i.e., once during one's lifetime) expense of from maybe around $300 to usually no more than around $500 that I always counsel those in the U.S. who obtain foreign degrees to just go ahead and spend so that, from that point forward, there is never any question that the degree is just as good as if it had been obtained from a U.S. regionally-accredited university. There are two foreign credential evaluation services that pretty much everyone uses: Either AACRAO or any NACES member agency. Personally, I'd spend $300 to $500 to get one of each type of evaluation (for a total fo $600 to $1,000), so that I'd already have both types of evaluation under my belt and ready to offer, no matter which type of evaluator the university, government agency, or private employer prefers. As... I believe it was Jack Tracey... once counseled in another thread, were I thinking about getting any foreign (non-U.S.) degree, I'd factor the cost of both an AACRAO and a NACES-member-agency evaluation (costing up to $1,000 for the two of them) right into the overall cost of the foreign degree. But that's just me.[/list=1]

      MORE-GENERALIZED/MULTI-PLATFORM OPTION:

      If, instead of the very specifically Microsoft-related security masters degree, discussed above, you would prefer a more generalized/multi-platform security masters degree, then simply substitute the following items 1 and 2:
      1. Review your body of manufacturer/industry exams/certs and make sure that the following is/are among them:

        - Cisco 640-801 (or, if you prefer 640-607)
        - Check Point 156-210
        - Check Point 156-310
        - CompTIA SYO-101
        - Microsoft 70-210 (or, if you prefer, 70-270)
        - Microsoft 70-290
        - Microsoft 70-291
        - Microsoft 70-298
        - Microsoft 70-299

        If you don't already have them, then go out and quickly get them by whatever is both the cheapest and fastest means available to you. Once you have these under your belt, then they will, combined, be worth around $6,000 toward the cost of the $12,000 IT masters degree that I'm about to recommend to you. So, go get whichever ones you don't already have as cheaply as possible so that cost of getting them, when balanced against the aforementioned $6,000 savings, will not degrade (eat into) said savings too awfully much.
      2. Get a piece of paper, and write down the following:

        - Cisco 640-801 (or, of you prefer, 640-607) satisfies ITI521.

        - Check Point 156-210 and 156-310, combined, satisfies ITI551.

        - Microsoft 70-298 and 70-299, combined, satisfies ITI553.

        - Microsoft 70-210 (or, if you prefer, 70-270), and 70-290, combined, satisfies ITI555.

        - Microsoft 70-291 satisfies ITI556.

        - CompTIA SYO-101 satisfies ITI581.[/list=1]for the items 1 and 2, earlier, above; and then, follow steps 3 and 4, above; but, then, when you get to step 5, above, apply to and complete this security IT masters program instead. Then follow step 6, above.

        Not a bad way to get a nice, fully-distance-learning and fully-accredited IT masters degree in security, fairly quickly and relatively cheaply, is it? It's particularly nice if, as is the case with you, one already has a bunch of manufacturer/industry certs/exams under one's belt -- especially if said exams/certs happen to sync-up with the degree's six ITIxxx-numbered courses!

        I get into the whole anally-retentively and painfully detailed (but, you have to admit, unquestionably complete) details of the Sturt IT masters programs and, most especially, how to leverage them to your maximum benefit for the lowest cost, over in a thread in the "IT and computer-related degrees" forum in my three-part post here, then my follow-up posts here and here. Though I talk in that thread mostly about the general IT management masters offered by Sturt, two versions of the degree which specialize in security are also offered, as you can see from what I wrote here, above.

        You don't realize it yet, but you just got the best degree advice/counseling for the specific thing you're trying to accomplish that you'll ever get, anywhere, ever. Don't say I never gave ya' anything!

        ;)

        Hope that helps.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 9, 2005
  10. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    DesElms is correct...to a point

    I am looking at the MSD version of this program for my next step. There is the potential to get into the Masters programs without a four-year degree, but it is getting more difficult as the degree gains in popularity. I have a 3.9-something GPA and 15 years of I.T. experience, and they still wanted to see my completion records from my four-year school a few months ago.

    If you have a buncha certs in security, and need a four year degree, look at Western governors. They will take a CISSP as fulfillment of part of their requirements.

    I've looked at the Sturt program in depth, and I also like it (though I have not nearly as much time as DesElms to write about it). His advice is quite sound if you can get in.
     
  11. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Re: DesElms is correct...to a point

    When people are banging-down the door (which isn't quite where the Sturt program is... yet... but it's close), they can be more selective.

    Good advice, but with this caveat: If one is going to use a cert as credit toward an undergrad, that cert may, depending on the grad program one wishes to enter, no longer be applicable there. In other words, most grad programs that might accept a cert as partial credit are loathe to do so if that very same cert was already applied to the undergrad degree. One should be sure to check that out first.

    Gee, I wish you wouldn't make it sound like I'm unemployed and/or have, for whatever other reason, too much time on my hands. I don't have time to write that much about it, either. I copied and pasted most of it from an email I sent, about a year ago, to someone who was interested in an accredited, DL security masters. I only had to add a few sentences, change about eight existing sentences, and then add the vB code where appropriate. Since I type about 80 words-per-minute even on a bad day; and since I can pretty much lay it down the first time pretty much how I want it and can't actually type as fast as I compose it in my head; and since I know vB code quite well, it doesn't take me long at all... in this case, about 12 minutes, front to back. Most of my posts -- even the long ones -- take me only a fraction of the time that some have suggested around here that such posts must take me. Everyone has gifts (or curses, depending on one's viewpoint). Among mine is verbosity and the ability to get it from inside my head and onto a forum page, but fast. I can't play the bagpipes or paint a credible still life, but I can do this. What can I say.
     
  12. Deviant

    Deviant New Member

    Charter Oak looks like it could be right. I'm waiting for them to respond to my emailed questions.

    I also emailed Tesc. I've emailed excelsior in the past, but didn't really like the responses that I received.

    In the mean time, I'm trying to find a list of classes required for graduation for Charter Oak. So far my site search has been unsuccessful.

    Does anyone have a road map that they used or were provided?

    I'm trying to compare the different schools based on how many credits they will give me for my existing credits/certs as well as how many dantes/cleps exams I can apply.

    I understand that I won't be 100% on what the school will officially accept, but I'd like to have a good idea.
     
  13. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    Hmmm, not a roadmap but, if you don't already know about it, this website might help.
    http://www.bain4weeks.com
    Good luck,
    Jack
     
  14. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    No worries...

    Please don't take that as a poke. Your posts are some of the best written and most informative on this board (even whan I completely disagree with you). Jest is often not immediately recognizable when it's in the form of ASCII text, but it was intended as jest just the same. :)
     
  15. Deviant

    Deviant New Member

    Does anyone have a list of classes that IT courses transfer in as for excelsior or charter oaks.

    https://www.excelsior.edu/portal/page?_pageid=57,192968&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

    COSC emailed me back and stated that they take the same credits as excelsior for IT certs.

    Microsoft Certification Status
    Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer: Security
    Microsoft Windows 2000
    Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
    Microsoft Windows 2000
    Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
    Microsoft Certified Professional


    Microsoft Certification Exams Completed Successfully
    70-227
    70-214
    70-220
    70-217
    70-216
    70-215
    70-210
    70-059
    70-058
    70-068
    70-067
    70-073

    These are the certs I have from microsoft and the exams I have taken. Trying to get an idea of the classes they translate as?

    Thanks
     

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