Ashford University Raises Tuition Rate AGAIN....

Ok, so cite your sources.

 

I lead Airmen and manage resources.

Again, do you have any evidence to support your claim?

 

Three in one year I agree, DEAL BREAKER! I guess they don't want new students.

NEWS FLASH: The economy STINKS!

 

Bottom Line:

Education is what you make of it. If you look up the educations of professors from NCC and AU you will see comparable education and training; there are two examples of sources readily available. If one looks at the mess that the ivy league grads got us into with collateralised debt mortgages, and mortgage backed securities, there is a prime example from life. If one were to compare upper level and honors students from many Universities it can be easily seen the disparity between ability and general intelligence touted over between rich kids in Ivy League institutions shrivels up until they are equalized. Ok more concrete proof: go to Yale's free online courses where real Ivy League professors lead class discussions, assign homework and answer questions to problems. Compare this to non Ivy League colleges you have attended or look at samples of AU and other online Universities classrooms. This can be found on Google or upon request to various onine Universities. Look at Harvard Extension's sample classes on their website. Many state Universities are by the way, fourth or third tier as well, while some Ivy League are not considered first tier, go figure. The information is available online, on Google Books and through the various named institutions. The Ivy League creates networks to make more money through money and prestige, no doubt about it, but the Ivy League was originally based upon football and not so much academics. Now that Ivy League is not so exclusive the middle class has some opportunity to enter one of these schools and even a few lower class do as well, but without money and connections it is far more difficult for these students to succeed though many end up after graduation succedding. Also when one considers George W. Bush and John Kerry one realizes the Ivy League is not always as selective as people assume. The Ivy League does offer some excellent educational opportunites, but ALL regionally accredited Universities do. Finally the Ivy Leauge is not really famous for undergraduate educational excellence; it is the graduate programs that are superb and desireable even for a person like me. I am looking at Cornell, NYU among others, if I move back to NY. I want a graduate degree that carries with a reputation and where the education actually more or less lives up to the hype.

 

???

What do you mean by three in one year?

 

jcbmack = Comedy Goldmine!!!

Three raises in tuition, jcbmack... If you actually read the post starting this thread, that would be obvious. See below:

Duh...

By the way, even though I find your rants hilarious (and I hope everyone else does too), I hope you realize you are doing nothing to support your argument...

And also, I was in the Air Force for six years. Look at my signature block and tell me if my Air Force specialty code had anything to do with flying aircraft...

 

Maybe I missed it in your several posts but I assume you are in a bachelor degree program at Ashford. What degree do you plan to pursue to at Cornell, et al?

If you are moving back to NY area have you considered Stevens Institute of Technology? – IMHO they are comparable to Cornell and MIT.

 

So despite all of your comments you want to attend an Ivy League university (Cornell).

 

Here is a portfolio of one of my professors from AU: http://www.bolender.com/Dr.%20Ron/Portfolio/Portfolio.htm

 

Yes Perhaps:

For graduate school I am considering all options and Ivy League is one of those options. I have the GPA, the GRE scores, the professor letters of recommendation and financial aid and scholarships will pay for many relatively expenisve Universities. Graduate programs in Ivy League are far better supported with smaller classes and better student to professor ratios. Of course this is also true of non Ivy League colleges, both higher tier and middle tier. I may not go to Ivy League, but the possibility of having both a good education and a brand name for networking is tempting. AU is superb for undergraduate, hands down, however, many of my fellow students do not necessarily write and think at the level they should due to open admissions and there is no graduate program in Psychology there, and I would be hesitant about receiving a graduate degree there at this time. I have been referring to undergraduate education and general competency and education requirements. The Bachelor's in Psychology and the Social and Criminal Justice at AU are both outstanding programs. They are comparable to far more expensive programs. Ivy League is overpriced and I am not a fan of overcrowded undergraduate classrooms, they do not foster as much learning, if that is what an individual prefers then the freedom of self motivation in the online environment may be a wiser and far less expensive choice. The professors at AU in contrast to some of the students are top notch, well trained--educated and comparable to any other professors at a wide variety of Universities.

 

Thank You I will check them out.

Yes I am working on a double bachelor's through AU; Psychology and Social and Criminal Justice. I have a background in Biochemistry and Biopsychology through Nassau Community College, Stanford, and some other course work elsewhere. I have an interest in Neuroscience, Forensic Psychoiogy and Clinical Psychology. I definitely want to be a professor. One of the things holding me back is the passing of the CBEST so I can substitute teach here in CA, which supplements my tutoring and editing business. In NY the CBEST is worthless, not that I necessarily disagree, I have seen the level of education of many substitute teachers and found them lacking. I will definitely look into your suggestions though, thank you. Many of my professors in Biology from NCC graudated from Cornell or a similar school for their graduate degrees.

