A question for you adjunct instructors

Guys I'm going to be frank, I've about had it with Western New Mexico University and I'm starting to wonder if the possibilities in my becoming an adjunct online with a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies is realistic and worth the frustration.

Any comments or opinions? I love to teach, I just get a kick out of doing it, the trouble is I'm not sure this degree would really help much, it's little better than a certificate if that.

I know an MBA is largely interdisciplinary in nature, but theoretically I could already teach with the MBA no?

 

What's the problem?

 

He gives details in his blog: http://community.elearners.com/blogs/ashford_university_blog/default.aspx

 

When I enrolled at school that provided a good deal in the program just recently(free tuition) I became frustrated with them and decided to drop them, I had bigger fish to catch, now you will learn that getting studies in some places are a selective process, I have been there many times. Sometimes, what we want is not really what we need.

 

I don't think the MBA would prepare you as well unless you have a concentration and 18 credits in it. Why no just earn 18 credits in one discipline and bail out.

 

Actually there's more than a few and it started when I tried to enroll and has snowballed from there.

1.) When I tried to get into the program the first person I ever spoke to wasn't aware they had an online masters degree. So then I went to that specific link and talked to a very nice woman who "pushed" my application through so I "wouldn't fall through the cracks". She was nice but that should have been a red flag.

2.) To complete my enrollment and pay I needed a pin number of some kind. Well after no less than 13 different calls and being transfered to God and country spending 2 hours on the phone I finally asked the tech support who answered the phone "what do you want?" then realized I was a potential student and not someone else he was just talking to. He did me a "favor" and got my pin so I could finish registering and pay for the courses. Nobody knew whose job it was to get my pin but they were all pretty sure it wasn't theirs.

3.) I get into the program and they want a transcript from whatever Ashford University was called 60 years ago because that's what's in their database. I explain to them that particular school doesn't exist, but she said "I still need to see that name somewhere on the transcript". Thank God at least Ashford was able oblige me because these guys obviously couldn't.

4.) The course rigor is very disappointing. I'm writing chapter summaries, not research papers, I have 8 discussion questions a week rather than a couple in depth discussions with active participation, I have undergraduates in my class. The only thing separating them from me is they have fewer discussion questions? WTF?

5.) The Web CT version they use is unreliable, I get certificate errors, I spent 46 minutes tonight taking a test only to try and expand my browser to have it wipe out 100% of my answers but still keep tabs on my time, leaving me 14 minutes. I was so pissed I could hardly walk straight afterwards.

Don't get me wrong, everyone has been friendly for the most part. Yeah, I'm starting to get that "mom" tone or "dad" tone from a lot of the people who work there when I talk to them which is to be expected, they are also a community college and deal with a lot of 18 and 19 year olds who basically use this as a post high school day care. Even still it grates on the nerves after a while, especially when they pass the buck to someone's voice mail.

A well meaning school with friendly people who just aren't organized enough or dedicated to having an online graduate program. I've just had it there and I've really, really tried to like it but I dunno, I think I'm at my limit.

 

Not a bad idea Randell...but I can only tolerate so much you know?

Vinipink? You dropped AJU? Why?

 

Let's say that I was frustrated with the facilitators(lack of responsiveness to my questions), frustrated with someone from the administration(this person actually insulted me over the phone), the technology and support, the structure of the assignments, besides the degree would not have add anything to my professional standing, it was a vanity decision due to low offer.

 

I'd be very curious to hear about your experience, no punches pulled, if you want PM me.

 

I'll give a little more details over PM at a later time.

 

Okay, till then...

 

>>

I'm no help, I'm just sorry this has turned out to be so bad. I really really looked hard at that school and was all set to attend this past semester. It's shocking to read your post. I wrote a post about my initial reaction months back, they were super great to me on the phone- but that's all the contact I had with them. I know I read post after post when I was looking for a program, personally, I like it when people post about bad experiences as well as the good.

Since everyone is talking about dropping out- I'll join the club. I dropped out of HES last week.

 

MBA is largely interdisciplinary in nature">

 

I'm very surprised to read this. I'm a student at AJU and I honestly have nothing but good things to say about the school. My experiences with student services have been first-rate, I enjoy the course material, I find the rigor about what I expect for an undergraduate program, and the instructors have been responsive. I had a problem with one of my online proctored exams (my computer crashed) and called tech support. I got a voice mail, which was frustrating, but they returned my call within 10 minutes, and this was on a Saturday.

FriendorFoe, I understand what you're saying about WNMU. Have you tried speaking to someone at student services, or perhaps someone higher up in the administrative offices about your concerns? Sometimes that does help. Besides, the feedback might actually help them tweak their online programs to better suit adult students.

 

Care to share why?

As for WNMU, this is disappointing news. How long have they offered distance learning? Sounds like some serious growing pains.

 

>>

Nothing related to HES, all related to me and some changes I'm going to try and make. HES is first rate.

 

I noticed your sig line changed. Do you have plans for another graduate program? By the way, I dropped out of the UF MS in Pharmacy program. Maybe we should start a "dropout" sticky to rival the stickys for DegreeInfo Doctoral Board and DegreeInfo Success Stories

 

Have you looked at CSU-DH? I was accepted but never took a class. They were responsive and helpful to me. The courses look great too and the price is not bad. Just a though-

 

>>

LOL, well this is my first drop out experience. I'll fix my siggy, I was being lazy.

 

When I did my post on WNMU evaluating my experience so far, I think I was in the "I'm happy I'm taking classes again" stage. I've had my share of issues too. I like the idea of getting 18 hours in two subjects, because that's exactly what I need. However, I think I definitely preferred the format over at APU. Plus APU has more course offerings.

I like the two classes I'm in, but there seems to be no set structure. I like knowing that on Sunday everything is due at midnight, but in my classes it could be Sunday... or Thursday... or Saturday... at 5PM, Midnight or 9.

I'm going to hang in there this semester and see what they offer over the summer. I enjoy the low tuition, but I'm not going to let that be the determining factor since I can get some reimbursement from my school division.

-Matt