NCU increases tuition, again.

Like the saying goes: change is good until it affects you (negatively).
To catch up fast with the rate of tuition charged by other RA online schools, NCU is raising their tuition. Starting in January 2011, their doctoral tuition will increase from $1800 to $2200.

Other key changes include elimination of Leave of Absence. That means once you enroll, you MUST enroll in a class and pay tuition regardless of other circumstances in your life that may impede your ability to take those classes. Also, students can now start their programs on a weekly basis, instead of monthly program start dates (which gave former students like myself a chance to withdraw before getting hooked for fees and tuition charges). Smart right?

I'm sure NCU students are happy with this changes. At this pace of tuition increases, I'm sure NCU students still think that their PhD in Business will cost them $40k when they graduate. Anyway, here's a link to the changes (its a PDF file).

 

Ouch. Is NCU doing this because they're doing well, doing not so well, or is there some other reason?

 

Well, it's only right that they increase fees; they have to pay for that awesome customer service somehow...ahem.:cool2:

 

If they were doing well, it was only because they offered RA degrees at about 33% lower fees than Capella and Walden. Sounds like they are changing their business model. If the prices end up about the same, I would take Capella or Walden any day over NCU.

 

I think overall, NCU is doing well, especially, since you can now take out student loans to pay for tuition and other charges. These changes are in line with the for-profit model where profits have to be turned-in yearly, and they have to be substantially higher than previous years. Some months ago (somewhere around June or July), they changed credit requirement for their PhD in Business from 51 credits to 60 credits. The calculation is that the number of students that may end up leaving as a result of these un-ending changes would be offset by the additional credit requirements as well as tuition increase. Don't forget that many student who end up leaving in the middle of their program loose lots of cash, and the credits earned rarely transfer to other schools.

 

No kidding!

Thanks Cyber for the info. I was seriously contemplating this "for profit" school. Sounds like it can be a lot more costly than previously planned. With all the negative posts and now this, I think I'll pass and look elsewhere!

 

They are infact structuring their tuition in relation to tution charged by the big internet schools. The calculation is that as long as they try to keep their tution just below those charged by the Capellas, the Waldens, the TUIs, the JIUs, the U of Phoenix etc., they can easily market their programs as "affordable and cheaper." In reality, when you add the "hidden" fees (such as the fees that were posted to your account six months after you withdrew), and cost of residencies, and the cost of uncertainty in program's like TUI's (where the dissertation phase can take forever at a charge of $2300 per term), your realize that these programs are budget busters. Imagine doing that to yourself and your financial future with student loans.

 

I left NCU after three classes and fortunately, I had no trouble transferring the credits. They were readily accepted because they are RA. Unfortunately, when someone has more than a few credits, they very well may not transfer because graduate programs rarely will accept more than about 15 units in transfer.

 

I concur....

 

As a former NCU student, I would suggest that you pass. Like I've said here many times, the education is on par with anywhere else, it's just that their student support and service is atrocious.

 

Consider yourself lucky to have the opportunity of weighing options and making better decisions. When you lurk around Degree Info, your immediately become knowledgeable about your educational options. While NCU do serve a need, not all looking to pursue doctoral programs can afford the risk of taking out $50k or more to pursue degrees that may or may not have a substantial ROI. For someone who can attend online doctoral programs with employer tuition assistance programs or with veteran educational benefits, then schools like NCU and the rest may be ok. For folks who intend to teach with their online doctoral degree, and who have secured at least one teaching job with their master degree, degrees from these online institutions may serve their long term educational need. For the rest of us looking to earn doctoral degrees (with the expectation that once finished, they will land a teaching position either online or face to face at a B & M school) using student loans, attending one of these expensive programs can make you hate yourself coupled with the financial ruin you may end up facing.

For me, the overly passive nature of the programs (both at NCU and TUI where I enrolled and then immediately withdrew), and the overall cost of the programs coupled with some of the issues discussed in this forum helped me decide the best route for me. And that route is to get a doctoral degree from a traditional B & M school. It doesn't make a lot of financial sense to pay $50k a more for an IT-related doctoral degree, for example, when a state school like Dakota State University is offering a doctor of science in information systems for under $20k.

 

Maybe the increase in tuition is to fund customer-service training for the administrative staff.........

As a former NCU student who left for several reasons before they started increasing tuition, I would steer anyone away from the school if asked - there are many better options out there without the associated stigma of NCU. I have had no problems transferring NCU credits to other schools.

 

My DPA from Valdosta will end up costing me less than $15K - even with the costs of residencies to include travel from the other side of the U.S.

 

That is fantastic. I wonder if they offer an EdD for the same price?

 

:aargh4:

No more transfers!

 

Yes - I refuse to be an enabler by providing MichaelOliver information on another program.

 

This is why I want to get into this program; B&M school, and cheap even with flying from Calif to Georgia twice a year. Just gotta get a good GRE score!

 

For his purposes...

The EdD is $400,000 and takes 10 years with 34 residencies.

 

But I need it! Just one more switch, man. Then I'll stop, honest. I don't have a problem ! I can quit anytime I want!:Eyecrazy:

 

It's all about supply and demand. If NCU were doing poorly, then they wouldn't raise tuition prices because it would reduce enrollments. Conversely, if enrollments are high and are increasing, then tuition rates can be increased. Guess what? Tuition rates are increasing.
:wiggle:

NCU students will no longer be able to complain about the technology fees and other unanticipated fees that appear to be extraneous because they are now built into the tuition, just as they are at other universities, such as Walden, TUI, Capella, et al.

Again, it's all about supply and demand and what the market will bear -- and this is an exact reflection of what the market is willingly bearing.

:unitedstates: