Message from the President of Northcentral University

I got this email, and I thought it might be of interest to all:

Message from the President of Northcentral University
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:51:57 -0700




February 10, 2004

Dear Prospective Learner,

MONTHLY STARTS:
Please be advised that effective April 1, 2004 the University will
institute monthly starts for all courses.

The monthly start policy sets the start date for all courses as the
first of each month. Learners will have an opportunity to enroll for a
course and receive course material through the 21st day of the month
before the actual start date. EXAMPLE: To enroll for a course starting on
April 1st, Learners must complete all enrollment and payment
arrangements before March 22nd. Arrangements completed on or after March 22nd
means that your scheduled start date for the course is shifted to May
1st.

Monthly starts will give Learners the option to do coursework with a
group of Learners or to work independently with their Mentor. Although
the courses have a 16-week term, Learners are still encouraged to
advance at a more accelerated rate to complete courses consistent with their
abilities and dedication. Learners can then start their next course(s)
on the first of the next month.

Your academic advisor is available to explain the monthly start
procedure and to guide you through the process.

TUITION INCREASES:
Please be advised that on March 22, 2004 undergraduate tuition will be
$375 per unit and graduate tuition will be $475 per unit.

New enrollees and current Learners have until March 22nd to pre-pay for
courses at the present tuition rate. For example, a Learner who wants
to pre-pay for one or more courses can simply submit payment for the
course or courses at the current tuition rate, or if a Learner wishes to
pre-pay for the entire degree program, then they do so at the present
tuition until March 22nd. On or after March 22, 2004, the new tuition
takes effect.

Please be assured that Learners will not be charged tuition against
their pre-payment until they actually start each course. Should Learners
not continue at the University, then all unused pre-paid tuition will
be refunded.

WHY A TUITION INCREASE:
This increase is necessitated by our commitment to offer quality
academic courses and degree programs at a competitive and affordable tuition
rate and to permit NCU to grow our programs and course offerings.
Example: NCU is opening its new School of Education offering 100%
distance learning Master of Education, Doctor of Education, and PhD in
Education degrees. Example: NCU is developing new specializations:
International and Homeland Security, and Forensic Psychology. (Watch our web
site for details and dates.)

Here are the advantages of an NCU education:

*NCU’s Regional Accreditation carries the same worldwide recognition
enjoyed by other regionally accredited colleges and universities in the
United States.

*NCU offers the only regionally accredited 100% distance-learning
format for its bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. programs. There is no
residency, on-site campus visits, or travel to remote class meetings. You
save travel time and money by not having to attend classes or weeklong
seminars that are expensive and interrupt family and work obligations.

*NCU provides academically qualified and experienced Mentors to work
with you one-on-one so you have direct, individualized, and personal
support and feedback throughout you entire degree program. You can
contact your mentor anytime by email or through computer messaging and
receive a timely response.

*At NCU you are not required to sit-at-your-computer at a scheduled
time or forced to be in a “cohort” group that may slow you down. You can
work alone or with other Learners in your courses; it’s your choice.
You set your own time and schedule to do the coursework. All we require
is that the work submitted demonstrates higher learning of course
material and meets our standards for academic quality.

*At NCU you work with your faculty Mentor to complete your coursework
within a 16-week semester, and you can complete sooner if you wish. You
submit coursework when ready via email or directly to our computer for
Mentor review, grading and feedback.

*NCU provides monthly starts (1st of each month) to fit your busy
schedule. You can skip a month, and schedule courses as your adult life
requires.

*NCU is VA approved and approved for Military Tuition Assistance and
DANTES.

*NCU has been approved to offer Federal Financial Aid (Title IV) for
those who qualify (watch our web site for further details).

Northcentral University is committed to offering “a better way to earn
your degree” ™ in a distance learning format and at a competitive
tuition rate and total cost. To judge for yourself, compare our tuition,
total costs, and delivery format with the other leading distance learning
schools: University of Phoenix, Capella University, Walden University,
National Technological, Jones International, and Nova Southeastern.

I hope to see you in person at graduation in Prescott, Arizona.

Sincerely,
Dr. Don Hecht
President
Northcentral University
www.ncu.edu


This email has been sent to you because you expressed an interest in
receiving information from Northcentral University. Northcentral
University will never sell, rent, or provide your email address or any other
personal information to other parties outside of the university. If you
do not wish the university to contact you via email, follow this link
to remove your email from our records.
http://www.ncu.com/opt_out.asp?id=92529

 

Here's the version sent to the current students.

My initial reaction to the email was panic. Having my tuition increased by 90% in less than a year is a great motivator .

I understand and grudgingly accept the economic benefits that RA brings to NCU, but the magnitude of the change coupled with the personal impact was initially very painful.

I contacted NCU and to their credit, they are only slightly increasing the tuition rate for some of their longer term students. I'm not certain where the cutoff is, and I started the program shortly before RA was fully granted.

Regards,
Rick

==begin=========================

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT:

TUITION INCREASE beginning March 22, 2004 undergraduate tuition will
increase to $375/per credit and graduate tuition will be $475/ per
credit.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Tuition Prepayment – Any Learner who prepaid for courses is exempt from
the tuition increase only for courses that have been prepaid.

If you wish to prepay for all or part of your courses prior to the
scheduled increase, you may do so by submitting the tuition with a notation
for the Accounting Department that it is for prepayment. You do NOT
need to select the courses at this time. The funds will remain on
account and the Accounting Department will keep a record that they are for
prepayment.

