Side-By-Side comparision of CCU’s MBA and TUI’s MS-ITM

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Randell1234, May 11, 2004.

Loading...
  1. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Since I have an MBA from CCU and an MS-ITM from TUI, I would like to compare the programs. I had always thought CCU was a very good route to take if a state approved degree would work for you. I realize everyone starts at a different point but this is a summary of my experience. I started with a BS in Business from CCU and a BS in Individualized Studies (Technology & Business) from COSC.

    Cost
    CCU MBA cost about $3,500 plus a book rental fee of $20 per course. It did not cost me that much since I did the BS/MBA combo.
    TUI cost $6,750 with the military discount (9 classes at $750) and no cost for books.

    Time
    The CCU degree took about 18 months to complete. I studied about 1 to 1.5 hours a day for 5 days a week. I finished with a 3.08 GPA and I thought it was very challenging.
    The TUI degree took 15 months to complete (I finish next month). I studied about 1 to 1.5 hours a day for 5 days a week, but the last two classes, which were MKT 501 and ITM 505, required twice as much time as previous seven classes.
    Basically, the first seven TUI classes required the same amount of time as the CCU classes but I think the CCU classes were more intense. If I compare the last two TUI classes to the CCU classes, I would say they were equally intense. I do not know if the difference between the last two classes and the first seven are because of changes at TUI or a coincidence that I got the two tough ones at the end. I should graduate from TUI with a 3.92GPA.

    Material Learned
    I feel I learned more from the CCU classes if they are compared to the first seven TUI classes. CCU compared to the last two classes is equal in the material learned. I do no mean to repeat the same thing over and over but the difference in the classes at TUI is dramatic.

    Recommendation
    TUI of course.

    This is my experience; take it for what it is worth.

    I also did the same thing with a CCU BS compared to a COSC BS.
    http://www.degreeinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6837&highlight=compare
     
  2. Mike Albrecht

    Mike Albrecht New Member

    In as much as you completed the CCU courses first, and you feel you learned something in them. How do you think you would have done on the COSCX BS and the Touro MS without having done the CCU courses?
     
  3. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I feel I was able to pass a couple of DANTES and CLEPS based on the knowledge from CCU classes. I used those CLEPS for my COSC degree.

    I don't think the CCU MBA did anything for the TUI MS-ITM. The courses for the two programs really did not overlap. The only two classes that were similar for the two programs were Mrketing Management and Organizational Behavior.

    I did referance some of the material from CCU for the TUI classes but I could have done without it.
     
  4. DaveHayden

    DaveHayden New Member

    Hi Randell

    Thanks for the comparison. It would be interesting if any other students to confirm the difficulty of the final two courses. Again thanks Randell.
     
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Brutally honest;

    Your CCU degrees are academically meaninglless.
     
  6. Redlyne Racer

    Redlyne Racer member

    This is civility?
     
  7. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    I thought it was civil? Bruce didn't say that it was educationally meaningless. I took it to mean that from an academic stand point, in Randell's case at least, it didn't help Randell's academic career. Also if you look at Randell's academic credentials at this point in time, the CCU credentials are no longer very relevant because they are overshadowed.

    I assume that if/when CCU achieves DETC accreditation that people will be able to better leverage their CCU degrees into further academic value. Primarily the Bachelor's and Master's degrees but to a lesser extent also the doctorates.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 11, 2004
  8. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I don't think that I would call CCU academically meaningless. Any useful or stimulating education has academic value. It needn't come fom an accredited college or even result in a formal degree.

    Obviously a degree from a non-accredited school will have considerably less utility, that's a given.

    And it might be hard for third parties to determine how a non-accredited school's academics stack up against what other schools are providing. In this case Randell's report is anecdotal, one man's opinion. Nevertheless, I take it seriously.

    But if Randell isn't trying to get other people to recognize the CCU degree and feels that the educational experience was valuable, then it probably doesn't matter a whole lot what other people think. CCU apparently worked for him.
     
  9. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I've often thought that non-accredited schools like CCU might serve admirably in helping students create portfolios and prepare for credit by examination at TESC, COSC, WGU or Excelsior.

