Baker College vs. TIU

I have pretty much narrowed my search down to Baker College or TIU for obtaining my Bachelor's in Business Administration online. I live in California. Any thoughts on either of the two?

 

Can't speak for Baker but I got my MS-ITM from TUI and am taking MBA classes now. I think they are great and no books to buy!

 

I can't give you the advice for both; however, this is my opinion. There are lot of people have great experiences with both schools. Most of the time, I didn't hear any negative about them. The only thing that you have to consider the school for their reputation in the region. You have to determine if you can get a get job with the degree from the school that you have. If you live around Orange County, California; and people never heard to TUI University. Then there is an issue with it; then move to a different school. For example, in Northern Virginia, Strayer University is not a big fan of most employers.

For me, I like the temrn "UNIVERSITY" on my diploma than "COLLEGE." So between two, I would go with TUI University. However, I wouldn't like the term "TUI" in my diploma. In this case, I would go somewhere else.

Just my opinion!

 

TUI University

Thanks Randell! Do you get your books electronically? That is one of my considerations for my decision, because I like having all of them on my flash drive so I can carry them everywhere I go. I also enjoy being able to perform a search for whatever I'm looking for. I found out last night that Baker only has "physical" books.

Do you happen to know about the questions Tekman brought up about TUI's reputation in the region? I had never heard about them before, but do not live in Orange County. I do, however, live only about 50 or 60 miles away.

 

TUI University

Thanks Tekman, that is great advice!

 

If I am not mistaken, all the learning materials from Touro University International from the portal. Unless it changes since the new owner with TUI University.

 

That would be very cool. Thanks!

 

TUI sends you a CD with the assignments and links to the required reads. You then write 2 papers per module / 5 modules per class. One paper is a case study and covers the topic of the module. The other paper for the module is a Session Long Project which applied the information learned for the module to a company (usually your employer or other company you can get information about). As far as reputation, TUI (formerly Touro University International) used to be part of Touro College. My MS-ITM diploma even says "branch campus of Touro College, New York" Touro College has a law school and a med school so it is a strong name where my corporate office used to be (Long Island).

I have never had anyone question my TUI degree. BUT, I did attend UF's graduate certificate program in Healthcare Risk Management to add a name school to my resume. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions please do not hesitiate to ask.

 

Thanks Randell! I have downloaded TUI's catalog and will read that first. I will definitely ask if I have anymore questions, though. Thank you so much for all your insight and help!

 

I am product of TUI's Bachelors in Business Admin...great program...with great regional accreditation...

Might i also mention, that they are candidates for the IACBE business accreditation...and recent news suggests that IACBE will receive recognition from CHEA...this puts them in the same "category" if you will, with ACSBP and AACSB...not bad company.

Also,

I had zero issues with transferring my degree into Oklahoma State and Chadron State's MBA programs...

Chris

 

Chris, I really appreciate your reply here. I had someone on another forum warn me against going with TUI, and it got me a little confused. I have already sent in my application and am looking forward to beginning with them, but I started doubting myself after reading that other post.

I would like to ask if TUI gives group projects in each class, and if so, is the group graded as a whole, or are we only graded for our portion of the project? This matters tremendously to me, as I do not want anyone bringing my GPA down. This was one of the big reasons I wanted to leave UoP.

 

I'm working on my Masters at TUI and there has never been any group projects for me nor have I ever heard of anyone doing group projects there.

I am very happy with the school.

 

Woohoo!!! This is very good news! Thank you, Refugee!

 

I completed an MS-ITM and now I am taking a few finance classes for an MBA in Finance (one day it may get done). The only complaints I have ever had was the poor admin people, but that was in 2003-4. Now they are much better. The other issue is the lack of books. It is good to save money but I am old fashion and like books. If the instructor could suggest a book for the class that would completment the coursework, that would be ideal...I guess it would help if I asked too.

 

Hi Randell, I'm glad the admin is better now. Do you suppose that has to do with the new ownership? As for books, I wouldn't mind having them if I also got them on the CD or as downloadable from the net. I am very happy with the fact that I can keep my books on a flash drive. My success in school so far is partly attributable to that.

Good luck on your MBA in Finance! Is that a tough concentration? I considered that, but decided to go for BSBA with a concentration in General Management because I'm afraid of so much math.

