Hello, I am new to this forum. I am planning to get a Masters degree in Information Systems. I have shortlist some colleges. Can anyone (especially Mr. Bear) please comment - 1. Regis University 2. University of Maryland University College 3. Capitol College 4. Capella University. Capella seems to have a good course content, but the biggest problem is that it looks more like a DOTCOM venture rather than a university in traditional sense. What if they close down? Would that invalidate my degree? UMUC is one of the biggest provider of distance education, but there term offerings are very bad. It will take atleast 2.5 yrs to complete the Masters. Regis seems good. It is even ranked 21st in West by US News. But I don't know anything beyond that. Capitol College. Again the curriculum looks good, but would anyone recognize that name. I already have 13 years of IT experience. So I was looking for programs which had broader course offering and were flexible with their core courses. Finally I am I want to remain within $500-$550/credit range. Any other suggestions are welcome. Regards Rajesh
Nova Southeastern's M.S. in computer information systems runs $395.00 per sem. hr. of credit and is offered completely online. Go to the link http://scis.nova.edu/ and download the fraduate catalog. John
I had looked into that as well. But I had removed it from my final selection. Nova seems to have a problem with quality. Also I called them to get detailed information, but the program advisor was not at all helpful. I wanted to get a detailed description of the courses. The catalog only had 3 lines for each course. How can anyone evaluate? She said only when you enroll for the classes, the individual professors would give me the syllabus.
Another think I noticed was that both Regis and Capella had very few faculty with Ph.D teaching Master's programs. Capella claims that over 90% of its faculty have doctorate degree. But when I look at the faculty listed under Technology, the reverse seems to be true (only 10%). Dr. Bear what are your thoughts? Regards Rajesh
I am currently a student at Capitol. The curriculum Information Architecture is very applicable to today's IT world. Most of the students seem to have substantial experience in the industry. The one thing that may be a drawback is that there is an online interactive audio lecture once week in the 7 week classes and every other week in the 14 week classes.
Hello Slappy, Can you give me more details? How is the quality of the program? How are the professors? How technical is the program? If you feel comfortable, can you email me your phone number - [email protected]. Regards Rajesh
[ Finally I am I want to remain within $500-$550/credit range. Any other suggestions are welcome. Regards Rajesh[/B][/QUOTE] Hello Rajesh, My vote is to avoid UMUC, I was very disappointed in the BSCIS program and I transferred elsewhere. I've entertained some thought about going on past the BS when I complete the degree. I would encourage you to take a look at the University of Hawaii online program if cost is a significant issue. The website is http://www.aln.hawaii.edu/programs . The tuition is very reasonable. Let me know what you think. David
I'm sorry, Rajesh, but I simply don't have the time to do the kind of analysis of schools that you are seeking, especially for those (such as your list) with appropriate regional accreditation. My sense is that the differences among them are far smaller, in terms of academics, rigor, reputation, etc., than the difference between any of them and a wide range of less wonderful alternatives. I tried to address the kinds of reasons for choosing one program or another in our MBA book, identifying eleven vital factors to consider. Much of that is, I think, relevant to any school decision, and that chapter is available free on the publisher's website: http://www.degree.net/guides/mba_guide.html
I understand Dr. Bear, but what do you feel about the qualification of the faculty. As I had posted earlier - Regis and Capella, for example, hardly had any PhDs in the Masters class.
