NCU was More Rigorous than California State University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SurfDoctor, Dec 12, 2011.

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  1. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Warning: this is kind of random. I was thinking about this fact today and wanted to post it because it was rather profound to me (maybe not so profound to you).

    Before I was involved with Degree Info, I attended the MBA program at Cal. State Long Beach and found it to be a good program, even though it was crowded and the professors were mostly pretty crabby and unhelpful. It was really easy though. A few classes, like economics, were very rigorous but most of the others were not that tough and I didn't learn that much. Maybe it's better now, I don't know.

    In my experience, NCU was more rigorous and I learned a great deal in my short time there. The first part of my program shared some of the same classes with the MBA program. The materials were great, the lesson design was great and the tests were really difficult. The only drawback was that most of the professors (mentors) and counselors were of very little help, there were a few exceptions. It was not really that much different from Cal State where the professors didn't want to help you either.

    I say all of this because NCU bashing occurs here and on some other boards and I believe that it is unjustified. It's a great program and anyone who holds a degree from NCU should be proud and know that at least this moderator thinks that your degree is as good as most any other.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 13, 2011
  2. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    NCU can't be that great if they couldn't retain a dedicated student like yourself.
     
  3. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Or if they let me graduate!
     
  4. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    I know some NCU students and grads. They all have good things to say about NCU.

    Abner
     
  5. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    LOL, thanks. I actually left NCU because I fell in love with Liberty U and I was worried about the unfair negative press that NCU got.
     
  6. okydd

    okydd New Member

    I expect graduates of NCU to praise the virtue of NCU. Graduates of NCU will more likely tell you how demanding the program was compare to a higher rated school. I will do the same for my alma maters. From my experience, I will encourage everyone to stay away from NCU, but I am bias on this. I do bash NCU, not its graduates. NCU was my bug and I spat it from my mouth. *I hate bugs.
    Milgram et al, 1965. Participants in this experiment were probably pleased to learn there were no electric shocks involved, right up until the point where the researchers told them they had to eat bugs. In one condition, a friendly and polite researcher made the request; in another, a surly and arrogant researcher asked. Everyone ate the bug, but only the group accosted by the unpleasant researcher claimed to have liked it. This confirmed the hypothesis: the nice-researcher group would know why they ate the bug - to please their new best friend - but the mean-researcher group would either have to admit it was because they're pushovers, or explain it by saying they liked eating bugs. When asked after the experiment why they were so willing to eat the bug, they said things like "Oh, it's just one bug, it's no big deal."
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 13, 2011
  7. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I'm not an NCU graduate, so I have no vested interest in defending it. The performance they demanded of students in the program I was in was quite high and I thought it was interesting to note that my experiences indicated that it was more rigorous than Cal State. Just sayin.

    Your experience was obviously different and you have every right to your opinion, which is valid.
     
  8. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Everyone has an opinion and I respect the fact that you actually attended, took a class(es) and speak from experience. I found the classes inline with other classes I have taken. They never really hurt my brain until the dissertation phase. Were they the most difficult I ever took - no, but they were not the easiest.
     
  9. okydd

    okydd New Member

    As I said I am bias against NCU. The few courses I took I did extremely well, but I refuse to say anything positive about NCU. I am still pissed from my experience with NCU. The turmoil at NCU may be history, but at the time I was there it was horrible. It was about how NCU could have extracted the most money at the earliest opportunity with little in return. When I left you had to take 18 credits in one year otherwise there was financial penalty. I do have contempt for NCU. There are too many alternatives Than to give your hard earn money to NCU. I do not think my bad experience was an isolated case.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 13, 2011
  10. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    As someone who has not experienced NCU first-hand, I think the model is intriguing. I even looked into it briefly for doctoral studies before deciding that it wouldn't work for me with cost, reputation, etc. were all considered. The horror stories of financial issues didn't help.

    I really think there is a great opportunity for a non-profit to try to take advantage of such a model.

    I'd like to see WGU get on board with doctoral studies.
     
