I have decided to take my MBA at Touro University International after looking a several DL programs. Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous questions abouts and DL schools and modes of delivery for distance learning programs. I have quite a lot about distance learning since I joined the group.
Congratulations on your choice. I have completed my second year at Touro and I am extremely satisfied with the educational experience. Good luck... Eli
Congratulations and best of luck with Touro! Be sure to keep us updated in regards to your experiences and opinions of the program, as we're seeing more inquiries regarding TUI, and it's always best to hear info first-hand. Bruce
If you dont mind: what's the cost and how was the admissions process (time, hassle-factor etc) Also is teaching totally by distance or is there a residential component?
Einstein, The application process was problem free. I filled out an online application and had my transcripts for my bachelors degrees sent from Rochester College, Michigan to Touro. Within two week, I got an email informing me that I was accepted into the MBA program. Teaching is totally distance and there is no resident component for the MBA program. I have not experienced any hassle with Touro so far and I am not expecting any in the future. --------------- More Info I have chosen this school for the following reasons: 1. The school is regionally accredited 2. The delivery format is not purely online - They use interactive multimdea / video etc. (CD ROM ROM based - no text books to buy) 3. The semester are 12 weeks long instead of the the typical 6-8 for many online programs. 4. Assestment is based on case studies instead of exams 5. No GMAT test score are required for admission - 6. The school is not just an online college it is part of a residential college that have law, business, health sciences and, education and pyschology schools. 7. It is affordable to my pocket book. 8. Faculty seems to be solid 9. I have been visiting a couple of distance learning sites and found two students that were in their program. One current in the MBA and one that has completed an MBA and in the Ph.D program. They both report that they had a positive experience with the program and that the courses were very professional. 10. I talk with the dean of the business college and he informed that many of the assignment could be focused on the organization I was working for if so desired. 11. The opportunity for further study in the Ph.D program at the same school. Regards, Colin
Allow me to expand on the "semester" issue: Quarter and Semester credits are measures of the scope of learning in a particular course. In general, 1 quarter credit is equal to 2/3 of a semester credit. These are not a measure of how long a class meets but the quantity of learning content in that class. TUI grants semester credits, not quarter credits, because of the amount of learning that takes place in the courses and on the level of activity they require from students. Touro completed a detailed hour-by-hour analysis of their courses for the initial accreditation review. The result, fully accepted by Middle States, is that Touro courses do, indeed, qualify for 4 semester credits. To avoid confusion, TUI never refer to their sessions as quarters but as sessions. They also avoid the use to the term semester (which really means half of the academic year or two semester per year). Thus "session" seems to be the least confusing. Again... best of luck Colin.. Eli
Colin - Greetings from a former Rochester College faculty member. I have many dear friends there. As for the 12 week term - I think this is an important point. Many distance programs have gone to 6-8 week terms. I have some real concerns about this kind of compression. The old saying in project management is "If one women can have a baby in nine months, why can't nine women have a baby in one month?" Of course this doesn't work with babies. I wonder whether it works with education. It strikes me that student need "soak time" to absorb and work with material. My experience with compressed schedules, is that often faculty compromise on topic coverage because of the confines of time. I much prefer longer terms to allow students to absorb and work with material. Further, when teaching in a six week term, there is precious little time for students who have family or work emergencies that take them off line for a few days. Thanks - Andy ------------------ Andy Borchers, DBA NSU (1996)
Andy, I agree with you for the most part. I have haven't had much experience with 6 - 8 weeks online sessions so I really can't comment on that. However, I personally prefered to have longer sessions. Therefore, Touro's 12 week sessions is perfect for me. It would be interesting to hear from students that are currently doing there online classes in 6 weeks session. --- Rochester College was great place and provided a good academic challenge. _______ Regards, Colin ___
Colin, I did my MBA in a compressed (6-week) program. I found that I had to be online several hours a day EVERY day, plus hours of searching and reading online journal articles, plus lots of writing. As Andy points out, there is no slack in a condensed program and there is a tendency for instructors to either omit material or to cover it so lightly that it might as well have been eliminated. The course length(16 weeks)in my current (PhD)program is more to my liking. But there are drawbacks to this program because it lacks the intense give and take between 8-10 learners that I had become used to. Bill Hurd
