Discernment for cont'd education

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JLCecilia

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Please pray for me and my husband. He came home from visiting his friends in a college town this weekend and claims he wants to get a degree from the University of Phoenix for IT. This would be right up his alley and I think he’d enjoy this line of work, but it’s 3-4 years and the tuition is astronomical.

My big thing is that he has tried college 3 times and given up before the first semester’s end. Now he wants to try it staying home part-time with the kids and working evenings. I’m really skeptical and after the last attempt at our local community college and we paid all that money out of pocket I told him I would never support any future attempts at school. Now I’m softening a little. I would still like to see him get his basics at the community college and he even said he wouldn’t bother if he couldn’t get some financial assistance (i.e. loans).

I would really like this for my husband and hope it could open up opportunities for him to better provide for our family and possibly allow me to cut back or quit work altogether. While his current job is amazing for our family’s unique needs and pays well for someone without a college degree, I think we both want more. Just not sure if either of us is up to the challenge.

Lots of prayers please!
 
I would not go the for-profit college route. It’s too expensive, the quality is often not there, and their placement records are abysmal. If he can finish an associates at a Community College (much cheaper) he can probably then finish a BA through a local college’s “university college” program. University college programs are full degrees offered by local colleges where the classes are offered at night to accommodate the schedules of working adults.

Given his past failures, there is no way I would agree to invest family money into a more expensive, less secure option. You will just be sending your family into deep debt for what will likely be nothing! Don’t do it!
 
I agree SouthCatholic. My thoughts are to get his 2-year degree at our community college to test his salt and if all goes well, there’s a university just 30 min. south of us he could finish up at. Even with gas prices, the cost would be far less than the Univ. of Phoenix. And we have a SIL who is finishing up there and I believe they offer some online courses. We will see. I hope he gets serious this time.
 
I dropped out of University of Phoenix about 4 months ago, and I was going for the IT degree in Advanced Networking. Granted, I only did 2 classes, but my experience was a complete sham. I learned nothing that helped me in the way of actual IT skills, and I will be paying off the debt for most of this year. I’ve been doing this for 13 years already, and I thought the degree would help me get ahead, but that’s not the case. Anyone in the IT field, even if you are new to it, is better off going for technical certifications and skipping the degree altogether. Unless he plans on being a project manager soon and hasn’t been in the field very long, a computer science degree, especially one from UofP, is not going to help.

Save your money and run. Go to the local Community College for classes that will get him ready for certifications like Security+, CCNA, etc…:compcoff:
 
ahollars - that’s certainly good advice and I’m a little skeptical anyway. Will keep praying that if he’s really serious he’ll just start local. He was so sweet, too, when I asked him what prompted all of this and he said it’s b/c he feels this is the only way he can make it possible for me to stay at home. It sounds nice, but I’m sure there’s something else behind it. I’ve bought many a line in my day, but my attitude is to just give him a set budget to play with and let him do whatever he’s gonna do. I’m not too optimistic about anything that purports convenience. I’ll mention to him getting certified, those are normally pretty short programs and maybe each little piece of paper he earns will boost his motivation.
 
Certification prep classes are cumulative. You cannot take more than one at a time. You must finish one as a prerequisite for the next. Also, class does not guarantee that he will pass the certification exam itself. The exams are sponsored and regulated by the industry, not the school. He can get an A in class and fail the exam, because an exam’s passing score is much higher than traditional academic standards. Conversely, he could get a C in class and still pass the exam. Also, you have to pay the testing center for every attempt. If you don’t pass, they still get paid. Standards are high to protect the integrity of the test and makes sure that people who pass are indeed proficient. IT certifications are valid for only 3 years, after which you need to take the exam and pass again, which means staying on top of technology as it changes.

I’ll be diving into certifications myself soon. I’ve been doing self study, but I work on the systems at my job. If he cannot get hands-on experience, then he needs to go to a class where he can get lab-environment training. If he’s not studying anything else at the same time, he should be fine. Classes can fill up quickly, due to a shortage of qualified professors, so plan in advance. Good luck. 👍
 
Ok, well that sounds a lot like my cosmo license. I don’t practice anymore, but I still keep it up b/c it’s cheaper to renew every 2 years than to pay for the testing all over again and risk not passing the test 😛 And who knows, maybe in the future I’ll dabble again.
 
Your husband may be able to get grants and non-loan aid rather than loans, but remember that they count as taxable income (which may not make a difference in your case, but then again might!)
 
University of Phoenix has somewhat of a “diploma mill” reputation, that is, a place where you pay tons of money to get a piece of paper that says you have a college degree, but everyone knows you really didn’t learn anything.
 
Just_Lurking said:
University of Phoenix has somewhat of a “diploma mill” reputation, that is, a place where you pay tons of money to get a piece of paper that says you have a college degree, but everyone knows you really didn’t learn anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah, do not throw your money away at a place like this. It’s the kind of thing that is the butt of jokes. If he’s serious, have him go into a reputable program.
 
Well, DH has decided against UofP b/c it’s a for-profit college. He’s looking @ Western Governor’s University (online too). I’m asking at this point if prospective employers respect degrees from online universities. He says this one is non-profit so the tuition is cheaper and you get certified along the way. I believe the degree he’s going after will give him 13 certificates. The grading however is Pass/Fail and you have the opportunity to test out of courses.

Continuing to pray for God’s wisdom and discernment b/c I’m totally in the dark, trusting DH’s judgement.
 
From my experience, online degrees are not always taken seriously. You could end up wasting the money. Check the employment statistics for their graduates.
 
JLCecilia said:
Well, DH has decided against UofP b/c it’s a for-profit college. He’s looking @ Western Governor’s University (online too). I’m asking at this point if prospective employers respect degrees from online universities. He says this one is non-profit so the tuition is cheaper and you get certified along the way. I believe the degree he’s going after will give him 13 certificates. The grading however is Pass/Fail and you have the opportunity to test out of courses.

Continuing to pray for God’s wisdom and discernment b/c I’m totally in the dark, trusting DH’s judgement.
Click to expand...
If he wants to go the online route, have him do it through a reputable university. If he does that, his degree will be indistinguishable from a bricks and mortar degree from the same school. Avoid schools that are online only.
 
I agree with everything you’re saying - we have a junior college in town and a state university just 30 min. away I know he could utilize online classes from, but he isn’t hearing me when I bring it up. He’s so convinced on his ‘research.’ I wish he would just start at our local junior college to get his basics where the tuition is CHEEEAP and test his salt before venturing into some major commitment like this. Lord, give us wisdom and help us to cooperate and slow down and trust in You!
 
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