Some interesting changes coming to AMU

Discussion in 'Military-related education topics' started by pacificamark, Dec 31, 2005.

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  1. pacificamark

    pacificamark New Member

    Just got an email today about upcoming changes at American Military University and I wonder if they have anything to do with their quest for RA. Here's the message:

    APUS will launch a new Undergraduate Catalog in January 2006 for all new incoming students.

    Current students will be grandfathered into their current program requirements by remaining in active status (completing at least one course per year). Current students who are not able to complete one course per year will be disenrolled for inactivity.

    New students and students who are disenrolled and then return to APUS will see the following:

    • Many concentrations, certificate and minors previously offered have been discontinued and are no longer be available.

    • All undergraduate students in 2006 are required to take at least one math and one science course.

    • Math courses accepted for General Education requirements will be limited to MA111, MA125 and MA225. (Students who have completed MA108 and MA110 may see a shift in where they appear on the online Academic Plan but these courses will be grandfathered as Gen Ed as long as the student remains in active status.)

    • Some Bachelor programs will include a Capstone Seminar requirement for graduation.

    I wonder what a Capstone Seminar is? Time to Google I guess.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 31, 2005
  2. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

    I believe AMU's initial accreditation visit is in Feb. I hope it becomes RA and is able to retain its large selection of programs along the way.
     
  3. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    capstone

    Marketing-consultant cutesy name for a bachelor's thesis.
     
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Typically, such a course synthesizes the main concepts, techniques, etc. of one's major field of study, and focuses on solving issues related to it.

    For example, a capstone course in an MBA program would take on business problems using multiple methods related to finance, accounting, quantitative analysis, organizational behavior, etc.
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    That would be my guess. AMU is probably responding to whatever suggestions NCA/HLC have been making.

    I've always liked some of AMU's more unusual military-specific majors. I hope that reducing the number of majors doesn't mean homogenizing AMU so much that it loses its distinctiveness.

    Well good. It's hard to imagine general ed requirements that don't include some exposure to the forces that are most responsible for transforming our lives and our thinking in the modern age.

    Yeah. If you do a search (for "capstone seminar" site:.edu), you will be treated to hundreds of syllabi for capstone courses all around the country.

    Undergraduate capstone courses really seem to be the coming thing. Lots of schools have always had them, but the accreditors seem to be pressuring everyone to roll them out.

    In the B&M context, they seem to typically consist of a final paper that students deliver to the class in a presentation. There may also be discussions of current topics, presentations by outside speakers and discussions of job prospects, graduate school, resume preparation and stuff like that. I guess the idea is to help transition students from an undergraduate taking-classes mindset into a more professional work or graduate school outlook.

    In the DL context Unk's probably right.The class presentation aspect will be less important, so the class requirement will probably be a substantial paper that demonstrates some ability to integrate prior classwork in addressing some topical problem.
     
  6. tmartca

    tmartca New Member

    Here is a press release stating when they will have their accreditation site visit.

    [PDF] LINK
     
  7. AdAstra

    AdAstra Member

    More power to AMU! :) I hope they'll get their RA swiftly.

    I have my eye on their MA in National Security Studies as a reward for completing my LLB :D
     
  8. eckert16

    eckert16 New Member

    AMU, like the other government chartered degree granting organizations, continues to pursue accreditation.

    They shouldn't have many problem obtaining it, other than in their attempts to explain the government centric concentrations to educators of traditional schools. Once that hurdle is completed, they should do well.
     
  9. tmartca

    tmartca New Member

    Looks like they changed all of their graduate programs at least to some degree. I think the biggest change involves their Military Studies program. They have split the options (concentrations) into either Military Studies or Military History.

    Military Studies

    Military History

    They also have a Thesis option in their MA History program. Until recently, all of their graduate programs involved a comprehensive exam as their culminating experience.
     
  10. tmartca

    tmartca New Member

    They have also instituted an attendence requirement:

    I had heard that they were applying for eligibility to receive federal funding (financial aid). Maybe that's not far off either???
     
  11. eckert16

    eckert16 New Member

    It really seems like the only reason a school would even bother to get accredited is to receive federal funding. Maybe this is the first step to privatize the school, to make it self sufficient so that it can be removed from DoD's budget line. If so, it could be the first of many government run schools to privatize.

    Really, have you ever heard of a regionally accredited school loosing accreditation simply because their graduates wweren't up to par? Likely not, but you have heard of schools loosing RA for not maintaining their accounting books in order- and they lost it lightening fast.
     
  12. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

    What are you talking about? You are either very uninformed or full of sh**. Accreditation allows students to transfer credit, get admitted to grad schools and get jobs. Anyway, AMU is already a private, for-profit school and not a government entity. You're wasting everyone's time with this garbage.
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    It just goes to show that "American Public University" and "American Military University" are misleading names. However, that's the only bad thing about them that I've really ever heard, and I wish them all the best in their application for RA.

    -=Steve=-
     
  14. AGS

    AGS New Member


    hey take it easy on the angry attittude ....nobody really deserves insults and nobody deserve to be angry ......


    life is short ...mental and emotional sanity has the highest priority...


    yes accreditation is a designation for recognition by the state educational agencies .....

    and it is important for employers to have an educational institution having these designations...

    however , someone posted the possible the motivations of some educational institutions as a hypthetical question .....

    In the long run , everyone wants a marketable degree...
     

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