Seeking an IT related degree - Cheap & Quick

[jonesmd93]

Hello everyone. I'm seeking the cheapest route for any IT/Comp Sci related bachelors degree.
I have already completed a 2 year associates degree (Gen ed.) from my local community college in the USA. 
Also, I am currently living and working abroad in Taiwan, so unfortunately WGU doesn't seem to be an option. 

I've also been studying for CompTIA A+ and plan to study for my CCNA afterwards.
Hoping to apply these for credit. 

So far I've looked at EC's tech management and information technology. I've sent my transcripts and am waiting for an official evaluation. 
I'm also considering TESU's BSBA CIS. 
I'm definitely open to considering alternative cheap options as well.
Any advice is much appreciated.

I'll list my credits below. 

BI 101
General Biology 4cr
COM 135
Interpersonal Communication 3cr
EC 251
Principles of Macroeconomics 3cr
EC 252
Principles of Microeconomics 3cr
ED 200
Introduction to Education 3cr
EN 101
English Composition-1 3cr
EN 102
English Composition-2 3cr
EN 261
Great American Writers 1 3cr
EN 262
Great American Writers 2 3cr
GE 135
World Regional Geography 3cr
GL 105
Environmental Geology 4cr
GL 111
Earth Science for Education 3cr
MA 107
Intermediate Algebra 3cr
PL 201
Introduction to Philosophy 3cr
PS 110
Survey of American Government 3cr
PS 202
International Relations 3cr
PY 201
General Psychology 3cr
PY 233
Child Psychology 3cr
SO 254
Social Problems 3cr

This is my 2nd attempt at online learning. It's been almost 4 years since my first attempt but I think I've found a suitable path pursuing IT. 
I'm working full time in Taiwan and plan to stay here for another 2 years or so.
In the mean time, I will continue studying towards certs and a degree cheaply so that when I do return to the US I can meet the entry level requirements for IT gigs, even if that means working help desk for a few years. 
Let me know if you have similar experiences or went down a relevant path. 
Thanks again & cheers

[MNomadic]

Have you looked into Purdue University Global?

They accept up to 75% transfer credits including alternative credit providers like Sophia and study.com and they also accept IT certifications for transfer credits.

https://www.purdueglobal.edu/alternative...ion-exams/

They have cloud, cybersecurity, and IT degrees in traditional or Excel Track(competency based) formats.

[LevelUP]

Hello everyone. I'm seeking the cheapest route for any IT/Comp Sci related bachelors degree.
I have already completed a 2 year associates degree (Gen ed.) from my local community college in the USA. 
Also, I am currently living and working abroad in Taiwan, so unfortunately WGU doesn't seem to be an option. 

I've also been studying for CompTIA A+ and plan to study for my CCNA afterwards.
Hoping to apply these for credit. 

So far I've looked at EC's tech management and information technology. I've sent my transcripts and am waiting for an official evaluation. 
I'm also considering TESU's BSBA CIS. 
I'm definitely open to considering alternative cheap options as well.
Any advice is much appreciated.

I'll list my credits below. 

BI 101
General Biology 4cr
COM 135
Interpersonal Communication 3cr
EC 251
Principles of Macroeconomics 3cr
EC 252
Principles of Microeconomics 3cr
ED 200
Introduction to Education 3cr
EN 101
English Composition-1 3cr
EN 102
English Composition-2 3cr
EN 261
Great American Writers 1 3cr
EN 262
Great American Writers 2 3cr
GE 135
World Regional Geography 3cr
GL 105
Environmental Geology 4cr
GL 111
Earth Science for Education 3cr
MA 107
Intermediate Algebra 3cr
PL 201
Introduction to Philosophy 3cr
PS 110
Survey of American Government 3cr
PS 202
International Relations 3cr
PY 201
General Psychology 3cr
PY 233
Child Psychology 3cr
SO 254
Social Problems 3cr

This is my 2nd attempt at online learning. It's been almost 4 years since my first attempt but I think I've found a suitable path pursuing IT. 
I'm working full time in Taiwan and plan to stay here for another 2 years or so.
In the mean time, I will continue studying towards certs and a degree cheaply so that when I do return to the US I can meet the entry level requirements for IT gigs, even if that means working help desk for a few years. 
Let me know if you have similar experiences or went down a relevant path. 
Thanks again & cheers

The BSBA CIS isn't really an IT degree though you could add associates in computer science for free.

