Computer Science Degree Plan

[oneyearcs]

Hi everyone!

It's my first post here. I'm very new to all this. My goal is to get a computer science degree. I have 20 years programming experience, but no college experience or credits. Because of my work, I don't think I'll be able to start in earnest until this summer. However, I'd like to work up a game plan.

I think my obvious choices are either WGU BS CS or TESU BA CS.

With WGU, my plan would be to finish in one semester (they charge by the semester). At TESU, I think I would want to transfer in the max credits so I only have to take one or two TESU classes. The TESU degree is a BA, so it should be much easier to find transferable credits for, right?

I've worked up a spreadsheet for the WGU BS CS program with possible credit options (see attachment). I don't think it's quite enough though. Are there any obvious things I'm missing?


How do I know which CLEP credits will transfer to which course requirements? Do you just have to guess? For the TESU degree, will any college credits work in the "Elective" categories? What do I need for the 12 "Knowledge of Human Cultures" credits? Whats the difference between "General Education Electives" and "Electives"?

Any opinions on what's cheaper/easier between WGU vs TESU?

[!=scholar]

Software Engineering at Saylor is ACE approved, so they (WGU) should be able to take that.
Operating Systems is at SDC and ACE approved, I believe.

[mysonx3]

Here is the map of what CLEPs count for what GenEd requirement at TESU:

https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog/c...am-program

There is one error that I'm aware of on this list, namely that it doesn't show the InfoSystems CLEP counting for Understanding the Physical and Natural World.

For courses outside of CLEP, there's usually someone here who knows the answer of what it will count as.

[MNomadic]

Tesu has a page that shows exactly which cleps are equivalent to which classes. https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog/c...am-program

General education electives typically consist of courses in the traditional liberal arts: math, science, history, psychology, etc. Tesu has a page that lists their general education courses which should give you a solid idea: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/courses/2016-and-after2

Free electives is basically any college level course that tesu accepts. This includes anything in general electives along with things like a cooking class.

You can get a good idea of what's in "knowledge of human cultures" from the link above but it basically consists of: art, humanities, philosophy, history, social studies, psych, sociology, etc.

If you do choose TESU, there's a few things you will want to do sooner, rather than later:
-The free institutes ethics course satisfies the TESU ethics requirement and can be completed in a short period of time. Currently (if it is not renewed) it's ACE recommendation ends Jan 31st of this month.
-the free Teex cyber security courses(if not renewed) lose their ace recommendation on Jan 31st also. These may be good for electives in the BACS at tesu.
- the cheap($300), 1 credit tesu cornerstone is set to be replaced by a more expensive ($1098) 3 credit course at tesu later this year.

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If you want to be able to go slow at your own pace(because work and life happen) then using alternative credits with the tesu bacs may be your better option. If you want to go with wgu, you should try to transfer in 60+ credits so you only have to do about 30-60 credits in your single term and be prepared to work long an hard during that 6 months to make it happen.

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Either way it's doable! Many people here have accomplished their degrees in 1 year through WGU or TESU.

[dfrecore]

WGU is less expensive, even if you take 2 terms. But in some cases it might be more difficult to come up with the tuition up-front. On the flip side, if you have tuition reimbursement, it's easy enough to take your first term towards the 2nd half of the year, and your second starting the next year (so like July and January) so that you're fully covered with no out-of-pocket costs. Also, WGU won't let you bring in as many credits (they require ~30cr of residency). On the flip side, you get certifications with the degree which can be very beneficial for some.

TESU is easier if you can't dedicate the time to do a ton of classes in a single term, or if you want to pay for one course at a time over a longer period of time. It would give you more time to save up enough to be able to pay for the final term (where you have to pay for the capstone, the residency waiver, and the graduation fee all around the same time ~$3600). If you have tuition reimbursement, you'd have to see if the residency waiver was covered by your company.

Either degree is equally good.

[oneyearcs]

Thanks for the replies everyone! There is a ton of useful information here, it's a lot to take it. I'm clearly in the right place though.

Here is the map of what CLEPs count for what GenEd requirement at TESU:

https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog/c...am-program

Thanks! I hadn't seen that. It's very helpful.

