On several recent threads, the University of South Africa has been suggested as a very reasonably priced choice. It is true that their tuition fees are low, but it may be misleading to estimate total cost solely with the fees charged directly by Unisa. From their website, it looks like there are only 5 approved test sites in the United States and similar low numbers in other countries. For the millions of US residents not living within commuting distance of Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Oklahoma (City?), the cost of travel, hotel, and missed work when taking exams could add a considerable amount to the total cost of the degree. Some exams are spaced several weeks apart, meaning more than one trip per year might be necessary. The total degree cost could easily double or triple beyond the fees charged directly by Unisa. Has anyone successfully persuaded Unisa to arrange an alternative exam site within the USA? Alex
This may be changing in the not-so-near future. Unisa has struck an agreement with Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey in which TESC will market Unisa's courses in the U.S. What will this mean? I don't know, but TESC has told me that the full development of the joint TESC/Unisa operation is still two years away. What TESC <I>could</I> do is arrange for proctored examinations of Unisa tests around the country. My local community college, for instance, is happy to administer tests from other institutions. I have my Unisa conprehensives coming up this fall, and like you say, they're over several different times separated by weeks. I'll have to drive from the Dayton, Ohio area to Chicago and back for each test; that notwithstanding, Unisa classes are a bargain to me. It might be different if I lived another couple hundred miles from a testing center. Mark A. Sykes Mark's Unisa page: http://marksykes.netfirms.com/unisa/unisa.html
It's too bad that alternative exam centers are apparently a dream for the distant future. I live more than 700 miles from the nearest US exam center, and the cost of airfare, hotel, etc. would easily add up to more than $500-600 per trip. With one or even two trips, the program would still be reasonably priced. But with several trips, the cost of the degree would quickly rise above affordable levels. Unisa has some great programs, but they could be very expensive for those of us in parts of the world where an authorized exam center is not very accessible. Alex
