From full-time traditional to distance w/ U Alabama Distance Mechanical Engineering

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with the program that they are willing to share? I'm interested in the program and at $333 per credit-hour (I hope I read their website correctly. That seems a bit too good to be true considering how a comparable program like UND's charges ~700 per credit hour) even for out of state applicants, it might just be what I'm looking for.

I'm currently a commuter student (1.5-2 hr each way) at a state unviersity here in NY but due to various personal circumstances including the nonavailability of any local or on campus housing, I might not be able to keep up with things as next year, I'll be a junior. So far, I am doing very well in my classes with a 3.8 GPA but only because I was fortunate enough to get a good schedule. However, I do not expect to be so lucky in the future because a fairly significant amount of other classes I have to take are early morning classes at 8am or evening classes that end at 7pm and the train leaves the local station at 8:44. All of this means a significant portion of my time is spent commuting. I doubt I can keep this up for 3 more years as I expect the pace to ramp up quite a bit.

I am considering a distance learning program as a possible solution to this problem (more precisely, it's a step around the problem). It also has the following benefits:
-Time to get a part time job
-Probably a cheaper to attend than my current university by a bit due to decreased commuter time and no need to pay university various fees.
-A fairly good chance that I can finish the program in 3-4 years given the amount of credits I project will transfer
-Distance learning gives me a bit more flexibility in how I study. I do my best learning by working on projects in free time. In fact, I'm currently working on a personal design project and I've learned an incredible amount of practical and technical knowledge in a relatively short and enjoyable amount of time.

Of course, I might just be making a huge mistake so I would like some feedback on my plans.

:usa1:

 

The site does say "three courses have on-campus lab requirements, which MUST be completed at the UA lab facility on the Dothan campus or at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa."

So this degree program is not 100% online.


Regards,
Michael

 

Note that the 3 classes which you have to take on campus will cost you $900+/hour.
You will have to factor in taking some time off to go on campus for 1 term to finish the on campus portion.
This would include tuition + cost of living.

 

Yeah, you're right. I talked with someone in charge of the distance learning programs and he said that the 3 labs require 1) attending the lab once a week for the semester of the course OR 2) attending the condensed version of the lab once a month for a semester of the course. This is very doable for me with a flight to and from Dothan.

 

Someone I spoke to said that condensed versions of the lab are available at Dothan and require going there once a month for a semester of the class. I could take a plane to and from there just for the class once a month and even at $900 a month, still might be as cheap if not cheaper than my current university. Doing that once a month is reasonable compared to a 1.5-2 hour commute EACH WAY for the weekdays by train. Even if I could drive, it'd take me a little over an hour.

 

Also, I'm not so sure about the $900 a credit hour thing for the on campus labs which, by the way, are weekend classes held once a month. According to their website for Distance Learner student tuition rates,
"*Effective Fall 2008, students who are in a distance degree program; or who are admitted as a non-degree seeking distance learner, have been classified as a Distance Learner."

Thus, it seems that if I get into a Distance learner degree program, as long as I take a course even a required on campus lab for my degree, I would be billed $333/credit hour. I'll check with them on this.

Further supporting my theory is this quote from the Weekend tuition section for undergrad tuition rates.
"(All undergraduate students except those admitted to the Gadsden Campus or in a Distance Degree Program.)"

This seems very generous of Alabama indeed.

 

another option you can try is to ask them which 3 classes require labs, and can you take them at your local state Uni and transfer those classes into the program, hence eliminating the need to finish those 3 classes at UA.

but if the program's $300+/credit, its cheap.

does the program have the ABET thingy ?

 

I'm not sure. The rest of their on campus engineering programs are accredited but I'm not sure if that carries over to their distance learning program. I'll ask about this.