Needo advice on BS/BA thru distance learning

Good evening everyone,
I am new to this board and have been browsing thru it for a couple of days now. Have to admit that the information is just outstanding and invaluable! I'm 37, never got my bachelor's degree (what a mistake that was) but was able to finish an Associates in Computer Technology from a community college over 16 years ago. Also took some vocational electronic and computer courses on top of my job certifications. I've been a computer service technician almost all my adult life. My present employer doesn't offer any education benefits at all.
Just curious; if I wanted to "further" my education at this point in my life (too old to sit in a college classroom), what do I need to do? I am wanting to pursue a Bachelor's degree (BS/BA?) to "lift" me up where I am presently at? But between work and a family of four, what would be my best course of action from here and where do I start? I am really in need of good counseling as to how I can get back on the road to higher education. Highly appreciate any advice.

Thank you very much,
Sonny

 

One of the Big Three (I think Charter Oak State College) has no time limit on the transfer credits you apply towards the degree. Other schools (like Excelsior) have a 10 year cap on technology related credits. So, maybe you could check out Charter Oak:

www.cosc.edu

They have various different concentrations for their BSGS degree. Here is their catalog:

http://www.cosc.edu/Forms/cat0204.pdf

I think you might be interested in the Technology Studies or Information Studies

Best Regards,
Bill

 

One of the best standard replies to a question such as yours continues to be directions to Lawrie Miller's "BA in 4 Weeks" website. It's been referenced a zillion times in this forum so you can turn up the url by using the search function. Good luck,
Jack

 

wfready & Jack

Thanks for the advice. I guess I have my homework cut out for me. Jack, BA in 4 weeks? Don't know if I have the smarts left to accomplish that feat, but I'll certainly take a look. Just call me old-fashioned and clueless, but willing to try!

wfready,
I'll check out Charter Oak out. Hopefully they can help me out and my "ancient" Associates degree. I didn't expect any schools to even look at associate degrees as old as mine. I was looking at starting from point zero. Do you have any good experiences with Charter Oak? I'm interested to know if you have time.

Bless you Both!
-Sonny

 

You see, that is the beauty of BA in 4weeks (you do not have to finish it in 4 weeks)! Knowing the material is one thing; but, actually being able to find schools to schedule your CLEP/DSST/ECE exams one after another is a completely different thing. You can take as long as you want. If you look around on this forum, you will find out quite a few posters are "testing out" of their degree from COSC, and Excelsior.

Best Regards,
Bill

 

Not me (I went with Excelsior for my Associates); however, I have heard a few times on how good their customer service is compared to Excelsior and Thomas Edison State College. They appear to be quite helpful with students (from what I can tell from the posts on this board).

Best Regards,
Bill

 

Bill

Thanks again for your insight!

I am hoping others can share their experiences with other DL schools out there.

I guess my journey is about to begin...!


Regards,
-Sonny

 

Call COSC. They will actually talk to you on the phone and help you get started, unlike the other two which I tried to work with. My advisor is Shannon Anderson. She is excellent. Since December 4, 2003, I've had my AAS analyzed, received a synopsis of what it will take to get my degree, taken and passed a total of 9 credits, am registered and studying for the psych GRE for April 3 which will garner me another 18 credits. After that I'm 4 tests away from completing a BS in Individualized Studies with a concentration in nursing/psychology/management, then I will be off to a master's degree in something, hopefully by September 2004.

Best of luck, it can be done, they are many here who have done this. You are halfway there.

 

Partially true - Excelsior took my 17-year old Computer Science courses without blinking, and applied them to core business requirements and general education credit. However, I'm pursuing a business degree...I think that this limitation is ONLY if you are pursuing a technology degree.

 

I guess that narrows it down

Again, thanks kindly everyone for the advice. I guess between Excelsior and Charter Oak, I will have to do some phone-work and find the right school that will accept me and my old associates degree.

I saw mention of DANTES / CLEP & ECE exams for college credit. Are they that difficult? I guess for an exam to provide college credit it shoud be? I am looking through some of the threads regarding these exams, and it looks promising. Wish I started years ago when I had more brain cells. I guess it's never too late!

Thanks again everyone!
-Sonny

One my weirdest fears: is to one day take a class at the local university, and without knowing one of my older kids shows up in the room - for the same class....yipes!

 

Re: I guess that narrows it down

for that you can look for a college/University that is maybe little away from where you live and you can be sure that none of your kids would show up there.

Anyway with Excelsior and COSC you would not have to take classes and test out of most requirements. Even if you have to take classes they can all be distance courses (if you like) so you dont have to worry about that....

good luck

 

seekinghelp

Very inspiring "success story" and experience you've had with COSC. Not sure if I can call your advisor directly, but she definitely set you on the right track. Hope I become as fortunate as yourself in my pursuit of higher education. The desire is always there, but in the past the planning phase oftentimes led me to believe it was a long road ahead . I believe this time will be different!

Best of luck to you and thanks,
-Sonny

 

Private mail me and I'll give you the phone number I use to contact my advisor directly. I'll be glad to tell you what credits I had, how they applied them, how I picked the tests I'll use to complete the plan, what study guides I have bought, etc.

Just keep in mind that most of the tests we use to test out are designed around what the average 19 year old knows from his high school classes. The upper level classes all have study guides that pin point what you need. I agree that taking tests can be a little uncomfortable, but if you take classes to get your degree you'll still have to take tests. Look up a thread called unimax's clep odessy. He lists what's he's accomplished and it's very inspirational. Also search under the name "cmt" for his posts which are great. Both these guys, along with others, have been a real inspiration to me. This is a great site to learn from. There will also be another site listed here soon that will cover cleps, dssts, etc that should be a great help to those of us trying to test out of classes. Watch for that announcement.

 

Just to make it easier to search do a name search on Unixman. He's definitely one of my inspirations...

 

Yes, thanks Mark for correcting me. Sorry unixman.