    It would be kind of like the tutoring one can take for some of the University of London external programmes. In fact, a place like CCU might serve as unofficial U of London tutoring for some of the exams, assuming that syllabi overlapped sufficiently.

    This might be a valid niche for a non-accredited school. Instead of offering its own unrecognized degrees, it could concentrate on offering instruction leading to degrees granted by one of the accredited assessment universities. There would even be a kind of external quality assurance, analogous to accreditation, visible in students' success rate on the exams.
     
  10. Dennis Ruhl

    Dennis Ruhl member


    CCU degrees have served thousands of people very well, even as college instructors in some cases.

    Price-wise they are an attractive option. I would not say that CCU is especially difficult nor especially easy.

    DETC accreditation is 3 1/2 weeks away and my guess is that CCU will be swamped with new students.
     
  11. cehi

    cehi New Member

    BillDayson: "This might be a valid niche for a non-accredited school. Instead of offering its own unrecognized degrees, it could concentrate on offering instruction leading to degrees granted by one of the accredited assessment universities."


    Cehi: Excellent point, and I agree with you, Bill. If these "things", like you always called them (lol), offer credit instructions that can be converted to degrees at other accredited assessment colleges, I think they will be more acceptable to/by most stakeholders. Thank you.
     
  12. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Randell,

    thanks for the comparison. And contrary to Bruce I do not believe that your degrees from CCU are "academically meaningless". Unaccredited, at this point, but not meaningless. Further, they are applicable in California are they not? And I admire the fact that you had the fortitude to continue with your studies despite the effort (especially mentally) it must have taken to complete the additional degrees beyond CCU.

    Good luck on your remaining papers.
     
  13. ncavac

    ncavac New Member

    JUST FOR THOSE INTRESTED:

    quoted by Maria Lewis from the Admissions Dept

    California Coast University has applied for National Accreditation with the Distance Education and Training Council. In order to proceed with DETC application, , CCU is not accepting applications to Doctoral programs at this time.

    The DETC application process will take approximately one year to
    finalize. Results of this process should be finalized this summer.

    CCU continues to offer Bachelor and Master degree programs.
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yes. The poster (Bruce) made no comment about the holder of those degrees. He simply commented on the degrees themselves. Based on research and anecdotal evidence, Bruce's conclusion seems reasonable. But I don't think that it should be construed as an affront to Randell, who was very gracious in offering his comparison.

    Discussing the academic quality of a CCU degree program is utterly more valid coming from someone who's subsequently done graduate work at an RA school; he's not shilling in doing that!
     
  15. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    What is meant by "applicable"? Degrees from California-Approved schools don't seem to have any greater acceptance in business and education than they do elsewhere. (Excepting the few degree programs leading to licensure in a few areas, but we're not talking about any of those.) For example, there is no reason to believe an M.Ed. from CCU would be any more useful to a teacher in California than a teacher in, say, Texas or Maine. There's no research to support the idea that businesses in California find these degrees more acceptable than do businesses in other states, either.

    Unaccredited is unaccredited. A few, narrow situations can be found where such degrees are explicitly acceptable, and a few of those are related to California-Approved degrees used in California. Except for a few potential counselors, psychologists, and attorneys in California, however, there is no difference. Unaccredited is unaccredited.
     
  16. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    No, and I apologize if it came across that way.

    Some people are confusing "academically meaningless" with plain old meaningless. I believe they are academically meaningless in that a CCU degree holder is very unlikely to get a faculty position at a RA school based on their CCU credentials. They may serve the person well in the business world or elsewhere, which is why I didn't say just "meaningless".
     
  17. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    No apology needed; I know what you mean. The CCU degrees will not help me in an academic environment. If I want to teach at an RA school, they do not help.

    In the business world, they are meaningful.
     
  18. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yes, but why? The conclusions I drew in my doctoral dissertation indicated that degrees from unaccredited schools were acceptable largely because employers didn't know and didn't check. When informed about accreditation, the acceptability of degrees from unaccredited schools dropped.
     
  19. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    You may be right and according to your research, you are right. What else can I say. I will not argue with you.
     
  20. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Oh, you're certainly free to disagree. But you have a copy of my dissertation, so you might care to draw your own conclusions.

    Again, thanks for the excellent post re: CCU and Touro.
     

Share This Page