The free institutes ethics course satisfies the TESU ethics requirement and can be completed in a short period of time. Currently (if it is not renewed) it's ACE recommendation ends Jan 31st of this month.

Is this the ethics class you're talking about: https://www.theinstitutes.org/guide/ethi...al-conduct ACE says it's only 2 credits: http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseactio...ICE=300096 But TESU wants three credits for Ethics. How does that work? Is it an easy one to finish before Jan 31st?

WGU is less expensive, even if you take 2 terms.  But in some cases it might be more difficult to come up with the tuition up-front.  On the flip side, if you have tuition reimbursement, it's easy enough to take your first term towards the 2nd half of the year, and your second starting the next year (so like July and January) so that you're fully covered with no out-of-pocket costs.  Also, WGU won't let you bring in as many credits (they require ~30cr of residency).  On the flip side, you get certifications with the degree which can be very beneficial for some.

TESU is easier if you can't dedicate the time to do a ton of classes in a single term, or if you want to pay for one course at a time over a longer period of time.  It would give you more time to save up enough to be able to pay for the final term (where you have to pay for the capstone, the residency waiver, and the graduation fee all around the same time ~$3600).  If you have tuition reimbursement, you'd have to see if the residency waiver was covered by your company.

I'm going to be 100% out of pocket. No reimbursement or grants. I do have money saved up for this though. So I'm only looking at total cost. Payment timing doesn't matter.

WGU cost would be 2 semesters at $7,000 + about $1,000 for outside credits. It's risky though, since if it takes me three semesters (life happens) I'd be out another $3,500. If I can do WGU in one semester it'd be a no-brainer. Is that realistic? I'm having trouble finding enough credits to transfer in.

With TESU, I would try to get all outside credits. I figure each class is about $100 (StraighterLine, Study.com, CLEPS, etc), so that's about $3,500 for credits. Then about $3,600 to graduate.

I guess I should start by getting credits that would work for both.


Thanks again for all the replies. This is very helpful and gives me a lot to think about.

[davewill]

...
I guess I should start by getting credits that would work for both.
...

Absolutely. Do the free stuff 'cause it's free. Then you can get your English and Math done. Those will be needed at both schools.

As said above, make your decision about TESU before June so you can apply and take the 1cr $300 cornerstone instead of the more expensive one. Also, their catalog usually updates on July 1, so applying by then will also lock in the current catalog and protect you from changes to the degree requirements.

[MNomadic]

Yes that's the free ethics course. Be sure to take the FREE one and not the $5 dollar one for CE credit. Yes it's only 2 credits so you would only have to make up 1 credit elsewhere which is easy since there are a few free Sophia courses. It is very doable before Jan 31st. Some finish it in a single day.


"I guess I should start by getting credits that would work for both."

Yes! That would be the best course of action right now.

[oneyearcs]

Software Engineering at Saylor is ACE approved, so they (WGU) should be able to take that.
Operating Systems is at SDC and ACE approved, I believe.

Are you talking about: https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=94 and https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=73  I'm wondering why these don't show up at https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Single.as...769&pid=86 Do you know for sure that WGU will take it?

It looks like Software Engineering is only 3 credits, but WGU wants 4. http://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseactio...CE=1008220 I don't see Operating Systems on ACE.

It would be a huge help if these worked. I feel like I need just a few more credit sources to make a 1 term WGU work.

Does anyone know of sources for Discrete Mathematics I (4), Business of IT - Project Management (4), American Politics and the US Constitution (3), Ethics in Technology (3), or Technical Communication (3)? Those seem likely candidates to transfer, maybe.

[MNomadic]

The Saylor CS courses may be cheap but I've heard they may not be worth the hassle. People here have said the tests have mistakes, may be outdated, and ask questions based on specific quotes from the study material instead of testing for conceptual understanding.


"Does anyone know of sources for Discrete Mathematics I (4), Business of IT - Project Management (4), American Politics and the US Constitution (3), Ethics in Technology (3), or Technical Communication (3)? Those seem likely candidates to transfer, maybe."

Study.com has discrete math and project management for 3 credits each. May work, not sure. US government can be taken through CLEP, study.com, StraighterLine, etc. There is an ethics in technology DSST and a technical writing DSST as well.