Quickest/Cheapest Path to HR/Business Degree

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Nodaclu, Feb 23, 2016.

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  1. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    Hi all,

    I'd love to get some outside thoughts/input/advice if you don't mind...

    Here's my situation:

    I've attended 6 colleges and universities since 1988. Over all that time, I've amassed a total of 65 units, spread across most of the span of General Ed, with a slight emphasis on history, and lacking a bit on the science/math side.

    (As a side note, I haven't successfully completed a math class since I -barely- passed trigonometry in 1987. So I'm pretty freaked out about jumping back into ANY math class.)

    I've worked in Human Resources for the past 12 years, and I've especially noticed in this most recent cycle of looking for a new job, that without my PHR certification and Bachelor's degree, most companies won't even give me a second look - despite my experience.

    So at this point, I'm planning on taking the exam for my PHR certification this year. That one's a no-brainer.

    The path to my degree however, has seemingly endless options.

    Here's my current train of thought...

    1. Take 25 units at Clovis Community College - ($99/unit) taking care of my missing General Ed, and picking up an Associate in General Studies along the way (not worth much, but if I get side-tracked and never finish the BS, I can at least say I have a degree!)

    2. Take 30 units at Colorado State University - Global Campus ($350/unit) and finish a B.S. in Human Resource Management.

    That should take me two years, start to finish, and cost around $13,000. Not bad, however, I know I could do better by going a less traditional route.

    But...

    I know people will suggest the Big 3, but I have the attention span of a rabid squirrel jacked up on Red Bull. :biggrin: So I don't trust myself not to get sidetracked in a "learn at your own pace" or a "test out" type of environment.

    Potentially setting aside those options (although I'll listen if you can make a compelling case) does anyone have any better/faster/cheaper suggestions for doing this?

    I should say that I want to stick to RA schools, and I'll admit to having a preference for brick and mortar schools (or in the case of CSU Global - a direct online offshoot of a large university system). Not required, but I'm just vain enough to have a slight preference here. :lew:

    Again, any thoughts/advice/flames listened to and appreciated.

    Thanks!

    -Nod
     
  2. Davewill

    Davewill Member

    You can use CSU-Global to help you get a degree from one of the Big3. That way you can have the best of both worlds; testing out of those things that you you don't need much study for, and taking a class with a schedule for those things you DO need to study.
     
  3. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    That's interesting because people with short attention spans usually struggle with meeting the deadlines of others. I have a short attention span and prefer studying when I have the desire to study. I go from slacking off to hyper-focusing, so there are times when I have the energy to knock out a bunch of things.

    TESU will actually be cheaper than CSU Global. TESU's Comprehensive Tuition Plan is around $8,300 per year for up to 36 credits. That comes out to be well under $300 per credit hour.

    Peru State College doesn't have a human resources concentration, but they do have other business concentrations including management. They cost $246 per credit hour. Fort Hays State University has a management degree with a human resources concentration. They charge $194 per credit hour for online students.
     
  4. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I agree with the advice given to you so far. I will only add that your PHR is important. It is very important. In fact, if you've been at this for 12 years, you might consider studying for the SPHR.

    My own recent absences have been due to my studying (and passing!) the SPHR. It's a pain in the butt. However, you need it. If you work in benefits, you should also consider CEBS.

    Also, while lack of a bachelor's degree makes you significantly less competitive, you should be aware that many employers don't give a hoot about your degree being in HR. Business admin, management, psychology, organizational leadership,labor studies can also help you land the job. Almost any degree is better than no degree. So, I wouldn't necessarily limit myself to ONLY HR programs, if I were you. A PHR and a BA in Liberal Studies is going to make you significantly more competitive than a candidate with no degree and no designation.

    If you DO earn a non-HR degree I recommend then tacking on a certificate (Cornell offers an on,one certificate that is pricey but holds the prestige of coming from a top HR program, for example). You can also earn an MSHR or MBA in HR to drive the point home if you feel so inclined. But right now, if you can find an easier path to a bachelor's degree, I'd take the path of least resistance, knock out the designation and go from there.
     
