Jul 2, 2009
Back to School: Bachelor of Commerce at Athabasca University
Athabasca University: Canada’s Leader in Online & Distance Education
I have been thinking about trading up my 2 yr Honors Diploma i earned from Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in ‘03 for a Bachelor of Commerce Undergraduate Degree (BComm) from Athabasca University (AU) and i can say now that i have taken the first step in the process; i have officially registered in the program. After inquiring “how long it takes to for admissions to make their decision” i received “you will automatically be enrolled in the BComm program. You may go ahead and start taking courses “. On that note i believe i can safely say that i am indeed admitted into AU’s BComm program and a University student!! Wow, that feels great!
I feel if i want to further my Web Analytics career i will need to compete on this level. While browsing recent job descriptions i have noticed that having some sort of a BA/BS/BComm or equivalent degree is a common requirement whereas none that i read mention a College diploma and if they did i imagine they’d just couple it together with the hands-on/on-the-job experience bit.
During the AU application process i had the opportunity to be evaluated for transfer credits toward the degree and am still waiting on their response, although i have read on multiple discussion boards that other people in the same boat have been quite happy with the outcome. So that’s encouraging!
You figure a full 4yr AU undergrad degree is 120 credits; knock off say 1.5yrs or 45 transfer credits, that leaves 75 remaining credits (AU can only grant up to 50% total transfer credit); I could complete my 4yr degree in 2.5yrs. That’s if i do it full-time, however, i plan to go at it part-time whilst working full-time and, with my wife, raising a newborn as of August 16, ‘09.
If we break it down even further, AU gives you 6 months to complete one course which is 3 credits; if i can register in a new course every 2 months, that’s 6 courses/yr or 18 credits; that divided into the 75 required credits equals roughly 4 yrs realistically to complete my degree. I have a feeling though this could be quite demanding. So i may have to equate it like so: register in a new course every 3 months, that’s 4 courses/yr or 12 credits; that divided into the 75 required credits equals 6.25 yrs to complete my degree.
On the other hand if i receive full transfer credit, or 60 required credits to begin with, that would reduce my overall completion time by 1.25 yrs resulting in 5 yrs in total to complete my degree! We’ll see i guess, i’ll have to play it by ear and assess what i can get away with.
What do you think, can one still rely on their working experience alone? Coupled (work experience plus degree) do applicants stand a greater chance for career advancement?
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