Not sure my college is good for Programming

[imported_Gregor]

I need some advice maybe from people who have gotten their degrees and know stuff about computer programming degrees and what employers look for. I want to talk to some different companies about getting a computer programming degree at this college and if its good or not. If you know some large companies that I could search for I'd appreciate it.

The reason I'm having trouble is I read this article on my college and it being sued for misleading its students. Apparently people would get their associates there and try to transfer to another college and none of their credits would transfer over. Apparently they were told they would have no problem transfering. I was planning on getting my bachelor's in Computer Information Science. Very computer programming heavy, I'm told. I just started there so I haven't spent a lot of money. I'm concerned because if their associates degrees are worthless when transfering to other colleges, then how good are their bachelors and stuff for getting good jobs? The college is Florida Metropolitan University or FMU.
Not sure if companies would take the time to tell me if a degree at this college would be worth hiring or not. I believe its ACICS accredited. The level of school there is very low. The hardest math on their placement test was dividing fractions no algebra. I think any middle schooler could probably have passed their test. Also the classes, even though I'm only in the first 2, are suspiciously easy.

Anyways any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm young and a little unknowledgable about this stuff and don't really know anyone to ask. I feel like if I ask the school they won't tell me the truth.

 

[EagleKeeper]

1) Check if the school is fully accredited or which programs are.

2) Find out from your target school if they will accept credits.

Many of these small schools do NOT have the course work that is accredited. They will grant you a degree, but the quality becomes suspect.
This you are noticing.

You would be better off going to a state JC getting as much computer courses as possible and then transferring to a 4 year with those credits.


A quick search on Goggle raises all sorts of questions/concerns.
For profit
Career & Technical Training

Florida Metropolitan University's mission is to provide men and women of all ages with the practical skills, education and training needed to excel in their chosen fields. FMU offers Associate, Bachelors and Masters degrees in many divers fields such as Criminal Justice, Criminal Investigations, Medical Insurance Billing/Coding, Medical Assisting and Business.

Any school can label themselves as an University and offer a degree. The accreditation is what is critical.

For employers in the area, those that want quality w/ a degree will stear clear of people coming from those schools.

For employers that may want someone with decent exposure in a specific field, then the person may be useful.

This is equivalent to ITT
They rake you over the coals for tuition and give you a trade school education claiming that it is a degree.

 

[911paramedic]

"You would be better off going to a state JC getting as much computer courses as possible and then transferring to a 4 year with those credits."

I just signed up for 18 units at a local JC, all transferable. (few programming classes and some gen ed stuff.) Additionally, a counselor told me if I show her my DD214 I get 10 credits just for boot camp. (I'll get additional for my other schools as well.)

Looking back that deal would have sucked, but since its been so long its a great deal. :beer:

P.S. I also get credit for paramedic school, but like the schools you are talking about they are now out of business. Luckily, they were accredited by the state, so the state just needs to send a sealed transcript/accreditation form to the JC for my credits. Glad 1200+ hours of education weren't lost because the school went out of business.

 

[kamper]

In my experience (8 months out of university + 6 semesters of co-op), companies don't hire you for where you got your education as much as for how good you are. Some very smart people can come out of a crappy college and some (fairly) dumb people can come out of a respected university program. That isn't to say that some places don't judge you based on where you come from, but I'd rather not work at those places

 

[EagleKeeper]

US Government Dept of Education - Accreditation Info

The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. Here you will find lists of regional and national accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education or training offered by the institutions of higher education or higher education programs they accredit.