The Dr. and Mr. Gina

I think that TESC is the best option for Mr. Gina, since they are probably the most liberal in accepting portfolio credits.

As far as motivating him to continue his education, that's a tough one. When I finally earned my Bachelor's degree (earned very non-traditionally through exams, portfolio, and evening & weekend classes), I made it a point to go to commencement, since I was the only child in my family to graduate college. I don't think I've ever seen my father more proud in his entire life. That alone made the whole experience worthwhile.

Earning a legitimate college degree involves a lot of time and work, no way around it. However, Mr. Gina may have already put in a lot of the time & work already and doesn't realize it.

 

Re: A few points..

I did a little research and discovered that there IS a GRE in Computer Science. It's a 70 question, multiple choice exam.

Here's a link from Lawrie's site on using the GRE subject exams for credit..

http://www.bain4weeks.com/GREsubject.html

Here's another link from the company that designs the test. There's a link from the page to the computer science GRE for more detailed information.

http://www.gre.org/pbstest.html

Cy

 

I used Lawrie Miller's plan and except for my upcoming math test, finished all of the requirements in two months. I had 12 credits from various sources to start and CLEP'd, DANTE'd, or ECE'd the remaining credits to a total of 119. Now if I could just find the time to study the math!!
Really, it was challenging but not difficult. I have a full-time (50-60 hours) job, a family and other commitments, yet I found the time to study.
You can do it!!

 

Re: And I am going to disagree with you

In a situation where one has aksed the HR department to get candidates for a job, there will likely be a large stack of resumes for them to sort through. To get through this, they'll apply a set of filters to get to a smaller list. Very likely, one of these filters will be a university degree.

Rightly or wrongly, these candidates will get dropped. When there are hundreds of resumes to sift through, it's the only reasonable way to get to a manageable list of candidates to interview.

 

Re: Re: A few points..

Indeed. But CS GRE is very theoretical: some discrete maths, computer architecture, operating systems fundamentials, stuff like that. Of course, smart computer guy is fully capable of learning all this (may I suggest Shaum's outlines as textbooks). But in Mr. Gina's situation, tests like ICCP or vendor certifications might be easier, Just my 2 cents.

 

Nearly twenty years ago I was able to use quite a few credits for college classes tha were forty years old--at Excelsior! They were very liberal in allowing me units which no other school would give me.

I also CLEPed 30 units of GE courses for Excelsior's AS degree; then in 13 months got a B.S. from University of San Franciso applying life experiences for credit (30 units for specialized medical training and experience.

There is more than one way to skin the cat. I'm now pursuing MA in Liberal Studies at Excelsior. And i'm only 79 next month!

 

Re: Re: Re: A few points..

Good point, Stanislav. I forgot that college credit can be awarded for IT certifications. Since Mr. Gina has years worth of experience in the IT field, I'm sure that he probably already has lots of these certifications. He may be closer to a degree than he currently realizes!!

Cy

 

Only 79? I hope you have employment plans for after you finish that master's degree.



Tom Nixon

 

Congratulations!

You should be an inspiration and role model to those in their 40's & 50's who think they're "too old" to go back to school for a degree.

 

MAGNIFICENT, Elaine! What a great post!