Education Direct?

I posted this question in another thread, but the thread was on a somewhat unrelated topic which I started.

Anyway, does anyone have any feedback/experience with Thompson Education Direct? I'm seriously considering enrolling in their ASB degree in Marketing. I'm looking for info about their monthly payment plan (how much each month), ease of transfer to RA schools and utility/acceptability in the workplace. Pros/Cons? I'm aware they are DETC accredited, but I know their degree programs are also reviewed by ACE.

Thanks!

 

I took the paralegal studies program awhile back. The program was about as difficult as most college classes. The material was well written and instructors seemed to be helpful. Excelsior College initially rejected all of my units from Ed Direct however, once I pointed out to them that they are a candidate for regional accreditation they accepted all of them for transfer. The price seems to be pretty good. Much cheaper than alot of other DL programs.

I would go with Ed Direct over Ashworth College. If you have other questions feel free to PM me.

Good Luck!

 

I have my Bachelors but am using ED to brush up on skills that i need to work in a hospital setting. I am actually learning a lot and find the classes both interesting and challenging. I am not interested in transfering anything so I don't have any input for you.

 

While I believe Education Direct has solid, quality programs there is one thing about them that just bugs me. Their degree granting arm called "The Center for Degree Studies" just makes me cringe. I think it's an awful, awful name.

The question is: Would some HR personnel react the same way?

 

I am finishing up 3 courses with Ed Direct to be transfered.

They have an option to buy individual courses through their business department.

All of the courses are ACE reviewed and can be transfered to the "big 3" and many other schools.

I love the courses, they can't be beat for $55 per credit INCLUDING books.

 

Hi skidadl,
I have a few questions.
Do they offer any upper level classes?
Are the courses self-paced, web based, cd?
Is there a time Limit?
Do you have a contact number, link?
Thank you much,
Pilot

 

PilotDo they offer any upper level classes?

Well, that would depend on who is taking the credits. I have the doc of all of the ACE reviewed courses from ACE. On the doc it states what ACE's recommondations for credit are.

I'm not sure that the school that you transfer to will accpet them as upper credit. That would be up to them.

TESC told me that they don't distinguish between upper and lower credits. Only that the requirements are met.

Are the courses self-paced, web based, cd?

The courses are paper based. Books and exams come in the mail. Completely self paced. You will have to get a proctor for the final exam. All exams are multiple choice and can be submitted online.

Is there a time Limit?

You have one year from the start date to complete each course.

Do you have a contact number, link?

educationdirect.com

On the website there is a # for the business department. Call that # and ask for a Manager. Most of the CSR will tell you that they don't sell individual courses but, trust me, they do.

Be sure that you ask for the ACE reviewed courses only.

I have the ACE file on Ed Direct if you would like it email to you.

 

Thanks for the Info,
Yes please send me the Link of the ACE file on Ed Direct

 

There is no link for that info. It is a file that I obtained from ACE that lists all of Ed Directs reviewed courses.

I tried to email you.

I would be glad to send it over.

[email protected]

 

I also have mostly good things to say about Education Direct Center for Degree Studies. I don't like the name either, but what can you do? It seems like DL schools just love their hokey names. The good news is that if you transfer to a four year school when you are done, where you got your Associate’s degree won’t really matter as much.

Anyway, I completed an ED CDS ASB program, and then, transferred to a traditional bricks and mortar four year RA school. The ACE reviews only made that process easier. If you want to review the school's list of ACE reviewed courses, just go to your local university library and take a look at The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs. You may want to call first just to make sure they have one on their shelf. I made copies from a 1997 version that I'd be willing to share, but that may not be too helpful at this point.

Also, if you don’t want to take a trip to the library, try giving ACE a call. Back in the day, I called them when I was considering different DETC schools for my MBA. They were nice enough to email ACE CREDIT lists for a few of the different schools. Just in case you don’t have it, ACE’s website address is www.acenet.edu, and their phone number is (202) 939-9300.

In addition to being ACE reviewed, DETC accredited, and very affordable, there are some other great things about Education Direct. For one, they appear to be candidates for MSA regional accreditation. Visit http://www.msache.org/msache/content/direch.asp and search Education Direct in the candidate section. It says that they achieved candidacy in 2003 and will have a review in 2007 or 2008.

Another cool thing about Education Direct is that they registered a school code (7025) with the Law School Admissions Council. This is not a huge deal, but if you ever apply to law school you’ll need to submit all of your transcripts to www.lsac.org. Their LSDAS service will put together a report for the schools you apply to, and in my opinion, it looks suspicious when an undergraduate or graduate school attended is listed on that report as miscellaneous. The last I checked, several DL school have yet to register an LSAC code.

