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Looking for a good online coding college - binsky

Posted: Jul 17, 2012

After much research i had decided on taking coding classes through Andrew College. Unfortunately since they are not an acredited college Vocational Rehab will not help pay. Can anyone recommend a good acredited college or one that accepts FASA grants? Looking to take online courses or classes in Ft. Wayne, IN.

Santa Barbara City College - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
has a reputable program, or go to CAHIIM to find an accredited school

College programs are nearly identical - Just pick one

[ In Reply To ..]
Seriously, they all teach the same material prescribed by AHiMA. They use nearly the same books and online material, too. The exception would be WGU, which offers informatics and does a good job of it. They do not have a coding program, though.

If you are going to go the college route, choose a CAHIIM approved program affiliated with a CAHIIM accredited HIT program. That will be a college with an HIM department teaching HIT that also offers a coding certificate program. You can find both by looking on the AHIMA website.

I would stay with community college programs which have reasonable tuition. You do not want to end up in debt for 30 or 40K or even 5K because you may be unable tp pass a certification exam after all that and be unable to get a job. The pass rate on those exams is low. About half the people who take them fail. The approved programs teach to the CCA exam, too, not the CCS. Many employers are not interested in that.

Be VERY careful not to confuse that with a career college teaching "medical billing and coding" because it is not the same. They teach mostly medical front office and usually charge a fortune for it. If you do not know what a diploma mill or for-profit is, please look them up before deciding on a school.

Andrews is not a college. It is a private school that teaches MT and coding. It does so very well, teaching to the level of the CCS and CPC, but as you said does not accept FAFSA.

Wrong Information - Correction

[ In Reply To ..]
It's definitely possible to go to The Andrews School by Vocational Rehabilitation or WIA. I have personal experience with having to explain to them why I believe it is the best school and the only school I would consider.

You can get your case manager to work with you if you are confident in your choice of schools and you have facts to back it up.

You have to explain that the graduates are prepared to pass the CCS exam right out of school. That's rare. It's worth the effort, if you are a good communicator, to fight for what you want. It's worth it to get to go to a school with an excellent reputation for results rather than get stuck with one just because they offer federal financial aid.

Tell them that whether they offer federal financial aid or not is no measure of the quality of education and shouldn't be how they choose what schools they will allow in their program. You are a tax payer. This is your money. Stand up for yourself and for others who are too timid or uneducated to stand up for themselves.

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