How do I find out if a college is truly accredited? I am considering attending a college in my town and I’m not sure if it’s really accredited or not. The site says that it is accredited by the “Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools”. However, the school is not regionally accredited. I may consider getting a master’s later at a school like the University of Florida or the University of Central Florida. Would those Universities still accept me as a student even though the school I am trying to attend isn’t regionally accredited? The name of the school that I am considering attending is “Jones College” in Jacksonville, Florida.
As you say, the school is not regionally accredited. That could make things difficult if you want to pursue ensuing studies at a regionally-accredited (RA) institution. It’s not impossible to climb the accreditation ladder from NA to RA, but it’s highly improbable.
I’d set Jones aside as a contender and focus on RA schools if I were you. If you are tied to remaining in Jacksonville, you still have multiple RA options (UNF, Jax U, FSU@Jax).
Here is a list of all of the RA schools in Florida:
<a href=“http://www.sacscoc.org/searchResults.asp[/url]”>http://www.sacscoc.org/searchResults.asp</a>
Yes, I have to remain in Jax. I am living with my father and brother right now, and we all split the bills between us. Living in Jacksonville is the only way that I can survive.
I got my A.A. from Florida State College at Jacksonville, as you mentioned. It was a good school and I know that it’s accredited. However, it only offers a B.A.S. degree in Information Technology and to get into that program, you must first get the AS degree that goes along with it. In order to that, I would have to pay for 9 classes out of pocket and then, and only then, would financial aid then pick up the slack, and pay for the rest of my bachelor’s. Plus, since it’s a B.A.S. degree, I don’t know if I could get a master’s down the road with that degree.
JU is a good school, but their prices are so high that it’s not even an option for me. The school charges 15,000 a semester to attend that University and that’s WAY out of my budget.
Currently, I am a student at UNF, and it’s not a bad place, but it’s almost impossible to work and go to school while attending that University. All the classes are from 9 to 5. They have almost no night classes there, and they have no online classes either. This makes it very hard for me right now, because I’m broke and I really need to be working every chance that I get.
I only thought about Jones college because they have day classes, night classes, and online classes and that would make it a lot more easy for me to both work and go to school. But you say that because the school isn’t regionally accredited that it make it hard to get into a University like UF or UCF?
Yep, the national accreditation would definitely make it difficult to get into those schools later. Not impossible, necessarily, but for many reasons RA schools have a strong incentive to “keep it in the family”.
If you are open to online, Arizona State has a BS in IT that you can complete entirely online. Regionally-accredited, no sneaky “in Extension Studies”-type language on the degree to indicate you got it online. You can even go walk across the stage when you graduate.
But it’s in Arizona though. That is out of State Tuition, and I can’t hack that. It’s just gonna be too much money. Is there any place in Florida that you can think of that offers an IT or an Information Science Bachelor’s that is also regionally accredited?
ASU tuition (on-line) is pricey, but it’s the same rate for in-state and out-of-state students.
[Tuition</a> | ASU Online Degree Programs | Arizona State University](<a href=“Page Not Found 404 | ASU online”>Page Not Found 404 | ASU online)
"For students enrolled in a fully online degree program, ASU undergraduate tuition ranges from $460 to $523 per credit hour, regardless of residency status, with no additional program fees. Specific tuition amounts for each program are listed on the individual program pages.
Students who study online typically enroll in two or three classes per 7 ½ week session; the majority of courses offered are three credits."
The BS in IT rate is $485 an hour. It’s expensive, but very flexible, and the degree will be worth far more than one from Jones College.
[Information</a> Technology Online Degree | ASU | Arizona State University](<a href=“Page Not Found 404 | ASU online”>Online IT Degree — Information Technology BS | ASU Online)
UF online program is launching in January. It’s rate is very good for in-state students, $129 an hour ($517 for OOS), but this point they have a limited selection of majors.
The following majors are available:
Biology
Business Administration
Criminology & Law
Environmental Management in Agriculture and Natural Resources
Health Education & Behavior
Psychology
Sport Management
More majors should be available, each year. Within 10 years they plan on offering 35 majors. UF is selective and you would have to meet transfer requirements.