To review the amount of prepayment on account for you currently, click
on the link from your Learner home page to your Financial page.

The DEADLINE for submitting prepayment of all or part of your courses
is March 21st, 2004. Prepayment must be for entire courses, partial
payment cannot be accepted.

EXEMPT - Those long time Learners who have enrollment agreements that
preclude a tuition increase are exempt. Additionally, if your tuition
has been locked in by the Accounting Department you will not be subject
to the tuition increase. To determine if your tuition is locked in
click on the link from your Learner home page to your Financial page.
Please contact accounting at [email protected] if there is an error. You
do not need to contact accounting to confirm your status, only to
report errors.

Utilizing SLM loans – If you currently have a SLM loan for the ENTIRE
amount of your programs, you are exempt from the tuition increase. If
you have a SLM loan for PART of your program, you are locked in ONLY for
the courses paid by the loan.

Utilizing Military Tuition Assistance – Financial Aid consultants will
be here next week and advise us regarding the use of Military Tuition
Assistance and VA Benefits in conjunction with federal financial aid
programs. We will notify you as soon as their recommendations have been
incorporated and final policy determined.

==end=========================================

 

NCU Tuition

90% in a year is a big increase !

Obtaining RA and their proposed offering of financial aid doesn't seem to justify that large an increase. But they are a for-profit like UoP, Capella, AIU, Argosy etc - so it's whatever the owners think the market will bear.

There appears to be a big demand for graduate programs in education so starting a School of Education is a smart move but the tuition has to be competitive. $475.00 a unit is pricey for a masters program at a new university.

 

NCU

The increase, when compared to other RA's is still a good deal though. I am more and more impressed by these guys. Good salemen I guess, they keep destrotying my objections before I can form them properly. I think there is a 89% chance I will be going with them.
RA
Fin Aid
Competitive pricing.
I dunno, there is still a stigma, but its getting smaller.

 

Re: NCU Tuition

So will the not-for-profits, especially for degree programs similar to those offered by the schools you list. I don't see any great savings going to Union (like I did), Fielding, or Nova Southeastern. Those schools--or, programs within a school, like Nova--are supported by tuition. They, too, will charge what the market will bear.

Usually, traditional schools that offer nontraditional programs not only expect those programs to be self-sufficient, but also cash cows to help support the rest fo the university.

 

How do you arrive at 90%?
My tuition is going up 27% ($375 to $475 per unit).

 

I believe they were $165 during candidacy, so after RA was bestowed they are now $475, nearly a 300% increase in that time span.

 

$133 to $400

CCHS went from $133 to $400/credit since Jan. 1. That's more than a 300% increase. I think that's why they want to piss off all of the old timers--to make more room for the newbies willing to pay for a degree they will never see.

 

Huh?

Hi,
uh...
"make more room for the newbies willing to pay for a degree they will never see."

Please explain.

 

Apologies Ian. I should have filled in some details in my earlier post.

I started at $250 per unit (credit hour) back in Dec. 2002. The per-unit rate increased to $300 in Sept. 2003 (20% increase at the time). The jump to $475 puts the overall increase at 90% if my math is correct.

GENO's example of $165 to $475 is a 187% increase, if my math holds true again.

As stated earlier, NCU has acknowledged (via email sent by Dr. Hecht) the people in the older "4 unit course" program by only increasing the tuition by a modest $50 per unit ( $350 per hour for me as of 3/22/2004 ) with a lock-in for the remainder of the program. Kudos to NCU for this gesture.

Another graduate program I was looking at before NCU was Univerisity of Idaho's Engineering Outreach. Looking at their website http://www.uidaho.edu/eo/newhtml/fees.htm, I see the current tuition rate at $457 per credit. If memory serves me right, the rate was $320 per credit a bit over 2 years ago.

To the casual observer, it would appear that NCU is just adjusting their tuition to what the current market rates are.

 

Re: Re: NCU Tuition

 

Re: Re: NCU Tuition

Somehow part of the message was lost in my previous post - I'll try again.



Agreed, non-profits can charge what the market will bear as do the for-profit universities. The difference is that "excess revenues" at non-profits go back into the university, but at the for-profits they go into the owners pocket.

I appreciate NCU's soft marketing as compared to UoP and others that can be very agressive. I've talked with NCU counselors a few times and I've always found them to be helpful and professional - they didn't use pressure sales. Their website lists their current tuition which is refreshing since it is very difficult to find tuition and fees listed on some of the for-profits sites.

Nova charges $340.00 a credit for their DL masters and $500.00 a credit for their DL doctorate while NCU is going to charge $475.00 a credit (all graduate programs). NCU is still an unknown quantity and with this last tuition increase is expensive -Nova is well a respected institution and is cheaper. I think NCU is pricing itself out of the market.

The nontraditional programs at traditional schools that I've seen have not been cash cows, but they have been self-supporting like extension divisions.

 

Re: Re: Re: NCU Tuition

Since I don't know anything about Nova or NCU are you comparing apples to apples. In other words, do both Universities require the same amount of course work. You said Nova is well respected, but I don't know one person that has ever mentioned this College to me. Who is it respected by?Cheaper by $35 a credit, but do both Universities require the same units to graduate. I believe there has to be a DL Univerity that is a lot less expensive then over $300 per credit.

 

BTW - quick note - respect is in the "eye of the beholder." However, I find most discussions on these boards rather amusing. Good luck in whatever studies (universities) you choose to pursue.

DK