Bellevue Accelerated Undergrad

I was curious as to whether anyone on the board has had any experience with Bellevue's accelerated undergrad programs. I'm considering them to complete my BA and wanted to know anyone's thoughts and insight, particularly regarding class format (essay driven or exam driven), difficulty, student/teacher interaction, etc.

Thanks!

 

I completed an accelerated program in August of 2007; my experience was positive and I would recommend the program to you. There are some "open book" tests, however the majority of your grade comes from class discussion, papers, and projects. There are some group projects, although there were only a few in my program, and I did find the instructors made every effort to grade fairly based on individual contribution.

One unique aspect of Bellevue is the Kirkpatrick Signature Series, which is a graduation requirement. I found it to be very challenging, but at the same time the most rewarding and enjoyable part of the program.

If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to provide more details.

Brian

 

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, I do have a few specific questions if you don't mind. What was your major? What were the writing assignments like (length and frequency)? Please elaborate on how/why you found the Kirkpatrick Series demanding? Were you working FT while you did your program? How demanding is a 15 month BA on your evenings and weekends?

Thank you for all of your help.

Pug

 

Hi, Pug;

Like Brian, I also completed the Bellevue accelerated program, BIS cirriculum. Sean Moran did this as well, if I recall right. I'm more than happy to answer any questions as well, but first you might try the following threads posted by the three of us in the past - they may answer a number of your questions.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=24279&highlight=Bellevue

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=27240&highlight=Bellevue

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=23588&highlight=Bellevue

Best of luck!

 

I haven't completed anything at Bellevue. But I did do a presentation there, and I've also turned down two deans positions informally offered. (I couldn't fit either into my other activities.)

I like them, and I like the way they do distance education. If their program seems to meet your needs, Bellevue should be a school you consider.

 

Thanks. I went back and read the old threads. As it turns out I actually asked a similar question (about writing requirements) back on one of them. A big question I still have is regarding the time it takes when you're also working full time. Is your whole life consumed by the degree program?

Pug

 

Based on strictly my own experience, I'd give that a qualified "no". I still found time to attend kid's concerts, take an anniversery trip with my wife, and other such activities.

The reason I qualified it was that it was dependent on the class and work required. During my anniversery trip (to Las Vegas, no less) I was still doing some reading and homework assignments sometimes at night, and while travelling for work I wrote plenty of papers in hotel rooms.

As cliched as it sounds, time management plays a big part of it; in other words, it was hard and at times frustrating, but I still found ways to enjoy life. Hope this helps;

 

Any degree program is going to take a significant portion of time and commitment. That said, I have a job, a family, and play in a band for fun. The band practices one evening a week and plays out about 2 nights a months. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to juggle everything. I'm nearing the end of my associates degree program, but all of he classes I've taken have been self paced, so juggling has not been an issue. The problem, at least for me, is that self paced programs make it WAY too easy to procrastinate when you get busy with other things. I've completed classes in as little as a couple of weeks, but as long as 8 or 9 months. That kind of progress no longer works for me.

Pug

 

My major was Business, here is a link describing the requirements of my program. http://www.bellevue.edu/cs/Satellite?c=buDegree&cid=1178048754449&p=1170772032738&pagename=bu%2FbuLayout

The majority of the writing assignments were shorter in length (less than 10 pages, some of my classes only required short essays of 3 pages), and some classes did not require any writing outside of discussion posts. The exception to that would be the Capstone project, but you are given plenty of time to complete it and can actually be working on it throughout the program. Yes I do work full time in a fairly demanding job, which requires frequent travel. I am also married with a young child; with all of that going on I did not find the program was overly demanding on my time. Like any program, some classes require more time/effort than others, but in general, I would say as long as you can find 5 - 10 hours a week to dedicate to it, you will do fine. The key for me was to stay on top of things and not get behind.

Regarding the Kirkpatrick series, it required the most reading/writing, and for me the most preparation for class discussion posts. However, if you find political science and how American values relate to the world interesting, then you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Brian

 

Jigamafloo is right on, the key is time management. Much of my work was done during lunch hours, and while sitting in airports. His story of the anniversary trip reminded me of a time when I was on vacation with my family, and still found time to keep up with things without sacrificing the enjoyment of my vacation. If you have a spare hour and an internet connection, you can work. This flexibility is the beauty of distance learning.

Brian

 

Thanks to all that have responded so far. The feedback is really very encouraging. I've probably been looking at Bellevue for 3 or more years. I absolutely love 2 or 3 of their degree programs, but have been too frugal to drop the cash and just get it done. Instead, I've been putzing around with self paced classes which have been very rewarding, but have also allowed me to be very lazy. Bellevue looks better and better.

Pug

 

Very good program

Wow, I cannot believe how long it's been since I've been on this board. As Dave said, I finished my B.S. in the BIS program. I did it in 12 months because I took the Kirkpatrick series during a time that I was taking other coursework that I had already mastered.

The Kirkpatrick work was my favorite part of the program. It took the most effort and made me think a lot. The rest of it went very well. It's not overwhelming. It was essay based (I had no exams). Lot's of reading and interaction, and lots of writing in the MLS format.

I'm probably going to do my MS CIS there beginning this spring. I definitely recommend the school and it's programs.