How does sponsored tuition work at AJU (Andrew Jackson University)?

How does the sponsored tuition program work? The details seem (purposefully) very vague.

Is tuition really free and all students have to pay is the cost of books and registration fees? Or is tuition merely reduced?

What does it mean to be sponsored by a participating partner?

 

You might want to check out this link:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=32642

Need to hurry though, sponsored tuition is about to end.

Shawn

 

I read that thread, but the mechanics of sponsored tuition and what sponsorship really means remains a mystery. Also, the discussion of per-course costs just muddies the waters as to what sponsorship covers.

Sounds very shady to me. The AJU website is very low on details yet makes it very easy for you to apply and pay the $75 application fee. You pay this fee before you get the details. Also, if you look at the links that you click to select a sponsoring partnership, you will see that all the links point to the same URL.

 

I'm seriously considering this program. As a veteran AJU will waive the app fee and the enrollment fee.

 

AJU has been fairly scrutinized on this and other boards and while it has a few faults and detractors (proctored exams, sponsor's promotional emails are two examples), no one has found it to be in any way a scam. The sponsored tuition was a great idea that is likely not bringing in the $ necessary to sustain the program, but as a super low cost NA degee option, AJU is totally legit.

 

I have been taking courses with AJU, since Oct '08 continuously. I have never received a single promotional email for anything related to the sponsors. The only AJU emails I get are the monthly school newsletter and the "auto-replies" that inform me when an instructor has given a grade for my recent assignment (I think that can be turned off, somewhere in 'options.') It's perfectly normal to question how their "sponsorship program" works, but I don't have anything to report about. They certainly could launch new programs in the future which could start bringing in emails, I don't know.

 

Guys, you're looking for something sinister where nothing exists. The program works pretty much as it is described. You sign up with one of their sponsors (for me, it was the social networking site Pupil City), and you go to school with zero tuition. You only pay fees, about $400 per semester, plus books. The sponsor does not spam you into oblivion. In fact, I don't think I have received a single email from them.

I found the coursework to be challenging, although some of the unit exams were easy. The proctored finals were tough. Any time I had a question or a technical issue, AJU responded to it immediately. Unlike other schools which seem to consider phone calls from students a nuisance, AJU staff have always been friendly and helpful when I called.

I did email AJU to ask why they were ending sponsored tuition, but they didn't really answer the question. They just reiterated that sponsored tuition was ending on Jan. 1.

 

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I appreciate the info. I am concerned, though, because I still see a failure to concisely explain what sponsorship is. Rather, what I am seeing are bits and pieces like "I never received emails from the sponsor" and "it's not a scam." This is alarming to me. Telling me that it's just as it's described is not helpful, because there is nothing described. Telling me that "you sign up with a sponsor" is also not helpful, because it means nothing as written. That is where my concern comes from.

 

Another thing. Don't forget that AJU is a business. How does (did) it intend to make money with the sponsorship program? How does (did) the sponsors intend to make money, especially if you never hear from them? Something doesn't add up. Maybe that's why the program is being canceled, but it still doesn't explain how AJU has enough money to operate the program for the last couple of years.

Basically, according to the info posted here, you sign up with a sponsor. Still not sure what this means or what it entails. This gives you free tuition, although you have to pay $400 per semester (or per course?) in enrollment fees and purchase your own textbooks. What gives?

You need to be critical about these things. This is your education and your money. You should not hear the word "free" or "sponsored tuition" or whatever and feel compelled to immediately sign up for the program. You need to ask how and why. If you don't know how it works, then I would be wary about signing up for it.

 

The sponsors, I think, as originally intended by AJU were meant to provide some type of community or portal for students. Whether the sponsors' plans materialized or like many Dot-Com ventures they never achieved a viable product we will likely never know. However, this in no way affects the reputation of AJU because the onus was always on the sponsors to deliver payment to AJU in exchange for student eyeballs. The quality of service provided by AJU has, according to all accounts posted about them, been very good and the courses worthwhile.

 

I wonder how many students attend AJU simply because of sponsored tuition. Once they remove this benefit, I'd be curious to see how many students leave or if they can attract new ones to replace them.

 

All universities are businesses - some not-for-profit and some for-profit (I would argue that state schools are are also businesses or at least organizations that must follow prudent business practices).

Here is more info on the AJU sponsored tuition program
http://www.aju.edu/partners.asp

I believe the president of AJU also discussed the program on degreeinfo in the last year or so.

 

Perhaps the ones that started will stay rather then walk away for a program that they invest a lot time into and it would be harder to start something new someplace else.

 

The original email that sentinel posted indicates that anyone who starts in the sponsored tuition program by the end of this year can continue in the program:

Effective January 1, 2010, Andrew Jackson University is eliminating sponsored tuition. Students will pay tuition as well as semester fees. However, students who enroll by December 31, 2009 will lock in the sponsored tuition.
http://www.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?t=32642

 

I'm not really sure how else to explain it to you. I studied with AJU for a semester, and I hardly consider myself "scammed". I signed up for a social networking site called Pupil City, paid my semester fees (about $400 for the semester, NOT per course) and took my courses. I'm not sure what other answers you're looking for. Perhaps you should contact AJU.

For crying out loud, it's a college, not a Nigerian email scam. So they tried it and it didn't work. At least they tried it.

 

I have to agree with you, the program was not a scam. I was enrolled in their MBA program and washed out, due to my simply not having enough time to complete the program, with my busy schedule. I never received any spam or emails, except the initial one where I signed up for Pupil City also. The counselors and professors were always courteous and friendly, I even had one professor who called and left a message after I had not logged in for about 4 days in one course. I just checked their sponsored tuition page and it looks like they have different sponsors from when I signed up earlier this year, so maybe they had issues getting enough sponsors on board or the numbers just did not materialize, either way I think it was great they were trying to make education even more affordable.

 

So, you really have no idea how sponsorship works, huh? What is the business model behind "signing up with a sponsor and never hearing from them"? You have really not explained anything.

A different user said that the sponsors are supposed to provide the access portal to the online courses. The sponsors pay the tuition to AJU and in return get the advertising attention of the student every time he or she signs on to a course. Is this your experience as well?

 

AJU uses Moodle and I never saw 1 piece of advertising in the 3 courses I took with them. It was explained when you signed up that you would receive emails and announcements from the sponsor you signed up with, I never received anything, but the sponsor I signed up with, is no longer on AJU's sponsor page. Unless someone actually works behind the scenes at AJU, they will never know the business model behind it, if you are a simply a student, you are told to choose a sponsor to sign up, by simply providing an email address and that they would contact you via email occasionally for feedback.

 

Why would I care? You still haven't explained your paranoia behind this particular program.

I'm just a student, I'm not an AJU employee who created this program. If you want to know how the model works, ask them.

 

TCord, a long time respected member of this forum says he had absolutely no problems. He has no ties to AJU. It is not his responsiblity to explain the business model behind the sponsorship program. AJU is a well respected school, and is not known for horse sh*t. So, I think you really have to decide if you want a good deal, or think this thing to death and have the decision made for you. It is up to you.

Abner