University of the People

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by warguns, May 9, 2020.

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  1. warguns

    warguns Member

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  2. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    It's been discussed at length on Degree Info for many years, since before they were even accredited. They're currently attempting to become regionally accredited.

    Still, I don't remember anyone here going for a degree with them this whole time. Maybe if they achieve RA, that could change.
     
  3. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    I did an evaluation for them a few years ago and in the specific program mentioned above. The short of my findings:

    Materials/Educational quality: Very Good

    Interface: Fair

    Instructors: Very Good

    Student base: Low-to-mid level with a few stars sprinkled here and there, comparable to other open enrollment programs of its type

    Communication from Student Services and Administration: Unacceptably POOR

    Also, if you're not a fan of peer grading systems, this school will drive you crazy. I hope they took my recommendation into account and started giving orientations to students on grading papers because what I witnessed was just not good.
     
  4. Brian

    Brian New Member

    I personally wouldn't recommend. This is based on my experience as an instructor there for a trimester. The fact that I wouldn't recommend doesn't mean it's poor quality; it's more that it's very much: you get out of it what you put in and your classmates don't really push you much. The average student isn't even remotely close to the quality of a traditional brick/mortar institution. One of the biggest pros to graduate business school is to be pushed by your peers, make connections, and learn from people who are your caliber or better. You don't really find that at UoPeople, unfortunately.

    The instruction is very cookie cutter, albeit high quality. I basically assigned some readings based on leading business research, then unlocked a discussion forum, then waited as each of the students completed their discussion and posted on the posts of other students, playing referee, correcting mistakes, or answering questions. Most of the assignments are peer-assessed so as a student, you spend a TON of your time grading your peers. The assignments I did grade as an instructor were dreadful, so I can imagine the frustration that one would be dealing with grading all your peers week in, week out. English is only passable with most of the students, rather than fluent. It really shows. To expand on that, when I say dreadful, I mean that my best guess with some of the assignments was that they were written in the student's native language, then copy-pasted into a free translation service, not edited, and directly submitted to me or posted on the discussion forum.

    The pace of the courses are unforgiving and you need to be able to dedicate 20 hours consistently per week for each class you take. When I compare this to some of my online graduate school experiences: I could speed up or slow down the pace of my studies as I went, so it wasn't that big of a deal to go on vacation and do absolutely no work for 2 weeks, then just get back into it ... you can't really do that at UoPeople.
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2020
  5. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    Most of the assignments I saw weren't too bad, but I did see a number of translated papers. Some of them were so bad they were almost gibberish. The saddest part was knowing that those same people would also be grading papers written in English and running it through a translator program first.
     
  6. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I am not a big fan of peer grading, especially when I was at the US Marine Corps Officer Candidate School. Out of 80 candidates, there are someones who will hate you....or you have to select the bottom 3 people for elimination.
     
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  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    The whole thing is beyond awful. Does the administration sit back and watch students fighting others for their degrees - like the last TV at a Black Friday sale?
    What a morale builder - having someone with less ability and knowledge than YOU do, grading your work! Some of those people it seems, do not have the ability to write, much less grade papers, in English. This is the saddest higher-ed news I've heard in a long time.

    I was enthusiastic about UotP when it opened. Now, I'm just going to forget I ever heard of it. I'm no accreditation wonk - but seriously, will this kind of process (?) be countenanced by a RA accreditor?

    Not that it will bother UotP one iota - but I'm humongously disappointed. The idea was effective education for people of slim resources. Don't see how this method measures outcomes with any accuracy - or maximizes desired ones - at all.
     
  8. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    Yes, that's true. That problem is very common in this type of system.

    The instructors at University of the People had access to all of the papers and could monitor what was happening. Students could challenge grades and instructors could see patterns of unfair grading or vendettas. So, with instructors being able to oversee things, if the instructor was doing the job properly he/she could keep that sort of thing under control pretty easily.
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    That's an easy one, TEKMAN!

    (1) Get together with two dozen guys who are doing well.
    (2) The group picks three targets - shouldn't take more than five minutes
    (3) You all vote in unison - just vary the order of the names. Case closed.
     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Those who cannot write acceptable papers with some consistency should NOT be grading them. I have some reservations about capable students putting in time this way. I thought students paid to learn - not to grade papers.

    In my own adult ed. experience, sometimes students would read and discuss each other's efforts - particularly in creative writing classes. That was a valid learning experience. But nobody but the instructor (or sometimes a TA) ever assigned a mark.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2020
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  11. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Just a thought- if someone taking the ENEB MBA deal could transfer credits to UotP, they could potentially get an NA MBA for $1500. ($250 ENEB + $50 NACES + $1200 for 18 credits at UotP). Still requires the IF part- IF Isabel I credits turn out to be transferable.

    Aaaaaaanyway, I've had my first peer grading experience recently in my Coursera MOOC on Brand Management. I like the idea, but only if you have quality peers. On one end, more than half of those who have given me grades don't seem to have even read my work. On the other end, I couldn't even parody some of the work I've seen from other students, it's just so bad. Not that I won't try :D

    Q: Why is Brand Management important?

    A: Brand Management is important because it manages the brand. Without Brand Management, the brand would have no management and the management would have no brand.
     
  12. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    You never know for sure, but I don't see why UoP wouldn't take Isabel's credits. It is accredited in Spain, and most of the student body at UoP is international.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Umm... yeah. This sounds possible. Two MBAs for very little money. (Why do you need two?) But is that outcome worth the WORK and TIME you put into two degrees? Don't underprice yourself. Money can be replaced; time and effort are gone - you never get them back.

    If you take the ENEB, let the People go. And vice-versa.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2020
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  14. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    LOL.

    What I was thinking was if one transferred credits without completing the Isabel I degree. Just to get a handful of extremely cheap credits.

    Why would I get two MBAs? I wouldn't. I was just speculating.

    However, I'd JUMP at the same deal if it could work for an RA school with relatively inexpensive tuition. That's why I have my eye on how students fare with Isabel I. Maybe a longshot, but juuuuust in case.
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    There's a book in that, possibly. "How to Turn Handfuls of Cheap Credits Into a Handful of Cheap Degrees." :)
     
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  16. Filmmaker2Be

    Filmmaker2Be Active Member

    Unfortunately, yes. I've never attended a non-RA college or university. The level of writing proficiency among many students in America is atrocious, even at the graduate level. It's offensive to me that I've had to take grad courses with people who didn't even know the basics of punctuation. I don't even want to talk about grammar or using APA citation. Le sigh. I'm not a "grammar Nazi", but geez... it's like the basics didn't even stick with a lot of people through the years.

    Most students just want to get done ASAP and do the absolute minimum that it takes to get the degree. That wouldn't be a problem for me if grad school didn't rely so much on group work and collective grading. This is another reason I'm glad I found the ENEB/Isabel I program - no group work. The reason I hate group work is because I usually have to step up to save our grade. It's very frustrating. It's like other students don't think that maybe, someday, they might want to go to grad school (for undergrads) or continue on for a doctorate and will need to know this stuff. Arrgh. :mad::D:p
     
  17. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, writing ability is not taken into account very much with business education. I am a moderator on GMAT Club and I continuously see people stating how the quantitative skills are more highly desired than the verbal (writing).
     
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  18. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    Which is another unfortunate disconnect between academics and reality, because in business you need to be able to communicate effectively and written communication is an indispensable component.
     
  19. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    I agree 100%!
     
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