Capella vs. American Military University

Well, I'm boiling it down to two schools to pursue my second master's in organizational management and leadership. The question now lies as to which one to select.

Capella University - Maximum transfer credit in would leave me with seven classes for the master's. Tuition is 1995.00 per class, not including books.

American Military University - Maximum trasnfer credit in would also leave me with seven classes for the master's. Tuition is $750.00 per class, not including books.

Capella's total tuition: $13,965.00

American Military University total tuition: $5250.00

With Capella costing $8715.00 more is there a valid justification for paying that much more, whereas you could get the same degree through AMU.

 

I don't think so. If you were comparing AMU to a "top tier" university, then the difference would be justified.

 

That's exactly what I'm thinking...Capella is definitely not a top tier university and I'm having a difficult time trying to justify the higher cost.

The reason for the second master's to have the opportunity to teach online classes on a part-time basis. My MBA is (NA) and the research has shown you need an (RA) degree to be considered. I'm not interested in pursing a doctorate and dive into another four years of study. I need to have a life outside of school.

 

Now that AMU is regionally accredited, I don't see any significant difference at all. Both schools are online-only, so there is no measure of prestige to compare. All you have is the cost comparison, AMU wins that by a landslide.

 

I agree, I don't think you can justify the cost difference. Jump on AMU before the inevitable post-RA tuition explosion occurs.

 

You mention that you are contemplating teaching online. While I agree that Capella is not a first tier school have you given thought as to how a degree from AMU will be perceived versus one from Capella by a prospective employer for a position teaching online? The fact that Capella U. has brand recognition and that AMU is not a very well known entity at this time (as well as being identified as a military university unless of course you are a military person) effect any competitive edge you hope to gain from a second masters degree?

 

Certainly brand name recognition will not matter to a great extent at this level. If brand name recognition were a major issue, UoP would be a best buy.

At least im my humble .02.

AMU also has APUS American "Public" University........so whichever name suits you best.

 

Don't expect full transfer credit

I applied both to Capella and AMU expecting five courses to transfer. The five courses were infact graduate criminal justice courses from NCU. I was enrolling in CJ program which I thought would promote the max transfer. Much to my surprise, AMU tranfered 3 courses while Capella transferred 2. After much discussion, neither would change their offer. I was shocked because my grades were A's and I submitted the requested syllabi. Hopefully you can manage to get more credit than I.

 

Remember, the transfer credit has to fall within the graduate degree program. There isn't alot of room for excess credit in a 30-36 hour (10-12 course) program.

Example: I have graduate level credit in applied music (playing of flute). Nobody will transfer that into their MBA program as it simply doesn't apply to the degree.

As to the reputation of AMU being a military related (by name) organization and trying to get a teaching post.

Reputation by association: Some of the students (and graduates) of AMU are very highly placed military officers and federal employees. For many, this is their 2nd (or 3rd) master's. The subject areas have been very military/public service related but it appears that APUS is adding Education as a major soon (as inplied by their ad for an Education Dept. Chair in the Chronicle) and that's going to open their market up considerably.

There are indeed many places where the military connection is going to present a challenge. I'd expect though that most business departments (even in the most liberal of liberal arts colleges) tend to be very conservative politically. That being the case, a military connection is not negative but positive.

If the military connection is a problem -- just apply to American Public University (APU), same place.

As a retired veteran - I find the military connection a non-issue. Maybe even a plus.

 

If your choice is between Capella and the military school and both are regionally accredited then I would go the cheaper route. I am not as dogmatic like some folks here on getting your resume thrashed by a particular lonely dept. at an institution. I've seen dept. chair persons simply ask whether the masters degree is in the discipline they seek and whether your degree is regionally accredited. Then they hire you based on whether they like you or not. Even though my masters degree is a Brick and Mortar school there were no questions about the quality, name recognition, etc. to hire me as an adjunct. I've seen the same in other depts. and other schools. I work in what was once the USA's largest community college (now a four year institution) and they like online regionally accredited degrees because they often celebrate faculty getting their doctorates whether they are online or not types of degrees. Maybe the school(s) the other gentleman here works for has those biases. That's their choice and eventually their demise as they go farther into the 21 century. That is only my own opinion and my observations.

 

I appreicate everyones input. I'm thinking that American Military University seems to fit the bill in all categories.

I like Capella's learning format, but the cost benefit factor is just not weighing in. Spending $8000.00 more at Capella verses AMU on a SECOND master's degree just doen't seem to make sense. Again, my seeking for another master's is only for part-time online teaching, whereas you need a regionally accredited degree. AMUS got the best of both worlds being now RA and still NA.

As for Fort Hays State the reduced tuition cost and B&M presence is nice, but the classes are semester based (16 weeks). I want to go through a program that's more accelerated (8-10 weeks).

 

While AMU has 8 week and 16 week semesters available -- it seems to me looking through the course schedule that most classes are offered on the 16 week schedule.

Just something you may wish to consider.

 

I've seen worse.

At $565 per credit hour - according to USNews - one of Nova's MBA programs will cost you: $28,764 without transfer credits.

With transfer credits included (maximum 6 credits): $25,380

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/elearning/tables/mba_reg.htm

 

NCU has an MBA in organizational leadership.

NCU's total tuition for an MBA: $14,250

Surprisingly, its slightly more expensive than Capella! Can anyone justify this?

http://www.ncu.edu/estimated_cost_of_attendance.asp

I agree with Bruce. Go to AMU before they double their tuition!!

 

Snicker, snicker snicker. Know what an almost sure bet is on this forum? Anytime you mention the name Capella you can be darn certain that a high % of the responses will be negative. Before I even went down this thread I bet my self that a ? % of the comments would be aggressively negative. Thank you very much for not letting me down.

Again I find it interesting how this group tends to trash certain schools while others with similar practices/reputations get praise. Could it be because the trashees tend to be graduates from the praised schools. Interesting and how conveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeient! Guess that is one way to convince yourself that you made the right choice when it comes to school selection.

 

Maybe I’m a little slow here, but could you clue me in to where Capella was trashed on this thread?

Maybe you need to read the posts in this thread again.

 

I'm kinda not seeing the Capella negatives in this one either. What are e talking about here?

I hope it wasn't my reply -- I have nothing bad to say about Capella.

 

I disagee. During these very competitive times in all sectors of the labor market everything helps in enhancing one's chances of landing a job. At this time AMU is not in the forefront as a distance RA universities having only recently been accredited. In addition placing on one's resume that they attended American Public University may not exactly enhance one's portfolio either.

Let us keep in mind that human resource people quickly review resumes and will discard any that raise a red flag. I am not suggesting that one should become a name dropper and only attend and list reknowned universities but that one should think through very carefully their attendence at any school that will enhance their future opportunities for employment and promotions and not draw questions as to its credility.