What's the best exclusively online university?

phaneuf1

What's the best exclusively online university for a bachelor in IT?

criterias: non-profit, regionally accredited, affordable

thanks

foofighters

Theres only one school that meets your criteria.. most schools are for profit.

WGU Online University | Online Degree Programs, Accredited Bachelor's and Master's

missy2687

I've been doing some pretty heavy research on this for the past few months and ended up enrolling at WGU. I start July 1st; so I'd have to agree.

ptilsen

Straighterline is worth mentioning as a way to get regionally accredited college credit online, but it's not exclusively online.

There are not many regionally accredited online-only programs. WGU is definitely the best bet for a good online IT degree.

GAngel

Being from toronto as well Id say go to western or UFT if you want a tech degree. WGU in canada isn't the same as WGU in the states i'd only recommend it to someone who already has experience in the industry.

Zartanasaurus

Best is kind of specific to the person asking. If "best" means speed to you, then I can't think of a program that'd be faster than Thomas Edison or WGU. If "best" means best chance at working for Google, then that might mean something entirely different.

Valsacar

WGU is great, but if you need something more "traditional" then something like Excelsior might work for you. Traditional, in this sense, meaning course style.

phaneuf1

GAngel wrote: »

Being from toronto as well Id say go to western or UFT if you want a tech degree. WGU in canada isn't the same as WGU in the states i'd only recommend it to someone who already has experience in the industry.

Why Thomas Edison? it seems to be 120 credits. Why is it supposed to be a fast degree?

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

Best is kind of specific to the person asking. If "best" means speed to you, then I can't think of a program that'd be faster than Thomas Edison or WGU. If "best" means best chance at working for Google, then that might mean something entirely different.

Is excelsior non-profit?

cglgolf

Thomas Edison you are able to test into a degree. Basicaaly acquire 120 credits, fit them in a degree, pay $400 graduation fee you get a regionally Accredited degree. I was able to knock out 66 hours of college credit and roll that into an Assiociates thru them in roughly 6 moths time. using Clep, Dantes and Straighterline. 27 hours came from FEMA self study courses that count as all your bs electives you need. Hope that helps...

Valsacar

Yes, Excelsior is non-profit (private), it used to be Regents College but changed their name a while back.

Excelsior and Tomas Edison are two of the "big three" with Charter Oak being the other. They have the most liberal transfer policies and basically no residency requirements. Excelsior takes anything that is ACE approved (Straighter Line, CLEP, DANTES, ALEKS, Military training, etc), they also award credits for certifications (Almost everything from MS, Cisco and CompTIA). Of course regular classes as well, 8 week and 15 week (almost all offer both methods).

Degree Forum: CLEP Forum - CLEP Study - CLEP Testing - Study Guide and Strategies offers a lot of information and study tips for CLEP and other alternative sources of college credit.

I used ALEKS to get 12 credits in a few weeks and it cost 20 bucks. They (like most other alternative systems) work similar to WGU in the concept of prove you know the material and you're done. A program like the big three is good for many people because they can "test out" of stuff they do know, but have a more structured class for the subjects they need help on. WGU is great for those with either a lot of experience already, or those that learn well through self-study and don't really need the teacher there leading the way.

BigMevy

CSU-Global Campus is exclusively online, accredited, and non-profit. They charge 350 per credit unless you're military, then it's 250 per credit. The terms last 8 weeks, where they compile 12 weeks of information into so it's fairly fast paced you definitely have to use your time wisely. They may be worth considering.

phaneuf1

And do you receive a diploma from colorado state university - online or a regular csu diploma (without online mentionned).
Is it the same price for out of state students?
do they accept credit earned at WGU?

BigMevy

The degree since Sept of last year would be from CSU Global Campus, as that is when they received their separate accredidation. Prior to that they had an extension of the accrediation from CSU itself.

I would imagine they would accept credits from WGU as they are regionally and nationally accredited. As to how well those credits would transfer, you'd have to talk to an advisor about that. The tuition rates are flat, in-state out of state doesn't matter I'm pretty sure.

dmoore44

Drexel is a highly respected university and has online BS degrees in IT... If I could have a do-over for my BS, I would have gone the Drexel route instead of going to UMUC. That being said, since I was stationed in DC, I got to go to UMCP for a lot of my classes - and they were instructed by UMCP professors. That's a pretty good benefit (the education), but the name on the diploma (UMUC) definitely doesn't carry the same weight as it would if it said UMCP.

phaneuf1

dmoore44 wrote: »

Drexel is a highly respected university and has online BS degrees in IT... If I could have a do-over for my BS, I would have gone the Drexel route instead of going to UMUC. That being said, since I was stationed in DC, I got to go to UMCP for a lot of my classes - and they were instructed by UMCP professors. That's a pretty good benefit (the education), but the name on the diploma (UMUC) definitely doesn't carry the same weight as it would if it said UMCP.

Drexel is a pretty good school but the price seems to be really high. More than 20K a year is a lot. But You can transfer up to 113 quarter credits: 98 quarter credits from prior college studies, 15 quarter credits from certifications. That's nice. I wonder if they would accept credits from WGU...

spoonsslick

missy2687 wrote: »

I've been doing some pretty heavy research on this for the past few months and ended up enrolling at WGU. I start July 1st; so I'd have to agree.

Ditto! I've been doing research also, and it seems like WGU would be the best fit for me. it self paced, online, affordable, and comes with certificates along with your BS

phaneuf1

GAngel wrote: »

Being from toronto as well Id say go to western or UFT if you want a tech degree. WGU in canada isn't the same as WGU in the states i'd only recommend it to someone who already has experience in the industry.

I do have experience in the industry. I just need the paper to get promoted at the job. Anyway my goal in long term is to move to the USA. Austin, Phoenix, an Detroit is where I'm looking for a job.

Valsacar

GAngel wrote: »

Being from toronto as well Id say go to western or UFT if you want a tech degree. WGU in canada isn't the same as WGU in the states i'd only recommend it to someone who already has experience in the industry.

Please explain, how is the school any different based off where you're from? Canadians can apply, you just need to get your prior (Canadian) college transcripts evaluated before sending them to WGU. Other than that, how is it different?

HLRS

this is a legit online school too: Science, Mathematics and Technology | Degrees and Programs | SUNY Empire State College