
Ask HN: Fully online CS degrees? - intermittently
Any recommendations for a worthwhile, fully online CS program?  I&#x27;m more interested in a BS than a BA, but if online programs are limited (and that seems likely), I won&#x27;t rule anything out.
======
wyc
When you're applying for online-only degrees, keep in mind what you're giving
up. While the quality of the education may be comparable, much of the value of
attending in-person is to build career-lasting relationships with smart,
interesting, and trustworthy people. For many of us, sitting directly across
from someone else while having a meaningful conversation is still unparalleled
by what any communications technology can offer us today.

Of course, everyone has a different situation so an online CS program might
actually be the best for you. For master's degrees, I've heard good things
about programs at GTech, UIUC, and UCB (UCB is data science only)...not too
much in the direction of undergraduate degrees.

~~~
jnwng
(full disclosure, i work as an engineer at coursera)

just wanted to highlight that one of the degrees that UIUC (University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) offers, the Master of Computer Science in Data
Science, is available on Coursera: [https://www.coursera.org/degrees/masters-
in-computer-data-sc...](https://www.coursera.org/degrees/masters-in-computer-
data-science)

the benefit of this is that the way we structure our degrees, they mostly end
up being a collection of courses and specializations already provided on the
platform; you can try some of the courses without having to go all-in on the
degree just yet. (of course, there's a ton of added benefits for enrolling in
the degree program, like high-engagement learning opportunities that you don't
normally get from the MOOC experience)

~~~
sk2code
I am an iMBA degree student at UIUC. I took a leap of faith and got admitted
in the iMBA program (Jan'17 cohort). I can say with confidence that UIUC is
not only the first one to give such an affordable education but their online
education platform is pretty stable.

Lots of my friends who are in the iMBA program are pretty serious about the
Masters in DS. They had to be, after all they are getting 2 masters degree for
half the price. I might be wrong but Berkeley is offering their DS Masters
(online program for 100k+)

~~~
brogrammernot
That’s through Coursera or the university directly?

It looks interesting but I’d have to qualify for federal financial aid to do
the program and trust the university more than Coursera.

------
dsp1234
If you already have a BS (or higher) in another field, then Oregon State
University has a 60 credit completely online computer science BS degree. They
have 1, 2, 3 and 4 year tracks depending upon each person's available time
commitment.[0]

If you already have a BS in computer science or a related field, then see this
comment[1]

[0] - [http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-
degrees/undergraduate/...](http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-
degrees/undergraduate/computer-science/)

[1] -
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15899756](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15899756)

~~~
xapata
If you already have a BS in another field, you might be better off taking
Georgia Tech's MS CompSci
([https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/](https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/)).

~~~
dsp1234
"Preferred qualifications for admitted OMS CS students are an undergraduate
degree in computer science or related field (typically mathematics, computer
engineering or electrical engineering) from an accredited institution with a
cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants who do not meet these criteria
will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; however, work experience will not
take the place of an undergraduate degree."[0]

So unless that other field is Math or computer-related, then that's not really
going to work, which is why I specifically mentioned "another field".

[0] - [https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-
criteria](https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-criteria)

~~~
lstyls
My spouse was accepted with a Psych BA + MS, and about twenty credits of CS at
various extension university programs.

~~~
skinnymuch
How much do you think the MS helped?

~~~
lstyls
Honestly I have no idea. I'm sure it didn't hurt, but couldn't say if it was a
deciding factor.

------
neverminder
Surprised nobody has mentioned Open University which just happens to be one of
the largest in the world -
[http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/q62](http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/q62)

~~~
playing_colours
I am getting a BSc in Mathematics there and enjoying is a lot. The first year
was easy, but to the third year it has become really serious.Tons of support
with forums, tutors, videos, great learning materials.

