Grantham U? Aspen U, AJU, Southwest? CSU? etc.

Hey guys, I have decided that I am going to get a MS in Criminal Justice to hopefully be an instructor at a community college or the like one fine day. This will be from an RA school like University of Phoenix.

As an add on I am seeking an MBA but don't want the debt of an RA degree for it, I intend to pay for it out of pocket so money is a large factor. I do not intend to use my MBA for any type of teaching but instead would like to simply learn management skills and possibly use it in the private sector or in law enforcement. Thus an NA degree would not be too detrimental here.

My question is after searching here; what is your opinion of :

Grantham University?

Andrew Jackson University?

Southwest University?

A couple others that I considered was

Aspen University and Columbia Southern, but from what I understand both have come from dubious backgrounds (diploma mills).

Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

 

Since you are looking at NA schools and money is a concern, have you considered Ashworth College? They offer an MBA for a total of $5000, and that includes books. They let you pay $99 down and $99 a month. I've actually been looking at Ashworth for an AS in Marketing.

 

Another choice for an NA school is CCU .

It is $165 per credits and they used to rent the books to students for $20.

 

Hi - As the founder and former president of Aspen I feel compelled to say that Aspen University does not have a dubious background and was never a degree mill. It was founded as the International School of Information Management, later called ISIM University and, with an acquisition in 2004, renamed to Aspen.

I am no longer affiliated with Aspen, but feel confident that if a NA school meets your need, Aspen should be among those you consider.

Mary A

 

Your goals might change though. How about RA Cal State Dominguiz Hills? I understand that is reasonably inexpensive.

 

What TCord said.

If you're thinking about any of those other NA schools, none of them are inherently better than Ashworth. None of them are more "prestigious." All of them are more expensive... even if only by a little bit.

I've looked long and hard at this in the past. I realize that people have a funny attitude toward Ashworth... maybe because it's so slick and PCDI-trade-school-training-like in its general approach. But Ashworth is basically saying, in effect, "Look, we're not screwin' around here. We're here to take your money, prescribe and make sure you do rigorous (neither the most rigorous nor the least, but still sufficiently rigorous) coursework, to test you and make sure you know it, and then to give you an accredited degree. Period. We're not your mother. We're not your babysitter. We've packaged it for bulk delivery to as many people as possible. We're not about pretty campuses with ivy on the walls of the buildings, or pipe-smoking old professors in wool sweaters with leather patches on the elbows. We're here to churn you through our system fast and cheap. We'll help you when you need it, but we've packaged everything so you won't need much help. We want you to keep up your payments, do you work, follow our policies and procedures, and be in and out, quick like a bunny. In exchange for your patience with that, we'll give you a price that no one can beat and an interest-free payment plan like no other. When it's over, by hook or by crook, you'll have a nationally accredited degree that's just as good as any other nationally-accredited college or university; and probably also better than alot of regionally-accredited ones, too... and for a fractionof the cost."

Nationally-accredited is nationally-accredited. When a person specifies that they want an MBA for the precise reasons that you've specified; and when their concerns are as you've described; and when they're considering the very institutions that you're considering, I tell them to just choose Ashworth and be done with it. Do the work. Get through it. Accept the diploma. And be able to put "MBA" behind your name on business cards, letterhead and your resume in state like Oregon without being a criminal. If you'd said you wanted prestige or an AACSB accreditation, my advice would be very different. But based on your stated criteria, look no further than Ashworth. The others are fine, but save your money. They're no more nor less highly regarded than is Ashworth, trust me.

 

Check amberton.edu http://www.amberton.edu/
Tuition is $600 for each 3 credit hour course
Minimum Requirements:
• 24 semester hours applicable to the degree must be completed at Amberton University.
• 36 semester hours for a degree.
Degree Programs Offered Via Distance Learning (e-Course)
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
- GENERAL BUSINESS
- MANAGEMENT
- STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
MASTER OF SCIENCE - HUMAN RELATIONS AND BUSINESS
Good Luck!!

 

friendorfoe,
Aspen fka ISIM University has never been known to have a dubious background.

 

Has anyone here gone throught the course at Ashworth? - I want an inexpensive course (I don't want to get into debt to fund my Masters) which lets me study at my own pace, and this seems like it fits the criteria. I also looked at UT System, A&M Commerce or West Texas A&M - but they don't seem as flexible as Ashworth. Sure, I want the letters after my name, but I want to learn the skills to help me in my career - would Ashworth be deficient in this area compared to my other options?

