The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5) - Gettin' Me Some Book Learnin'

Gettin' Me Some Book Learnin'

I know this topic has been done to death but....

I am going back to school to finish up my bachelor's degree. I was considering going to DeVry because they have a wicked on-line program. My question is what does anyone think about DeVry University? They told me that they are accredited through NCA. That's the same association that accredits public "traditional" universities.

But reactions I get about going there are anything but positive. I asked the Adminssions Advisor about this and he said that on the East coast and in Chicago DeVry is considered a good school. But in Colorado and the West DeVry is new in the market and that's where you get the "DeVry is a tech school" mentality.

Any thoughts?

shiggins
Thursday, February 12, 2004

I attended DeVry Institute of Technology in Toronto and graduated with honors from the Computer Information Systems Degree granting program.

I am currently a Senior Database Manager and I tell you DeVry was not a good choice.

If you want to be held by the hand and carried through an IT program DeVry is for you. However, if you are the type of person that needs this type of guidance you will have a hard time in an IT career. Above all, compared to other technical training, it is disproportionately overpriced.

I recommend two possibilities:

1) If you want to stay on the technical side through your entire career take some one or two year college program preferably with a good Coop option like Sheridan College. After that, you can complement your training by getting industry-respected certifications as you gain experience.

2) If you want to start technical and move into management, go to a public university and complement that education with certifications.

Whatever you decide, do your research and try to speak with current and former students of the school.

Jhon Doe
Thursday, February 12, 2004

Devry is one of those places with lots of silly ads on TV,
along the lines of "I used to have a McJob - I went to Devry
and now I'm an IT PROFESSIONAL making the BIG BUX".

This may attract suckers - er, students - but it doesn't
do much for its reputation otherwise.

x
Thursday, February 12, 2004

You can attend traditional colleges online as well.

http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/ is a decent example.

They do not have a computer science program, but the do have MIS, which is what I'm doing. THe price is roughly the same as what you would pay if you were attending traditional classes, and if you are fortunate enough to live nearby you can mix and match online and traditional programs.

I even managed to get a scholarship this year.

As far as the quality of the courses, it's the same instructors teaching the courses (although the pool is larger since the teacher can be at any of the TBR schools). The only real difference I've noticed is that you don't waste time with instructors who basically regurgitate the book. The only downside, is that for difficult classes you've pretty much got to slog through it yourself and find the answers.

Oh, and group projects are annoying since you probably aren't nearby to anyone in your group.

--Steve

Steve Barbour
Thursday, February 12, 2004

Here are two sites to look at, one is a reference to a book:
http://www.degree.net/books/computer_degrees.html
The other is a link to a distance eductaion search engine that returns traditional schools: http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/search.asp
I personnally know of Masters programs (Colorado State and the University of Idaho and the University of Ill. offer distance MCS or MS CS programs). Oh the reference to the book site has links to general degree programms.

A Software Build Guy
Thursday, February 12, 2004

A test of the Peterson site gave fits so here is a more general site http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/ that should work. I would look into traditional public schools because they carry more 'weight' in the minds of employers.

A Software Build Guy
Thursday, February 12, 2004

Try http://computing.open.ac.uk/home/

AND you get to go to Milton Keynes for the summer school!

Thursday, February 12, 2004