New Schools for Bears' Guide? Request for advice!

Hello all. Some of you know me, many of you know my dad, Dr. John Bear, and I'm guessing many of you know our books, Bears' Guide & College Degrees by Mail & Internet. I've been coauthoring them off & on with John over the years, and I'm now taking a more active role with the current editions.

So, here's the deal. We want to "freshen up" College Degrees, which is the "100 Best" book. The basic concept is, undergrad and/or grad degrees from accredited schools that are best, easiest to deal with, most innovative, or otherwise great for U.S. distance learners (overseas schools welcome, but the prime audience for the book is U.S., so they need to be schools that are easy for Yanks o work with.) Programs don't have to be 100% distance, but we try for as litle residency as possible--if more than a week is required in a year, probably not right for this book.

I have cut & pasted the current 101 schools below. And I'm throwing it open for recommendations . . . which schools do you think are overrated, or just not really "100 Best" material? Which awesome programs (regionally accredited or international equivalent) have we missed? Don't be shy!

All I can offer is an in-print thank you to the most helpful folks, and hey how about a signed copy of the new book to the A-1 most helpful. Yeah, it ain't much, but we're a bit of a shoestring operation here!

Please post your recommendations in this thread. Lively debate welcome (within the bounds of good taste of course . . . hey, we all read Chip's post, right?)

Best,

Mariah Bear

One Hundred Accredited Schools That Offer Degrees Entirely or Almost Entirely by Distance Learning

1. American College
2. Antioch University
3. Argosy University
4. Athabasca University
5. Auburn University
6. Baker College
7. Bellevue University
8. Brigham Young University
9. Burlington College
10. Caldwell College
11. California College for Health Sciences
12. California State University @ Dominguez Hills
13. Capella University
14. Capital University
15. Central Michigan University
16. Charles Sturt University
17. Charter Oak State College
18. City University
19. Clarkson College
20. Colorado State University
21. Columbia Union College
22. Columbia University
23. De Montfort University
24. Deakin University
25. Eastern Illinois University
26. Eastern Oregon University
27. Edith Cowan University
28. Empire State College
29. Excelsior College
30. Fielding Graduate Institute
31. George Washington University
32. Georgia Institute of Technology
33. Goddard College
34. Golden Gate University
35. Governors State University
36. "Guerrilla Marketing" MBA
37. Henley Management College
38. Heriot-Watt University
39. Indiana University
40. ISIM University
41. Jones International University
42. Judson College
43. Kansas State University
44. Laurentian University
45. Murdoch University
46. Murray State University
47. Naropa University
48. National Technological University
49. The New Jersey Institute of Technology
50. Northwood University
51. Nova Southeastern University
52. Ohio University
53. Open University
54. Pennsylvania State University
55. Prescott College
56. Queens University
57. Regent University
58. Regis University
59. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
60. Rochester Institute of Technology
61. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
62. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
63. Salve Regina University
64. Saybrook Graduate School
65. Skidmore College
66. Southwestern Adventist University
67. Stanford University
68. Stephens College
69. Syracuse University
70. Texas Tech University
71. Thomas Edison State College
72. Touro University International
73. Troy State University Montgomery
74. Union Institute and University
75. University of Alabama
76. University of Bradford
77. University of Denver
78. University of Idaho
79. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
80. University of Iowa
81. University of Kent at Canterbury
82. University of Leicester
83. University of London
84. University of Louisville
85. University of Maryland
86. University of New England
87. University of Northern Iowa
88. University of Oklahoma
89. University of Phoenix
90. University of South Africa
91. University of South Australia
92. University of Southern Queensland
93. University of Texas
94. University of Wales @ Lampeter
95. University of Waterloo
96. University of Wisconsin @ Superior
97. Upper Iowa University
98. Vermont College
99. Walden University
100. Washington State University
101. Western Illinois University

 

Amberton University: 5 stars

Hello Mariah,
you might want to add Amberton University to the top 100 DL list. You dad had it listed back when it was listed as Amber University.