  11. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I had heard about changes at NCU and their continuous enrollment policy, auto enrollment, no LOA, taking classes from 16 weeks to 12 weeks for the DIS phase, and taking classes from 12 weeks to 8 weeks for standard classes. If there would have been an "18 credits a year" policy when I was a student I would have dropped it like a hot potato. I took 9 credits a year (one year I think I took 6). This almost sounds like academic extortion!

    My experience was good but based on these changes I would never recommend them unless that pace and cost is what you want.
     
  12. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    I took one Ph.D. course through NCU about ten years ago. I would assess its difficulty as being midway between my easier and tougher courses of both my masters degrees. I withdrew from NCU because I did not want to spend money on a degree I did not really need (in my business it is work experience that counts).
     
  13. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I agree with you. I'm not saying that they are nice people who care about their students. However, the course design and materials are as good as most other programs. I'm saying that the academic quality of what they do there is better than I experienced at Cal State Long Beach. Anyone who earns a degree from NCU deserves our respect and congratulations because their degree is probably, in my opinion, at least as difficult to attain as something similar in the California State University system.

    You can knock NCU if you want, I won't argue, but you can't knock those who have earned degrees there because they have made it through a tough and respectable program.
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    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 13, 2011
  14. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    And that is being kind. There customer service is somewhere between "we don't really care" and "you [the student] are here for us [the staff]" Their customer service is one of the worst I ever experienced. I wrote the school president after I graduated with some feedback and never heard a word - not even a thanks but piss off message.

    Last month I got a customer sat survey addressed to "recent graduate" I graduated a YEAR AGO!

    If you want the warm-and-fuzzy treatment, NCU is not for you.
     
  15. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I was really close of being a PhD NCU student when its tuition fees was 6K for the full program (before RA accreditation).

    We were really excited about this program at DI as it was going to be one of the first fully online PhD programs that was RA. The first one was Touro if I remember.

    Many people wanted a PhD and this school was affordable and accredited.

    If memory serves me well, the PhD program was really close to their sister program at SCUPS. There were few concerns about lack of rigour at the beginning because the program lacked some quantitative components such as statistics but they have changed the program to make it a to what appears a more rigorous program.

    The main strength of the school was cost but it seems that it has become as expensive as other options.
     
  16. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I do remember that. NCU and SCUPS was owned by the same people/company and it looked like a matching program. That has long changed and require several stats/stats related classes:
    Business Research Methodology
    Research Design
    Qualitative Research Design
    Statistics II
    Quantitative Research Design
     
  17. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I can't get my mind around that image. RFValve with a degree from NCU.
     
  18. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Yes and yes. I wanted to strangle them when I quit. But, as I said, I learned a lot more there than I did in a similar program at CSULB.
     
  19. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I seriously considered NCU for a doctoral program when my focus was on Criminal Justice, and 2 things stopped me;

    1) I know it's petty, but I didn't want to end up with a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Criminal Justice. That would have created too many questions in my mind, because IMO the two fields are distinct.

    2) The learning model; a lurker here who is an NCU doctoral grad (not Randell1234) was kind enough to grant me access to her online class environment while she walked me through the various requirements over the phone. It seemed to be "Here's the material, you have X amount of weeks to prove that you know it, so good luck and we're all counting on you". That was *definitely* not for me, as I require at least a bit of structure to thrive. However, the material was far from easy, and looked like it had appropriate academic rigor.

    So, in my irrelevant opinion, NCU looks like a great choice for those who are self-motivated and can complete assignments independently without the point of a bayonet in your back. I'm not one of them, so I passed. I also have to pass on commenting about financial aid, staff helpfulness, etc., since I never even applied.
     
  20. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Bruce, you absolutely nailed NCU. The material is difficult and well designed. It was a pretty good learning experience for someone who wants no interaction. Like you said, here's the material, here's our program, have at it, don't bother us. It was really good stuff and anyone who makes it through deserves respect.

    The customer/student support is almost nonexistent, but the program is solid. Plus, it was really no worse student support than I received at Cal. State Long Beach. In fact, the people at NCU were nicer. CSULB was pretty gnarly with professors who came just short of saying "go away and leave me alone."
     

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