My Review of TRU Online Computer Science Degree
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the reviewer shares their experience with the Tru online computer science program, highlighting its flexibility and self-paced nature as major pros. They appreciate the program's equivalent degree to on-campus studies and the helpful professors. However, they also discuss cons such as limited course availability, lack of lectures, insufficient career support, a challenging start, and absence of final reviews. Despite these drawbacks, the reviewer finds the program life-changing and recommends it, offering tips on buying used books and seeking help during the initial tough phase.
Takeaways
- 😀 The Tru online computer science program is highly flexible and self-paced, allowing students to complete courses within a six-month window or even quicker if they are already familiar with the material.
- 🔄 Tru is accommodating with extensions, making it easier for students with full-time jobs or other commitments to manage their coursework.
- 🎓 The degree obtained through the online program is equivalent to the on-campus degree, ensuring the same qualification and recognition.
- 👨🏫 Professors in the program are responsive and helpful, typically replying to student inquiries within 24 to 48 hours.
- 🤔 The program fosters excellent self-learning skills, which are invaluable in the workforce, but this comes at the cost of less direct support compared to on-campus learning.
- 🔍 Not all courses are available through Tru, requiring students to take some courses at other universities, which can create a bottleneck in the process.
- 📚 The lack of lectures in the online program is noted as a downside, as having recorded lectures could enhance the learning experience.
- 💼 There is a significant lack of career help for online students compared to on-campus students, including limited access to Co-Op opportunities.
- 🆙 The beginning of the program can be very challenging, especially for those without a background in computer science, and additional support like tutoring could be beneficial.
- 📝 Final reviews are not as comprehensive as they could be, with professors often advising students to review the entire course material rather than providing specific guidance.
- 👍 Despite the cons, the speaker highly recommends the degree, as it was life-changing and provided an accessible path to a computer science education.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video review?
-The main focus of the video review is to share the speaker's personal experience with the Tru online computer science program, discussing its pros and cons, and whether they would recommend the degree.
How does the speaker describe the flexibility of the Tru online program?
-The speaker describes the program as very flexible and self-paced, allowing students to complete courses within a six-month window but also giving the option to finish faster if they are able to grasp the material quickly.
What was the speaker's experience with course extensions in the Tru program?
-The speaker found the extension process to be very easy and accommodating, even when their requests fell outside the typical extension policy, as the supervisors were understanding and helpful.
How does the Tru program handle credit transfers?
-Tru makes an effort to transfer credits from previous college courses and work experience, allowing the speaker to take the minimum number of courses necessary to obtain their degree.
Is the online degree from Tru considered equivalent to an on-campus degree?
-Yes, the online degree from Tru is the same as the on-campus degree, which the speaker considers a significant advantage.
How responsive were the professors in the Tru program when the speaker had questions?
-The professors were very helpful, typically responding to questions via email within 24 to 48 hours.
What is the speaker's view on the importance of self-learning in the Tru program?
-The speaker sees self-learning as a pro because it's an invaluable skill for life and the workforce, but also acknowledges it as a con due to the lack of immediate support compared to on-campus learning.
What issue did the speaker encounter with course availability in the Tru program?
-The speaker encountered that not all courses were available through Tru, requiring them to take some courses at another university, which added a bottleneck to the process.
Why does the speaker believe adding lectures to the online courses would improve the learning experience?
-The speaker believes that having lectures, in addition to textbook readings, would provide an additional way of learning that could help solidify concepts faster and more easily.
What is the speaker's opinion on the career help provided to online students by Tru?
-The speaker feels that the lack of career help, such as Co-Op opportunities, is a significant drawback for online students, as they do not receive the same support as on-campus students.
What challenges did the speaker face during the initial stages of learning programming in the Tru program?
-The speaker found the initial ramp-up period very challenging, especially without the immediate support of tutors or professors that would be available in an on-campus setting.
What advice does the speaker give for students considering the Tru program?
-The speaker advises to buy used or online books to save money, seek help when needed, especially during the challenging start, and to stay disciplined to succeed in the program.
Would the speaker recommend the Tru online computer science degree?
-Yes, despite the cons mentioned, the speaker would recommend the degree because it was worth it for them and completely changed their career trajectory.
Outlines
🌟 Online Flexibility and Supportive Professors
The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the viewers' time and proceeds to share their experience with the Tru online computer science program. They highlight the program's flexibility, which was crucial for them as they were working full-time and attending another on-campus program. The self-paced nature of the courses, with a six-month window for completion and the ease of obtaining extensions, is praised. Additionally, the speaker appreciates the program's ability to transfer credits from previous work and education, resulting in a reduced course load. The professors' responsiveness and helpfulness within 24 to 48 hours for assignment-related queries are also commended.
