so how good is UoP and UMUC in the eyes of the employers?

Meh -

Just looking at the thread there are four pages of timestamps, one at the beginning of every post. I get the idea of "oh maybe a person is new to forums" but forums have been around for over 15 years now and I'm less likely to buy that argument than I am to simply assume that the question is relevant and he posted in it because it mattered to him.

The problem isn't the age of the thread, it's the people who make such a big deal of thread necro when it's obviously not being done to spam or advertise.

 

Hey TJ,

If one does a search on 'UMUC online national rankings' this tread is very near the top of the results lists thereby making it appear recent/current.

Therefore, assuming this, the average person would not really bother examining that last post date. Also consider that most people tend to respond to a topic of discussion after reading a portion of posted replys. Very few, if any, read ALL replys to a thread before posting their 2cents.

So does that make sense to you son, or do you need to take some online courses to figure that out?

 

I know this is an old thread but the answer with any degree from any school boils down to YMMV.

The only person that I personally know with a UMUC bachelor's is my wife and it did not hurt her on her first post graduation job search.

 

"The problem isn't the age of the thread, it's the people who make such a big deal of thread necro when it's obviously not being done to spam or advertise."

You obviously didn't read the last part of "TJs" response. I don't think there are online courses to help someone figure out how to use online discussion boards. There are, however, courses to improve reading comprehension skills. I believe it's called English 101. Check it out.

 

Long time no post

It's been a very long time since I have posted on this or any distance learning thread, so let me just address the initial question "How good is Uop and UMUC in the eyes of employers?"

My Personal Story and educational background is as follows:

A.A./A.S. - Northern VA community College
B.S. Management - University of Phoenix
M.B.A with a major in Acquisition - Strayer University
Grad Certificate in Procurement - University of Virginia

I have also attended Longwood University, Liberty University, and am planning on pursuing a Ph.D with either UMUC or NCU in Arizona.

In the years since I earned my UOP degree, I have moved up rapidly within private sector job world. I have worked for employers like Northrop Grumman, served as VP of Education for a chapter of the National Contracts Management Association, and I currently work as a program manager @ a very large government contractor and as an adjunct professor @ my alma matter, Northern VA Community college. I have had ZERO issues with anyone accepting my UOP degree, nor have I ever had it questioned...most people were impressed that I completed my education while working full time.

It really depends what you mean by "employers." Are you referring to private or public sector? Education? Engineering? Business? Healthcare? Accounting?
Additional certification and certain recognition may be necessary to pursue licensed careers (accounting, teaching, engineering, counseling, psychology, etc). You have to look at it on a case-by-case basis.

I'll be a nerd and make a Pro and Con list for you for each school (which is MY OPINION)

Phoenix:

Pro:

-Regionally and professionally (ACBSP, psychology, education, etc) accredited.
-Convenient
-Easy access
-Good teachers (from my experience)
-Academic staff that cares (I should I know, I was one of them
-Lots of programs to chose from

Cons:
-Does not have name recognition, and in some cases has negative name recognition
-Does not have certain professional accreditations that matter (NCATE, AACSB)
-Expensive
-Ease of access (to easy to get in, although I hear they are being forced to change that)
-Annoying admissions staff (salespeople, although I hear they are changing that as well)
-Seen as an "online school" when they have 200+ campuses
-Advertising (ridiculous)
-Website seems almost too "flashy"

UMUC:

Pros:
-State School, non-profit
-Good name recognition (university of maryland is a highly respected public institution)
-Cost (lower than for profits, even with out of state tuition rates)
-Lots of programs online and on ground

Cons:
-People think it's a for-profit school (and by all intents and purposes it operates like one)
-NOT University of Maryland - College Park (which is very well known, especially the Robert Smith School of Business), it is PART OF the state system of colleges.
-Advertising (too much in my opinion)

Hope this helps.

 

Ditto Steve!

Hope everything is going well.

 

A few notes regarding UMUC, UoP and online ed.

First, note: I received my masters from UMUC and am currently pursuing a PhD at GMU, a traditional University. Also note, the Chief Information Officer for the United States Government also received a masters from UMUC.

Second, it should be noted that UoP is a for profit institution where as UMUC is a public school that is part of the University of Maryland State Education System. It is not University of Maryland though. Both schools do have brick and mortar locations. UoP has many many B and M sites throughout the US.

Third. Online degrees are very good for some programs. I would advise you to shy away from any program that would traditionally include alot of handson application such as computer sciences since these online programs just do not give you enough depth and handson experience to match the brick and morter educational experiences in these areas. I am paying for that a little in my current studies where I am having to play catchup with some of the other students who received their masters from B and M schools.

Fourth. Online degrees are very much an example of you get from them what you put into them. You are essentially educating yourself with a little guidance from faculty online. You can graduate and learn very little, or you can graduate and learn a great deal, but much of it depends on how disciplined and diligent you are in your studies.

Finally, employers often do not take degree holding applicants at face value. As someone who has hired people in the computer security field, I would tell you that a degree may get you into the interview, but if I ask you a question that the average college graduate should know and you cannot answer it because you went to a degree mill... or because you drank your way through a traditional college... you aren't going to get the job.

 

The real University of Maryland is located in downtown Baltimore (University of Maryland, Baltimore). The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) was founded in 1807. UMB is often confused with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). However, they are very different institutions with very different missions. UMB is the University System of Maryland's professional campus. Nursing is the only undergraduate degree program that is offered by UMB.

College Park is not the University of Maryland-- it is the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP)! UMCP was founded in 1862 as a land-grant institution known as the Maryland Agricultural College. Like UMBC, UMCP is primarily an undergraduate institution.

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is one of the eleven academic institutions that make up the University System of Maryland (USM Institutions - USM). UMUC was founded shortly after World War II as a college for non-traditional learners (i.e., adults returning to school to advance their careers). Since day one, a major component of UMUC’s mission has been to offer college-level courses to service members and their families while serving abroad (UMUC had campuses in Europe and Asia during the Cold War). That's why UMUC is a leader in distance learning. The original UMUC brick and mortar building is located at the back of the College Park campus.

Finally, comparing UMUC with the University of Phoenix is ludicrous. I earned my BSCS from UMUC after serving in the military (I was a computer programmer in the military). All of my computer science courses were taught at College Park by College Park professors and post-docs. I blew through my MSCS coursework in a "day school" graduate computer science program at a traditional brick and mortar state university because my undergraduate coursework was so rigorous. I have been accepted into every doctoral computer science program for which I applied. I only need to find the will to be a research slave for the time that it takes to complete my dissertation.

 

UMUC IS a State School, It belongs to the University System of Maryland

Hi all,

I have worked for UMUC for most of the last 26 years. UMUC is one of the member institutions of the University System of Maryland. It is a state school.

I cannot speak for what HR managers think, but I can speak for educational quality: Like any college or university, some courses and professors are better than others.

Online education in itself is not necessarily inferior or superior to face to face classes.
If the teacher is committed and knowledgeable and takes the time to teach well, an online course can be as enriching and engaging as a face to face class.

Maggie

 

UMUC is a great school and John Petrov is a wonderful HR professor!

I really enjoy taking classes at UMUC. I am working on my bachelor degree in human resource management. The professors are really good and they care about their students. One in particular that I enjoyed most was professor John Petrov who taught my HR Management class. He was very interactive, enthusiastic and experienced. I had to work hard for my A but it was definitely worth the effort. Thank you Professor Petrov for a job well done!

 

John Petrov is a great HR professor. He taught us a lot about HR, recruitment, employee relations, training, compensation. His class was also fun. They have a value of students first.

 

Does that mean I'm not getting a "hotness" score?