Introduction, and a question regarding college reputation vs course quality/relevance

Hi everybody, I've been lurking here for a few days, and decided to register and introduce myself, and ask for help with a question that I've been trying to resolve.
First, a bit of info about me (this is kind of long, sorry; if you want to skip the non-essential stuff, please go to the tl;dr at the bottom
). I'm an older guy who has been in the computer industry (PC repair, desktop support, some network admin, and customer service) for my entire life, but recently I've been having a hard time finding jobs, and I'm currently unemployed. I've never had any certs, but I'm studying for the A+. I'm leaning towards doing the Network+ after that, but I'm still undecided on that one because I would definitely like to get the CCNA, and I'm wondering whether the time spent studying for the Network+ would be better spent on the CCNA.
Also, I'm working towards an AS (for transfer, not a trade degree) at the local community college. I'm halfway done with the AS. I'm planning my course schedule for next semester, and I need to select courses that I can transfer to a 4-year college, so I need to decide which one to attend (I'm pretty much set on getting a BS of some kind, for reasons of personal satisfaction as well as career advancement). I've spent a lot of time visiting college websites, trying to figure out which BS to pursue. I will have to take an entirely-online program.
Ideally, I think that I would probably be happiest in an IT job. However, I'm not quite convinced that a BSIT would open as many doors as a BSCS or even a BSCIS, based on a perusal of job listings. OTOH, a BSCS at a "good" college would involve some pretty intense courses, and despite the fact that I'm maintaining a GPA of 3.9, I'm not sure that I want to subject myself to that when I'll probably not have a use for the majority of the courses.
I live in Arizona, and Arizona State offers an online BSIT. I'll be guaranteed admission to ASU when I graduate from the CC. Also, they have a course equivalency guide that I can use to determine which courses at the CC will definitely transfer to ASU, instead of relying on the promises of an admissions counselor. However, the BSIT there requires a number of courses (at least 4 "core" courses, not gen-ed) that I think would be essentially worthless in an IT job. Overall, I would rate the curriculum at ASU as average at best. I much prefer the curriculum at Bellevue U and Strayer. However, I don't know how the actual quality of the courses compares to ASU. And, just as importantly IMO, I'm concerned that employers would not be nearly as receptive to a degree from either of these as they would to an ASU degree.
(tl;dr): So, my question is this: I'd like to get a good job in IT. Should I get a BSIT from a well-known state U, like Arizona State, even though many of the courses are not what I consider ideal (although I'll make up for some of that with certs)? Or should I pick the college with what appears to be the best BSIT curriculum, even though it may not be as respected by employers? Or should I do a BSCS, or something else (like BSCIS) instead, even if it probably means considerably more work, and would be less relevant to my "ideal" job? Thanks!
First, a bit of info about me (this is kind of long, sorry; if you want to skip the non-essential stuff, please go to the tl;dr at the bottom

Also, I'm working towards an AS (for transfer, not a trade degree) at the local community college. I'm halfway done with the AS. I'm planning my course schedule for next semester, and I need to select courses that I can transfer to a 4-year college, so I need to decide which one to attend (I'm pretty much set on getting a BS of some kind, for reasons of personal satisfaction as well as career advancement). I've spent a lot of time visiting college websites, trying to figure out which BS to pursue. I will have to take an entirely-online program.
Ideally, I think that I would probably be happiest in an IT job. However, I'm not quite convinced that a BSIT would open as many doors as a BSCS or even a BSCIS, based on a perusal of job listings. OTOH, a BSCS at a "good" college would involve some pretty intense courses, and despite the fact that I'm maintaining a GPA of 3.9, I'm not sure that I want to subject myself to that when I'll probably not have a use for the majority of the courses.