~~~
realitygrill
I'd be interested in hearing more about your experience, as someone who likes
math amateurly. How expensive is it and what's the process been like for you?

~~~
playing_colours
The application process is pretty easy, they do not require high school
diploma or something to start. The main thing is to manage your study, build
routine. Most people just leave on the way not because the topics are super
hard - the first year is easy - self study require self organisation and
discipline, particularly if you work full time. First year I took 120 points
like to cover full time first year study. Next years I took just half 60
points thus making left 2 years into 4. It is much more manageable.

On the third year you can choose from the variety of subjects: applied maths
like fluids, optimisation, etc., pure maths, statistics related, and physics
related. Very fun, but challenging.

------
adpoe
Good question.

I was looking into this a few years back, and ended getting my BS in-person,
at the big state school nearby. It paid off well.

That said, these are other online options I considered.

Portland State University -- has a BS in CS that's fully online. They also
have an option for people who are getting a 2nd BS, from another field. *
[https://www.pdx.edu/computer-science/progrgam-
preparation](https://www.pdx.edu/computer-science/progrgam-preparation)

Harvard Extension - Bachelor's in CS *
[https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-
de...](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-
degrees/bachelor-liberal-arts-degree/undergraduate-fields-minors)

Arizona State - BS in Software Engineering *
[https://go.asuonline.asu.edu/](https://go.asuonline.asu.edu/)

I had a co-worker during one of my internships going through this program, at
SNHU, fully online & remote, and he liked it a lot:
[https://www.snhu.edu/online-degrees/bachelors/bs-in-
computer...](https://www.snhu.edu/online-degrees/bachelors/bs-in-computer-
science)

Just some food for thought. There are many more options. Good luck!

~~~
canadiancreed
Had a look at the Harvard option and it looks like you need to attend some of
the courses on site as part of earning the degree, so it's not 100% online if
I read it correctly.

Source: [https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-
de...](https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-
degrees/bachelor-liberal-arts-degree/degree-requirements)

------
lebanon_tn
Bachelor's CS is hard to find for some reason. ASU and PSU have Software
Engineering bachelors which has the basics and covers a good bit of practical
knowledge but not so much theoretical. This is probably not ideal if you are
already a working software engineer and want stronger theory.

The University of Florida and Auburn University have online CS programs but I
don't know much about them.

~~~
brogrammernot
Came in to say ASU.

------
cdancette
For a master, you have The Georgia Tech OMSCS. Most of the on campus classes
are available.

~~~
eranation
Can attest to that (graduating from it next Friday!). Few points - the main
pitch for this is the cost, even if it was not a top 10 ranked MSCS program,
it was still one of the most cost effective degrees in the US. The total cost
for me was around $8,000 including everything (you can lower it if you take it
less slowly than I did).

The diploma is the same as the on-campus one by the way. I'm actually
attending the commencement ceremony there like all the on-campus students (I'm
from GA but some OMSCS students fly in just for the graduation ceremony)

One small correction, I wouldn't say that most of the on-campus classes are
available online, I'd say a great deal of them are, but there are many that
are offered only on-campus.

~~~
xapata
Don't be distracted by the rankings. Georgia Tech has an excellent computer
science department. Rankings often include mostly-irrelevant details like the
ratio of faculty to students. As far as I know, the rankings include
essentially no information about the quality of instruction.

~~~
eranation
Agree that ranking is not that important, p.s. Pardon my english, it's not my
first language, I might have wrote it badly. I meant event if it were not a
top 10 program (which it is) it would still have been worth it, just for the
cost. GA Tech MS in CS is current ranked #9 in USNews and World Report which
makes it even a better bargain.

------
Can_Not
If you're ok with BS in Information Technology instead of CS, WGU has a good
100% online program. If not, their masters degree programs may be a good
follow up (one of them is in security and may include one or more relevant
certifications).

~~~
Danihan
They also have Software Dev.

[https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/software-
development-b...](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/software-development-
bachelors-program.html)

And I believe CS coming "soon."

~~~
Fordrus
I'm finishing up at WGU in Software Dev but sure wouldn't mind switching to CS
proper - I keep hearing this and "soon," but can't pinpoint the source of the
rumors whatsoever - do you know where you heard / got the impression that CS
was coming to WGU?

~~~
Danihan
[https://twitter.com/wgu/status/851483303584514048](https://twitter.com/wgu/status/851483303584514048)

~~~
Fordrus
FANTASTIC, many many thanks!!! With that in mind, I can move forward in
relative peace, again, very grateful!! :)

------
j_s
Not quite on-topic, but some may not know about Harvard's Extension School:

[http://blog.markshead.com/911/harvard-online-masters-
degree-...](http://blog.markshead.com/911/harvard-online-masters-degree-in-
software-engineering)

Master’s degree (ALM in IT): mostly on-line (8 weeks on-campus) for appx.
$30K.

I think including cost info is helpful in this type of discussion.

