Student sues NA FMU because credits don't transfer

An AA graduate is suing FMU after she spent 37K on an AA that won't transfer to local State University or St. Leo.

More here:
http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA11QEKBRD.html


How could we with our vast community of knowledge help this woman. She intends to go to an RA college (which was a junior college until a year or two ago before they added BSN and BS Education - not that that is a bad thing SPC nee SPJC is a fine school.) and start over.




Thank you, remember to tip your server, try the fish, goodnight.

 

Outrageous

37k for an AA? Highway robbery!

 

Shop around

I feel for this lady but way the heck didn't she shop around? We have several community colleges were she could have gotten an AA for under $7000.

Always pays to shop around.

 

mdoneil writes:

> How could we with our vast community of knowledge help this woman.

By telling her that she can use her (ACICS-accredited) Florida Metropolitan University transcript to apply for RA credit by portfolio, instead of starting over?

On the other hand, maybe she doesn't want to know that until the jury has determined her damages.

 

Though I feel sorry for the you lady (actually she's 2 years younger than myself)
The school is NA accredited as is ITT. I can't expect to transfer any credits and was told from day 1 that I couldn't. Hell, before I even talked to them I knew that my credits wouldn't transfer.

I think the comment by the SACS college was out of line, and I feel that the ACICS rectified the situation.

 

How sad...

(sigh)

 

Better hope

She better hope she doesn't get laid off or need further education to advance at her company. Shortsighted attitude.

 

Re: Better hope

So what your saying here, is that her NA degree is useless?

 

Re: Re: Better hope

It is not useless but it does have its limits - difficulty transferring credits to an RA school is one them. The value of an RA versues NA degree has been debated here before.

I still can't get over 37,000 for an associates degree. Using todays price per credit, my bachelors and masters combined are still under that price. I could thow in a MBA through Amberton on top of it and still stay under that figure.

 

Re: Re: Better hope

It would be more useful if it were an AS, as opposed to an AA. AS degrees, at least those with which I am familar create markatable skills like nursing, respiratory therapy, Cisco Networking, and the like.
The AA is more of a stepping stone to a higher degree.

But for the woman in the article, it is useless to her.

But she probably does not know about The Big 3, or other avenues.

 

Nope

No, but an AA from an NA school is not as utilitarian as one from an RA school. As mentioned earlier, an AA is a transfer degree and to get one that won't transfer locally is a mistake. Let's face it, paying $37k for a degree that may not be widely accepted is a huge mistake. This is not a degree in programming we are talking about here. It is a degree which is generally used to transfer to a 4 year school.

I have stayed out of many threads on NA versus RA because an NA degree does have some utility and it is by no means not a diploma mill. However, to dump $37k on a transfer degree that will not be accepted by many if not most RA schools is a waste of money. She could have got the same thing from another NA (and saved $27k) or RA school (which would have transferred) for way less than $10k.

I, for one, will always opt to get the absolute best degree I can for my money, time and effort. I went for a DL MBA because I live in the sticks, have a good job and I have a family to support. But if I had the opportunity I would have gone to Harvard, Northwestern or even Illinois full time over my Touro DL MBA any day. It would be naive at best to think DL is just as accepted as a reputable full time program or that NA is as accepted as RA. It just ain't so.

In this girl's case, if she really wants only to attend one of the 4 year schools in her area then the FMU degree could in fact be "useless" to her.

 

Something else that wasn't pointed out previously:

"...Travis discovered that her 96 credit hours would not transfer."

That's a lot of credit for an AA!

Cheers,
Mark

 

I have a AS degree from Everglades College and because they are part of the Florida Course Numbering System, I can get any Florida state university to accept my credits. This program is great for the NA accredited college.

 

I was a little perplexed by this figure of $37,000 for an associates, so I called FMU to get the tuition rate and was told the following. They are on a quarter system and require 90 credits for an associates degree. The per credit rate ranges from $250 - $260 depending on program. So, even at the $260 rate, this is $23,400.

Maybe $37,000 includes her rent, food, cable bill, and car payment for the car she used to drive to school.

 

I liked the answers i got. I of course have an AAS degree that I did pay a small fortune for it. IMHO it was worth it to me before I decided to leave the tech industry....

 

It costs more than tuition...

tuition can actually be the smaller portion of the bill in some places. Tuition was only about 40% of the bill for my daughter's first year at a regional state university ($7600 total for Tuition, Room, Board, fees and books). It probably won't be at FMU, but books and fees could easily push the cost up another $7500 or more. I wonder if there was a dorm? If so, you easily have $37,000.

 

Maybe she had some really expensive books.

 

If the student was interested in obtaining a degree that was totally transferable, they should have looked into the transferability of credits before the degree was completed. Even with the accredidation, some courses may not match degree requirements. As for cost, I spent too much of my life worrying about the cost of education and used that as a reason not to go. I knew I would not be happy at a state school and although the school I am at is more expensive, I am acheiving the goal I have for myself. What's the cost of not doing that?

 

According to this document Florida Metropolitan University is part of the FCNS.

http://www.facts.org/html_sw/course_numbering_system.html

She could also make a strong argument for PLA.