🎓 Consistency in Degree Quality and Self-Learning
The speaker emphasizes that the online degree is equivalent to the on-campus degree, which is a significant advantage. They also discuss the development of self-learning skills as a result of the online program's limited direct support compared to on-campus learning. While this skill is beneficial for the workforce, the lack of immediate peer and teacher assistance poses challenges in understanding difficult concepts. The speaker suggests that online students often have to rely on emails and self-study, which can be less efficient than in-person support.
🔄 Challenges with Course Availability and Career Support
The speaker points out that not all courses are available through Tru, necessitating enrollment in other universities for some courses, which adds a bottleneck to the process. They also express disappointment with the lack of lectures in the online courses, suggesting that recorded campus lectures could enhance learning. A significant drawback mentioned is the absence of career help for online students, including limited access to Co-Op opportunities and a lack of resources for gaining work experience. The speaker also describes the steep learning curve in programming at the beginning of the program and the insufficient support for new concepts, suggesting the addition of tutor help or office hours could improve the experience.
📚 Tips for Success and a Resounding Endorsement
In the final paragraph, the speaker offers advice for potential students, such as buying used or online books to save money, seeking help during the challenging initial phase of learning to program, and maintaining discipline. They reflect on their personal journey, acknowledging that without Tru's opportunity, their path to a computer science degree would have been much longer. Despite the mentioned drawbacks, the speaker wholeheartedly recommends the degree, as it was life-changing and significantly altered their career trajectory.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Online Computer Science Program
💡Flexibility
💡Self-Paced Learning
💡Course Extensions
💡Credit Transfer
💡Equivalent Degree
💡Professors' Responsiveness
💡Self-Learning
💡Career Help
💡Ramp Up
💡Final Reviews
Highlights
Introduction to the review of the Tru online computer science program.
Flexibility of the program, allowing for self-paced learning within a six-month course window.
Ease of obtaining extensions for courses when needed, even outside the typical policy.
Credit transfer flexibility, utilizing work and previous college experience towards degree credits.
Online degree equivalency to the on-campus degree, ensuring qualification parity.
Responsive and helpful professors, typically replying within 24 to 48 hours.
Self-learning as a pro and con, developing an invaluable skill but lacking direct support.
Inaccessibility of some courses through Tru, requiring enrollment in other universities.
Absence of lectures in most courses, impacting the learning experience.
Lack of career help and resources for online students compared to on-campus students.
Difficult ramp-up period for beginners in programming without sufficient support.
Lack of final review materials, leading to vague exam preparation advice.
Tip: Buying used or online books to save money on expensive college textbooks.
Tip: Seeking help during the challenging start of the program, such as local tutors.
Tip: Staying disciplined and not giving up during the initial difficult phase.
Personal testimony of the program's life-changing impact and career trajectory.
Recommendation of the degree despite the cons, based on personal positive experience.
Closing remarks with an invitation for questions and further engagement.
Transcripts
all right what's up everyone
first off I want to thank you for
clicking on this video taking the time
out of your day to watch this video I
really appreciate it and in this video
I'm going to be giving a review of my
Tru online computer science program
I'm not going to be touching on the
classes in particular and talking about
what I learned uh tru's website does
offer a good description of you know the
classes you'll be taking what you'll be
learning this video will be more so
about my experience the pros and the
cons and whether or not I would
recommend the degree without further Ado
let's begin
all right and by the way I do have some
notes in front of me so I'm looking down
I'm just looking at my notes
the first pro that I'd like to point out
with this program is that it's very very
flexible right and this is going to be
extremely useful if you're someone who
is in a position similar to me where I
was actually attending an on-campus
program from criminology and I was
working so it was not possible for me to
you know attend another uh bachelor
program so the online flexibility was
huge for me this is a very flexible
program it's self-paced what that means
is they give you roughly six months to
complete a course and if you already
happen to know all the contents of the
course you can complete it as quickly as
two weeks or you can take three months
or you can take the full six months or
anywhere in between that's up to you
another thing that I found Tru is very
flexible with with extensions there were
times because again I was working full
time and I had other things going on in
my life where I wasn't able to complete
a course by the deadline and the
extension process was very very easy and
even certain times I needed an extension
which fell outside of the typical
extension policy I reached out to the
supervisor explained my situation and
they always accommodated me the best
they could I really appreciated that and
honestly can't say enough good things
about the flexibility
next thing I found they were very
flexible with was credit transfer Tru
really did their best to take all the
experience from my work experience to my
previous college courses and put it
towards you know actual credits for the
degree so I had to take the minimum
number of courses possible before I
could get my degree
the next Pro I'd like to point out is
that the degree is the same as the
on-campus degree right this is a huge
plus and it's comforting to know that
the qualification that you get is
equivalent to what you would get had you