------
pakitan
University of London: [https://london.ac.uk/courses/computing-and-information-
syste...](https://london.ac.uk/courses/computing-and-information-systems)

It's the cheapest I've seen - less than $10K total for the degree.

------
cweagans
University of the People
([https://www.uopeople.edu/](https://www.uopeople.edu/)) offers a tuition free
CS degree program (both an AS and a BS). Many of the course materials are
quite old (in some cases 5-10+ years), but this is really only a problem where
specific technologies are concerned (for instance, there's a mobile
applications class that covers Android 2.x). Many of the more general concepts
will still apply.

Note that you do have to pay for exams, which are $100/class. This works out
to be ~$4k for your entire CS degree.

~~~
hackermailman
This seems to be the cheapest accredited option, use University of the People
to get any kind of undergrad, then can pay for a masters in CS somewhere else.
(Too bad uopen doesn't have an applied math undergrad, then the material being
dated wouldn't matter).

There is Athabasca U in Canada which offers a fully online, and accredited BSc
in CompSci or Applied Mathematics, and the only requirements are 16+yrs old
(no transcripts or even highschool grad needed) but the fees are $900CAD or so
for 3 credit courses and you need to complete 120 credits so ~$35k for an
undergrad ($27k USD). [http://www.athabascau.ca/programs-
courses/](http://www.athabascau.ca/programs-courses/) whereas you could do
Upeople, obtain an undergrad and pay for Johns Hopkins MSc for the same cost.

~~~
canadiancreed
There's also been reports that Athabasca U is having funding issues at
present, for those looking at this option (which is the only option in Canada
for online in this field that I've found.)

------
shawndrost
If your goal is "become a software engineer", I would recommend you consider
other online options. Your rough ROI equation should be "cost = (tuition +
time-to-job * delta-in-salary) + cost-of-failure * odds-of-failure" and "odds-
of-failure" is the product of graduation rate * job placement rate. Online CS
programs tend to have higher time-to-job and unpublished job placement stats.
They may still be good options, but this is how I would evaluate.

Other online options:

    
    
        * Hack Reactor Remote http://hackreactor.com/remote
            * Disclaimer: I am a cofounder of Hack Reactor
            * "Online classroom" model (work with peers and teachers over videoconf, etc during set hours)
            * Time-to-job: 3 months program + job search, plus you may need a prep class to pass the entry interview
            * Odds-of-failure: See CIRR.org for grad and placement rate
        * Thinkful
            * "Mentor-supported" model (some meetings, lots of flex time)
            * Time-to-job: I think there is some info on CIRR.org
            * Odds-of-failure: See CIRR.org for grad and placement rate
        * Free Code Camp
            * "Self-driven" model (all driven by you, with online text communications and lots of local meetups)
            * Time-to-job: Not sure there is good data on this.
            * Odds-of-failure: See CIRR.org for grad and placement rate

~~~
bhaumik
re: Thinkful, we have a rigorous, full-time program that matches your
definition of "online classroom" as well as a flexible program for those who
can only commit part-time. Both offer 1-on-1 mentorship, with stats available
on CIRR.org.

OP - you're welcome to ping me (bhaumik@thinkful[dot]com) w/ any specific
questions. I run the full-time product.