I live in Arizona, and Arizona State offers an online BSIT. I'll be guaranteed admission to ASU when I graduate from the CC. Also, they have a course equivalency guide that I can use to determine which courses at the CC will definitely transfer to ASU, instead of relying on the promises of an admissions counselor. However, the BSIT there requires a number of courses (at least 4 "core" courses, not gen-ed) that I think would be essentially worthless in an IT job. Overall, I would rate the curriculum at ASU as average at best. I much prefer the curriculum at Bellevue U and Strayer. However, I don't know how the actual quality of the courses compares to ASU. And, just as importantly IMO, I'm concerned that employers would not be nearly as receptive to a degree from either of these as they would to an ASU degree.
(tl;dr): So, my question is this: I'd like to get a good job in IT. Should I get a BSIT from a well-known state U, like Arizona State, even though many of the courses are not what I consider ideal (although I'll make up for some of that with certs)? Or should I pick the college with what appears to be the best BSIT curriculum, even though it may not be as respected by employers? Or should I do a BSCS, or something else (like BSCIS) instead, even if it probably means considerably more work, and would be less relevant to my "ideal" job? Thanks!
Comments
What I think everyone here can agree on is that you have to be good at what you do to excel in this business. If you have any one of those degrees you mentioned, getting an entry level help desk position should not be a problem. How far you go from there will depend on your dedication to yourself and your studies.
(tl;dr): Go with the school that you think will instill in you the most amount of relevent information as possible, because in the end, that's what is important.
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As far as the college thing goes, tprice5 said it. The subject has been beaten to death in this forum. In short, if you want a more technical degree, do the BS CS. If you want a mixture of business with general IT knowledge, do the BS CIS or BS IT. Personally, I am going the BS CIS route. I want a management role in the near future and I felt it would best prepare me for that. Some will argue that the reputation of the school is all that matters, while others will argue that its the degree that matters. I say its a little of both. As long as the school is regionally accredited and has some form of recognition, I'd say having a Bachelor's degree period is more important than the name of the school (so long as it isn't from "Crackhead University," or something like that).
2014 Goals: [ ] CCDP, [ ] CCNA Security, [ ] CCNP Security
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2014 Goals: [ ] CCDP, [ ] CCNA Security, [ ] CCNP Security
2015 Goals: [ ] Finish BS in CIS, [ ] CCIE R&S Written
2016 Goals: [ ] CCIE R&S
Go with the school that you personally will learn more from. Forget the name of the school - learn what you need to learn to succeed.
Please don't think my short answer is meant to offend, its not. Its just how I see things.
As someone who was in the same boat a few years back, I can tell you that you'll learn more about the nuts and bolts of things in the AS program. Once you transfer over your coursework will be more academia than routers or servers. So I say pick based on what matters most to you. Most of the time having a degree is a yes/no check-box and as long as its an accredited university you'll be fine.
Now, assuming you decide to go for an IT degree, I would recommend doing both N+ and CCNA. That is the route I did, and I felt like a huge chunk of the CCENT half of CCNA I already knew because of studying for the N+... no regrets there, especially if your school can get you discounted vouchers, which most community colleges can.
As far as school reputation goes, I would say the bigger and more prominent of a company you want to work for, the more important it will be. If your goal is to work at a Fortune 100, it will probably be easier to get in with a good school on your resume. If the corporate world isn't for you, then it probably won't matter as much. In either case, I believe a degree from ASU will serve you well, especially if you continue your same academic performance.
Hope this helps, and best of luck!
Also, when it comes to jobs, no one is looking at your coursework. It sounds like you have a decent amount of experience under your belt so the fact of the matter is a degree will be a check box for you. I'm finally at the stage where I won't be listing my coursework on my resume anymore. As a new grad I listed it because there wasn't a ton of experience to put on there, but now there is.
I always suggest that if you have the ability to do a CS degree that you do it. If not, IT/CIS for the most part is the same (plus or minus some business courses and perhaps programming). I know plenty of people in IT without an actual degree in IT/CS/CIS (Music Theory, English Lit, etc).
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I agree and disagree. I leave Nature Writing off my resume, but classes like Cisco Internetworking, Cisco Router Configuration, Cisco VLAN/WAN Technologies, A+ Essentials, Networking Essentials, and Database Theory/SQL are definitely listed and for good reason.