A couple of points:

RA Accredited
Also has B & M classrooms
Can be completely done DL
Very affordable: $600 per class at Masters level
Best student support I have received from a University
4 semesters/quarters per year
Terrific Class/major choices
Professors are same for B & M and DL classes
Extremely knowledgable about DL, military, adult learners

I looked into a lot of DL schools to complete my BSBA, and then for my MBA. I couldn't be happier with Amberton University. They should definitely be included in your top 100.

 

Hi Mariah,

National University now offers a number of bachelor's degrees in an online format. The number of online programs is growing rapidly. See:

National University



Tom Nixon

 

Good man!

I like the university, even if I "clashed" with a couple of professors (one was a consultant who was more worried about his project, and the other was a newly minted Comp Sci PhD who was getting "adjusted" to the new one month format and the "working professional" student)
They do professor evaluations every month. They are strong in their education majors, and providing teacher credentials.

 

With 10 online Masters degree programs, 6 Bachelors degree programs and over a dozen Certificate programs I think that the University of Massachusetts might qualify.
http://www.umassonline.com
Jack

 

Hi Mariah,

I am not sure if you are looking at only RA schools... and that thy should be B&M or DL as well, but I'll go ahead and give a few recommendations

I can recommend McMaster University (same status as University of Waterloo or Queens). Also, Brock University, especially with its AACSB accredited MBA program. As well, Aspen University that is quite talked about on this forum. It is DETC accredited, but I have compared its course work to McMaster, Windsor and Brock University by attending the MBA classes (call it covert intelligence, but I had to know for myself ), and I find it quite comparable to both in difficulty and the material covered.

Here are the links to all three universities. I hope to see them in the complimentary copy I receive

McMaster University http://www.mcmaster.ca
Brock University http://www.brocku.ca
Aspen University http://www.aspen.edu

 

Consortium: Arizona distance Learning: http://azdistancelearning.org/cgi-bin/wdbcgiw/vu_user/SIMPLE_SEARCH.show
Arizona State
Northern Arizona
Univeristy of Arizona


Indiana State: http://indstate.edu/distance/

 

I was wondering if there can be a seperate section for AACSB degrees. There are so many schools out there right now, and mixing apples and oranges makes it difficult. When I read edition 15, that was my issue, and if you do a search, there are many asking the same question.

If you do want to go this route, let me know, and I will put some feedback there on those schools.

 

Different book. This is the much smaller "100 Best" book. I think this will be its 10th edition.

However, that is an idea that Mariah might want to carry over to the big book. Tough choices...



Tom Nixon

 

Do you know the title, I didn't realize!

 

DSU

I graduated Delta State University. They have a 100% Online Masters degree in Commercial Aviation (MCA). The program and professors were excellent!

Delta State University is a regionally accredited school and was originally founded in 1925 as a teachers college. Located in Mississippi.

website:
http://ntweb.deltastate.edu/vp_bus_affairs/cav/Master%20of%20Commercial%20Aviation/MAChomepage.htm

 

For Criminology I really like Colorado State University - Pueblo. I am very close to Graduation with my BS in Sociology/Criminology and I have really enjoyed it.

 

Mariah,

I graduated with an M.A. in Humanities from the HUX Program at CSU Dominguez Hills this past August. The experience was great, but the program doesn't offer the level of support that one expects these days (i.e., library is lacking because of licensing issues for off campus students). I ended up subscribing to Questia to do my research for my thesis.

However, my purpose here is not to bash CSUDH, as I really liked their professors and friendships developed through the internet.

I am now pursuing a M.A. in Learning and Technology at Western Governor's University (started this month). I am having a "night and day experience" compared with CSUDH as far as getting up to speed on distance learning. They have an introductory course for the first month while the new students are getting up to speed on the fundamentals and are also being evaluated through assessments of prior learning.

Not only is WGU DETC accredited, it is also accredited by all four regional accrediting bodies. It is based on an assessment of learning instead of the traditional required classes. So far, I just taken my preassessment. So it's early days.