 

Simon is that you?

 

Interesting Ratings:

http://www.go4ivy.com/college_rankings.asp I see several very reputable Universities rated as tier four. UCLA tier 4, really? Do your homework guys, these rankings can serve as a guide, but are never definitive or all encompassing.

 

reading is a good thing, make sure you keep things in context:

"...Our college rankings are independent and based on one criterion: the academic quality of the freshman class.....Below are four tiers of the nation's top colleges based on the quality of the freshman class."

bold emphasis mine.

 

I've been trying to keep up with this thread but I'm just either not getting what's going on here...

First, I'm not seeing Ashford hate so what's with all the defending the colors going on here? If they raise tuition rates that's a fact and not terribly unusual for a college to do.

Second, Ashford's ranking? Really, who cares? I wouldn't call them Harvard, but then they're not Harvard either. So there's good and bad.

They don't pretend to be an Ivy, they don't equate themselves with an Ivy and neither would I. In fact I'm not even sure what an Ivy is supposed to be...

Ashford is a good school. In my experience as good as or better than any state school I or anyone in my family has been to rigor wise and I don't feel slighted in the least in my education from them, they did a terrific job teaching me business, I was able to use the degree to get (and keep) a job I love, everybody's happy.

 

Essentially My Points

Education is what you make of it. First I did mention that AU equates to many State Universities. Also Harvard is not the number one college in the country. There are many critical analyses of US News college rankings as well. I never wanted to base my statements on the rankings, others did this. AU is an excellent University and the tuition is far lower than many other comparable institutions and you save on travel expenses. The cost of buying books, paying tuition and traveling to many State Universities for example would be far more expensive than AU and yet the education would not be any better. Berkely just raised its tuition by nearly 10% for example. Also many qualified individuals cannot get accepted to or cannot afford (even if accepted) many of these overpriced Universities. The non profit Universities that rely upon endowments are raising their rates at a sharper incline than AU.

 

Same Goes With US News

US News and Prinecton Review also have some similar and suspect criteria, with sharp changes in rankings based heavily upon student reviews year to year. Yes reading is a good thing, you should read the reviews of US News rankings as well.

 

You're the one who got the pot boiling with statements regarding school rankings and ivy league comparisons.

Your quotes:

"Well, there are many different rating systems and claims made online by various agencies and indivduals. I will put it to you this way,"

"AU is ranked fourth tier and yet the academic standards set by most of the professors in addition to the challenging research papers assigned matches what you see in top four year state universities"

" Fourth tier according to US News, well, that claim is dubious. Tiers and what makes a college better than others can be pretty subjective and not well evidenced in many cases. AU is a top notch University plain and simple. You guys to claim "


" AU is not a good college also offer no concrete evidence to support your claims at all."

- Who said that ashford was "not good"?

"First I did mention that AU equates to many State Universities."

- Yes. And? Just because you say it equates to state universities..does
not make it so.

"Also Harvard is not the number one college in the country."

- And? Maybe I do. Maybe tom does not. Perhaps Andrew does. What quantitative evidence do you have to support your claim?

" There are many critical analyses of US News college rankings as well."

Ok. I can agree with that. I assume based on positive reviews, that ashford provides a more than satisfactory education for certain posters on this board.


"I also did well in Standford on their actual campus, but again you doubt my actual claim. Well, there are many different rating systems and claims made online by various agencies and indivduals."

- Just because you did well as a "Stanford?" student does not make you the sole authority on education. Can you present evidence to back your claims?

 

We keep straying from the topic. You made a statement that was not supported. Usually prefacing the statement with "in my experience" or "in my opinion", or some other disqualifier would keep folks from asking you to support the comparison of Ashford with Ivy league schools. As I mentioned, if this comparison was upheld by any national publication, peer review, or academic citation then the tuition at Ashford, and even the increases, would seem a bargain when compared to some Ivies.

I'm not stating that Ashford isn't a quality school. I have no personal basis to make any statement of their quality. I do read the USNews rankings and I can assure you that as with all rankings I take the methodology into consideration.

Regardless, the topic is about tuition increases which make Ashford less of a bargain. Comparable degrees are available from state schools for quite a bit less.

 

Forget Stevens then - they don't have Psychology programs.