Musings of an Internet Junkie

Winter semester at Baker officially kicks off tomorrow! During the first session, I will be taking Java Programming I and Discrete Mathematics. During the second session I will be taking Advanced Java Programming. I look forward to learning Java since some of its uses follow my own interests. Java is used as an embedded platform on cell phones, it is being used in Google’s Android, and it is being used on BluRay discs and players to name a few of its uses which interest me.

Fall semester at Baker Online came to a close yesterday and now I can finally relax a little for the next three weeks before beginning my next semester which includes another twelve credit hours while I work full time in a job which requires unpredictable travel. While I welcome the challenge, I must admit I have been looking forward to these next three weeks for the last couple and even though my work continues, school is just one less thing to worry about during these next few weeks.

During Fall Semester I took and successfully passed Objected Oriented Programming w/C++, Organizational Psychology, and Philosophy of Ethics. Once the Winter Semester arrives, I will be taking JAVA Programming, and Discrete Mathematics during the first half while finishing up the second half of the semester with Advanced JAVA Programming.

Well, after careful consideration and reviewing the current options available for online Computer Science degrees, it appears as if I will be staying with Baker College for the time being. My current job involves quite a bit of travel and the threat of travel which leaves me no room to take traditional classes at brick-and-mortar schools. One would think in this day and age more universities would offer their Computer Science degrees online.

I kind of get why there are not very many four-year engineering degrees online yet, and even then, technology in simulation software is catching up and allowing almost anything done in labs for four-year engineering degrees to be done via a workstation now. With that argument out of the way, it seems to come down to investing the time and money into setting up the online degree for such a small return as mentioned in the April, 2003 Prism article “Can Distance Education be Unlocked”. So why is there such a lack of online Computer Science degrees?

It appears, for the moment, that I will be withdrawing from Baker after this semester is completed. Since I began with Baker back during the Summer semester (2007), I have been asking whether or not the Bachelor of Computer Science degree is considered a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree because I would like to continue on, or have the change to continue on, to graduate school after I graduate. I finally received my answer from the advisers which stated the degree is considered neither a BS or BA in Computer Science and I would need to check with any graduate schools I am interested in applying to whether the degree would be accepted.

I would much rather attend a school which has a standard degree recognizable by any accredited institution. It appears my search will continue in seeking true, online Bachelor of Science degrees in either Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Computer Science. So far the only other school I have found offering this has been University of North Dakota and unfortunately their lack of communication turned me off of them the first time I was accepted and planned to attend. However, if they are still the only ones out there, I may have to re-apply. One would think in this day and age, more schools would be offering accredited engineering and science degrees online.

Not only has the summer heat diminished, but my summer classes are officially over today at midnight EST! This semester I took Intro to Databases, Internet and the WWW, and C++ Programming I at Baker College. I am still not sure why I had to take the class Internet and the WWW. This was an introductory course in using the Internet, specifically built around how to use Internet Explorer and search engines to find information on various topics. I have been on the Internet since 1993 and worked in various industries which have required quite an extensive use of Internet browsers and various search engines, yet Baker College has know way of testing out of the class and for some reason it is required for their Bachelor of Computer Science program. Bummer it was a waste of money but hey, I can’t complain about the easy A!

Fall semester, which starts in one week, has me taking three courses. They are Object Oriented C++ Programming, Organizational Psychology, and Ethics. Pretty intense load if I do say so myself and this semester will determine if I can continue to take a full class load and work a 40+ hour work week which includes traveling. I am confident I can do it and look forward to the challenge. I also look forward to the inevitable arguments which will arise in the Ethics class since my views tend to be different from most people’s views.