Good Luck!
Look guys, I appreciate your help but I’m probably gonna skip the Arizona online thing. I have ADD from hell, and I have never failed on online class before, but the thing is that I feel like I need to take at least one class physically in a college classroom each semester to keep me focused. I tend to have too poor of a conscientious level to make that work.
Is the Jones college degree really that worthless? I mean, if I wanted to go to grad school with that degree, who would take me? Also, I always have the option of going back to my old college at Florida State College at Jacksonville. The only problem is that I would have to pay for 9 college classes out of pocket. However, that’s not really that bad though, because the classes are just a little over $100 a credit hour, which is really cheap for college. Then, after that financial aid would pay for the rest of my bachelor’s.
The only thing is that the degree is a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and not a typical B.A. or B.S. degree like colleges generally like to see. Would that pose a problem when trying to apply to master’s programs at places like UCF, USF, and UF? Also, would financial aid not make me pay back the loans until I was actually taking less than 6 credit hours a semester? After all, I can’t afford to pay out of pocket for the classes and pay back the loans at the same time.
I’m sure a BAS would be fine. Take advantage of the academic advising at UNF and run both the Jones College and FSCJ BAS option by them. See which they would accept into their master’s program. You can also talk with the FSCJ folks and ask them if any recent BAS grads have gone to grad school, and if so, which schools accepted them.
Good Luck!
But I thought that the BAS degree was a terminal degree and that you couldn’t get a master’s with it? I guess that you think that they would accept it because it’s from a regionally accepted college, huh? Also, just out of curiosity, could I still get student loans if I did the Arizona University online thing? Also, I heard that the way that those classes work is that that you only take one class at a time, but you take a class every 8 weeks, is that true?
BAS is not really a terminal degree. It’s an applied, professionally-oriented degree. But so is a masters in IT. The BAS might not get you into an MS CompSci or similar less-applied graduate program, but it ought to be sufficient for an MSIT.
I’d like your chances for admission to an RA grad program better with an RA BAS degree than a non-RA BS or BA. But, I am not an admissions officer. As Gator suggests, it is a great idea to take advantage of the advisors and administrators you are already paying for and ask them whether the BAS or the Jones program could get you into a good graduate program. They make that sort of decision every day.
Ultimately, it sounds like the BAS will be a good investment for you. Even if you have to pay those 9 classes out of pocket, that $3500-ish outlay will get you access to financial aid at a regionally-accredited school in the subject you want to study. Compared to the lifetime of earnings ahead of you, that’s a small investment for a big return, even though I know it is a lot of money for your circumstances right now.
As for the ASU online program, yes, most of the courses are half-semester courses (8 weeks). You can take more than one at a time, but working full-time you’d probably only want to do one. You’d be finishing 2 classes per semester, but you’d be able to focus on one at a time.
Another online option would be Western Governor’s University. Flat tuition of ~$3000 per 6 month term, take as many or as few classes as you like. It would have somewhat less prestige in both the job market and the academic community, but it would also have the advantage of being very pragmatic. For the IT degrees at WGU, you typically earn 10 or more standard industry certifications that are common job requirements in the industry. So you have a head start on employment after finishing the degree. [Online</a> IT Degree | Information Technology Bachelor Degree | WGU College of Information Technology](<a href=“http://www.wgu.edu/online_it_degrees/bachelor_degree_programs]Online”>Online IT Degrees – Information Technology Bachelor’s Programs | WGU)
Whichever way you go, I recommend taking some time to work in the industry between the bachelors and masters degrees. There is much that you will only be able to learn with on-the-job experience, and having that experience will prepare you to make the most of whatever masters program you pursue. Also, if you can find employment with a company that provides tuition reimbursement, you may well be able to do your masters at a discount, or even free.
Ok that Western Governor’s University looks like the best thing that I have seen so far. With that degree I will earn the A+ certification, the cisco certification, and others. The only thing that I would ask is: Is the West Governor’s University a regionally accredited school? Also, could I still get financial aid and loans if I went to that school? Finally, could I get a masters at one of the Universities that I mentioned if I attend that school?