St. Josephs College of Maine

Active duty military can waive the summer program - which by the way is now just a LONG WEEKEND in June for one 3 credit class!

I think the course is exceptional for those of us in defense/homeland security jobs.

You have to be good at working independently - as most of the program will be independent study - because I work with a large outfit and lead a team, and we have lots of in-house leadership training - it is fine with me. A person without that background should find a more traditional approach with cohorts.

 

Thank you everyone for their input. This degree is at the top of my list following the discussions.
I will post my experience over time if I go with it, for others to benefit.

 

SnafuRacer,

I don't think many people can imagine some of the personal sacrifices our military are having to make while serving our country. Your mention of mid-term deployment, having your courses devolve to "F"s and then having to reimburse their cost, is poignant and hit home here! My hat is off to you, sir.

I chime in on this thread because I had been reading good things about St. Josephs College here on this forum - so much so that I enrolled at SJCME this fall as an undergraduate psychology student.

Just a few comments from my experience; YMMV:

You won't have to worry about any Catholic influences, if my experience is anything to go by - I felt obliged to drop one course after I got the textbook and reviewed its content. My first reaction was "and this is being taught at a "catholic" college?" So yeah, no worries there, my friend.

On the other hand, I was informed by syllabi that all exams would be 100% essay, proctored, timed and to be written in a bound blue book, much as Catholic schools have always done in elementary school. I had been away from that environment for over 40 years, and wasn't too happy to discover this detail.

By the way, this kind of course information was not available to me until after I'd enrolled in my courses. However, my faculty advisor assured me it was the norm for all their distance work at Saint Joseph's. So, be sure that you check this out thoroughly or ask other students about this if it's not for you.

I also agree with antraeindubh that the coursework is really independent study and fairly unstructured. I had six months to complete two three hour courses, for example. Your assignments are to be mailed in, not e-mailed and they aren't using much online testing from what I understand.

There were other issues I had that don't relate to your questions, such as not offering my preferred degree, for one, and being unable or unwilling to evaluate my transcripts in the two months I was enrolled, for another. When I made the decision to withdraw, I learned that distance students forfeit 25% of all tuition paid. That turned out to be a $450 lesson, all in all.

So, just check out all the details and don't do what I did!

Thanks again for your service to our country!

 

A co-worker of mine earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice from St. Joseph's. He did have to take a Religion course, but, as he said, "they're not a bunch of bead-squeezers" (his words). He said all the other courses didn't have a religious component to them.

At the graduate level, I'm fairly certain that wouldn't be a factor.

 

In the MBA Leadership the assignments are not proctored or timed - they are in essay, charts, graphics, and other forms and are e-mailed in to the prof.

The program is big on ethics all the way through - but it doesn't say you have to get them out of the Bible, from Rome, or anywhere...if you're Catholic (I am) it's cool, but it doesn't create an uncomfortable environment for anyone.

I went to Catholic school growing up and we had Muslims, Budhists, and a lot of Jews, not to mention other Christians in our classes - and they all seemed to get along fine. Nothing was rammed down anyone's throat - including mine - I didn't go through first communion and confirmation until after high-school because I was not ready, and nobody bothered me about it.

It all depends on the school...some might not be so cool.