Hindsight 20/20: A Retrospective on Ashworth College

Hindsight 20/20: A Retrospective on Ashworth College

This post is meant to be a searchable archive and since it has been a while since I graduated from Ashworth College, I've had time to reflect upon my experiences there. Hopefully my experience isn't too antiquated.

I remember graduating from Tarrant County College with a Certificate in Computer Science/Network Administration and not feeling fulfilled because it was not a degree. However at the time Tarrant County College did not have an IT degree that wasn’t focused on programming and networking was in its 56K Modem infancy. I always intended to get an Associates degree then call it quits, but life threw me a curve and I gained an opportunity.

I worked in IT for 13 months exactly when the big “Dot-Com” bubble burst. I was employed as an “engineer” because of my knowledge in the industry, not my education. After the bust I was told that I was over qualified for tech support and under qualified for senior positions. I was sitting in the middle of a big crap sandwich.

For 3 months I tried to get another job with no results. Finally out of desperation and hunger I opened my opportunities to anything but fast food with a hopeful eye towards entering my father’s profession, which was law enforcement and wound up bouncing around in the back of an armored truck for $10.00 an hour. While I was in armored we had 3 different guards shot and killed ambush style at other branches and I remember thinking to myself “I’ve got to do better than this”.

I knew that the local community college was out because of the strange working hours I kept so I looked for an alternative. One afternoon I was sitting at home on the couch watching T.V. and saw a commercial for Ashworth College promising a career in Criminal Justice via an Associates degree for approximately $30.00 a month. I called for information and before I got off the phone with the person I was enrolled, it was just too easy. I remember thinking that at Tarrant County College I would wait in line for 2 hours only to be told I was in the wrong line and to go to another 2 hour line. I’d have to catch professors and advisors when I could to get accepted to a class or talk to the registrar about which classes have openings etc. Enrolling at that college was a confusing nightmare which quite frankly I remember seeing more than one person leaving in frustration muttering something to the effect of “f**k this!” Ashworth College seemed to be a dream come true.

I received my first materials that week and before I knew it I was banging out assignments. After a while the second book and materials arrived. It was slow going for the first semester because I wasn’t as disciplined as I should have been and nobody was going to push me for the work or give me deadlines other than me. I nominated a local preacher for my proctor and before I knew it I was taking finals.

I was on my 3rd semester when I started to notice the decline in customer service at Ashworth College. I would call to ask a simple question and wait on hold, sometimes for up to 2 hours or just get transferred to a voicemail without receiving a call back. Other times I would email and get a canned answer back or an email asking to call only to get stuck in voicemail hell again. I almost quit but was determined to get an AS degree if nothing else. Ultimately I did finish and I received a poorly printed diploma and very inexpensive class ring. But was it worth it? Absolutely. Not only did I finish my Associates degree but I did so very inexpensively and I learned that there are other methods to earning a degree than what you were told in High School.

Earning an Associates degree gave me the confidence I needed to proceed on to a Bachelor of Science via distance education. As a bonus my DETC accredited degree transferred to a Regionally Accredited School at which I eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Science with honors.

What I learned at Ashworth College:

1.) Self discipline. If you aren’t going to do the work, they won’t beg you or ask you for it, the work will simply just not get done.
2.) There are alternatives to learning other than in a classroom.
3.) Public Libraries actually have a use in today’s modern internet driven world.
4.) I can teach myself almost anything (given the appropriate syllabus) short of major auto mechanics or brain surgery.
5.) College is not some mysterious thing that only wealthy students complete.

What I gained from Ashworth College:

1.) I was hired as a law enforcement officer during the course of study. I wasn’t the most qualified but the fact that I was in college made a strong argument for my growing into the position.
2.) During my first 2 years I was promoted to supervisor. During the promotion process the question of my education came up and the fact that I was near completion of my degree demonstrated that I was able to set and complete long term goals, maintain self discipline and that I was serious about my profession. I doubled my salary in 5 years and have gained a ton of experience.
3.) I had actually gained a pretty solid understanding of Criminal Justice as an academic pursuit and profession. This really prepared me for my position as a law enforcement officer and for going to the next level in my education.

The not so great things about Ashworth College:

1.) The customer service isn’t up to par in my opinion, but then they aren’t priced very high either.
2.) You are anonymous to the instructors, other students etc. Don’t look for an alumni society here; it’s as basic as they come.
3.) The diploma was a disappointment, but hey, it’s the credential, not the paper that counts.
4.) SLOW to receive materials at times. Think WEEKS, not days.

The great things about Ashworth College:

1.) Easy enrollment, you could almost accidentally do it.
2.) At your own pace.
3.) Cheap.
4.) Accredited by DETC, which is enough at the AS level for most professions.
5.) Cheesy commercial, but hey, it worked for me, the school is very approachable.