I'd strongly encourage you to investigate www.wgu.edu.

 

Since overseas schools are welcome:
The only(!) german degree program that is "easy for Yanks to work with" is the "International Master of Business Informatics" at the "Virtual Global University" - a joint program with the European University Viadrina. (In Germany an "International" degree is a degree with english as language of instruction.)

Since the master's degree is formally awarded by the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) the degree awarded is an official degree fully recognized by German law.
It's also (double) accredited.


Since Business Informatics (or in German: Wirtschaftsinformatik) is almost unknown in the english speaking world, here is a comparison of Information Systems and Business Informatics from VGU's Website:

"The Information Systems (IS) discipline which is mainly found in English speaking parts of the world is similar to Business Informatics (BI). However, there are major differences which make Business Informatics more attractive for employers (and perhaps employees also): 1) Business Informatics comprises information technology, i.e. relevant portions of applied computer science, to a much larger extent than Information Systems. 2) Business Informatics has substantial constructive features. This means that a major focus is on developing solutions for business problems.

Information Systems, on the other hand, has a strong focus on explaining empirical phenomena of the real world. Someone called it an "explanation-oriented" approach as opposed to the "solution-oriented" BI approach. Whereas IS researchers do a lot of empirical surveys and explain why things in the real world are as they are, BI people try to construct IT solutions for the problems they observe or assume. Business Informatics academics, for example, like to apply new technologies to business problems and do feasibility studies by means of building software prototypes. Students are taught this constructive approach as well. Their ability to shape reality - other than just explain reality - is what makes them attractive as employees for enterprises, and also good candidates for entrepreneurs in the business IT field.

Another tradition of Business Informatics is tight connections between research and teaching. Since most researchers are lecturers at the same time, new insights gained in research projects become parts of the curricula quite fast. Subjects taught in courses are under permanent revision and reconsideration because the pace of scientific and technological progress is quite fast. We attempt to keep our courses up-to-date all the time, including new methods, technologies, and tools as they are gaining practical importance."


I guess this degree program could be interesting for Americans.
It's more affordable than very most American schools and i GUESS a degree in Business Informatics could be an advantage for an American graduate.

URL's:
VGU's Website: http://www.v-gu.de/
EVU's Website: http://www.uni-ffo.de/

 

Another good school to add is...


University of North Alabama

They have a good DVD/Online MBA program.


www.una.edu

www.colsouth.edu/una

 

Another Good Online MBA program - AACSB accredited.


Texas A&M University - Commerce

www.tamu-commerce.edu

 

Here is addition for you: Iowa State University

ISU Continuing Education and Communication Services

They have plenty of graduate program offerings.

Also, they have the only DL professional graduate program in Planning that is accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB). The PAB is a cooperative undertaking sponsored jointly by the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Certified Planners, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. It's the equivalent of AACSB for business programs

http://www.lifelearner.iastate.edu/degree/crp.htm

 

Here are a few in the current list whose DL offerings I consider to be "class acts." I would recommend keeping these.

12. California State University @ Dominguez Hills
22. Columbia University
38. Heriot-Watt University
40. ISIM University (now renamed Aspen University)
48. National Technological University
49. The New Jersey Institute of Technology
60. Rochester Institute of Technology
92. University of Southern Queensland
94. University of Wales @ Lampeter


Here are a few others that I would include:

American Military Uni/American Public Uni
California Uni of Pennsylvania
Fort Hays
Stony Brook Uni
University of Ulster


Here are some that I would drop to make room for the above:

11. California College for Health Sciences
16. Charles Sturt University
36. "Guerrilla Marketing" MBA
67. Stanford University
76. University of Bradford

 

CSUDH offers both UG and PG degrees in a variety of subjects so it should remain in your list.

Also consider Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which has several degrres available by DL.

 

Columbia College (MO)
Franklin University

Both schools appear to have solid academics and still have a student first attitude.

Webster University seems to be great to work with as well, but I seem to remember something about something concerning them?????

Anyway...there's my two...schools.

Tony