Opinion about Strayer and Thomas Edison Please

Hi! I recently received my associates from UOP but looking elsewhere for my bachelors. I am going for Criminal Justice and was wondering what others thought of Strayer and Thomas Edison. Also, any suggestions on any reputable regionally accredited colleges that offer this degree.

Thanks

 

I had a wonderful experience at Thomas Edison for my BA but they are known to not have the best customer service. They are a NJ state school and are regarded highly within the state. They cater to adult learners and accept a wide range of alternative credit. I can't imagine a CJ degree being a degree that you would be able to test out of or get significant benefit from alternative credit (maybe you can) so if you are going to be taking a large portion of actual classes there are probably cheaper alternatives.

 

"I can't imagine a CJ degree being a degree that you would be able to test out of or get significant benefit from alternative credit (maybe you can) so if you are going to be taking a large portion of actual classes there are probably cheaper alternatives"

I am not sure what you mean by the above. What do you mean by test out of or get significant benefit from alternative credit?

 

If you sign up with AJU they will give you 30 credits if you have a peace officers license.

 

Heck, if you're in NJ TE will do the same.

 

Testing out of means CLEPs and DSSTs (there are also a few other options such as ECEs) where you prove you have knowledge of a subject by taking an exam and receiving a qualifying score. TESC is one of several colleges that allow the transfer of a large portion of credits from examinations. I am not familiar with a CJ degree but I think there are a large number of classes that don't have a testing equivalent, if so there may be cheaper options than taking classes with TESC.

Alternative credit could be such as that mentioned by b4 above for the peace officers license, 30 credits is a huge chunk on a 120 credit degree.

 

It seems as though nearly every school with a distance learning program offers an online bachelors in criminal justice.

A couple of exampes, include:

Penn State - BS Criminal Justice

New Mexico State University - Bachelor of Criminal Justice.
Tuition is very reasonable, as NMSU charges out of state residents in-state tuition $225/credit + $25/credit DL fee, IF they take six credits per Fall or Spring semester. This limitation does not apply to the Summer semester. In fact, during the Summer semester, anything between 9-12 credits is considered full-time, and the flat-rate is $2025 (9 credits!).

You should also take a look at this page, compiled by Bruce Tait a senior member and moderator of this forum. The page hasn't been updated in a while, but there are still a number of programs to check out on this page.

Finally, if you copy/paste the following search query in google, you will find a TON of online BA/BS CJ programs:

bachelor "criminal justice" "distance learning OR education" OR "online degree" site:.edu

Best of luck!

 

Looked into APU?

Try checking out American Public University.

APU is regionally and nationally accredited and significantly less expensive than Strayer, UoP, and others. Classes are 100% online.

There are a few hundred APU students on Facebook that would be more than happy to share their experiences with you:
American Public University | Facebook

Good luck in your search!

 

Another alternative is American Military University (AMU). They are a fully accredited online university with various degree programs, including criminal justice. I am currently a student pursuing a criminal justice degree at AMU and am just a few classes away from earning my bachelors degree.

The customer service at AMU is great with helpful staff who are always there to assist you. Once you become a student, you get assigned an advisor who works with you and answers any questions you have regarding your degree or classes. The professors at American Military University are very knowledgeable in their subject areas and have a great deal of experience in their field.

I recently went to a job fair in D.C. and was talking to a person at the Department of Justice booth and found out she teaches at AMU. It was nice to know that the professors in the criminal justice degree program at AMU are out there in their field of work.

Online learning has worked out for me since I work full-time. I am able to login and do my coursework in the evenings and enjoy the fact that I can work at my own pace. Students and professors interact through online discussion boards and assignments and lecture notes are posted in the online classroom. Classes are 8 or 16 week courses and move at a good pace.

I would recommend AMU if you're looking to pursue a criminal justice degree. They are accredited and also very affordable compared to other online universities. If you have any questions about the university or the CJ program, please let me know.