American Public University System gets $10 million dollars

The American Public University System, which includes the American Public University, the American Military University and the American Community College landed $10 million (USD) in funding from the Baltimore, Maryland based ABS Capital Partners corporation.

APUS has more than 300 full and part-time faculty members, many of whom are current and former military professionals. The schools offer associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees. The Washington Post reported that the main attraction of APUS to ABS Capital was its military, intelligence and homeland security programs.

The newspaper quoted the school's representative as saying, "The demand for people who have education in areas such as homeland security and intelligence is surging. It is now starting [to be offered] by brick-and-mortar schools, but we had this prior to September 11th," said Mark Sauter, vice president of marketing and business development with APUS. "No other school has this range of courses in national security."

You can read the full story at the Washignton Post's website.

Steve

 

Very cool. It's nice to see a for-profit university pointed out for its unique expertise and contributions.

BTW, the article didn't discuss accreditation at all, nor the funky new name. Perhaps both are non-issues to the hoi polloi. And, after all, that's really the true measure of such things, how they play with the general public.

 

My alma mater.

Hopefully APUS will achieve regional accreditation by the North Central Association. APUS is now a West Virginia institution. Which places it in the North Central Region for accreditation. See:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=46303#post46303

Along with the good folk here at degreeinfo, there are a few others who are outraged about the new name. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia was apparently not too pleased:

"Resolution to Protect Certain Language - Ms. Yeche and Ms. Palmiero noted that the request from American Public University System, a private institution, had been stricken from the committee agenda. The name of the institution raised a concern among committee members. This institution was neither public nor a system.
Ms. Palmiero, on behalf of the COUNCIL, introduced a resolution directing staff to work with the AG's Office on legislation that would require institutions to correctly identify themselves to consumers. While there was some concern about free speech and limitation placed on common words, the FULL COUNCIL voted (7-0) to approve the resolution with the stipulation that any final legislation would be voted on by the COUNCIL."

http://filebox.vt.edu/chre/elps/EPI/Perspectives/schev48.htm

 

I like to think I'm one of the good folk here, but I'm not too happy about the new name. It implies some sort of affiliation or approval from the Federal government, which it certainly does not have.

I was a big fan of AMU, as they have legit accreditation and offer unique and interesting programs, but the whole APUS thing has been a huge turn-off for me.


Bruce

 

What's in a name?

I just noticed this advisory regarding APUS on Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization webpage:

"ADVISORY regarding degrees earned from American Public University, American Military University and American Community College, based in Virginia or West Virginia. These schools are part of an entity calling itself the "American Public University System," but in fact this is a for-profit distance-education school, not a public university. Degrees from these schools are accredited by DETC and are legal for use as general credentials in Oregon. However, these degrees cannot be used for some professions in Oregon, e.g., K-12 teaching or some public safety work. Credits from these schools may or may not transfer to accredited Oregon colleges; contact potential transfer schools to be sure."

http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html

 

Re: What's in a name?

I really liked American Military University and was sad to see them join with (or become) American Public University System. I think the APUS name is awful! As I recall, someone on this board even wrote a letter to the president of AMU to complain about the use of the word "public" in the name of a clearly private school. I guess APUS/AMU didn't agree (or didn't care).

 

I am a current student with APUS enrolled through the APU (American Public University) campus. The word 'public' was probably selected at least for the campus is differentiate the students from their active military counterparts at AMU. However, I agree the word 'public' is somewhat misleading in terms of traditional useage of that word in educational institutions. In fact, all of my instructors have thus far been AMU professors.

 

The names reflect the moving from a military university to one that attracts civilian. Most non-military would not appreciate their diploma from a military university.

The "American" was carried to all 3 to keep the focus of the name American. The overall title of American Public University System is to signify the umbrella that the 3 schools are under.