taken this degree on campus
the next Pro I'd like to point out is
that professors were very very helpful
right so usually the way you'd
communicate with professors is if you
had a question on an assignment for
example you would email them and they
would respond between 24 to 48 hours and
answer your question anytime I had a
question I reached out to a professor
and usually got a pretty good answer so
I was happy with this
the next Pro I'd like to point out and I
would call this a pro and a con I'm
going to elaborate on the cons while I
think this is a con as well but this Pro
is going to be you get very good at self
learning right
now the probe in this is that this is
going to be an invaluable skill for
basically the rest of your life
especially in the workforce you know
getting good at self-learning as a
software engineer is very important
but where it's kind of a con
is the reason you get good at
self-learning is because unfortunately
the online support when you're going
through a course is just not comparable
to the support you get on campus right
in the online program when I was stuck
on a question stuck on an assignment
stuck on a concept there was no
classmate right beside me who I could
reach out into and say Hey you know
could you help me with this or no one
been you know no student sitting beside
me I'll be like hey I don't understand
this do you want to go to the library to
study together or no teacher right in
front of me who I could walk up to and
ask a question and these things really
make it difficult to understand
difficult Concepts you basically have to
you know if you have a question you can
reach out through email and get a
response between 24 to 48 hours that's
one Avenue or the Second Avenue which
you'll likely be taking is just reading
the textbook over and over again
Googling going on YouTube watching
different videos you know consuming
different content practicing until you
finally get the concept so I mean you
reach the same end goal as the on-campus
student you reach the point where you
understand the concept but it will take
you longer in my opinion because you
don't have these direct resources you
can ask like students tutors teachers
Etc
now let's touch on some of the cons
right
so the first con that I'd like to touch
on is that not all of the courses are
available through Tru so Tru has around
I believe it was five to six courses at
least when I took it which weren't
available through Tru so I had to take
them to another University now the good
part here is that most of these courses
if not all of them are offered through
at Tabasco which is also a completely
online university so you are still
completing your degree online
the bad thing is this adds a bit of a
bottleneck in the process where first
you have to you know go to this
different University whether it be
athabasco or another one pay their
application fee get accepted and then
take the course get the transcript send
that transcript at Tru and then you know
you would have completed the Tia the
course according to Tru standards right
in order for you to actually get the
degree so this is the bottleneck in the
process that I wish didn't exist which
is why I put it as a con
the dexcon is the lack of lectures right
what I would have preferred is if Tru
had taken uh you know the campus
equivalent of the course just taking the
lectures from the campus equivalent
course that recorded the lectures taking
those lectures and posted it on the
online course as well so the online
students could take advantage of it but
most of the courses did not have any
lectures whatsoever they basically you
know would give you a section to read in
the textbook maybe have a few YouTube
videos and such to to guide you and then
there would be an assignment and you
would do that having the lectures in
there I think would really improve the
learning process for online students you
know you take in the content through the
textbook that's one way and then you
would watch the lecture as well if it
was there and I think having both those
ways of learning really helps solidify
Concepts a lot faster and a lot easier
than just reading the textbook over and
over again so definitely would have
preferred lectures
the next con and this is a huge one for
me probably the biggest one is the lack
of career help
you know online students as far as
tuition we pay almost the same if not
the same as on-campus students but we
don't get you know almost any of the
career help that campus students get
campus students they're eligible for
Co-Op online students or not
to a certain extent I understand why
this is I can understand the
difficulties of setting up a co-op when
you have you know students from all
different parts of Canada and there may
even be students signed up for this
International students you know from U.S
or other parts of the world right so I
can understand the difficulty of setting
up the co-op but I really hope this is
something Tru addresses in the future
work experience is integral to finally
getting that first job you know once
you're finished with a degree and in
terms of getting my first internship
getting my first Co-op getting any sort
of work experience I felt like I was
completely on my own I wasn't eligible
for Co-Op there was basically no
resources offered to me in order to get
my foot in the door somehow so I had to
do all that work by myself and at the
end of the day you know I did manage to
do it so it's not the end of the world
but this is one big spot where I think
Tru can really reflect on how they can
help their students better and I hope
this is something that improves in the
future
the next con I'd like to point out is
the very very tough ramp up look
programming when you're starting is very
difficult at least it was for me I
didn't come from like an engineering
background or a mathematics background I
came from a criminology background right
so my first program in class I'm
learning about all these Concepts like
object oriented programming polymorphism
inheritance Etc and I'm just like holy
you know I understand none of this right
and when you're that lost and that was
my intro course by the way that was the
first ever course I took intro to
programming and when you're at that loss
right at the start it's just not enough
to understand things you know just by
