Go to college for free? Sort of...

It depends on how you want to use it. If you want to use it as a police officer, NA will be fine with probably 99% of the departments. If you plan on using the degree for federal employment, an NA degree will be acceptable. You should check the vacancy announcements for whichever agencies or institutions you conceivably might want to work for and see what they specify.

 

It's going to depend entirely on the jurisdiction for which you intend to work. For example, Maryland State Police are subject to the standards of the state, which in this case and in this context, would be regional accreditation. Other jurisdictions within the state may have other standards. Other states may have different standards. Any federal agency is fine with NA, as is most of private industry. Where NA gets a little questionable is in academia and at the state level, particularly for licensure (teachers, lawyers, psychiatrists, etc.)

Pug

 

One good thing is that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement has adopted accreditation standards to serve as a model for all agencies they license. The bad is that currently they only recognize RA because of the recently deceased policies put in place by the THECB and the law.

Hopefully they will soon change their standards to match that of the THECB. In fact I smell a letter writing campaign coming on.

 

I'm interested in the UJA's MBA program (no particular concentration at this point). My undergraduate and graduate degrees are business-course free. How essential is it to take undergraduate leveling courses notably in economics and accounting before starting the MBA. I spoke with the admissions director at AJU and she didn't feel it was necessary but I'm not sure I'm convinced.

For those of you enrolled in MBA programs, do you feel you could have begun the programs "cold?"

 

Oh hell YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Give us names, addresses, and emails. We can ask Michael Lambert to send letters as well. Rember one thing, there is an election coming up, so this is a good time to use this for political leverage before the elections. Remember, thousands of Military Vets possess NA degrees, or attend NA schools.

Abner

 

Abner, I'll be in touch soon...

Clapper, I needed a leveling course but primarily because I am in an accelerated MBA program that was pretty heavy on the quantitative stuff despite what I was told early on...

That being said, they had a leveling course which worked perfectly. AJU being full semester length allows you more time to digest what you are learning, so it may not be as necessary for you. But if you really want to get ahead of the curve, my secret weapon were the following books which are a must have for an MBA student with no business undergrad...

The 10 Day MBA
The Portable MBA in Accounting and Finance and
The Portable MBA in Managerial Economics (both are solid gold)
I also have What the Best MBAs Know which is good, but after the other 3 I rarely needed to consult this book. Get it anyways though as your results may vary.

 

Great stuff!

I might just pass this along to a few other new MBA students!

 

While you're at it. . .

http://www.aju.edu/jrc/jrc_grad.asp

We refer to graduate degrees informally as Master's, but I think your listing would look better if each read "Master of Science in".

I'm picky that way.

 

Hi Terry - I think you're right, it really doesn't seem to be a big deal with most employers. The perpetual question, however, is whether their apathy comes from a detailed knowledge of the US accreditation system or from a complete lack of knowledge of that same system. Personally, I think that employers ultimately put their trust in the government. If they know anything about accreditation they know that DETC is trackable back to the government and that's good enough for them. Now there are some people who will say that's just a cya mentality, and maybe in some cases that's true but I think that most people truly believe that if a college or university is accredited by a CHEA organization then it's the real deal. Personally I like a small bunch of DETC schools. I'm willing to trust that the folks at DETC are doing a good job. I'm also still looking at that Penn Foster motorcyle program.

 

Kizmet, what's your bike?

 

Thanks for the book suggestions!

 

Detc?

Would credits from one of the associates degrees transfer to any of the big 3 later with only DETC accrediting? I've been trying to talk my wife into going to college and she might make a good guinea pig for something like this. Yes, I'm cheap.

Danny

B.S. Individualized Studies (Project Management) - Charter Oak State College
A.A.S Computer Aided Design - Southern Arkansas University Tech

 

COSC and TESC only take RA credits. Excelsior "sometimes" takes NA credits after going through a petition and review process. Check the other thread on this board regarding another members experience with an NA credit transfer appeal at EC.

 

Update: I have submitted the final transcript I was waiting for on Friday, and now I'm just waiting to see how generous AJU is with my transfer credit. I submitted transcripts with a total of 106 undergrad credits, mostly communications, broadcasting and journalism credits, as well as some gen ed and business credits from Penn Foster College. AJU accepts a maximum of 90 transfer credits. We'll see.

 

Great let's hope for the best!

Will you finish at Penn Foster thought?

 

I am currently in the second semester at Penn Foster College and I plan to finish the semester. I don't know that I will complete the entire program, especially if I transfer over to AJU. Still, I have enjoyed my studies at PFC and highly recommend them.

 

I have taken several courses at PFC and I have no major complain other they are becoming fee oriented, for example they charge a fee if you don't finish a course at certain estimated date, I hope they are able to expand at other level of degrees, because they sure have a great payment plan.

 

Penn Foster College courses are self-paced, and I don't believe they charge a fee if you don't finish a course by a certain date. You do have two years to finish each semester. If you don't finish the semester within two years you do have to pay a semester extension fee. There was a year when I was working two jobs, seven days a week, and had no time to study. I did have to pay a $75 extension fee that year.

 

That is the one I am talking about, it was different before thought!

 

As far as I know, it has been that way since I enrolled three years ago.