  5. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    Thank you for the thoughts and info so far! I really appreciate it. :fing02:

    As to the attention span thing, one thing I've learned about myself at this point is, if I don't have a deadline (imposed by others), I just tend to...drift. I need the structure and deadlines from an outside source in order for me to ensure I get things done.

    There's a couple of things I like about CSU-Global's HR program:

    1) The major is only 30 units - 10 classes. Since I already have 65 units completed that are effectively all over the place, and I have still have 20-25 units of GE to finish (depending on each school's requirements) a compact major greatly appeals to me. Otherwise I risk having to go over 120 units in order to meet the requirements for a degree, and I lose any potential cost savings as a result. (Plus I'm doing unnecessary work...)

    2) Because I've been in HR for so long, my thinking is that I can probably load myself up with classes in that major, since I'm likely to have a pretty good idea of the material, and possibly finish faster. There's a path I could conceivably take to go straight to CSU-Global, double up on classes, and finish in just under a year. Higher cost as opposed to going to CCC first, and the course load might do me in, but if I survive it, I'd have my degree in 11 months...and I'm not getting any younger, so this option has some appeal. :cool2:

    Since I need both the cert and the degree, and time is of the essence, my plan is to do something of a whirlwind study plan for the PHR over the next couple of months, take it in June/July, (hopefully) pass it, then finish the degree, then possibly go back and work on the SPHR. The PHR and degree combo is enough to help me make the jump from HR Generalist to an HRBP or HR Manager role, so the SPHR is a lower priority in the short term.

    Not sure how far up the ladder I ultimately want to go in HR. I'm not money driven, and I value my work/life balance, so I may never want to go beyond the above roles. But more or less having my choice of those roles would definitely be nice. :cool:
     
  6. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    Congratulations!! :fing02:
     
  7. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    Thank you for the thoughts and info so far! I really appreciate it. :fing02:

    As to the attention span thing, one thing I've learned about myself at this point is, if I don't have a deadline (imposed by others), I just tend to...drift. I need the structure and deadlines from an outside source in order for me to ensure I get things done.

    There's a couple of things I like about CSU-Global's HR program:

    1) The major is only 30 units - 10 classes. Since I already have 65 units completed that are effectively all over the place, and I have still have 20-25 units of GE to finish (depending on each school's requirements) a compact major greatly appeals to me. Otherwise I risk having to go over 120 units in order to meet the requirements for a degree, and I lose any potential cost savings as a result. (Plus I'm doing unnecessary work...)

    2) Because I've been in HR for so long, my thinking is that I can probably load myself up with classes in that major, since I'm likely to have a pretty good idea of the material, and possibly finish faster. There's a path I could conceivably take to go straight to CSU-Global, double up on classes, and finish in just under a year. Higher cost as opposed to going to CCC first, and the course load might do me in, but if I survive it, I'd have my degree in 11 months...and I'm not getting any younger, so this option has some appeal. :cool2:

    Since I need both the cert and the degree, and time is of the essence, my plan is to do something of a whirlwind study plan for the PHR over the next couple of months, take it in June/July, (hopefully) pass it, then finish the degree, then possibly go back and work on the SPHR. The PHR and degree combo is enough to help me make the jump from HR Generalist to an HRBP or HR Manager role, so the SPHR is a lower priority in the short term.

    Not sure how far up the ladder I ultimately want to go in HR. I'm not money driven, and I value my work/life balance, so I may never want to go beyond the above roles. But more or less having my choice of those roles would definitely be nice. :cool:
     
  8. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    For some people this works well. It's one of the reasons why competency based learning is popular and why some people really knock out degrees with lightning speed through those programs.

    For others, going about your daily grind and then coming home and taking tests based upon a very high level overview of the sort of nitty gritty you deal with on a daily basis is boring and not intellectually stimulating enough to sustain interest.

    A zoologist would almost certainly have the skills to fly through Zoology 101. Whether they could sit down and complete assignments that, to them, are simply too elementary to intellectually interest them is another issue. You know yourself better than I do. But it's just a thought. It's one of the reasons why I believe a person should opt for a degree in something they are actually interested in rather than trudging through something that they might have more professional exposure to, in some cases at least.