 

There are people here who have gotten a degree at Ashworth. I don't know if any of them are Ashworth MBA graduates. Some have Ashworth masters (or are in the Ashworth masters program) in other areas, however, and I have chatted with one that's in the Masters in Healthcare Administration program there. Her BA is regionally-accredited; and she was in a regionally-accredited masters program some years back that she didn't get very far in before family issues forced her to withdraw. But, because of that, she has a regionally-accredited program (though precisely which one, it suddenly occurs to me, I can't remember) against which to compare the Ashworth program. She said it's definitely different, but by no means sub-standard. She said it's weird not to have to buy books -- but easy on her pocketbook, of course. She said the courses come very smartly packaged with CDs and texts and study guides, etc.

Most of all, she said there's plenty of rigor and that Ashworth need make no apologies to anyone on that score. That said, she did think that a couple of courses felt more lightweight than what she knew of their regionally-accredited counterparts; but she felt that was the exception to the rule. She liked that Ashworth's program, just generally, forced her to become more computer literate -- not so much because of the program's Information Management course (though, she said, that, too), but because you simply can't get through Ashworth's program without some serious use of the computer for both learning and testing.

She complained that sometimes the people at Ashworth who were supposed to help her when she had a question were not as good at that as she'd hoped (though, overall, they were more than adequate); and she was put-off -- to the point that she almost didn't sign-up -- by the hard-sell treatment she got when she contact them.

She checked with her employer before signing-up at Ashworth and said employer indicated a strong willingness to treat her masters -- once she had actually earned it -- just the same as one from a regionally-accredited university. The reason, her employer told her, is that while she was on the phone asking, the HR rep with whom she was speaking was able to quickly find Ashworth and its programs in a directory of colleges and universities that are accredited by USDE- and/or CHEA-approved agencies that she just happened to have sitting on a shelf next to her. In other words, at least for this woman's employer (which is a hospital, I should probably add), it made no difference that Ashworth was nationally (and not regionally) accredited. The national accreditor's USDE and/or CHEA imprimatur was apparently all it took. Other employers, you should be warned, may not agree... I'm just saying that that was the case in this case.

There is a Yahoo! group of Ashworth students whose postings you might find interesting. Most of them, I should warn you, are in Ashworth's associates (and not its masters) program (though there are a few there who are in the masters program). Click here to find said group.

That's exactly Ashworth's salient benefit... among others. While the maximum time to complete isn't unlimited, it's certainly more than reasonable; and the cost can't be beat. Though there are other nationally-accredited MBAs out there that seem to cost roughly the same amount, you'd have to add to them the cost of text books and other such materials in order to compare apples to apples. Once you do that, Ashworth really is the low-price leader.

Almost no one else is. I've talked to some fairly high muckety-mucks at Ashworth and you're pretty much precisely Ashworth's target audience. You want USDE- and/or CHEA-approved accreditation credibility, but it doesn't have to be of the regionally-accredited or AACSB flavor because you know that you'll never be using the degree to compete with the Ivy-leaguers; and you'll never be using it to teach or anything like that. You want it to be as flexible as a degree can be without sacrificing quality. And you want it for a Wal*Mart price... and you're willing to be treated ever-so-slightly like cattle (well... maybe not that bad, but I think you get my point) every now and then in order to get it. And remember: While the Ashworth MBA may or may not get you a teaching position at a regionally-accredited institution, it most certainly could be requisite to a doctoral program at some.

No... that is, as long as you limit them to the kinds of options you've cited. Look, Ashworth isn't Ivy League. Its MBA would not be a formidable player in the serious, highly-competitive, cut-throat, only-the-best-AACSB-MBA-will-do business world. It's credible as an MBA program, generally. It will keep you legal in all states. You will learn from it more than I suspect you ever imagined. It will look good on your resume (not so much because it's from Ashworth, but because bygod it's an MBA); and on your business card and letterhead (precisely because it's an MBA); and it will be sufficiently rigorous that you won't secretly feel like a fake; and, moreover, I believe that if someone who does have an AACSB-accredited MBA looked at it closely, s/he would furrow his/her brow and say, "Man... I'm surprised. That Ashworth MBA is better than I thought." And based on what you've described as your criteria, I'm guessing that would be good enough.

Just my $.02 worth, mind you.

 

I really appreciate all of the replies, all were helpful.

