Purdue Global BSIT Degree or TESU BACS

[rachel83az]

Unfortunately, TESU advisors are often less than helpful. The ePacks are definitely available to any student who wants to take one: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/e-pack-courses

[Holmes]

You might want to switch out one of the TESU courses for an UL comp sci course. Either that or take the Network TECEP for the remaining Upper Lever credit in the comp sci degree.

Well, I picked these courses as the CS electives:

[Sophia] Introduction to Information Technology
[SDC] CS302: Systems Analysis & Design (UL)
[SDC] CS303: Database Management (UL)
[SDC] BUS303: Management Information Systems (UL)
[TECEP] Network Technology (CMP-354-TE) (UL, RA)
[TESU] Computer Concepts and Applications (CIS-107-EP) (RA)

So, if the first and the last are the same, I might choose "Foundations of Information Technology (CMP-202)" instead of CIS-107. Or another programming language if possible, like python or R.

[davewill]

That Flat fee is a game changer! Thank you for bringing that up. I was not considering that option at all because I thought it is hard to do 16 credits in one term. After your comment and a new round of search, I think it's totally doable and reasonable. It will still be more expensive, according to my calculations and the set of courses and exams that I am/will be taking, but it will cost around $6,900 to $7,000 USD, which is great.

Keep in mind that if you find taking 16 credits at once to be too much of a challenge, you can extend a term once you've done at least 50% of the coursework. You might even simply want to plan on extending the capstone, just to take some of the pressure off.

https://www.tesu.edu/current-students/course-extension

[dfrecore]

That Flat fee is a game changer! Thank you for bringing that up. I was not considering that option at all because I thought it is hard to do 16 credits in one term. After your comment and a new round of search, I think it's totally doable and reasonable. It will still be more expensive, according to my calculations and the set of courses and exams that I am/will be taking, but it will cost around $6,900 to $7,000 USD, which is great.

Keep in mind that if you find taking 16 credits at once to be too much of a challenge, you can extend a term once you've done at least 50% of the coursework. You might even simply want to plan on extending the capstone, just to take some of the pressure off.

https://www.tesu.edu/current-students/course-extension

That's not a bad plan.  Really, you could extend all of your courses, but you're better off extending just 1 or 2 if you need to, and finish one course a month late, and the capstone 2 months late to kind of stagger things.

[Holmes]

Is it possible for sure that students can take e-pack courses if they will pay a flat rate? This too would be a game changer for me.

[nyvrem]

tbh there's not much difference between a BSIT and BACS if you're using it to find employment. Most of the time your portfolio and hands on skills will get you the job. but if you're intending to do a MS in CS in the future, than u might wanna go for a BACS that fulfills the MS entry requirements.

[davewill]

tbh there's not much difference between a BSIT and BACS if you're using it to find employment. Most of the time your portfolio and hands on skills will get you the job. ...

That will be so for many employers, but some sectors like defense, telecoms or medical devices will get sticky about the difference.

---

That's not a bad plan.  Really, you could extend all of your courses, but you're better off extending just 1 or 2 if you need to, and finish one course a month late, and the capstone 2 months late to kind of stagger things.

The most important thing is to not lose your cool if you start falling behind. Just make sure you notify the instructor in advance any time you need to miss a due date. If you just miss it, they're bound by school policy to dock your score, but with advance notice, they can allow you to turn it in late with no penalty.

I had to extend my capstone, and it was pretty painless.

[LevelUP]

You might want to switch out one of the TESU courses for an UL comp sci course. Either that or take the Network TECEP for the remaining Upper Lever credit in the comp sci degree.

You could do this for your 16 credits for TESU BA CS:
English Composition I (ENC-101)
English Composition II (ENC-102)
Software Engineering (CIS-351)
Critical Information Literacy (SOS-110)
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (ENG-298)
Liberal Arts Capstone (LIB-495)

Because the TECEP Networking takes 20-40hrs of study time & costs $225, taking Software Engineering might be a good option.  But you could take the TECEP Networking and try and find a super-easy course to replace it.

The English Comps take usually the most time with ACE credit providers, and you will be doing the same types of writing with the SOS-110 & Capstone so as long as you are comfortable researching and writing 1000 words in around 3-5 hours, this shouldn't be too hard.

You can get the course books ahead of time and start studying before the course begins, that will save some time and make things easier.  Once the course begins, working ahead helps to take away the stress of the deadlines.  Be prepared for 20-30hrs per week of school work.

I wouldn't recommend doing 16 credits in one term for someone fresh out of high school, someone that's not comfortable doing writing assignments, or someone that's working a full-time job.  You need to maintain a C average grade to graduate from TESU and have a C or better for each course in your AOS.

[Holmes]

You might want to switch out one of the TESU courses for an UL comp sci course. Either that or take the Network TECEP for the remaining Upper Lever credit in the comp sci degree.

You could do this for your 16 credits for TESU BA CS:
English Composition I (ENC-101)
English Composition II (ENC-102)
Software Engineering (CIS-351)
Critical Information Literacy (SOS-110)
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (ENG-298)
Liberal Arts Capstone (LIB-495)

Because the TECEP Networking takes 20-40hrs of study time & costs $225, taking Software Engineering might be a good option.  But you could take the TECEP Networking and try and find a super-easy course to replace it.

The English Comps take usually the most time with ACE credit providers, and you will be doing the same types of writing with the SOS-110 & Capstone so as long as you are comfortable researching and writing 1000 words in around 3-5 hours, this shouldn't be too hard.

You can get the course books ahead of time and start studying before the course begins, that will save some time and make things easier.  Once the course begins, working ahead helps to take away the stress of the deadlines.  Be prepared for 20-30hrs per week of school work.

I wouldn't recommend doing 16 credits in one term for someone fresh out of high school, someone that's not comfortable doing writing assignments, or someone that's working a full-time job.  You need to maintain a C average grade to graduate from TESU and have a C or better for each course in your AOS.

I decided NOT to take the Network Technology (neither the TECEP nor the course), and I already put Software Engineering (CIS-351) on my list of UL, RA and residency courses.

But English compositions in general are a nightmare for me. =) I hate all sorts of writing. If I had to choose between the Network TECEP (and memorizing the whole 500-page textbook) and English composition; I would choose the Network.

I will wrestle with the composition I and II in Sophia, with no weekly deadlines it will be doable.

For the whole degree, the most difficult courses for me are the English Composition I and II, and the public speaking! I don't see why they are even required for a software engineer or developer. =) Really hate them.

My (still changing) 16-credit list is:

• SOS-110 Critical Information Literacy
  
• LIB-495 Liberal Arts Capstone
  
• An Introduction to Islam (REL-275-OL): (Should be easy for me, as I studied and translated many books in this area)
  
• Introduction to Biology (BIO-101-EP): (ePack course, not-very-easy, but I believe I can do it within the first weeks)
  
• Principles of Statistics (STA-201-EP): (ePack course, should be easy, as I had many advanced math and statistics courses before. I believe I can take the exam immediately)
  
• Software Engineering (CIS-351-OL): (as a software developer for more than 10 years, I believe I will be familiar with this course)
  

[dfrecore]

But English compositions in general are a nightmare for me. =) I hate all sorts of writing. If I had to choose between the Network TECEP (and memorizing the whole 500-page textbook) and English composition; I would choose the Network.

I will wrestle with the composition I and II in Sophia, with no weekly deadlines it will be doable.

If you're a competent writer and typist, you could take the Comp I & II TECEP exams.  So much faster and easier than taking a course for sure.  I passed Comp 2 with zero study - just sat down and did the exam on the fly.