So, in the end, I think the pros outweigh the cons. If you earn an Education Direct degree, you’ll have a degree from a nationally accredited school with regional candidacy and ACE reviewed courses. You'll have a degree that you can use in the workplace, for college transfer, or even graduate/law school admissions should you decide to earn a four year degree later on. And, you won’t have to pay out the nose or rack up huge student loan debt. Now, only if they would change their name!

Well, good luck! If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to send me a pm or post them here.

 

I thought I read somewhere that all of ED's degree programs were ACE reviewed? Or is it just certain courses within the degree program? I guess what I'm asking is...would the entire ASB degree transfer to a four year program?

 

Oh, and one more thing: how much are ED's monthly payments for their degree programs?

 

To the best of my knowledge...

ACE’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT) does not review entire schools or degree programs. They only review the specific courses within those programs. Then, they offer credit value recommendations for each course. The last time I checked almost all of the ASB program courses offered by Education Direct were successfully evaluated by ACE, and most of those got matching recommendations. For example, courses that Education Direct awards 3 credits for usually got 3 lower division (Associate’s level) credit hour recommendations. I have seen a few courses get only 2 credits, but it’s usually a close match.

Schools can also be institutional ACE members, but that is something different than ACE CREDIT. ACE CREDIT evaluations increase utility and ease transfer, while ACE membership just seems like a nice thing to have. I think ACE membership is open to all NA and RA schools, and may not even cost much. With ACE CREDIT, on the other hand, schools must submit their courses for evaluation, and that costs money. I called ACE to get an estimated price, and from what I could gather, it costs the school about $8,000 for every grouping of eight similar courses they submit. That may be one reason why more DETC schools don’t utilize the service.

As for transfer, my experience was as follows: Schools that recognized ACE evaluations but not DETC accreditation, awarded credits according to what ACE recommended in the National Guide. Schools that recognized DETC accreditation awarded transfer credit based on the Education Direct transcripts.

When I was a student at Education direct, all of the courses in my 60 credit ASB program were given a total ACE recommendation of about 56 credits. The four year school I chose ended up awarding me all 60 transfer credits. I wouldn’t have been all that upset with 56, though.

So basically, if you go copy the Education Direct section of the ACE National Guide (or buy the whole book), you will be able to select courses that give you the maximum ACE value. That way, if the four year school you choose recognizes ACE recommendations but not DETC accreditation or MSA candidacy, you will still be able to get the maximum amount accepted in transfer.

As far as the money thing goes, I am not totally sure. When I was a student there many many years ago, each 15 credit semester had a total cost of about $700. I remember making a small down payment and a few small monthly payments, but I always finished my courses before I was done paying, so I started paying in full. The total ASB cost me about $2,800. The school may have more tuition info listed on their website: www.educationdirect.edu.

I hope I was able to help!

 

More ASB Marketing tuition info....

Snippets from this Education Direct website: http://www.educationdirect.com/marketing/Tuition.html

The Education Direct website says: Save up to $585, $300 now before tuition goes up, a $200 rebate upon graduation, and up to $85 more based on your payment plan.

The total for Semester One price of your ASB Degree in Marketing is $808.00. (Tuition of $573.00, a registration fee of $150.00, a credit application fee of $25.00, a technology fee of $35.00, and a shipping and handling charge of $25.00.)

Payment plan 1 = In Full : Total price of $723.00 (Save $385).

Payment plan 2 = Automatic: Make a down payment and establish easy, interest-free monthly payments that will be automatically charged to a credit card or bank account. Total price $748.00 (Save $360).

Payment plan 3 = Standard: Make a down payment and make monthly payments using a payment book, that you will receive from Education Direct by mail. Total price $808.00. (Save $300).

Their tuition hasn't really gone up much at all. Not bad for an accredited and very convenient school.

 

Education Direct has withdrawn their bid for Regional Accreditation with the MSA.

Just an FYI

 

A very interesting and important FYI, and it looks like you are right. How did you find out? When I first heard the news about E-D's MSA candidacy, I saved this MSA webpage to my favorites: http://www.msache.org/msache/content/direch.asp. E-D is still listed in that candidate database.

However, MSA changed their main website address, and if you search in the new directory located here (http://www.msche.org/institutions_directory.asp), E-D is not listed.

 

My friend and fellow Republican, I am in the know. (Plus, someone posted the MSA updates on another DL website)

 

The most recent Commission actions are available for download from Middle States Commission website , see the following link
Here u can find the info about Education Direct withdrawing from RA Candidacy

http://www.msche.org/documents/actions062205.pdf

 

Would the fact that they are no longer candidates for RA make them less acceptable to RA schools for transfer credit? Or are the ACE recommendations for credit good enough to transfer into a BA program?

 

Hello Skidadl,
Iam a student of education direct(ASB Degree) can you please send me the list of ACE reviewed courses to my email address thanks in advance for your help!

email - [email protected]