Aiu

Can anyone here give me their thoughts on AIU Online.
This board is great! It has helped to keep me from making some possible mistakes on choosing a school!
Patricia

 

From what I know:

Good:

They are very fast with the degree program. You have to keep up, but they will throw everything at you as fast as you can take it.

They are RA.

Bad:

They are very expensive.

They have come close to losing their RA at least once that I know of.

Heavy recruiting tactics.........at least, from what I understand.

 

I am a graduate AIU (Los Angeles); here is what I have to say - I went there from 1991 - 1994, BFA in Photography/Digital Design and I had a great learning expirience there, and the degree has done exactly what I wanted it to do that is get me good employment , got me into grad school (Norwich & Cornell), so has done it's job on that front.

Having said that, here is the deal - the university has been sold to CEC (Career education Corporation) and they are a for profit company; they have had many problems recently with accredidation and with student recruitment. The school has been working on resolving these issues and I am sure that they will come out of it ok.

Facts most people do not know about AIU

It is an atual Brick and Mortar School with various locations including Atlanta, LA, Florida, London, and Dubai;

The London program prepares you for an American and European Degree;

The Dubai School (American School in Dubai) has a learning partnership with Harvard;and

The School has a Good solid reputation in Europe and (until the CEC byout was well regarded in the US).

As a graduate I cannot honestly say DO NOT GO TO THAT SCHOOL without feeling a little "bad", but if it were in the situation it is now when I attended I would most likely have gone somewhere else.

 

I will finish AIU on 30 Sep (BIT), and have to say that it's been a great experience.

The expense would probably be the only negative thing I could cite about my experience. Currently AIU is on probation with SACS, although it looks like they've taken is seriously and have taken the steps necessary to be removed. I would wait until their probation has been removed prior to enrolling/starting. I believe they are up for review in December 2006.

My company pays for the majority of my tuition, and the GI Bill covered the rest, leaving me with little to pay.

Prior to starting I did not have a good outlook on the whole distance learning experience. After attending AIU my views have changed, as I have felt the course material was quite good as well as instruction.

I would have to say that no matter where you go, that you get out of education what you put into it. If a person wants to cram for a grade they can do that in both a DL school and a BM school, although they're only hurting themself.

One thing I have liked about AIU is the set assignment dates...if you're really bad (or good) at procrastination, then AIU will make you keep your assignment dates, or you'll fail. This has enabled me to keep focused on my studies.

After looking beyond the admissions experience, I would have to say that the quality of service I have received from both the instructors as well as staff at the school has been superb.

Jason

 

AIU called me yesterday. Granted, I'd been blabbering with their representatives off and on for a few months now, but this call got me.

First, they asked tons of questions about my motivation for school and personal background. Then, they asked about my support at home for pursuing a degree.

Then, the rep wanted to set another appointment to follow up, noting that he would E-mail a link to an application form and information about the school.

After that, he had the NERVE to insist in a patronizing fashion that I call in advance if I needed to cancel the follow-up. That irritated me, enough to take action, as I'll relate in a moment.

I checked his link. It was indeed an enrollment application, without much else as far as information about the school, save for the online programs! I was incensed. . . this struck me as much like asking someone to sign for a car loan without seeing the car.

I then looked up the school here (read up on its probation and recruitment tactics!) and found its REAL webpage as well. I then wrote the rep back canceling the appointment, and copied the school president on my ensuing tirade.

It's a shame when a DL school, online or no, feels it needs to resort to pressure tactics to get enrollments. It's almost the very antithesis of what good DL programs are about-- letting the students find you, and letting their own intrinsic motivation get them into your seats.

 

As an alum of AIU I have to say that my degree has served me very well. My employer paid for most of my undergraduate and the hope scholarship in GA filled in the rest so I had to pay nothing. I am paying for the masters but the degree has proven very useful. I've been able to secure a number of adjunct teaching positions and advanced in my company. I don't like AIU's price or thier high pressure "admissions" sales tactics, but the degrees were solid and have served me well thus far.

 

AIU
Agree with all the other comments here.

Pros:
Compressed courses, all sections available at all times basically, Regionally accredited.

Cons:
Some (probably temporary accreditation issues), Expensive, and possibly the most degree-mill sounding name in history.

I always wondered why they don't have a marketing major senior capstone come up with something better!