I did a search on the discussion board for Penn State (and PSU) and got nothing (one in a political thread that had nothing to do with DL). Does anyone know anything about these programs? They seem to be among the most prestigious undergrad DL programs. (DL programs at the most prestigious schools) Is there a reason they are not referenced here very often?
They look like good programs, but they don't offer the majors I would be interested in pursuing. I also think they look a bit pricey. If the major and price weren't an issue for some people, I can see how it would look good on a resume, especially when applying to a grad school.
A degree from Penn State University Park is prestigious. But degrees from most of the others are not. For a list of all the campuses, including the World Campus, see http://www.psu.edu/ur/cmpcoll.html
Penn State World Campus I inquired with them three years ago and the attitude I sensed (in addition to the repeated mention of how rigorous and time-consuming each course was) was that they were more concerned about keeping people out than welcoming them in. I was particularly disappointed in how strict -- in other words, inflexible -- the program structure was, according to the person I spoke with ("You have to be able to do this-and-that, otherwise, you'll be dropped from the program...") The university is definitely prestigious, but it annoys me when they show their chip on their shoulders, making students work unnecessarily hard as if they were earning a Harvard University diploma when in fact it's "just" a Penn State diploma...
Re: Penn State World Campus The administration at Penn State does often come off as somewhat imperious, but in the end they are just another obstacle that one needs to get around in order to earn a degree. I received my undergraduate degree from another Big Ten school, and one where the administration's attitude was the polar opposite of Penn State's. They are a great school but if you've determined that they are inflexible and you require a progarm with some flexibility, there are many other options available. If enough prospective students choose not to pursue the PSU DL programs despite the prestige, hopefully the staff running the DL programs will see a need for changes to make them competitive with comparable DL programs.
I completed my degree fron PSU through DL a couple of years ago (one I had not completed twenty years earlier as an on campus student-long story!) They bent over backwards to help me. I then went on to the HUX program at CSU-DH, now I'm at Northcentral for a doctorate. I've had nothing but good experiences with all these programs. Any time a problem has cropped up, I made a call and asked for help and things were always handled immediately. Maybe I've just been lucky (knock on wood.) All the instructors I had at PSU were great - very responsive and willing to take phone calls in addition to emails. I only ever had one complain because I worked "too fast" and she couldn't get things graded in time in addition to the in-class classes she was teaching (they have a deadline for grading - once an assignment is sent in, they have to get it graded and returned within a certain amount of time - a quality control type of thing.) PSU does take things seriously and wants to maintain their high quality. The classes were great, the system they used worked well, I highly recommend it. Lori