~~~
unethical_ban
It looks like an interesting setup, but the requirement to provide email in
order to view the syllabus is offputting.

~~~
bhaumik
Ya I agree it’s annoying. Will flag this with our marketing team.

We teach the MERN stack with some CS theory (basic data structures &
algorithms). There’s also a heavy focus on building so your portfolio pieces
will start with wireframes and end with deployment and code reviews.

------
WhitneyLand
Don’t want to be cynical. Why don’t the top 5 CS program online undergrad or
masters degrees?

The cynical view is the De Beers conjecture. Artificial scarcity is used to
maintain prestige, brand equity for the university
([http://aei.org/publication/on-the-economics-of-diamonds-
the-...](http://aei.org/publication/on-the-economics-of-diamonds-the-biggest-
marketing-scam-in-history-orchestrated-by-the-most-successful-cartel-ever)).

The generous view is that they are just trying to find a way to ensure a high
bar of quality and experience, and as soon as that’s possible they’ll all have
options.

I believed MIT has come closest - you can in principal enter a program without
a 99% percentile GRE score (or any GRE score) if you can do the work. You have
to spend some time on campus, but in the end it’s an MIT degree without an
asterisk. For some reason they’ve not picked Computer Science as one of the
first programs.

Berkeley’s data science programs do not offer computer science degrees, and
unfortunately are not even in the college of engineering. It’s a shame because
a lot of the math/work there is a starting foundation for machine learning.

------
vidanay
This past autumn I enrolled in the DePaul University online degree completion
for CS. As the name states, it is not a four year program, you need to have
basically your freshman year completed elsewhere. I have only taken a single
class so far which worked out good. Starting in January I will be in a
Discrete Math course so it will be a bit more intense so I will see how that
goes.

When researching a program, I had narrowed it down to the following options:

* DePaul University

* University of Illinois at Springfield

* Arizona State University

* University of Maryland University College

* University of Florida

I ended up choosing DePaul because of the name recognition and the fact that I
can actually visit the campus for advising, activities, etc. They also do not
have a distinction on their diploma stating that the degree is "online", it is
the same as a residence degree.

It may seem petty, but one of my criteria for choosing a school was that if I
had ever heard or seen the school advertised on TV or radio, I wasn't
interested. I wanted a school that was invested in academics and not
advertising.

------
muymoo
I graduated from UIUC with a MSCS ‘14 (online).

\- Did my CS undergrad at top school on site ‘11 \- Worked full time in Bay as
software developer since undergrad graduation, 2011. \- Employer paid MS
tuition

Pros: \- I learn a lot better from doing than listening. I’d watch the
lectures at 2x speed. Felt like I could actually pay attention until the end.
\- Learned how to read papers. \- Challenged me to keep learning outside of
work. I keep studying new stuff even now otherwise I look back and feel lazy.
\- Taught by best of the best.

Cons \- Group projects can be a little hard to organize with on site students
\- Summer courses are accelerated but your full time job does not get any
lighter. Summer classes are very hard with a full time job. Take something
fluffy.

Anecdotally, my friends who took online classes at GTech complained that it
was too easy. UIUC was definitely not easy and you get access to some top
professors. Salary wise, I don’t know how much it mattered but if your
employer pays for it, it’s a no brainer.

~~~
senatorobama
What company is paying for MS?

------
USNetizen
The University of Maryland (a fully accredited and well respected State
school) has a completely online CS program (Bachelor of Science with an option
for several minors and specializations as well). Having taken part of my CS
program on-site (at other schools) and part with them online, I can say it is
very comparable to other programs, quite rigorous, and you get a lot out of
it.

You do lose out on some networking opportunities, but I was an older (military
veteran) student anyway and couldn't stand the immaturity of most of my
classmates while attending in-person class. I found the online ones more
distraction-free. It will require quite a bit of discipline, especially in the
mathematics courses, to get through it but it is definitely a great program
and affordable at the same time.

~~~
canadiancreed
Is this the one you're referring too?

[http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/bachelors-
degrees/comp...](http://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/bachelors-
degrees/computer-science-major.cfm)

------
jasonjei
NC State offers nearly the entire repertoire of CS-level classes online
(discrete math, C programming language, computer organization & assembly, data
structures, algorithms, design patterns/OOP, operating systems, automata,
etc). Videotaped lectures and proctored exams. NC State transfers well, and
they are credited no differently from an in-person class. No special asterisk
or transcript annotation lowering the value of the credit.

However, you’ll have to get the vast majority of your bachelor General
Education elsewhere (Rio Salado online CC, ASU Online, etc) such as English,
Humanities, Calculus, Linear Algebra, etc.

[https://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/](https://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/)

------
cosmosa
I am currently 60% through the GT omscs program. I’d say it’s good for your
money. So far I have been unimpressed with the quality of the recorded
lectures both compared to other recorded lectures and on campus lectures.
Group projects are a pain. The focuses especially in ML are weak, you really
have to do a lot of work on your own in order to be competent in a
specialization. Because of the lack of courses they offer I’ve ended up taking
3 / 6 courses which I didn’t need to take or enjoy taking. I’d say it’s best
if you want to get a well rounded overview of some modern trends in cs rather
than focusing on any specialization.

~~~
petrbela
> you really have to do a lot of work on your own in order to be competent in
> a specialization

Totally agree with this. For courses like AI, ML, and RL, I watched lectures
from Berkeley and Stanford in addition to the GT lectures, and that really
helped me understand it better.

> get a well rounded overview of some modern trends in cs

That's usually the case for a master's. PhDs are more in-depth.

------
hungerstrike
[https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/software-
development-b...](https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/software-development-
bachelors-program.html)

------
psergeant
This doesn’t meet any of your criteria, but will be interesting to some:

[http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/softeng/](http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/softeng/)

MSc in Software Engineering, from Oxford. Designed to be doable around a real
job, over four years. No undergrad degree required. You need to be onsite for
11 weeks over four years. Modular, and you can fit to your interests and
timetable. Cost was about £25k for the whole thing.

~~~
m1keil
Thanks for the link.

Although fees seems a bit higher:

The projected total cost of an MSc at 0% inflation is £32,140 (or £27,380 for
students accorded Home/EU status). The actual cost will depend upon the
selection of modules and the total time taken to complete, but may be easily
estimated. Any substantive change to this fee structure will apply only to
subsequent registrations.

(from website)

------
cdevs
I did a year of community college courses and all but 2 of them were online.
In person I hated 19 year olds wasting class time that I've paid for and loved
being able to push forward online on my time. I would be interested in
finishing up online, spare me the social interaction / frustration. That's my
take on things and may not fit everyone but I see a end to the expensive
roadblock as more education goes online.

------
danaliv
University of Illinois Springfield offers a BS: [https://csc.uis.edu/online-
undergraduate-admission](https://csc.uis.edu/online-undergraduate-admission)

You can save major bucks by doing your gen ed at a community college and then
transferring. (Edit: just noticed you already have a BA in another field, so
your gen ed is probably all set.)

------
g0thams-
I have two suggestions:

University of the People:
[https://www.uopeople.edu](https://www.uopeople.edu). It's accredited,
nonprofit, and has several 'big name' partners like Microsoft, IBM, and Intel.

And Western Governor's University(wgu.edu), also nonprofit and accredited.

------
DoreenMichele
I don't have firsthand knowledge of online CS programs, but I have spent time
pursuing an online BS (in Environmental Resource Management). So, this is some
of what I know:

Sacramento State, which I personally visited (in meatspace) while
investigating online/distance learning Master's, has some excellent programs.
I dug around and their site points to what is supposedly an entirely online CS
program from a California university here:

[https://csumb.edu/scd/cs-online-degree-completion-
bs](https://csumb.edu/scd/cs-online-degree-completion-bs)

A good resource for anyone interested in taking either online classes or
getting a degree in California is California Virtual Campus:

[https://cvc.edu/](https://cvc.edu/)

You can search the database for classes you need. I have taken classes from
several California colleges in the process of trying to complete my online
Bachelor's, some in person and some online.

Penn State was the other thing I researched years ago that looked good to me,
but I recall it being spendy. I am just going to point you to their home page
and you can dig around and see if they have a program that interests you:

[https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/](https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/)

I was mostly looking for either GIS programs or Urban Planning programs to
further my education after my bachelor's (or looking for classes to fill in
the holes in my undergrad education, because I have an AA in Humanities and
needed more science classes to complete the requirements of my BS). But my
recollection is that Sacremento State and Penn State were two well established
online and distance learning programs more than 10 years ago when this was not
common. So I think they likely know what they are doing and are not fly-by-
night deals.

------
putinontheritz
Do any of these programs offer a way to trade experience via testing for
credits? I went the hands in way 20 years ago and have done really well with
it, but I sometimes wonder if having the degree would be helpful.

~~~
kbp
You can challenge courses at most schools if you already know the material.

~~~
putinontheritz
Thanks! Definitely something to check into then.

------
vesrah
What is the cheapest route from an AS in something like computer networking to
a BS in CS? I'm 5 years into mid-level development jobs, so I'm not sure if
it's even worth the money.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Just curious, do you do any comp sci in your developing role, what sorts of
stuff; or is it mainly programming.

~~~
vesrah
Eh, no real compsci stuff, it's full stack .NET MVC / Angular 5. I'd like to
move towards something more complex in the future, and I figured a degree
would help me get into a larger company. I'm not entirely sure if that is
true, or if I really want to work somewhere that has a hard stop on requiring
one.

------
kotrunga
ODU (Old Dominion University) has an online cs program, ranked in the top 10
of online cs programs for undergrad. I work with an engineer who completed his
degree through there.

