Columbia Southern University - MS-CJ

I am seriously considering the CSU, MS-CJ degree program and am looking for positive/negative feedback, information and insights on either CSU and/or the degree program itself from anyone who has direct experience - THANKS!!

 

Hi Brian,

I'm a graduate from Columbia Southern University (BSBA & MBA). I would highly recommend any of their academic programs. The classes were flexibile, engaging and challenging. CSU provides excellent service to its students and they have a high quality administrative staff and faculty.

CSU has formed many partnerships with other traditional universities, government and private sector organizations. They are also the first and only DETC school to start offering the Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA).

 

M.S. Criminal Justice Administration

I earned my Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from CSU.
I found the program to be well put together, challanging and worth the time.
I would recommend going to CSU.

TomC.

B.S. Education Teaching
M.S. Criminal Justice Ad.
Ph.D. Criminal Justice Ad.
Advanced degree in Forensic Science Inv.
20 law enforcement certifications.

 

Re: M.S. Criminal Justice Administration

Hi Tom -

Thanks for your reply and input. I tried sending this as a PM but your mailbox was listed as being full and not able to accept........

I was just wondering about how long did it take you and if you took more than one course at a time? BTW: Where in Florida are you?

Thanks!!

 

Columbia Southern University is not regionally accredited. There are many regionally accredited CJ degrees that are online. Would you like me to post a few??? We can start with American Military University.

 

Please, let's not have another debate regarding NA vs. RA. It's like beating a dead horse.

Brian, American Military University was and still is DETC accredited. They just recently obtained regional accreditation. I considered AMU for a second master's. They seem to be a solid school with solid and unique degree programs.

As for recognized accreditation, please visit the following websites:

CHEA (http://www.chea.org)
DETC (http://www.detc.org)
US Dept of Ed (http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml)

As you probably already know, CSU is nationally accredited by the DETC, which is considered a global leader in accrediting distance educational institutions.

You can search this forum and come up with some pointed and heated debates regarding national vs. regional accreditation. Both are recognized by CHEA and the U.S. Dept of Education.

The biggest contention was that some graduates from nationally accredited schools had difficulty transferring their academic credits to some regionally accredited schools. Nowadays, there are plenty of options if you decided to transfer to a regionally accredited school for either a second master's and/or a doctorate.

Some would leave you to believe that you cannot teach with a DETC degree or employers would not recognize your degree. Based on my personal experience this is a fallacy. I've secured a faculty position and my employer paid part of my tuition for attending CSU.

You might find the attached article worth reading titled, "DETC Degree Programs - Graduates and Employers Evaluate Their Worth."

http://www.detc.org/downloads/2006%20Graduates%20and%20Employers%20Evaluate%20Their%20Worth.pdf

Make sure you do your own research and make an educated decision. If you like CSU's program(s), you'll have no shame in attending their degree programs, being that their well regarded, reputable and properly accredited.

 

Until I find something better (aka cheaper per se) I'll side step the RA -vs- NA argument as well. I needed my BS to be RA and the MS can be NA, so it works for me.

 

I am a huge supporter of NA schools. That said, you can't teach in many states with a NA degree. Maryland, where I live, is one such state.

Pug

 

Hi Pug,

That's very true and unfortunate. You would think graduates from distance learning institutions would be well suited to teach online, regardless of RA or NA. Just like professors who teach in the traditional format are well suited to teach in the classroom.

I think you'll start seeing a shift in this thought process as the years progress or at least I'm hopeful.