email by reaching out to teachers
because I didn't even know how to
formulate the email question that's how
lost I was I was like I'm lost from A to
Z I don't understand anything right so
at that point I didn't even know what to
ask through email and uh the email
support just wasn't enough for me to
grasp those difficult Concepts
in the end I did end up understanding
the concepts and I ended up doing fairly
well on that course I think I got like
an A minus so I did I did okay but it
was just a very challenging ramp up and
the fact that there's no for example
tutor help that you would have an
on-campus program just makes it even
more challenging so I would hope that
you know as this program maybe gained
some traction and the budget gets bigger
that Tru considers adding like some sort
of tutor help or some other assistance
Maybe video calls or something like this
where students can you know reach out or
some sort of Professor office hours even
right where students can have Reach Out
have that conversation face to face
really describe that difficulty they're
having and I think that will help
greatly with the ramp up with this
program the thing I found with computer
science and programming is a start it
really is the toughest once you start to
kind of understand those basic
programming Concepts the rest starts to
get easier and easier it's still
difficult but it gets easier but that
start was very challenging so again I'm
hoping something can be done to improve
the ramp up experience there
and the last column that I would like to
point out is the lack of final reviews
when I was doing my own campus program
at least for criminology anytime we had
a final exam or a midterm now the TRU
online computer science degree only has
final exams so I won't touch on midterms
as much anytime we have final exams the
teachers would tell us that hey this is
you know what you can expect you know
they would have some sort of final
review booklet which would roughly tell
us you know this is going to be from
chapter 5 to 12 with these kind of
questions right
for most of tru's final exams when I
would reach out to the professor to ask
you know what can I expect on the exam
I was told something along the lines of
you know read from chapter one to twelve
like something very vague and it didn't
give me any idea whatsoever what's it
what to expect on the exam except that
you know I should know the textbook
inside and out
now the good part here is I found that
most exams were almost always heavily
based on the homework assignments so if
you understood the homework assignments
you will do well on the exams that was
my experience so I appreciated that you
know that provided a lot more clarity on
what to expect on the exam but having
some sort of final review booklet as
it's done again with on-campus programs
I think would be very helpful and all
the professors would need to do is just
post that final review booklet on the on
the course page and that would be
helpful for the students and it would
probably be helpful for the professors
as well because they would get less
students reaching out to them you know
asking what to expect on the final exam
all right now I'm gonna give you some
tips if you are considering taking this
program and then end it off with the
conclusion of whether or not I would
recommend it
so some tips a buy books used or online
do not pay for brand new books all right
college books are ridiculously expensive
um you know you're talking anywhere from
100 plus for a book easy and some
courses have more than one book so buy
books online buy them used you can even
rent them online so do something along
those lines talk to old students buy
their books don't buy books new you're
going to waste a lot of money
next starting is tough I touched on this
before but starting is tough that ramp
up period was tough tough tough don't
hesitate to get help look at you look
for tutors you know locally uh I I did
some Google searches looked on
Craigslist Etc and was able to find some
tutors so there are definitely local
computer science to tutors who'll be
able to help you with this coursework
you don't need to you know struggle
through this alone please reach out for
help when you need it don't give up
during that ramp up it's the toughest
part and once you get through that you
know it does get easier so don't give up
stay disciplined and you know you will
do good on this
and uh that was actually the last tip as
well so I guess I jumped the gun a
little there but that is stay
disciplined don't give up if this is
truly what you want to do this is a
career you want to get into work hard
you will achieve it
now and on to the conclusion
this program was well worth it for me it
completely changed my life and my career
trajectory look I was a terrible high
school student college student I was
decent-ish right so my grades weren't
like exceptional but you know I had
above a 3.0 GPA so I was doing okay in
my Crim degree and with the grades that
I had especially with the high school
grades that I had with the math and you
know some of these core subjects that
universities look at when they're
accepting someone into computer science
there's not a lot of universities that
would have accepted me and Tru gave me
the opportunity to study computer
science I took that opportunity and I
ran with it but you know at the end of
the day ftru hadn't extended that hand
and given me that opportunity I would
have been waiting much longer to get a
computer science degree I would have had
to go through you know some Community
College or something do some courses and
then transfer to a university and the
fact is Tru is like one of the few
universities even offering an online
computer science degree in Canada so
they're making it very accessible for a
lot of people so despite the cons that
I've mentioned honestly I'm beyond
thankful and this degree again has
completely changed my career trajectory
so I couldn't be more happy it was worth
it for me and I would recommend this
degree
and yeah that's really all I have thank
you so much for watching please like
comment and subscribe any questions feel
free to reach out to me I'm always more
than happy to help and I'll talk to you
all later peace
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