------
lanana
Hi everyone! As far as I understand from the links below, finding a BS program
that costs less than 20000-25000$ is unreal, right?

------
dgbarnes
Some things I've learned about school. I'm looking to apply to a masters
program, so this might vary a little bit, but hopefully it's helpful:

* If you already have a bachelors, chances are getting further education doesn't make sense from an ROI/opportunity cost standpoint. That's ok though--there are other reasons to further your education. Just run some numbers and know what you're getting yourself into though.

* Community college can be an excellent value, especially for more introductory classes that have a pretty defined curriculum. Outside of that, quality seems to vary more and it's possible your credit won't transfer or satisfy the prerequisites to your program of choice. Unfortunately, most community colleges don't seem to have university-level courses beyond the basics. Leading to...

* Computer science programs have a lot of variation in terms of their curriculum, so it can be hard to piecemeal classes from different sources. At the masters level (which, if you have a bachelors already you might consider) most programs expect you to come in with something of a bachelors-ish level background in computer science, and if you don't, they'll have you take their curriculum. It seems like having professional experience helps in terms of consideration, but not in terms of coursework.

* There are a ton of online programs out there. For what I'm looking at though (MSCS), they work pretty similarly. You can take classes on a per-class basis, then apply to the program, and they'll accept some amount of units toward the degree (note that you can't apply units from your undergrad degree). I know this is the case with Stanford's SCPD program, and I believe it's also true of USC and Columbia.

* Online programs can be pretty expensive on a per-unit basis. Taking one class at a time helps with the sticker shock. Also, there are a lot of professional programs that take less time. Personally, I'm hoping to do a research project, so that won't work for me, but it might for you.

* You can also take classes on an "open" basis at a local university, which is nice for the odd class that is tangentially required that you don't want to pay a lot of money for. For example, I'm taking probability theory at SFSU right now.

A little about me: I'm currently taking classes in preparation to apply to a
masters program. I have a BA in economics, but I've been developing software
professionally since 2008. I'm currently doing the "Foundations in Computer"
science courses through Stanford's SCPD program to provide a coherent core
curriculum before applying to programs.

------
nnd
Would it make sense to take a formal CS degree for someone with an
engineering/math degree? Does having a master's degree in CS help you become a
better entrepreneur/engineer considering the cornucopia of knowledge provided
by MOOCs?

------
voidlogic
Does anyone know of any online PhD programs?

------
flipfloppity
Columbia University has a distance learning option called CVN. They offer an
MS in CS. The degree/diploma is identical to getting a Master's on campus.

------
vram22
Saylor?

saylor.org

For the knowledge; not sure if they give you a degree.

------
Frogolocalypse
[http://open.edu.au](http://open.edu.au) partners with a number of Australian
universities like RMIT and Griffith, and five or six others, to deliver all of
the content online. However each subject generally still has an invilgated
exam. From what i understand though, even these exams can be undertaken in a
host of other countries.

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Sundiata
You can get an entire free curriculum from Open Source Society (OSS) and a lot
of their classes you can get credited for, however it's mostly a curated list
of free resources like classes offered from MIT and Stanford and various other
schools last time I checked. Might be worth looking into.

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janoc
Worthwhile and "fully online" are pretty much mutually exclusive.

If you want a degree then actually go to the college. Watching videos is very
different than actually talking to lecturers face to face, doing exercises
under supervision and guidance, having access to labs and having someone to
ask if you don't know something.

There is also the aspect of self-discipline - it is very easy to goof off
instead of doing your homework and sitting in front of long lectures on a
computer. In a college where you are likely paying tuition you will likely
think twice whether you flunk a test or a project or not, forcing you to
actually work on your knowledge.

There is also the aspect that pretty much no employer (or grad school) will
recognize your online-only "degree". So you may have learned a lot but in the
end wasted your time because it doesn't bolster your credentials in any way.

Online programs are a good complement to a classical curriculum on campus but
not really the same quality.

~~~
lebanon_tn
You could hold n amount of dollars in an escrow account that would donate it
all to charity if you didn't make solid grades if you really wanted to.

All the other problems you cited are instances of baseless bias or could be
addressed in an online setting. I suppose it depends on the university you
attend but I never experienced "doing exercises under supervision and
guidance" and indeed, people who can only work/be motivated in that setting
woulud probably make terrible professional developers.

