I'm looking into Strayer U. They seem to be impressive. Private School 17 Campuses Regional etc... I was hoping someone had more info on them. All I can say so far is they so far, are FAR more helpful on the phone and email than any other school has been.
Decent reputation within government circles; they hold classes on-site at a few different agencies in addition to their own "brick and mortar" facilties. I don't have any empirical evidence for you. Antecdotally, two colleagues of mine completed the undergraduate accounting diploma program. It's tailored for folks with non-accounting degrees who need the accounting classes to sit for the CPA exam in the District (which, at least for now, has slightly more relaxed educational requirements than most states.) Both are investigators, not accountants; both passed all parts of the exam on the first attempt. It could be an anomaly, but I think it's more likely that Strayer is "teaching to the exam."
Strayer is one of those schools designed and operated to provide degree programs to working adults. The idea is to put experienced, credentialed professionals in the classroom as professors, teaching experienced professionals seeking a credential. Because the emphasis is on teaching, such schools tend to do little or no research, offer degrees in areas like business and computers, and be very student- (customer-) oriented. National University might have been the grandaddy of them all. Some traditional schools have developed their deliveries in this area as well. Some of the more well-known include Chapman, Webster, Phoenix and Embry-Riddle. Strayer will deliver a no-nonsense education and degree that you can use. It won't blow anyone away in a job interview, but you'll be far ahead of candidates who didn't do it. Rich Douglas, NU alum
Great info Thanks for the great information.... I'm excited to get started.... For each class, you meet once a week (for 11 weeks). You listen to the instructor (live via real audio) and watch his instruction via a "blackboard" for pictures and drawings, etc...of course you have live chat to communicate questions with other students and instructor. All in all, so far - they are my top pick.... Even when compared to UMASS Lowell - I found UMASS to be very slow to respond to emails, phone calls, etc. Of course they have excellent programs, and my experience with them was not extensive. Thanks Again!
My only "complaint" with Strayer is they operate using a synchronous system. You are tied to their times for class meetings. If this suits your schedule, then it would work. However, it is far less flexible than asynchronous distance learning.
Strayer Education is ranked 130 in the Forbes 200 Best Small Companies for 2001. The applicable web site is as follows: http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/23/2001/LIR.jhtml?passListId=23&passYear=2001&passListType=Company&uniqueId=5W79&datatype=Company Strayer has an enrollment of about 11,000. Details on their programs, including distance learning and accreditation, are on their web site www.strayer.edu.
Re: Great info I started on the BS CIS at UMUC and then transferred into the UML BS in IS program. It was a curious pardox how the infrastructure at UMUC was great but the instruction so dispassionate. My worst tale is waiting two weeks for a reply to a question in a discrete math course. Getting started at UML was nowhere near as seamless but my experience is that once you have your foot in the door the support staff is quite helpful and the instructors are terrific. The longest I've waited for a response is 24 hours and typically no more than overnight. UML provides the best of both worlds in my estimate as regards synchronous and asynchronous teaching is concerned. The lessons are asynchronous and typically well constructed and there is also a weekly chat in each course which offers the chance for realtime communication. Chat is optional. The tuition is quite reasonable and there is no additional fee for out of state students. Someone recently posted a message showing that Troy State University offers a DL BS CS degree where the tuition is only $140 per credit which is even a better deal than UML. In any event, I'm very pleased with UML and I'd encourage you to take a second look.
I could be wrong, but I think this is changing. Synchronous teaching is still their "bread and butter", but the latest class schedule I received does promote some asynchronous offerings. Another thing about Strayer...once you're on their mailing list, you stay on their mailing list.
Any comments on Strayer University I am now attending Strayer - taking 1 sync class and 1 async class and my experiences with them, so far, has been great! I believe they offer at least 1 async session for each course, so you are not tied down to having to attend a lecture at a certain time each week. I have registered for 3 async classes for next qtr. You can go to their website (www.strayeronline.edu) and check out the 'courses schedule' for winter and spring qtrs (2002). There is a listing of each class offered with days and times (if sync) and it will note by each class whether it is an async or sync class. There will be no particular day and time for the async classes just the label 'asyncronous'. You have to complete assignments, quizzes, exams within a week (Mon - Sun by midnight) for async classes. Strayer caters to working adults who wish to obtain undergraduate and/or graduate degree(s) in business or computer related concentrations.
Strayer was on my short list, along with Touro, Bellvue, Amber(ton), and UT System for management and MBA programs. I really like Strayer's MBA curriculum, but ultimately went with Touro, simply because of the tuition assistance they offered. Had Strayer offered the same assistance, well, that would have been another matter entirely. Tracy<><
Not true - at least not for ALL of their courses. For instance, I just registered for Accounting. I was offered a choice to take it synchronously or asynchronously. My advisor told me it's a good idea to start out with the synchronous style, until I'm familiar with how Strayer classes operate, etc. But as far as synchronously is concerned - yes, you're right. It's 3 hours and 45 minutes evening every week (one for every class) that you have to set aside. But the online real time interaction is far better than I've seen elsewhere.
Thanks John Bear Thanks all - for the great info and experiences. And BIG thanks to John Bear - I found Strayer in the Bears' guide.
Thanks for the clarification and correction. After looking back through the calendar, I realized that it was the latter part of 2000 when I was checking out their degree programs. Glad to hear they are at least beginning async mode.
Watch out for bad classes I've taken classes before at Strayer, and I've never had a complaint about the school until this quarter. I'm currently in a class where the book is horrendous (I think maybe they chose it because there were slide shows available) and where due dates and expected coursework also change frequently. Many other students in the class are just as frustrated as I am. For our chapter assignments and midterm, the questions that were asked of us were taken from the book, which normally would be a good thing. But to answer the questions in the book, you have to use anything BUT the book. The author asks questions after each chapter that he doesn't cover within the chapter. Why? Who knows... The questions would be best geared toward a class discuisson instead of assignments or a midterm. So you can study and study and study and still do poorly on a test if you don't have access to resources other than the textbook. It doesn't help, either, that Strayer charges an arm and a leg for each course. By the time you find out that a class is horrible, it's too late to get your money back. I'm not saying that all classes at Strayer are like this. On the contrary, this is the first one I've had that truly gives me a daily headache. But this one course has been such a bad experience that it's not worth my time or money to continue taking classes there. Hopefully most Strayer students will never have such a bad experience. And I did contact the school about the course. I have yet to receive a response.
Wow - which class? Which class & program was this? So far, I haven't had any bad experiences with Strayer... In fairness, I'm sure you can experience problems, big problems, with any school, especially distance programs due to the inherent "disconnection" the students have. All in all, I'm quite happy at Strayer... Thanks for the experience though.
help Hi, I am interested in Strayer's programs, but I was wondering if there is any program that can be completely taken online. If so, how the examination is conducted ? Do I need to find a proctor myself ? Thank you in advance for your reply.
I have a friend of mind that is enrolled in the Master of Accounting at Strayer. She is happy with the program, which of course is meeting the minimum requirements to sit for the CPA examination in the State of Florida. Overall, Strayer is a good school. You may want to visit their web-site for additional information, so you can make an objective decision. Good Luck....
to nkdh: I am in my third term at Strayer. I live in Ohio so I have had all my final exams proctered here in Ohio at Sylvan Learning Centers. I had to make the arrangements myself, notify Strayer of my arrangements, and they had to approve of the procter. Strayer then notified the procter and sent the exams, etc. Midterm exams were taken online or 'take home' and upload to prof by a certain day or time&day. I believe ALL their pgms can be taken entirely online.
