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Coding Programs - Santa Barbara City College - RadT

Posted: May 20, 2010

I just registered for Santa Barbara City College's HIT program online. Has anyone else taken their program? I really needed to find a school that was accredited because I qualify for FAFSA to help me pay for it. I looked into Andrews and also AHIMA, but all were WAY too expensive and you can't receive financial aid. If anyone can give me information on the Santa Barbara courses, if you've taken it through them, please do! Thanks! (I'm also a full-time radiology MT looking to make the switch.)

SBCC told me there was a waiting list? how did you get in? - also see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Did you ask them what the ENTIRE HIT program will cost you for the entire degree?

herzing was 26,000.00
and Devry was 33,000.00

how much pell grant did you get, if you dont mind me asking and will you have to get student loans? I am new to this and am VERY interested.

Thank you in advance

SBCC reply - RadT

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not sure about any waiting list, I just applied to SBCC and registered for my first class in summer (BMS 146 - a prerequisite). At only $26/unit its not going to run anywhere NEAR Herzing or Devry, being it is a community college. Let's see, its a 32 credit program, at $26/unit that totals $832.00 (not including books). I received a Pell grant in the total of $4500 a semester so that more than covers books/tuition and I receive a check in the mail at the beginning of the semester and near the end of $1300/each. So basically I'm getting paid to go to school. How Herzing, Devry and the other private colleges can charge so much is beyond me. Your receiving the same eduction (preparation to get your CCA) and the classes are transferrable. I've searched everywhere, believe me, and this is by far the best deal.

WOW they are sending You the check? HOW? - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
this is WONDERFUL. I thought that they send the check directly to the SCHOOL? Am i wrong?

can you please post the LINK to the program you are taking? I am interested also. - thanking you.

[ In Reply To ..]
thanks

Coding Program Questions - RadT

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for all the well-wishers, I appreciate it! Here is the link to SBCC - http://www.sbcc.edu/hit/website/coding.html

The class I registered for in the summer is full but I'm on the waiting list. Also, the question regarding the COMP 101 class, yes you need to take this first before the HIT classes. Hopefully I will be able to register for that in the Fall (my registration date for Fall 2010 is 06/11). I'm keeping my fingers crossed! This program is VERY FULL of people wanting in I know, but I couldn't help but sharing. I've been searching for a while for a coding education that wouldn't break the bank. I hope this helps many of you also!

That looks like a great program - JM

[ In Reply To ..]
Congratulations! It is very full, must be a lot of people interested in this field.

Why does it look like a great program? - What is different about it?

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding programs are mostly exactly the same. What is it about this one that makes it look great?

Why - JM

[ In Reply To ..]
The manner in which it details what it will teach shows me that they actually know what coding is all about and what needs to be learned. Each bullet makes it very clear that this is a very comprehensive course. A student can see the whole picture intelligently and professionally presented. This is just my personal reaction as a coder. It is all there on one page; a breath of fresh air. I have no doubt when I read it that they know what is needed and this would push me to further explore to be sure.

Okay, but the same people who write the text don't teach the course - Thinking About What You Said

[ In Reply To ..]
Words on a page are different than actual training, or at least I've found that to be true. I would judge a course in other ways. Can their graduates sit for certification exams successfully. That's how I would judge it. Anyone can write anything. That doesn't mean that any school is good or bad, just that the writing doesn't make a good school. Often they bring in consultants to do that.

Yes, but - How

[ In Reply To ..]
do you find out if their grads sit for the exam successfully? Do you take their word for it or have you found ones that actually post their statistics on this? I agree. I would judge well too if I saw that.

I would call and talk to them personally - What I Would Do

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't think it's possible to post statistics on that, for a variety of reasons.

Statistics change every day. They might report numbers on one day on a forum such as this and years later people will be quoting those numbers as a fact. That would be ridiculous and probably why nobody does it.

The school would only know about a student sitting for an exam successfully if the student reported the results.

There are probably other reasons, but those are the most obvious ones to me.

I think if they only talk about the CCA - you might wonder

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't know that they would have numbers for everyone who has taken a test, but I think you have to wonder if they tell you their program qualifies you to take the CCA. I think that looks like an indication that they don't believe a coding program can prepare students for a more difficult certification exam. When the program itself sets its standards lower, students will achieve even less.

I'd rather go somewhere that believed I could do it, gave me what I needed to do it, and pushed me to do it. I still might not pass, but I think I'd be better off than if I went to the School of Low Expectations.

How many coding programs have you seen? - More thinking

[ In Reply To ..]