I did a little more research on Aspen and I seem to have been mistaken. I appologize, it looks like a good school. I like the looks of Columbia Southern and they really seem to have gotten their act together. Looks like I was wrong twice.

As for Ashworth College; I enrolled and completed their AS in Criminal Justice and was less than thrilled with their service. The course work was fine, I learned a lot and was accepted into Kaplan University CPS with some remedial work so it served it's purpose. HOWEVER, everytime I had a question regarding payment, transcripts, etc. it was either unanswered emails or unreturned phone calls. I do not intend on repeating the experience.

You are right, and NA degree is an NA degree and none is more prestegious than the other HOWEVER, some may have a better curriculum and better support. Service is everything to me.

As for regional schools, Amberton is in Texas, where I live and thus I have to take and pass a state exam, which I don't really care for. (Maybe I'm mistaken?)

Also I don't want to have to jack with a residency requirement.

I am all ears to those students who have experience with the above mentioned schools.

 

I believe I was clear about Ashworth's less-than-wonderful service and support; and what the tradeoffs are for enduring it. That said, when paying the price a man asks, the buyer should not have to endure the man's poor job of making that purchased all it was claimed to be. Assertiveness and insisting on not being taken for granted in this life is usually not merely an option. Even one of the aforementioned high muckety-mucks at Ashworth confided to me that the customer support construct that Ashworth has adopted probably could use a little work; and that if any of its students doesn't feel like s/he's getting his/her money's worth, s/he should not hesitate to escalate the matter to a supervisor or even to an executive of the organization. I find that I must do that sort of thing in life more and more these days. It's a skill worth developing and employing whenever necessary. From what I know of it, if said skill is employed when necessary at Ashworth, the student is able to get whatever information s/he needs and/or to get done whatever it is s/he's trying to get done.

That said, no one likes to have to bitch and moan all the time to get a little quality customer support. It's trying and draining and time-consuming. So there's the trade-off. When deciding between Ashworth and other places, one must factor-in that in exchange for whatever else are Ashworth's salient benefits, a more pro-active than normal student interaction (read: insistence) with Ashworth's customer support people may be required.

 

DesElms,

Thanks for your $0.02 worth - I appreciate the time and thought you put in to the reply, and I'm sure others will too.

I'm wary of signing up for something wihich turns out to be a diploma mill or a degree of little value. Although I'll be doing some more research for a while before committing to this institution, your views have certainly helped me believe that this place is worhty of further investigation.

Thanks again.

 

West Texas A&M

If you are a Texas resident I would look at them for an MBA.

Tuition is less than $4000 for the entire program.

Not too shabby.

 

For my needs, Southwest works well. But I wish it were as affordable as Ashworth, hence I may be going there. Columbia Southern's program isn't bad, either.

 

Has anyone here actually attended one of these institutions?

 

I am currently finishing up my BS in Computer Engineering Tech at Grantham University. It has been a great school for me, but I would not recommend it for you. It is quite expensive (over $3000 a semester) and the support can be lacking at times.

If I had it to do over again, I would choose a different school. I wish I had these forums 2 years ago!

 

The particular Aspen University you are talking about is a legitimate school that started out as International School of Information Management and later became ISIM University. They are DETC accredited. There is/was another Aspen University, a degree mill which offers/ed such fine gag degrees as the Doctor of Universal Confusion from the Ulcer Club of Los Angeles.

 

Re: Re: Grantham U? Aspen U, AJU, Southwest? CSU? etc.

Actually the degree mill you speak of was Aspen College I think...

--

Moreover, friendorfoe, I have attended Aspen University for my MBA. I had started out in 2004 and the tuition was really low back then. I paid a total of 4200 for the tuition and with books from half.com the total cost of teh degree came out to 5000 USD. It took me around a year and a half to complete the MBA.

My Aspen degree has served me well here in Canada, both from a learning point of view as well as professionally. I plan to go for the CMA exam and all of my credits from Aspen were in fact recognized towards pre-reqs for the exam...

 

Thanks again guys.

Okay so far:

Grantham out = too expensive.

Ashworth out = I didn't care for 'em.

Aspen = looking more promising.

Columbia Southern = I need more information on.

Southwest University = I can't find diddley on them. I'll continue to hunt though.

Andrew Jackson = Leading the pack with their "non-profit" status and upon reading their lit looks to be a school that really cares about their students and the integrity of the degree. As a huge bonus they seem to be fairly inexpensive.