Early thoughts about Jacksonville State Distance Program

I started the Distance MBA program at JSU about a month ago and I thought I would share some early thoughts.

First, the price for an AACSB MBA that only requires 30 credits is what attracted me to the school. The total price with books and fees will be around $10,000.

General thoughts and observations:

Jacksonville State has only added the distance learning option over the past 3-4 years. It seems that they are not adapting well to distance education. The school does not make it easy for distance learners to apply and get enrolled. My biggest problem however is with the professors. Both of my professors seem unprepared and less than enthusiastic about teaching online classes. Both of my professors are tenured and have been teaching at JSU for over 20 years, so they have only been teaching online classes for a few years. Both of them show a clear disinterest in adapting their teaching style and level of organization to fit the online learning environment. Assignments are unclear and displayed at random times. The BlackBoard system that they use is outdated and very disorganized as far as being able to understand what is required. I have spoken to both professor over the phone to get some clarifications on assignments and both seem almost annoyed to have to teach these classes and speak to some random student in a different state other than Alabama. One of my professors was downright rude...

I just thought I would share this early experience with anyone considering this school. Hopefully things get better. I would love to hear from anyone that is currently taking distance courses at JSU...

 

I don't study at JSU, but what your are experiment is quite common in many universities that are trying to have online presence. You have individuals that would resit to the core and this resistance will show in the way they behave towards their students. At times is best to let someone know about this, but at other times is best to bite the bullet and do the best you can. Most states schools, the professors have a tenure position and is unlikely they will get displace, hence for the arrogant attitude. Hang in there and best in your studies.

 

I have taken online courses at JSU in the graduate emergency management program and found the opposite to be true. However, EM is a much newer field than business and the professors I had were relatively new to academia and more progressive.

For what its worth, I am currently in the DPA program at Valdosta State and have had similar experiences with long-tenured faculty having difficulty adapting to online.

 

Jacksonville State University

BMills:

I am preparing to start my MBA from Jacksonville State University in January..I am wondering if you have any more thoughts on the program? After reading your post I am a little hesitate because I know I struggle with Statistics and I don't want to run into professors who don't care if I succeed. Thanks for your time.

 

Actually, my experience got better as the semester proceeded. I am going into my second semester in a couple of months. I ended up with 2 A's for the first semester, so needless to say, I am happy.

I would definitely recommend JSU...especially for the price and accreditation...

Good Luck!

Have you registered yet? What courses are you taking?