A tale of two universities... and a college

A tale of two universities… and a college

I’m going to share with you my experiences in selecting, and getting started with, an advanced degree program using distance learning. The two universities are “Andrew Jackson University” and “Amberton University”, and the college is…. “Excelsior”.

My experience with Excelsior College started with the difficulty of finding anyone to answer the phone that would discuss the program with me. Once this hurdle was passed, I was advised simply to fill out the application material and send in the $65 admissions fee, along with official transcripts from my undergrad and other grad work. That I certainly did – about three months ago. I have yet to hear from Excelsior officially, although they did leave me some sort of voice message during the holidays saying that if I called back by “4 pm” they could email me the acceptance letter, otherwise I’d get it in “snail mail”. That last somewhat mysterious contact (I called back, and no one answered) was at least three weeks ago, and still nothing. Oh, yes, they did cash my check within the first few days they had it – three months ago. Oh yes, they did have my email address clearly indicated on the application material.

My experience with Andrew Jackson University was a little more positive. I filled out their application material and sent a $75 check for admission to their MBA program, along with the usual process of obtaining official transcripts from my prior institutions. (In the meantime, I had decided non-RA/DETC only was not going to be acceptable for me, so my not going with them is as much my choice as anything “wrong” with the institution.) I received in about three weeks a packet of information (in a BOX no less) from AJU. Included were all sorts of “Sally Struthers like” cartoonish stories about “how smart I really am” and how I can do good in college if I just think I can. Hmmm…. I think I already knew that? The other downside is the proctored exams, and the need to find proctors and set up all that on your own – the program looks very much like a correspondence course to me. Another downside was that the BOX of material contained dozens of forms to complete of various types – I still haven’t understood them all, and it is sitting on my end table gathering dust as I write. I think they wanted another $150 from me as “earnest money” to start the program, which would be applied against the tuition for my first class if I actually signed up – otherwise they keep it.

Lastly, my experience with Amberton University (which I have selected as my new alma mater) has been ALL positive so far. The customer service/student advising is excellent – someone is always there to talk to you. The material sent to me is clear and straightforward, and very professional. It is obvious what your status in the program is after you have been accepted. Unlike the other two, there is no application fee whatsoever. The price per course is $600, one of the lowest tuitions in RA institutions. The quality of the course material is top-notch – for my first course I’m reading philosophical writings by Frankena, Plato, Aristotle – it doesn’t get a whole lot better. Be prepared to write a lot though if you go into this program. So far, and I’m about halfway through an Ethics course, I’ve submitted nearly 100 pages of single-spaced analyses, essays, and short-answer type of exercises, complete with APA-style referencing. The testing is all “open book” essay based, so there are no proctored exams to worry about. The grading on the written submissions is tough – I have been burning the midnight oil just to get my grade nearer to an A, it isn’t there quite yet although the commentary I’m receiving back with my grades shows that I’m improving as I progress through the course.

Oh yes, Amberton will accept up to 12 credits of post-graduate work towards a masters degree – quite liberal in my opinion. The only catch is you have to have a US regionally accredited degree to gain admission, and you have to be aware that this is a Baptist run institution with some degree of those belief/values introduced into the topics. I have not found this to be a turnoff, though, and I’ve actually found the professors on the other end quite open minded about discussing alternate beliefs and values in terms of coursework. In other words, I think you can be an atheist and still get a 4.0 at Amberton for those of you who would see that as an issue.

Good luck in making your choices. I hope this analysis sheds some light on these three institutions, and the thought process that I went through in choosing one.

- Carl

 

Despite all the times I have seen Amberton mentioned as being the most inexpensive RA MBA program, I think that you the first person I have seen that is actually attending the school.

Good luck and keep us informed on anything you see while attending - good or bad.

 

Amberton is on my list. Please keep us informed as you go through this. I was impressed with the information I received from them.

 

Hmmm. It is interesting that Amberton University's exam does not require a proctor. How is that possible for an RA college that proctor for the exam is not required?

 

Case Studies

You will find this the norm for DL masters I find. They require case study reviews of the material to demonstrate your knowledge. Personally, I would prefer the test, less work.