My Africa Nazarene Experience

I reached out to Africa Nazarene University to inquire about the MA in Counseling Psychology and the M.Ed. in Educational Psychology. They confirmed with both programs were available in distance learning mode. The reason I wanted to study counseling psychology or educational psychology is that I plan to go back to juvenile justice one I complete my Ph.D. I wasn't really interested in a professional counselor license. I just wanted to increase my knowledge of human behavior and development as well as learn counseling skills which I could utilize when working with these at-risk kids.

I submitted my application with my $35 fee and all the required documents. My schools electronically sent my official transcripts to ANU. After about a week, I checked on the status of my application. I was told that my application is being reviewed by the admissions committee and that I should get a decision soon. About three weeks pass, the new trimester began and I heard nothing. I was quite disgruntled so I sent them an email expressing my frustration. Their response was that they were shelving some programs and both programs that I applied for were among them. How coincidental?! I didn't acknowledge their email.

To date, both programs are still listed under their distance learning program options. This is a well-updated website from my several visits to the page. Anyway, they emailed me again last week (maybe a month since I didn't acknowledge them) to tell ask me if I would consider the MA in Governance, Peace, and Security Studies because it aligns more with my previous studies (B.S., M.S. in CJ). I told them I was pursuing a Ph.D. and didn't have time for another degree. I was planning on starting this past May and I was already two semesters into my Ph.D. So, I just made up an excuse. I think they just didn't feel like I fit into their counseling or educational psychology program, which is very dishonest of them.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone is considering ANU. My conclusion is that they are shady and I alluded to this some time ago when they refused to disclose their tuition fee unless I applied and was accepted.

 

Very disappointing. Did they disclosed their tuition?

 

No they never did. The tuition fee for distance learning graduate students is 14, 700 Kenyan Shillings ($144 U.S.) per unit. The programs typically have 14 units. The MBA has 18 and the MA in Religion has 10.

The campus tuition/fee sheet states that students outside of Africa pay 20% more for tuition and fees. This is not stated on the distance learning tuition/fee sheet so I don't know if it applies to the online students as well. Either way, it would still be affordable.

 

Your application fee should be refunded. It looks like MA in Counseling Psychology is no more available.

 

Maybe they weren't lying after all. Both the MA in Counseling Psychology and the M.Ed. are listed on the website but when you click on them there's an error message. The other program links work just fine. Oh, well! I had previously looked at the master's that they were suggesting but I don't think it will add much value. Once I finish my Ph.D., I want to write my autobiography.

 

Why?

 

I think I have an interesting story. I've defied the odds and continue to do so to get to where I'm at and is going. I was a three-time police officer by age 25. I've overcome a lot of obstacles both in my academic, personal, and professional lives. I hope to finish this Ph.D. before I'm 30.

The rationale behind the book is that my mom has been telling me for a few years now that she's waiting to read "the book." Funnily, I never planned on writing a book but since she keeps mentioning it, I'll do it for her.

 

I would encourage you to write the book. I will guarantee that if you make a thoughtful examination of your life you will discover some things about yourself that you didn't know and you will also see patterns that comprise a trajectory or path that you have been following. It is then easier to decide if you want to continue on that path or strike off in a new direction.

 

To drag the thread a tiny bit off-topic, I had a similar experience with a different university. Madurai Kamaraj University in India is supposed to have a big distance learning component. The even (allegedly) have a study center in the USA. However, I've never been able to get them to respond to me in any way. I know this is a legitimate school in that country and it appears that people should be able to enroll in degree programs but they won't respond, even to say "no,"

 

I second writing the book. It's easy enough to write an e-book and publish it on Amazon. You can also arrange for a paperback to be made for those that prefer pulp in their hands. Regardless, it's easy enough to self-publish and who knows, with the right title and hook to the story you might make a few bucks on it.

 

These schools need to partner with third-party companies such as U18. That's what Don Bosco University did. However, UGC regulations prohibit such acts so DBU allegedly made these people employees of DBU Global. I received a response to my queries within 24 hours most time and even within minutes sometimes. They would even be the one to call me so I didn't have to pay the international calling rates. Even when I graduated and needed documents, they were very helpful.

 

DBU customer service is excellent. Also, I did not experience any harassing follow up. Unfortunately, DBU do no have a program of interest to me.
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They've really expanded since I started as a student there in 2014. They only had MBA, and MCA, and M.S. in IT. Now they've added MA in Philosophy, Communication, Human Rights, Master of Social Work, and M.Ed. They have also become pricier. I inquired about the MSW about 6 months ago and it was in the 5k to 6k range. Back when I did my MBA it was under 2k.

 

I just sprinted through the DBU site and didn't see Philosophy programs on any level. Maybe it's so new it's not listed? Got a link?

 

Here you go: http://www.dbuniversity.ac.in/dbuglobal/row/Online-MA-P.php

 

TY

 

It is amazing how that happens - price increase! However if the learning outcomes are similar to that of western institutions then their programs are hard to beat.

 

As far as evaluation goes, my MBA was deemed to be the equivalent of a regionally accredited master's degree in business administration. I hated the exam heavy assessment approach that DBU uses. I prefer to write papers. Hopefully things have changed since I was a student there.

 

Madurai is hard to get on the phone, but after many tries I was able to speak to the Director. She told me that exams cannot be done online, they all have to be done at a designated testing site that is closest to your locale. You study all the material at your own pace and when complete you go take the exams. For an Msc in Psychology (2 year program), for example, there are 5 exams per year.

Amity doesn't know how to answer.

Don Bosco U has its act together with customer service. They answer, they have a very good system in place, prices are great, and they have a decent understanding of the American system and our educational customs. Everything is online, and tests are proctored via webcam.

 

I contacted Don Bosco and was told the Philosophy program is not open for admissions. Their customer service was nice though