    If this is true of your organization, then go for it. At my company, PHR is required to become an HRBP but the SPHR is strongly preferred. There are so many seasoned HR professionals with the SPHR out there that I nearly didn't get my job because I only had a PHR. And, I can assure you, that my performance appraisal constantly addressed my not having my SPHR. I was able to mitigate the damage of my own sloth by constantly adding other qualifications but the lack of SPHR was the elephant in the room.

    Different shops have different feelings toward PHR/SPHR and some shops may even opt in to the SHRM designations more heavily. But I would recommend, from direct experience, not getting too comfortable with that PHR (which is increasingly being seen as something that HR Assistants should be earning before they are promoted to Generalist).

    Again, these are all generalities that may not apply to you. Having been in this field for 12 years you likely know full well that there are very few hard and fast requirements in HR. Even hard requirements in job postings have been known to flex when a Director or VP of HR really wants a certain candidate hired (there's a reason why so many exceptions to hiring guidelines can be made with VPHR approval).

    In any case, best of luck.
     
  9. alzee

    alzee New Member

    Not directly big3 related, but how much do you care about actually learning the material vs. getting your degree? When I started on this path I was following the footsteps of many before me, which is to say, studying hard to actually learn enough to pass a CLEP as this was widely regarded as both the fastest and cheapest way.

    That said, it hit me as I was doing my first StraighterLine course that, if you do *not* really care about retaining the information, and want to just get done as fast and cheap as possible, SL is the answer for as many courses you can take there that will fit into your degree plan.

    All the non-final exams are open note/book, and many of the proctored finals are too. Since the finals typically only count for 20% of your grade, even if they are closed note/book and you bomb, your chance of passing is still pretty high if you did good on the previous exams & midterm.

    If you're a good note taker/book searcher, with a little study, you can bang out one or two SL courses a week. If you can average one a week, the cost is on par with taking CLEPs, but much less stressful.
     
  10. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    Really appreciate all of your thoughts. This one in particular struck a chord with me after a conversation with a recruiter this afternoon who, oddly enough, asked me why I wasn't going after my SPHR with all of my experience.

    I gave essentially the same explanation as above (with an addendum that I was under the impression that the SPHR covered a lot of international/global type of material, and my experience there is almost nil), and she offered a compromise suggestion I hadn't thought about - going after the PHR-CA designation first.

    I'm in California, and I don't plan on leaving for the next 3-5 years anyway. Her suggestion was that the CA designation would be a differentiator in my local market, and I would have to do very little additional studying to get it, since all of my HR experience has been in California anyway.

    So I'm going to take yours and her suggestions to heart - go after the PHR-CA first, get the degree ASAP, then pour myself in the SPHR.

    Thanks! :notworthy:
     
  11. Nodaclu

    Nodaclu New Member

    This is great insight, thank you!

    I had sort of forgotten about SL - I'd heard just about equal opinions for and against it. But what you're describing is convincing. I also know that CSU-Global has a direct relationship with SL - and since I've already attended 6 schools, the whole mixing and matching and making things work cleanly is a big deal to me.

    For me, at this stage of my life and career, this degree is nothing more than a much-needed line on my resume. I may pursue another degree later in life for the pure joy of learning, but this is not that time.

    I'm going to go take another, closer look at SL, and how their relationship with CSU-Global works.

    Thanks! :fing02:
     
  12. alzee

    alzee New Member

    You bet. I think most here are really in it to learn the material, earn the degree, and apply that knowledge. Those of us who just "need the paper" for other reasons aren't as well represented.

    Similar situation here. I have a perfectly successful 20+ year career, no degree, and no need for one in that regard. I've got it in my head to drop everything and go to Japan and try the English teaching thing though, and immigration requires a degree (in anything) or experience in the field to grant a work visa -- so that's the only reason I'm doing this.

    I've been going hells bells and this Thursday I'll have 30 credits towards an ASBA @ TESU done. I've only been at it about two months.. I've got a plane to catch! :D

    Best of luck!
     

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