 

Be clear - there are not any books, just links to required reading. I finished the first finance class with an "A" and transfered a few classes from the MS-ITM to the MBA program. I only need to complete 8 classes for the MBA because 3 transfered. It is tough but the instructor was great and I have the ultimate "cheat-sheet" for business classes - the book "The Ten Day MBA". I use it all the time and I highly recommend it to anyone in a business program. My opinion - go for a specialty as it will be more powerful. A "general management" focus can get you a job in general management but a finance focus can get you a job in finance or general management. One key to management is understanding finance, with that knowledge you have an upper hand. Just my opinion.

From Amazon.com:
From Library Journal
Silbiger, who is both an MBA and a CPA, aims to give the reader 40 percent of a two-year MBA program in ten days--a chapter per day. Whether or not one agrees with his premise, this book will prove to be a handy desk reference for potential and current MBAs, along with business people in general. Written in a clear and lively style, the ten chapters provide a basic framework for the essential business courses: marketing, ethics, accounting, organizational behavior, quantitative analysis, finance, operations, economics, and strategy. Each chapter outlines the topics to be covered and ends with "key takeaways"--the buzzwords and theories the text has described--defined in a line or two. A useful lexicon of abbreviations leads the reader back to the explanation of each concept. Recommended for public and academic libraries with business collections.

 

Great advice, Randell. Thanks! I will definitely buy that book, too!

 

As the others have said, there are no group projects. I really enjoyed the coursework. I also attended UoP, and received an AA degree with them...so i understand the frustration with group work.

TUI's learning modality is much better than that of UoP, in my opinion. Simply because in many of TUIs courses, the modules "chapter" presentations have the actual instructor presenting the lecture through a real player. So, its kind of like actually being in class. I would actually take notes while the instructor lectured...even though i could pause the lecture if needed, but i am a nerd...

And you get to keep all your CDs...so if you ever have a "business" question....just refer to your previous coursework!

Chris

 

Thanks Chris. That sounds great. I love the idea of being able to watch (and pause) the instructor for some of the classes. I will also be one of the nerdy note takers.

I only had one class at UoP that required group work, and there were two of us that did the work for five. My son is taking his bachelor's program at UoP, and he has group work in every class. There is almost always someone who doesn't do his or her part, and part of the grade is dependent on the final group project. I like working in groups; I just don't like the idea of someone else's incompetence or laziness causing my grade to suffer. I probably seem a bit snobbish about this, but I have worked way too hard on keeping my GPA up to let someone bring it down. Know what I mean?

 

Loriegrose,

Hey!

I didn't graduate from Baker, but I've taken probably close to 70 hours of my undergraduate degree at Baker. My major, before transferring, was BBA - Human Resources.

For the most part, Baker is a good school. The professors are generally excellent, and the price is reasonable. On the other hand, and why I would suggest against you going there is because there is a GRAND variation of professors there. I've been to a lot of schools, both brick-and-mortar and online, and Baker has the most wacky variation of professors I've ever encountered. One class will be absolutely amazing and the next one will be an uphill battle the whole way that you will lose.

As far as group work, only a few of the classes I've even taken there really rely on group work. For the most part, you do your own work and that's that.

Let's just say this again though: Baker is a good school, but I wouldn't take the chance of having to deal with terrible professors. You'll work hard to complete your education, and you deserve consistency when it comes to your professors doing the same.

Also, at Baker, you'll buy every one of your textbooks. Many times, though, you can get them cheaper through half.com or something similar. The bookstore, like many college bookstores, is dreadfully expensive.


There are several other options you might consider, too, for a BBA. Since you're in CA, TUI is going to be a good choice, but it'll still cost you about $30000. You might consider (and these are considering out of state tuition rates):

Fort Hays State University ($15600)
University of Wyoming (15840)
Columbia College of Missouri (23400)
Eastern Oregon University (25340)

You didn't specify what concentration (if any) that you wanted (or I missed it). There are a lot of other options, too, but for business admin there are definitely a lot of choices. My significant other goes to Eastern Oregon University in the English program, and I can tell you from experience that the material is first-rate, the professors (at least in the English/History courses) are top-notch, and the university is VERY easy to deal with. They also have financial aid refund checks mailed out to our mailbox usually 2 days after classes start. That's something rare.

Either way, though, I apologize for being so belated in this message. I've been so swamped with holiday stuff.

Good luck on your program!

- TwentySeven.