It would be hard for the faculty to not know what to cover, since it's what AHIMA tells them to cover. Check out some of the other programs--they're all the same, even Andrews.

The tuition is $26/credit, but only for California residents. Everyone else pays $211. The program is 36 credits long (12 courses) or $7596. Books are $1444 -- yup, I looked 'em all up at the bookstore. That's a total of $9040. Maybe that would be ok with a Pell Grant.

Since this is a college, courses might not be available when you need them. If they fill up, you don't get in, and existing students get first crack at them. Most are taught only in fall or spring, not every semester. The website estimates 3 hours of work per week per credit, and recommends that a person working full time should not take more than 6 credits, which would be 18 hours of homework. At 6 credits per semester, the 36 would take 6 semesters, which would be 3 years. Even 2 years seems like a long time just for a coding program. You wouldn't be able to work until you had finished.

You can't even take coding until you've completed several required courses so you'll be in this program at least a semester and maybe two before you ever start coding. Then it all bunches up at the end. One required course, A&P, turns out to have recommended prerequisites of college-level biology and chemistry. The physiology part is likely to be a little bit troublesome if you've never taken chemistry. (This course, incidentally, is what most colleges use as their "weed out" course. The failure rate is usually very high.)

There is also a required computer course. If you don't have an IBM with Vista, Microsoft Office 2007, Internet Explorer, and broadband, you'll have to get them. And it's up to YOU to make sure your hardware and software works with the company that hosts the course and tests. No substitutions are allowed for that course, so even if you're a computer whiz it looks like you'll have to take it. The course books are $122.40 and the software is $64.50.

There is an interesting statement that due to "limited administrative support staffing and resources, our department staff is not able to respond to individual questions." There is also a statement that everything is delivered online and exams are online. That could be good--maybe they'll leave you alone--but doesn't it sound as though they're too busy? Doesn't look like there is a lot of personal interaction. Maybe they have the kind of courses that you either pass or don't pass, and if you don't they, like most colleges, just consider you to be educational fallout? Kind of like academic dandruff. Somebody has to fail, after all. Might as well be you.

You would thus spend 3 years and $9040+ to complete a program that might take only 12-15 months and cost about $3800 at other schools, where you could be working in just over 1/3 the time for just over 1/3 the cost. I don't know if you can put a price on the value of instructor support. In coding, it's probably the critical factor in success.

If you did go the faster, instructor-supported route, and got a job, and then decided you wanted an HIT degree, you could then take advantage of SB's challenge policy. If you took a course from AHIMA or Andrews, they would let you challenge the exam for credit. (A lot of schools will let you do this.) Even better, if you have a CCS or CCS-P, they'll waive six whole courses (BMS 146 A&P, HIT 135, 200, 201, 204, and 210). It would save you 17 credits, or $3587 in tuition plus about $900 in books, and maybe 3 semesters. Since the only way to do an HIT degree is in an accredited college program, THAT might be a very good plan. The most difficult courses in those programs are the ones listed above. If you can do those in a supportive atmosphere at lower cost, it might help.

Wow! I hadn't thought of that, but I did think of something else - Now that I gave it some thought

[ In Reply To ..]
I do know people who enrolled for a program and got into it a year or so just to have the college cancel it. They had already invested time and money, but 'administration' decided not to continue the program.

In fact, I remember one woman who had taken all the prerequisites. They had her taking all sorts of things that had nothing to do with the actual course, including Introduction to Computers, Spreadsheets, (but it was an obscure software program that nobody had ever heard of and basically useless), and then a course on something else even more ridiculous, but I can't remember it right now. Finally she was ready for the main part of the course, and they canceled it. She lost all that time and money and none of what she learned in those prerequisite courses was useful anywhere else.

I compared a lot of coding programs - sm - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
And I have to agree. If you want to learn coding and get a job as a coder, I don't know if it is necessary to take keyboarding 101 and multiple anatomy and chemistry labs. I want to finish my training in a reasonable period of time so I chose a different option. I do think that funding is an issue, though, and people may have chosen schools that participate in student loan programs and that are eligible for Pell grants. Someone said that they considered programs like Andrews and CS too expensive but were okay spending thousands more to learn the same thing at another school, I still don't understand that logic. Having your program canceled midway through would definitely be disappointing.

Colleges Do A Lot Of That - Canceling Programs At The Last Minute - With No Warning

[ In Reply To ..]
They don't have to have a reason to cancel a class. They just send your money back and tell you they aren't offering that course anymore. The fact that you've been working 2 years on the prerequisites doesn't matter.

