switching from U of North Alabama to Amberton U

If you had the choice between getting a masters degree from Amberton U and U of North Alabama which would you choose? Which school do you think is better know and will be more accepted by employers in Ontario. Right now I am enrolled in the DL MBA program at UNA, but in the fall I am thinking of switching to AU.

 

My guess would be that UNA would be better accepted in Ontario since it's RA and a public/state rather than a "religious" school. Just a guess. Also, if I knew nothing about the two schools, UNA would "sound" better to me.

 

How much cheaper is Amberton going to be for you?

What is the difference in number of credits required?

For same number of credits/same cost I'd pick UNA. However, if you can save some serious bucks and do the degree faster you've got to seriously consider Amberton.

I don't think there is going to be a tremendous difference in utility in Ontario.

I hate to suggest yet a different school, but how about CSUDH? It would have name recognition and the qualifying program is shorter than UNA's.

 

UNA has better business accreditation (both are SACS accredited)and is much older and more established than Amberton. Amberton is limited in its scope of programs but is tailored to adult learning. However, I am looking at Amberton for the flexibility in the degree programs to get additional hours for teaching. Depending on the usage and where you want to concentrate your learning I would potentially consider Amberton.

UNA is the better choice if you want a more traditional university.

I would also recommend you compare the classes side by side for the programs you are evaluating.

lastly, Amberton is less costly and has easier entrance requirements.

 

Thanks for all your input guys.

If I was to go to Amberton U, I would complete my degree about 6 months faster and save about $5000-6000. If you don't have a business major in your undergrad UNA makes you take loads of pre req courses.

 

Tough choice. Don't know what your major or job is but the Amberton catalog now lists Project Management classes as available online and you can get undergrad or grad credit and a certificate. These classes count as management. A worthwhile certificate.

Good luck on your choice and keep us posted.

Regards,

 

Business is certainly not my area of expertise, but I do have a couple degrees in linguistics. Just looking at the words, the preference for me would be University of North Alabama. "Amberton" as a word choice has always seemed rather clunky.

Not much of a reason to make a choice on, but for people who have heard of neither, it might make a differencel. A $5000 difference? Who knows?



Tom Nixon

 

Amberton

A little feedback from someone who just took two graduate courses at Amberton Spring Semester 2004. I was starting the MBA program and was very, very disappointed with the quality of the instructors at Amberton.

You are just in a one-to-one course. Very little interaction between you and the instructor and students. Weekly feedback from assignments due generated a response "Thanks for you assignment. Your grade is x".

In speaking with a professor offline, I learned these professors could have multiple courses from other universities occuring at once. Thereby, reduced time dedicated to the student experience.

No feedback. No comments. Nothing learned from the instructor. Just learned from what I read. Their online system is very old and not protected well from the internet. You can get into any course, once enrolled.

Learned my lesson. I am moving onto another unversity this semester. I would rather pay a little for a good online learning experience instead of saving money.

Although, the office staff is very nice and responsive, your experience is based on the actual instructors teaching the online course. If they have little experience in general or teaching online course, your experience will suffer.

Good luck

 

Re: Amberton

I was wondering if you could tell me how many hours per week of work do the grad courses at Amberton requirer?

Thanks

 

I Love it so far

Hi Bo,
I am currently a student at Amberton, and I love it. I searched a ton of MBA programs, and I chose Amberton based on their course selection (first), accredited (second) and cost (third). When I reviewed what classes I can take, persuasion, consumer behavior, human motivation, etc., plus the standard strategic management, ethics, finance, etc. My choice was easy. I don't necessarily want to work for someone, but would rather continue my own business, training. I have also corresponded with a lot of current students, and 90% love it. So far I give them a big thumbs up. If my undergrad was this thought provoking, I would have done it a long time ago.

In response to some other valid posts, my experience with interaction with professors and students has been more than adequate. Personally I believe at the graduate level, I don't need a baby sitter, like someone might need with an undergrad degree. It does require that a student show more initiative, to seek out answers, from within, or other students or from the professor.

Bottom line, it will depend on what you want to do with your MBA, and your wallet. I would highly recommend Amberton, and I am glad that I chose this school. Good luck on your decision.

 

Ultimale,

if you don't mind can you provide an assessment of the research methods class, amount of work, etc... Feel free to PM if you would rather. I like the offerings from Amberton but don't want to take on much more than what I am working on now.

Thanks much....

 

please if you could, i would appreciate it if you also answered that question here on the board so others (mainly me) could read it?


thanks

 

my Amberton work week

Hi Skidadl,
OK, I'll explain what I wrote to Bo. So far I love Amberton, but it is a lot of work, reading, research, writing. I wasn't able to get in Research Methods as it was full when I registered(I was last minute). Full time at Amberton is 6 units, (Graduate level). Presently I am enrolled in Ethics. Not my first choice for a class, but it is part of my required courses.

Each week, I am required to submit about 3 papers, average 3-5 pages each, complete with footnotes, references, etc. I find that I spend about 1-2 hours per night, and 3-5 hours each weekend to meet this load. I find that the students rely more on each other than in my undergrad. The course requires a lot of reading, 4 books, online research, and interchange with other students deciphering the assignments.

I find the course extremeling interesting, and this was originally high on my list. I find by the time I am able to submit my papers, I have learned a lot. It is a lot of work, but I find it rewarding. I remember reading about another student at Amberton, and he said he had already submitted over 100 pages of reports, papers and he was half way through the semester. It is doable, providing you don't procrastinate. There is way too much work to wait til the end. The last week of the semester, they only allow only 2 papers to be submitted. So be aware of that.

I hope that helps, good luck