The particulars of Ashworth College:

Expect to receive a workbook and textbook which are included in the price. As you progress through your workbook you can submit your answers online or mail them in, almost everything was multiple choice except for my Report Writing class and Business Communications. When you finish you receive the next book and workbook. After completing 5, you take a timed open book test in front of a proctor. In my experience there about 10 questions for each subject, not a lot of room for mistakes and the questions at times were at times on a very obscure topic given the whole of the text. Don’t expect to be able to simply look everything up in the allotted time; you will need at least some idea of what they are asking about.

For instance you will be asked about follicle DNA. You need to know that a follicle is from a hair sample, how hair is collected, what is required to get a proper DNA sample and mostly you need to know that this is covered under Forensics which falls under Crime Investigations which could fall under Criminal Procedure. The question will ask you about procedure assuming you know about crime scene collection methods concerning hair. Okay this is a bad example but hopefully you at least get the point.

That’s one guys experience for anyone considering Ashworth College. Your results may vary.

 

Outstanding! Sounds trite, but folks like you that put the time and effort into archives like this are one of the reasons I originally joined. I wish something as comprehensive as this was available when I was first researching schools.

Good on ya man. On a different note, what are your impressions of St. Joseph so far? I'm looking hard at doing the St Joe MBA after I finish the ITM degree at Touro. Take care!

Dave

 

Way to go Friendorfoe!!!! Good work! I am so happy it all worked out for you, nobody deserves the rewards more than you!!!


Abner

 

Outstanding post! Posts like that are what boards like degreeinfo should have. A straightforward, honest account of your learning experience with a school.

 

Thanks guys. I start the coursework for St. Joes in March. I'll let ya'll know.

 

I'm also enrolled with Ashworth (Psychology). I signed up in December, but I did'nt start my first course until January. I finished an entire course in one weekend, and combined with transfer credits I'm already halfway through the program!

The customer service at Ashworth is not very good. You get left on hold for a long, long time. They also have a 90-day transfer credit time limit, which is ridiculous.

I got an 'A' in one course but some of the exam questions were wrong. In other words, I answered it right but was still marked wrong. I've yet to get an answer from anyone on that situation :-(

The learning materials are fantastic! I also attend the private, regionally accredited Ashford University for a business degree program (which is an absolute garbage institution by the way). Ashworth's materials are far better than Ashford's! I learned more about business in one Intro to Business course at Ashworth than every business course I've taken at Ashford University. That's a damn shame.

The thing about Ashworth is that it's all no-nonsense in terms of how the materials are presented. The books are written in a very interesting way... it's just damn good writing. The writers are funny, intelligent, witty and educational all at the same time and they also happen to be experts in their field.

I take the Psych program online and I would recommend anyone who is thinking about Ashworth to go with the online program. It's much faster and more efficient.

 

Why would you go for an MBA and not a PhD when you finish you MS-ITM? How do you like Touro's program? When I was in the MS-ITM the format was different and wish it was the same format as they have now.

 

Darn good post.

BTW, your computer certs are not completely worthless. Yes, your value got inflated during the dot-com boom, as many people found. However, your study skills and computer literacy that you attained have to have immense value for every pursuit you've been in since.

 

These are great points....I teach in a college and I might use them for my students!

Basically Distance ed allows the school to lower their overhead, but requires you provide discipline!

 

Quite true actually. I forgot to mention that.

 

Great post! Your account of Ashworth is EXTREMELY similar to my experience with Penn Foster. Easy to enroll, poor customer service, cheap, outstanding learning materials. Penn Foster has the added advantage of having many of its courses ACE evaluated though. No regrets.

 

Agreed.

FriendorFoe, with your interest in computers and law enforcement perhaps at some point you migth want to consider earning a certificate in Computer & Digital Forensics. Your CompTIA A+ certification and previous criminal justice degrees will likely exempt you from three (3) of the eight (8) courses towards the professional certificate.

Good luck with your studies at Saint Joseph's College.

 

I have seriously considered it. In fact the one I have been eyeballing is at Rutgers University http://ccpd.rutgers.edu/course/display/678 which is not too expensive, doesn't take too long, and it's Rutgers U.

As for working in the field however, I have some issues with the psychological impact of working cyber crimes such as child pornography and the lack of support for those investigators who are subjected to that type of material over a period of years. Some fields of police work just simply don't pay enough for the toll it takes on the officers, such as narcotics undercover stuff, etc.

But if offered a job in it, I'd take it because I would feel somewhat duty bound...

 

There is some truth to what you are saying about the psychological impacts of certain lines of work. I was not in law inforcement, but I worked as a news reporter for more than 20 years. In that line of work, you still see some pretty disturbing things (crime scenes, accident victims, abused kids, etc.). The stories involving kids are the ones that affected me the most. I covered the murder trial of Terry Nichols (of Oklahoma City bombing fame) and had nightmares for weeks after listening to the testimony of victims and survivors of the bombing, and I wasn't even in OKC when it happened. It was at that time that I first started to seriously consider leaving the profession, which I eventually did. I now work in marketing/PR, and am much happier.

There really should be more support services for those in law enforcement and emergency services who are subjected to some pretty horrific things on the job.