They do that when they don't have enough students - OR

[ In Reply To ..]
I've seen them cancel a course because someone in Administration decides they need to put that money into another course, usually nursing, where they make more money. Colleges don't make much money on courses like medical coding or transcription. They make a bundle on Medical Assistant courses though, so those get the money. It's also easier to find teachers. It's very hard to find coding instructors. I know that because I have a friend who works for a school that lost their coding instructor suddenly and can't find a replacement. They may have to cancel their course entirely.

Coding programs - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Let's see....you think 3,000 is way too expensive to learn coding and billing but you're willing to get federal grants and loans for a program that costs in excess of 30K? Acutally, Andrews and HIMA are both doable, Andrews only requires a downpayment and lets you pay the rest over time interest-free and AHIMA lets you purchase a module at a time. Also, there is money available for student loans through banks and credt unions. Are you the same person who just yesterday enrolled in Herzing?

Coding Programs - RadT

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, I think 3,000 is way too expensive to learn coding because I would have to pay that myself. Because I'm going to a community college, I received a Pell GRANT (not loan) that will pay my tuition/books, etc. Why pay out-of-pocket (or have to get loans) for the same education you can for free (if you qualify for grants)?

And no, I have never enrolled in Herzing or anywhere else for that matter.

Why? - SM - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Because as a taxpayer who doesn't meet the income criteria for federal aid I am helping to pick up the tab for your education as well as my own. It might be free for you but someone else ultimately pays for it.

thats a really unfair reply, im sorry. I am happy for her. - disappointed

[ In Reply To ..]
x

RadT, grab your umbrella, quick... - She is trying to tinkle on your parade!!!

[ In Reply To ..]
There's one in every crowd, just cannot stand in their cloak of misery to see someone shine with happiness. Ignore her posts and remember things could be worse...you could have HER "life," LOL!

Congratulations, girl, and good luck to you. I hope the program is all you hoped for and more :-)

And "Anonymous"? Go to the mirror and practice smiling. Your face really won't break and you might even enjoy it once you thaw out those muscles that have been permanently fixed into a frown.

GOOD FOR YOU, just ignore the negative commentes from others. nm - Congratulations to you!

[ In Reply To ..]
x

RadT, when do you start the first class? were you able to get in for summer there? - Wonderful!

[ In Reply To ..]
Do you have to take the computer class first as a prereq? or are you able to go directly into the HIT classes?

Do you start this summer?

When did you first register? I wonder if I registered today, if I could still get in by this summer?

SBCC - lily

[ In Reply To ..]
I looked at summer coding classes at SBCC and they were all full. But have a look anyway. I have also heard good things about this program but I wish they had more sections of classes.

SBCC was full, so im going with Herzing on line. - me

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nm

Herzing vs SBCC - anonymous

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For 30K, I'd wait until SBCC had a spot!

Not 30 K and i have a pell grant. - no message

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Herzing vs SBCC - anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Oh sorry, 26K and there is no Pell grant around that will cover that kind of tuition. You would have to be taking out huge student loans. Too scary in this kind of job market. But good luck!

You mean you have to pay back that money? - Serious Question Here I thought it was free

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm very serious here. I thought you got to go to school for free. Are you saying that you have to pay it back? I thought it was a free government program.

Paying back money - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
This is my understanding, from what I have read, on FAFSA and Pell grants. They are not loans and the money does not have to be paid back. The maximum amount for 2010 is approximately $5300 but it could be less based on your income. The money, as it is with student loans, is paid directly to the school, not the student. If you change your mind and don't go to school, you have to pay the money back. I don't know about whether they cover your living expenses while you are in school but I doubt it unless you live in the dorms.

Thanks for clarifying that! - Interesting

[ In Reply To ..]
I was just curious because I've heard of those programs but don't know much about how they work.

Pell Grants - anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
Pell grants only cover part of the tuition usually unless you are going to a community college, you don't have to pay those back (unless you drop out after you received the money). What I was implying is that if you go to Herzig or Devry, with such a high tuition, you would have to get loans to be able to afford to go there (Pell grants wouldn't cover even 1/3 of the tuition) and yes you have to obviously pay those back. In this unsure job market, having such a large loan when graduating to have to pay back is scary.

Thus, what I meant originally, I would rather be on a waiting list for a community college, get my tuition paid by a Pell grant and graduate debt-free (no loans) rather than sign up with one of these Herzig or Devry programs and graduate with thousands of dollars in loans.

Education isnt FREE for everyone you know. - me

[ In Reply To ..]
and sometimes in this life you have to GIVE to GET. wakeup.

Free education - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I heard that, I'm paying my own way while working full-time.

Me, too. nm - stillsearching

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

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