Amberton: MASTER OF ARTS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MASTER OF ARTS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

I would like your input on the following program at Amberton;
I would love to hear from people who have taken classes at Amberton and/or Vesi
My reasons for choosing this program are three folds:
1. cost
2. speed
3. I like the Idea of combining a graduate certificate along with the Masters along with the fact that the communication field is of interest to me.

Amberton accepts up to 12 graduate credits for transfer, in any subject, towards this degree.
The cheapest route is to take VESI classes and have them transferred to one of the following colleges for graduate credits; St. Catherine University, University of the Pacific or Morning Side College there are others as well and then to Amberton.

The cost through Morningside is $245 for a 3-credit class.
4 classes x $245 = $980 (A or B’s are required in order to transfer the credits)
Leaving 24 credits to be completed:
24 X $705.00= $5,640
$1,200 for textbooks
Total tuition = $7,820

Additionally, Amberton graduate certificates can be applied towards the Master’s degree and adding 6 additional credits in the same field of study within the Masters, will theoretically enable the degree holder to teach at some point, since 18 credits are needed at most colleges.
I would like to pursue the Executive Communication Certificate along with an additional 2 communication classes for a total of 18 graduate credits in the field.
Required Graduate Studies: 6 Hours
RGS6035 Theory & Application of Research Methods 3 hours
RGS6036 Ethics for Decision Making 3 hours

II. Major Requirements: 30 Hours
(30) hours of graduate courses from one or more of the following areas:
Business Administration, Communication, Counseling, Human Behavior and Development, Human Resources and Training, Psychology, Religion/Ethics, Sociology

III. Minimum Requirements:
24 semester hours applicable to the degree must be completed at Amberton University.
36 semester hours for a degree.
A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 is required

 

The other option would be an MBA at TAFT.
Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programs
Price: $4,908 for 36 credits
Speed: There are only 9 classes worth of 4 credits each
Caveat: it is Nationally Accredited
Your input is greatly appreciated

 

Amberton, no brainer. I took a graduate course in leadership at Amberton and enjoyed it. It's not easy...lots of writing. I love the MA in Professional Development because it allows for so much flexibility. You can even structure it to get 18 hours in one field if you have aspirations to teach.

 

I took two classes at Amberton last year. I was grossly disappointed at the lack of academic rigor (or any college-level rigor for that matter). I didn't even have to read the textbooks that I bought... all I had to do was answer the high schoolish questions for the readings (that I looked up in the textbook). I provided my concerns on the end of course critique. The next term the same professor was still teaching courses and the syllabi indicated the exact same type of learning activities. I dropped this school like a hot potato. It is possible that Amberton has some decent professors... however their lack of academic standards would concern me greatly as being a candidate for failure and future accreditation troubles.

 

Wow, that wasn't my experience at all.

 

I realize that every school has their "weak link" professors... but after he was reported (in the end of course critique) and his syllabi did not change, I now hold the school totally responsible for this professor and his lack of academic standards.

I also found it difficult to work with the advisors at Amberton. The course schedule did not reflect their predicted course schedule and the advisors were unable to tell me when courses would be offered again.

Their tuition was great... but then if get (poor education) what you pay for (low tuition)... is it really worth it?

 

One thing I like about Alberton is that they encourage those to pay on their own and not carry debt from student loans; although their tuition is cheap, this is also something that I believe can be a hindrance for those who simply cannot afford, upfront, the cost of tuition. It's a heck of a deal for the graduate level.

 

I stumbled upon on this site Actprogram.info; it is similar to VESI as they offer courses for teachers in the following subjects, psychology sociology, history, political science etc..
Apparently letter grades and graduate semester credits are awarded, this program if offered through California State University, Monterey Bay. Terms & Conditions | ACT
The cost is only $110 per credit it almost seems too good to be true…
They currently have a special at $99.00 per credit.
Has anyone used them in the past? If yes were you able to transfer the credits?

 

The ACT/CSUMB classes look absolutely AWESOME! PS: Pilot, this probably should be it's own thread... the only people who are going to see this are looking here expecting to see Amberton related threads!

 

Good Suggestion! Thanks
I'll create a separate thread ...

 

Hi Bruce,
There seems to be quite a difference of opinion regarding the quality of education; Can you please elaborate on your experience? What was the typical course like all assignments with mid term and finals? or just assignments and/or projects? etc.. any information would be greatly appreciated

 

Pilot:

I took both graduate-level classes from the same professor (note to self - never do that again when entering a new program)! The design of both classes was the same. The textbook was broken down into sections of 3 to 4 chapters each. Each section had a list of questions to answer. These were not in depth questions that required the use of many brain cells to answer (ex. Briefly discuss the 6 consequences of "x". To answer go into the text, locate "x" and locate the six consequences. Note the word “briefly.” He did not want extended answers. No compare and contrast questions.) There were no discussions or debates with other students online. There were no professional journal articles to read. No research paper to write. No quizzes or tests. Just one text and a bunch of silly questions to answer from the text, and you get your “B.”

In one class the text was not really appropriate for the subject matter of the class. The class was "Christian counseling," and the text was a basic counseling methods class that had nothing to do with Christian Counseling. Supplemental readings of Christian counseling journal articles could have made things better, but they were not used. Interestingly, if you wanted to take advanced classes in counseling, you had to have completed the prerequisite counseling methods class that used the exact same text (the Christian counseling did not count, even though it was the exact same material in substance). Additionally, no attempt was made by the professor to discuss the differences between Biblical and Christian counseling.

The Family Studies class was equally lame, although at least the text was appropriate for the subject matter of the class.

The professor was a “nice guy.” Minimal feedback was provided on each set of questions answered. Feedback really was not very helpful and was not really oriented towards helping you do better in the next assignment. It was minimal. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now for the positives. I loved the tuition rate. I loved the pacing of the classes with a very quick term (8 weeks if I remember correctly). I also loved the curriculum, and how it was set up. If I could have avoided this professor for the remainder of the program I would have probably invested some more money to give other professors a chance to make up for his minimal effort and performance. Regrettably I would have had to take two more classes from him (at a minimum) to complete the degree program. Thus, I left Amberton.

 

BruceP,
Thank you for the detailed answer; from what I've been reading the quality and rigor vary greatly based on the professor.
Amberton is by far the most affordable RA option after factoring the 12 credits transfer.
I will probably end up doing the MA in professional Development which will allow me to choose the courses that are most relevant for my line of work and interest.
Not withstanding the fact that I will be able to double dip and get a graduate certificate along the way.
I'd love to hear from current and/or former students

 

This might be able to help you distinguish from the diamonds and slugs. When you look at these ratings just keep in mind that there are different kinds of students. Some students want the easy class and don't care if they learn anything. Then there are others at the opposite end of the spectrum whp value their education and seek academic rigor as a way to learn and hone their academic skills.

The minimum effort students will crucify a demanding professor in their ratings, whereas the demanding students will crucify the minimum effort professors. As you read the ratings you should try to determine the vantage point of the rater to determine if the rating is in your ballpark or not.

The following is a link to a website called RateMyProfessors and the Amberton University faculty...
Amberton University - Texas

 

Thank you for the link!
That's great stuff..