My Review of TRU Online Computer Science Degree

Summary

In 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

00:00

🌟 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.

05:02

🎓 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.

10:03

🔄 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.

Keywords

💡Online Computer Science Program

An online computer science program refers to a degree course in the field of computer science that is conducted over the internet, allowing students to learn remotely. In the video, the speaker shares their personal experience with the Tru online computer science program, highlighting its flexibility and self-paced nature as key advantages.

💡Flexibility

Flexibility in the context of an educational program means the ability to adapt to the learner's schedule and pace. The speaker emphasizes the flexibility of the Tru program, noting that it was self-paced, allowing them to complete courses within a six-month window at their own speed, which was crucial given their full-time work commitments.

💡Self-Paced Learning

Self-paced learning is an educational approach where students determine how quickly they progress through the material. The script mentions that the Tru program is self-paced, meaning students can complete courses in as little as two weeks or take the full six months, based on their prior knowledge and available time.

💡Course Extensions

Course extensions refer to additional time granted to students to complete their coursework beyond the standard deadline. The speaker appreciated the ease of obtaining extensions in the Tru program, especially during times when personal or professional circumstances interfered with their studies.

💡Credit Transfer

Credit transfer is the process of applying previous educational credits or work experience towards a new degree program. The Tru program's flexibility with credit transfers is highlighted, allowing the speaker to leverage their past college courses and work experience to minimize the number of courses they needed to complete for their degree.

💡Equivalent Degree

An equivalent degree means that the qualification obtained through an alternative program, such as an online one, is recognized as having the same value as a traditional on-campus degree. The speaker finds comfort in knowing that the online degree they pursued is considered equivalent to the on-campus degree.

💡Professors' Responsiveness

Professors' responsiveness refers to the promptness and effectiveness with which academic instructors reply to students' inquiries. The speaker found the professors in the Tru program to be very helpful, typically responding to assignment-related questions within 24 to 48 hours.

💡Self-Learning

Self-learning is the ability to acquire knowledge independently without direct instruction. The script describes self-learning as both a pro and a con. It's a pro because it's a valuable skill in the workforce, but a con because the lack of immediate support in the online program forces students to rely more heavily on self-learning, which can be challenging, especially for difficult concepts.

💡Career Help

Career help refers to the assistance provided to students in terms of career guidance, job placement, and work experience opportunities. The speaker points out the lack of career help as a significant con of the Tru program, noting that online students do not receive the same level of support as on-campus students, which they find disappointing given the similar tuition fees.

💡Ramp Up

Ramp up in an educational context refers to the initial phase of learning where students must quickly adapt to new concepts and materials. The speaker describes the ramp up in the Tru program as very tough, especially for those without a background in computer science, due to the absence of immediate support structures like tutors or in-person professors.

💡Final Reviews

Final reviews are study materials or sessions provided to students to prepare for final exams. The speaker mentions the lack of final reviews as a con, as they received only broad advice to study the entire textbook, rather than specific guidance or review booklets that would typically be available in on-campus programs.

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