I was having a conversation with someone last night that got me wondering…. Are there programs out there for someone with significant professional experience to go straight to a Master’s degree? Probably something like Leadership or Executive MBA? I think I have seen something like this, but I can’t remember where. If not, maybe a Bachelors that has significant test out or experience credits??
Enrolled agents can apply without a bachelor's degree. https://www.taft.edu/mst-master-of-science-in-taxation-online-lp Charter Oak State College, Thomas Edison State University, and Excelsior University are known for accepting the most test-out credits, but they aren't as flexible as they used to be.
Outside the US one can find Master's degree programs that don't require a Bachelor's degree for entry, most famously the MBA through Heriot-Watt University in Scotland: https://www.hw.ac.uk/online/postgraduate/master-business-administration.htm As for Bachelor's degrees that have significant test out or experience credits, as sanantone suggests there are a number of options, you may want to start here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Degree_Forum_Wiki
Wrexham Glyndwr University, a Welsh/British's university. https://online.glyndwr.ac.uk/msc-computer-science/ 100% online Masters within 24 months Study anytime, anywhere, on any device Degree not required for admission, work experience considered Earn while you learn £6,000 total fees, option to pay-per-module Full academic support More info about Wrexham Glyndwr University: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham_Glyndŵr_University Credited to NOMADUSER: https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/wrexham-glyndwr-university-msc-in-computer-science-%C2%A36-000-no-bachelors-required.57313/
A lot of UK universities use 3rd party providers in a lot of different configurations, such as marketing is done by the 3rd party, but teaching is conducted by the university. In itself, 3rd parties can introduce problems, but cheaper prices. In the case of Wrexham Glyndwr University, I never got a straight answer out of them because the response times are crazy bad, but also there is a thread linked earlier in this thread in which a graduate discusses their experience as having long wait times for question responses while being a student, so this makes me believe that it is marketed and taught by Higher Ed Partners ("HEP"). This essentially means the university is just gatewaying a non-accredited organisation to teach. At least it's less expensive. I will note here before anyone says anything, even a gateway may not be bad in itself, I've seen some world-class curriculum from unaccredited places before, but it was made with care, and it was absolute gold, no cap. However the grand canyon sized caveat here is that without actually experiencing the course, you don't know if it's gold or pyrite until you've signed up and paid up. OH! Now I type this, a lot of these less-expensive, somewhat or almost-complete 3rd person universities have per-module billing, so I suppose if you ask a question and it actually takes them a month to respond and you're not feeling it, just dip and use the credit(s) you receive as a transfer credit. The UK countries have really well defined educational frameworks. A lot better than the Ontario, Canada framework. So transfer credit works really well in the UK and I'm told in the EU as well even "PoSt-BrExIt". I will add the University of Wolverhampton (Online) ("Wolverhampton") here. "You will need a recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree that is equivalent to, or higher than a UK Bachelor's degree with honours, as well as at least two years' work experience in a professional, managerial or supervisory role. If you don't hold a degree or have an ordinary degree, you should have at least three years of relevant work experience in a professional, managerial or supervisory role." (FAQ section of their website) I asked Wolverhampton-HEP directly who teaches the curriculum, and I quote from their E-mail response: "Our online MSc Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence programme is created and delivered by academics of The University of Wolverhampton." Their other responses are quite good as well, a bit slow by UK standards still, but overall good quality. I have a list of 20 online courses from the UK which I am still going through at the time of this posting, but they have some good, less expensive options in the UK. This is the only HEP-partnered school which as has given me responses which I consider good quality. Just a bit of background, I attended Robert Gordon University, which was well equivalent in quality or even better to grossly expensive Canadian schools, but the real problem is they don't have as much online offerings anymore. If they did, I wouldn't even be shopping around, I would sign-up immediately. They also have a 20% off for all returning alumni which is awesome too, which brings it down to slightly more expensive than Wolverhampton. I think when I'm done parsing this list I will start a new thread, I am quite interested in UK schools. For America, if it clears WES USA without issue, it's going to be a good one. I use WES Canada, as well as my provincial student funding agency's aid estimator to see if they recognise the institution and course as well. THEY ARE PICKY, so if it passes their frugalities, and WES Canada, it's probably a keeper. Also there is India which I'm starting to dig into because later on I want to get an "MCA" which is Master of Computer Applications, which is tricky to get equivalency to Canada, but I feel they have interesting curriculum and matches my previous work, as well as it is super affordable. Not gunna lie though, the E-mail responses and timing from Wrexham Glyndwr University Online are incredibly late and poor quality. Like when they asked me to book a session with a HEP admissions person and the calendly link to book the time was invalid. Watch out as well, these sales people (not academics) want to rush you to the application at the speed of light. The best approach is after all the chips are in and you have all the information to make an informed decision, decide in your own time. I should also note if you want a minor on an MBA you may also wish to get that, such as "MBA with Data Analytics" or "MBA with Supply Chain Management" etc., so that may also come into your search. And if you read these forums a lot, you'll find there are a lot of PseudoMBAs around like some guy on Udemy selling an "MBA Course" which of course is completely not an accredited MBA.
For what it's worth, if you look at previous threads you'll see that a lot of people here with experience with international evaluations think rather poorly of WES.
Well to clarify, many employers and all universities and community colleges instantly recognise WES Canada right away, so there is gate-keepering going on. In talking with some administrators, some will accept ICES but they really want to see the WES Canada report...
