UIS app and already discouraged

Hi all:

As mentioned in a previous post, I applied to do an MPA, both at DePaul and UIS. UIS has come back to me with a length of additional information and documents they want for which I can see no logic. This info is about my undergrad studies, never mind that I already have a JD and a master's degree. The lady I am dealing with at admissions (who seems very junior, as she keeps referring to asking her supervisor) will not budge. She cannot explain the rationale to me, nor let me write to her supervisor for clarifications. Anyway, this isn't meant to bash UIS but just to say that I am having a hard time.

I am now really afraid that, if I do get into UIS and decide to enroll, there will be similar red tape and inflexibility during my MPA studies.

So I am looking for reassurance or comments from anyone who has taken an online degree at UIS. Is this just the admissions staff or the whole school?

I am this close to resigning my application to UIS (I prefer the DePaul program anyway but I am not sure I will get in).

Thanks for any help or encouragement!

IJ

 

Although I am not affiliated with UIS, I have worked on joint initiatives with UIS for years. They have one of the best online programs in the country.

As one whose responsibilities include admitting students, I am aware that many graduate programs have some specific prerequisites that must be completed (or they have to be added to your program). Even if you have another masters and a first professional degree (JD), if the MPA is in a different area than your other degrees, then they will want to see whether you have the proper courses in your undergrad education.

 

I had some similar situations with them a few years ago as I applied for admission into their MIS program. I decided not to attend for personal reasons but they wanted to see the actual CLEP grades for classes I had 'CLEP'ed as an undergraduate.

At the time I applied, I had already earned an AACSB-accredited MBA. I was accepted to UIS but told I needed to take a Java course. They didn't offer it online for the next 3 semesters and I moved on.

Great program but tough stuff for the beginning folks.

 

If UIS means University Illinois at Springfield then their MPA Handbook specifies admission requirements. On a positive note; in general, the more strict the admission requirements, the higher the quality of the program.

What I did for both my masters was to take two courses through open university to see what the program was like, and to get the toughest courses done with. That way I met the department heads and in one case got some entry requirements waived. A department head reference helps one get admitted to a program.

 

I considered the UIS MPA program a while back, and yes, as you pointed out, the admissions requirements are clearly spelled out in the handbook - and the requirements are lengthy. The original poster didn't specify what the admissions person is requesting, but the handbook discusses several prerequisites that need to be met within the past 5 years. I'm guessing that they want to see which courses were taken when.

If you want an MPA program that will accept you based on a quick completion of a free online application, I'm sure there are many out there. But the UIS program is a good program.

 

Thanks for the feedback! It looks like I will press on with the app, even though it will take more time and more $$$. I saw the admissions requirements in the Handbook and thought I fulfilled them all. What they are asking for is not in their Handbook and, after I asked DePaul about it specifically, the admissions person there said that it is not an issue, which is why I don't understand why UIS is making a big deal out of it (and it's something relatively minor that is completely holding up my app, which is why I am so unhappy about it). But if it's a good program then at least if I get in I will know it has been worth it.

 

I'm in the MS - MIS program now, and my experience was yes, there were pre-preqs for the program, but they were classes you would've taken in an undergrad IS program anyway. Not sure how the MPA program is. I can tell you that so far the UIS program has been great, academically rigorous with professors who don't post too much but that are available to answer any questions within 24 - 48 hours. Mid-terms and finals are closed book and proctored and combined count for 65 - 70% of your grade. It's a good school.

 

Last year, UIS won the Sloan-C Award for best institution-wide DL program (the only small university with that distinction). Some of their graduate programs are in such demand that the entrance requirements are actually higher than for the equivalent face-to-face program.

I have colleagues at DePaul as well and it is also an excellent school, but UIS has a jump start on DePaul when it comes to its online programs.