University Of Atlanta, my current degree, and future degree... can you help steer me?

Hi,

I've just completed my AAS in Psychology at Ashworth College. I have a credit-bearing RA B&M 2-Year Technical Diploma as well. And while I learned a great deal at the B&M school, I really had a great deal of enjoyment with the Ashworth system of lots of required reading, and writing papers in-between exams. Even though I didn't use the tutoring services much outside of the math course, the tutor contact was also very enjoyable and helpful.

I say all of that to say this: I would like to continue on to a Bachelor's in Business Management of Administration in a DETC program that has Ashworth's format (would be great if they were RA and NA), and then attend—perhaps—Western Governor's for my Master's since they have dual accreditation and appear to be very affordable. I was looking at the University of Atlanta's website, and it appears that their format is like Ashworth's, they have the programs I'm interested in and it's very affordable. However, I'm a bit leary about them considering their past history before becoming the UofA. What do you think?

I've done a lot of searching different resources, but it's hard to know what schools have a self-paced Ashworth-style format. I tried just searching NA's, but found that quite a few offer styles more related to that of RA's (i.e., set schedules, mandatory classroom participation and log times) and my career and the stage of my life is simply too busy for that style now. Can you suggest any schools that offer what I'm looking for?

 

*Typo in the second paragraph. I meant to say "Bachelor's in Business Management or Administration..."

 

I would recommend that you look into the State University of New York (SUNY). Tuition is very low for a RA degree. My daughter attends there and I'm impressed with the school, plus it's the state university of New York which adds some creditability. Online Bachelors Degree Programs at SUNY

Another maybe even less expensive option is WNMU. I don't have first hand knowledge of this school, but members here have nothing but good reports and it may be a little cheaper than SUNY. School of Business Administration and Economics

 

Thanks for that info, SurfDoctor. Those programs look good, except they don't appear to offer the 100% self-paced format I need.

Would it be safe to assume that there are no RA schools that offer 100% self-paced program's online?

What do you think of the University of Atlanta situation? Their entire faculty holds Doctorates except for one. Might it be too risky given their past?

 

UOA is DETC accredited and that fact offers some positive and negative factors. DETC is a good accreditation and will insure that the school is very good quality. DETC accreditation would likely outweigh any negative history the school may have. The problem with DETC is that it is not widely accepted in traditional academic circles, unfair but true. Your DETC degree would most likely not offer the opportunity to continue on at a RA school, if you should choose to do so.

I believe that Charter Oak offers RA degrees that are self-paced. You may want to check into that: http://www.charteroak.edu/prospective/programs/ Again, no personal experience here, but there are many on this board who have had very positive experiences with Charter Oak. I know it's a very good school.

 

Yeah, I'm well aware of the possible DETC drawbacks that some have mentioned. However, the company I work for actually recommended Ashworth which of course is DETC accredited. They paid for it 100%, then gave me a promotion when completion was imminent. To touch on something I mentioned earlier, after I finish my Bachelor's I plan to go for my Masters at a dual-accredited school (WGU, APUS, etc) that will of course make the NA credit acceptance a non-issue. I figure by then my schedule may have changed enough to be able to go with more of a set schedule as I believe WGU and APUS have semi-flexible schedules/

My current schedule just doesn't allow for any kind of set course scheduling, so anything besides self-paced just won't work until my job responsibilities permit it. I tried to do the scheduled class setup with an RA online once, and even though my grades were a solid 4.0, my job was/is too demanding to maintain the schedule, so I had to transfer to Ashworth. Back when I went and earned my Tech Diploma from a RA B&M with a very demanding schedule, I didn't have a career then and my job had little responsibility (and much lower pay ... so my schedule was flexible, but it would never work for me now.

 

No, it's not safe to say that! Upper Iowa University (an RA school with a real campus), offers a number of self-paced degrees including a BS in Business Administration. You can take the entire degree thrthrough independent study, online or a combination. Students have up to 6 months to complete the self-paced courses. Tuition is $296/credit.

Upper Iowa University - Distance Education

Another option is CSU-Pueblo, which offers a BS in Sociology via ind study.

 

Stay away from from U of A. It's a very scary place.

 

I know nothing of the school, please elaborate. I would be very interested to know.

 

Well, the University of Atlanta seems to have an interesting background: University of Atlanta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just saying.....

 

I have not followed the history of that school and it's fascinating that a school can move from degree mill to DETC accredited school. That's quite a transformation.

 

No dog in this fight, just find the background 'interesting', OK?

 

Western Governors University (WGU) is both RA and DETC accredited and offers basically self-paced programs ... their format is somewhat unique, it's competency based:

WGU Difference | Western Governors University Online

They offer a couple different business management bachelors degrees:

B.S. Business Management
B.S. Business—Information Technology Management
B.S. Business—Human Resource Management
B.S. Marketing Management

Online Business School | WGU College of Business Online

No personal experience with them, I first heard about them on DI.

 

Not the first time it's happened....I remember some VERY unkind experiences/remarks about Andrew Jackson University (now renamed with some ridiculous, stupid new name) before they got DETC accreditation.

 

UOA has less than wonderful history rooting from their origins as Barrington University. I would stay away from them.

 

I agree with the others. The Barrington situation with UOA would be a deal breaker for me. I don't know what an acceptable amount of passing time would be until we should forgive them, but it doesn't appear to be close enough at the moment.

Your plan of getting your undergrads from NA's and then finding a dual-accredited program to pursue a Master's sounds like a workable plan and one that will save you a ton of money more than likely. Just keep in mind that your options will be limited to just a few RA schools in that case when you're ready to find a graduate program, and by the time you finish the BA/BS there is no guarantee (and there never is) that the school you're considering now will still have NA accreditation in tandem with RA. I'd even suggest the possibility of going for the Bachelor's at a dual-accredited school now if you can find one that fits your scheduling needs of 100% self paced.

I did get a degree from Ashworth myself (Business) a few years back. I agree that the format is nice and the tutors are really sharp. The format really forces you to read carefully or you'll fail, which I can honestly say that in my RA online experiences I was able to pass many times without really reading all of the material to the point that I never had to crack some books for some classes. It was frustrating because the books were so darned expensive.

I'm curious about other Colleges that might have AC's format and pricing proximity as well, but it seems like finding them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I know Penn Foster has a similar system and apparently UOA does, but I don't know of any others... maybe New Charter University?

 

I don't like that name either. It just has an Elementary school ring to it. I can understand some reasons why they changed from Andrew Jackson, however.

 

Yep as a former student of theirs I would stay the hell away from that place. I had papers that went ungraded for months, papers failed for not doing things that were never listed in the guide. Most of the staff have degrees from there past as a mill. Nothing like your AA having a degree from Barrington University....all true. I have attended a few schools and they were the worst thing I have ever seen.

I have a degree from AJU and there like night and day....I'm still shaking my head in shock over a year later. For six months or so I was never able to even earn ONE credit and you pay by the time it takes to complete the program not by the course.

They had to bribe someone over at the DETC to get by..had to.