NCU increases tuition, again.

LOL made me spurt my coffee

 

Ready to quit NCU...

I have been at NCU since January 2006, when it was a friendly little university that cared about its students. I have seen how it has transformed into a “for profit only” operation to the disregard of its students, and I have been taking each blow as the price to pay to get the elusive PhD degree. But, this last "Changes for 2011 – December 3, 2010 Information Letter to Learners and FAQs" is too much.

The previous large blow for me was the increased on the number of DIS curses. DIS courses were three four month courses, and by the time you reached them your concept paper was approved by the school. Now they are three month courses, the concept paper must be approved at the initial DIS curses, and the approval processes has been “reviewed”. The real effect is that you need at least six DIS courses to complete the dissertation. The cost then goes from 3*1800 to 6*2200, an increase of around eight thousand dollars…

I just completed my comprehensive examination and so got the PhD candidacy letter, and I’m starting the DIS sequence. But, I’m really ready to quit, because I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every new communication from NCU increases the time and cost of the degree, and the lack of response from its mentors and administrators do the same.

 

Ehhh, that's chump change. Where do I sign up? :smile:

 

Re VSU’s online Ed.S:
27 credit hours @ eTuition Rate $225 /hr. = $6075
exemplary

 

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. It really does seem like they are trying to squeeze every dollar out of you. In the past, I haven't agreed with Dave Wagner when he says that schools are doing this kind of stuff on purpose in order to get you to quit, but now I'm beginning to wonder if he might just have a point. I wonder if they do that just to get you to pay for a bunch of classes and then make it difficult to continue?

All of that aside, haven't you made it too far to quit now? I would stick with it.

 

I think at this juncture you are so close that you need to finish. If its any consolation, as a prospective student, all the negative comments I have read on this forum have convinced me to avoid NCU like the plague.

 

I would stick with it too. I can't imagine dedicating that much of myself only to quit at the end.

 

I agree, unless they allow you to finish with what you have already done and award you a lower degree (MS, MBA, or CAGS perhaps?), and then you find a doctoral program that will transfer some credits and cost around $13,200 (6 * $2200). Might be some extra work or even a little extra money, but at least you would come out with two degrees for around the same price...

 

But are you basing a decision on fact or what some people think is going on? I hear all the talk about a poor reputation but where is it beside this board which is a small slice of the world? Now don't misunderstand, NCU has it's issues but most of the comments here don't address them.

 

Let's just put it this way, I am not going to spend $35,000 plus to find out.

 

I agree, you would get a good education at NCU. It would easily be on par with Capella or Walden. It's the way they treat students that sucks.

 

If they become as expensive as Capella or Walden then there is no reason to go to NCU. The service at Capella or Walden is much better, but the education is the same.

 

Maybe one of the reasons why you think Capella or Walden is much better is because their tuition are higher. Students who are stuggling financial should stay away from these schools period.

 

That is exactly what I did. I was in the NCU DBA program and completed all of the specialization courses. I was getting ready to take the comps., but I just did not feel right about continuing on the path. I transferred to Valdosta and was awarded an MBA in my specialization from NCU.

 

You are mistaken; I did not say that Capella and Walden are better; they are the same academically as NCU. I have attended Capella and NCU and I can say for a fact that Capella provides much better service to their students than NCU does. These are facts that I know first hand. I would not be so foolish to think that something is better just because it is more expensive. Have you attended either?

I do agree with you on the fact that students who are struggling financially should stay from all of the above.

 

Point taken - when I started it was $475 per credit or $25K. Since I get $5K per year tuition assistance and planned to take 5 years, I seen it as free. At the time Capella and Nova were much, much more. I seem to remember it being $35-45K. I just could not justify paying $10-20K out of pocket. If I would have known then what I know now (the pain of the NCU "process" and the fact that my salary increased quite a bit in the past 6 years) I would have gone with Nova without a second thought.

 

I would say many schools offer better service then NCU...an automated system could offer better service!

 

So true. Actually, an automated system can be pretty darn good for some service features. Click, click and you are done.

 

99.999999% of Americans have no idea what Northcentral is, let alone have an opinion on its reputation. That said, if you spend some time searching for information about Northcentral their less than stellar reputation becomes apparent. However, they're still housing some of the very few 100% online RA doctoral programs so they have a place.

 

You are correct. I was mistaken.