Go to college for free? Sort of...

I didn’t know if you guys knew about this or not, but Andrew Jackson has a new program with $0 in tuition if you sign up with one of their marketing partners. I kind of thought it was a scam so I signed up and this is what I found.

You will still have to pay a $400 a month semester “fee” (for graduate students) but they assured me it isn’t “tuition” because the fee is flat regardless of the amount of classes you take. I think on the grad programs they limit you to 3 a semester, I’m not sure what the undergrad programs are.

Just to check it out I signed up with their partner, which is supposed to be a Facebook or Myspace style site for students. Then I contacted AJU, asked some questions about the programs and they emailed me an application with the waived tuition + fees listed.

While not exactly free it seems like a pretty good deal. I don’t know what I would do with a NA MS in Criminal Justice, I can’t teach with it and I don’t plan on being in criminal justice as a profession within the next year. I don’t need an MPA and I’m about to have an MBA so for me there really isn’t any benefit for the effort, but I thought someone here might be interested.
http://www.aju.edu/partners.asp

 

$400 a month for how long? As long as you are enrolled? I'm interested in checking this out for one of the undergrad programs, so I signed up. Looks interesting, as long as the cost doesn't get out of hand. That's still almost $5,000 a year.

 

Terry,

No, it's not $400 a month. It's $400 at the graduate level per semester, regardless of the class load. It may be less for undergrads...

The semesters are 16 weeks long. So theoretically you could get a masters degree for $1,600 plus test fees, application fee and enrollment fee. Under $2K for a masters from a DETC school ain't bad.

 

OK, thanks for clarifying that. Your original post said "per month". You're right, that's not a bad deal at all. I'm going to look into one of the undergrad programs and see what their fee is.

 

yep, that is a good deal!

 

Yeah, sorry about that. I would edit the post but I don't have the ability. It's definitely per semester, as in 16 weeks.

Terry, I thought you'd be interested in the BS in Communications....

 

You are correct, sir! It looks like a good program and I figure I would only need to finish about 30 credits...about the same as if I stuck with Penn Foster College. I have emailed AJU about the per-semester fee for the BS in Communications, and how to go about getting a credit evaluation. I'll let you know what I learn!

 

Don't forget to sign up with one of their partners in the link. That's how you get the waiver.

 

I did. I signed up to become a beta tester of the Pupilcity.com site. I received an email from AJU instantly.

 

Cool, let me know what you find out.

 

This school claims to be in Birmingham, Alabama. I have never heard of them though and I live about an hour from Birmingham. Are they RA? Recognized by the US Dept of Ed?

 

looks like they are accredited by DETC

This was on the website http://www.aju.edu/partners.asp

Andrew Jackson University is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council. The DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

They also have more information about their accreditation at this link.

http://www.aju.edu/About/about_accreditation.asp

 

That's correct. AJU is nationally accredited by the DETC. They are located in Birmingham, Alabama area on John Hawkins Parkway, more specifically, in Hoover, Alabama. I Googled them, and this is their office building:

 

Looks like a great offer for under 2K and they allow 18 graduate credits in transfer.

I looked Online for their Catalog and apparentky they are updating the 2008 version and it's unavailable in PDF.

Does anyone have the previous years catalog (PDF) or a list of the 12 required courses for the Executive-MBA, MBA-Health Care or MPA program?

Thanks,

 

Damn good find!!!!!! Thanks for posting this here for others to see. I don't have any use for it right now, but I think it would be great for Terry/Tcord! Go for it man!

Abner

 

I think DETC deserves a lot of credit for actually making college education cheaper. Who else can claim that these days?

I know I wish this deal and the all in one Aspen program were in place when I was shopping for an undergrad. I would have probably chosen them over TESC.

 

I'm interested too, and tried to register, but pupilcity.com url is not working.

 

You must add your email to their emailing list at the link FriendorFoe provided. Pupilcity.com is not up and running yet.

 

Is there a certain date that someone must register by with Pupilcity.com? Also, what is a beta tester? Is it mainly agreeing to having a blog about education or AJU? Something like that?

Abner

 

I don't know that there is a deadline. Basically, when you agree to use the beta version of a program or web site, you are the guinea pig being used to work out the kinks in the program. My impression is Pupilcity.com is going to be something like the MySpace of education.