Becoming very disenchanted with Aspen....

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by gbrogan, Aug 5, 2008.

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  1. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    Vent alert!!!!

    I was really enjoying my program with Aspen but some events of late have started to sour me somewhat.

    First there is the runaround I've been getting about my referral bonus check. I've been told everything from: it's being mailed on the X of the month, it was mailed late, it's being mailed this week, it's being mailed soon...... all apparently untrue.

    I have completed several courses with the school. I recently enrolled in my next one and received an email stating that "the following courses require that you purchase lecture notes for $75." I could see some courses requiring them but the list I was sent had just about every course in my program listed including several classes that I've already taken and passed with top grades without these notes.

    At no time during those past courses was I told that these notes were available, let alone mandatory for my program. My getting As in every class without them speaks volumes about their value. It sounds like such a crock to me.

    Thanks for letting me vent.
     
  2. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    This is one area regarding my studies with Aspen that really gets under my skin. The Aspen "lecture notes" are not helpful at all. I have received two sets of lectures notes (for two separate courses) and both were verbatim summaries of the textbooks! In addition, there is absolutely no credit for the source of the material, which is possibly in violation of copyright laws (unless of course, they have struck a deal with the individual publishers).

    Tom
     
  3. dlady

    dlady Active Member

    This is really a bummer. When I did my two masters from Aspen, they did not require ‘lecture notes’, so I have no experience with what they are or how worthwhile they are. You should probably call them and get them to explain this to you. I have found they are pretty responsive to phone calls.
     
  4. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    I'm hesitant to do so because they might hit me up for $400 for notes from previous classes.

    I went over the course list for my program and EVERY single course is listed in the "required lecture notes" email that I received. That means in addition to buying the textbook I have to pay $75-100 per course for these worthless notes that add nothing to the course. I've heard from others the lecture notes are nothing more than the textbook summaries and were of no value. It's nothing short of a rip off and if there's no credit to the book that this information was extracted from it's even more despicable.

    Japhyr: what course are you up to? I have the list of course numbers that require these notes if you'd like to see it.
     
  5. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    Hey Ann,

    Venting is good. Please give the checks this whole week to arrive. That is what the President said. It is only Tuesday, and they are behind due to some unforseen work issues.

    As far the the notes thing. What can I say, a lot of schools have these types of fees. I am not trying to stop you from venting. In your case, you were one of the lucky few who got the $3,000.00 deal (Minus the $250.00 check you will be receiving). Not a bad deal at all. I thought I got a good deal at $4,200.00!

    Let's give the checks thing until the end of this week ok?

    Take care,

    Abner
     
  6. JohnDoe

    JohnDoe member

    I'm basically very satisfied with Aspen, but the lecture notes - as you all mention - are a joke. For me they have absolutely no value at all. It seems like they just copy the text, and they do not even manage to copy the relevant parts. It would have been far better if they could have included something that gave us extra value, reprint of articles of interest, background info.... what ever. As it is now, I normally pay more for my lecture notes than my books, and that should mean something.

    The lecture notes are a totally sham, but I let them get away with it, because on all other aspects I am 100 % satisfied with them.
     
  7. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    That remind me of the deal in a national Pharmacy, the person was buying a glucose meter for $10.00, but when he asked how much for the strips, the Pharmacy clerk told the person $99.00 dollars for 50 strips(those were the cheapest they have), the man almost had a heart attack, same thing with the Lexmark printers cartridges, one can cost you about $30.00 for each (most printer have two), so the smart thing to do is to donate the darn thing and buy a new printer that will get you two cartridges for $30.00 dollars. The moral of the story is if they don't get you with one thing they'll get you with another.
     
  8. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    I am in the MS IT program. I am presently taking the Emerging Technologies course. I received a list of courses requiring lecture notes, from an Aspen coordinator. At the time (April?) the course in question was not on the list, however, when I enrolled a few weeks later, the coordinator said the lecture notes were now required!

    BTW, Aspen will not charge you retroactively for lecture notes. They started adding lecture notes to some courses about a year ago. If you are lucky enough to complete a course before they add lecture notes then you're fine. However, if you enroll in a course that presently has a lecture notes requirement, then they will charge you $75 or $100, depending upon the date of your original Aspen enrollment letter.

    Tom
     
  9. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    This is true.

    Abner
     
  10. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    Well, they've obviously discovered this can be a cash cow for them. These notes are required for every course in the MSIM and MSIT programs. Those were the only two I checked.
     
  11. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Excuse the diversion.
    I thought about doing this but I found out from an HP employee the cartridges in new printers are not full.
     
  12. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster

    That might be true for HP, but I was talking about Lexmark(which is the printer I use) I found to always be full. Best to use is the Epson you can easily refill and you can visually monitor the cartridge tank! But this was an analogy to make a point thought! I have a very bad having to count everything I do. :D
     

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