EC I'm not aware that it's possible to do an IT degree with alternative credits.

Another is Purdue Global ExcelTrack IT degree.  You would take the PHP cert, which transfers in 7 classes then do the other classes with Sophia and Study.com. 

CompTIA A+ would be a good cert to get.  Buy practice questions from Udemy.

[rachel83az]

For comp sci, you'd do TESU. Cost would be $7-10k. If you wanted to do both comp sci AND the BSBA CIS, you could do both for another $1000 or so.

For IT, Purdue Global. It's CBE, so price will be a bit variable. But it will probably cost less than TESU.

The biggest question is whether you feel like a Comp Sci degree or an IT degree would be better for your future career.

[nyvrem]

cheap and quick ?

Northern Arizona U - BSc in ICT

competency based. how fast you wanna do it, its up to you.

a 6 month term cost $2500 i think. might have increased. not too sure.

[dfrecore]

For Purdue Global, let me start by saying that you have almost all of your GE done, and all of your open electives done, so you don't need to spend a second doing any electives.

If you add in CompTIA A+ and the CCNA, which you're already planning, and then the W3Schools PHP Certificate as LevelUP suggested, and do 3 Study.com courses in a month for $199 (MAT 107: Quantitative Literacy >> MM250: Discrete Math; COMPSCI 203: Defensive Security >> IT286: Network Security Concepts; and COMPSCI 302: Systems Analysis & Design >> IT460: Systems Analysis & Design), you will have exactly 50qcr remaining to take (45qcr is the residency requirement).

I think you could complete the remaining 9 courses/50cr in 2 terms (or maybe 1 but I probably wouldn't put that pressure on myself). It's $2,500/10-week term, so $5,000 in 5 months is what you're looking at.

Even if you went took 3 terms, that would be less than TESU's BSBA/CIS degree. EC's IT degree is not alt-credit friendly, so it would cost a fortune.

[bjcheung77]

I also would vouch for a competency based degree program as two mentioned, at NAU and PUG. There is another offering at UMass global, they have a BSIT, and if you want to try data analytics/data science, there is a concentration in that as well. I suggest you decide on the degree and school first by looking at your current credits and finding the program that will max the transfer. If you are knowledgeable in IT already, CBE is a better option than the Big 3.

[jonesmd93]

Thank you everyone for the great advice and suggestions. I've now focused my research onto which of the CBE programs (UMASS, PUG, NAU) will accept the most credits/certs. 
It's looking like PUG will be the cheapest option for me internationally, however I'm still waiting for an official evaluation to confirm this. 

This is the response I got from the NAU advisor regarding transferring into the CBE BSIT.  
" With this degree program (BSIT) you are capped at 64 units of transfer credit of which completing the 56 units with NAU would reach 120 units to graduate.
Within the 64 units you are bringing in you would have wanted to complete foundation, liberal studies, diversity and science requirements. If not, you can take those classes through the personalized learning program." 

NAU has a similar policy to PUG, where they will accept 75% credit, but unless I've misunderstood the response, it seems for this degree NAU would prove to be quite a bit more expensive with the transfer cap set at 64 credits.

I'll be sure to update when I'm locked in and post my spreadsheets once I've accumulated the data. 


Thanks again!

[bjcheung77]

That's great news, you're coming along with deciding on the degree/school. I would decide either PUG or UMASS as I think UMASS may be cheaper in the long run, depending on the number of credits you can transfer and the terms you can complete the requirements in. The terms are longer at UMASS, if their CBE is anything like UMPI's counterpart, then they should be your best bet, you can compare PUG with them and decide when you come across all your info and data tallied...