Well, after a few years of contemplation, comparison, and consternation - I have abandoned my MBA plans and lofty goals at degrees in leadership and strategy and have decided to get my second Master's as an M.Ed. in Adult Education and Training at the American College of Education (ACE). https://ace.edu/degree-programs/masters-degrees/masters-education/master-of-education-in-adult-education-and-training/ The price is very good, the material dovetails into my previous degree program and they let me transfer in the max of three classes from my previous Master's degree bringing the total number of classes I need to take down to six classes and a capstone project for the M.Ed. I've gotten approval from my boss at work and his boss (it needs two levels of approval) to have the tuition covered by our company's tuition reimbursement program. I'm going to try to get this first class in before the end of 2024 to spread out the annual reimbursement costs over three actual calendar years. I should be able to complete the entire program in 2025, but if I want to have it covered I will have to take a couple of classes in 2026 because the program total cost exceeds the maximum yearly tuition reimbursement total. Unless I can be billed for the totals and just space out the payments. I'm still not sure this is 100% everything I really want, but I do want a second credential as I move into what I hope is the last decade of my career. Maybe I'll find an inexpensive certificate program in business/ leadership, LOL. I'll continue to post here about the journey over the next year if anyone is interested in keeping up with it or learning more about the ACE experience as an online education option. They offer programs in Healthcare, Education, and Business Cheers, -Acolyte
The American College of Education Experience 10.28.24 Before I chose ACE, I wanted to ask a few questions - I’m happy to say that my online and email inquiries about the M.Ed. programs were answered quickly - both by email and with follow-up phone calls from the university, This left a good first impression. The application process was also very simple. I filled out an online form, uploaded an “unofficial” transcript from my previous Master’s program and submitted the $50.00 application fee via an online payment. Any prospective students should note that this fee is waived at certain times of the year or through various promotions. Unfortunately there was no such promotion, so I paid the fee. Within about a week, I received an email stating that I had been provisionally accepted to ACE, with full status being reserved until I submitted an official transcript of my grades from Anderson University. I was glad to find out that Anderson University (SC) has joined a digital service that allows you to have transcripts sent electronically to other institutions - no more printing or faxing or registered mail. It's about time! This was not the case when I completed my previous Master’s program in 2019. An online transfer credit evaluation form allows you to indicate which classes you are hoping to transfer that you feel should be equivalencies to corresponding required classes. ACE allows a maximum of three classes (9 credit hours) to be transferred from a previous degree. My first attempt resulted in two classes being approved as equivalencies but not the third. So I suggested a different equivalency for the third option and it was accepted. All done online - with a response received in a couple of days. Like most colleges you are set up with an assigned email address and Microsoft 365 ID for utilizing all of the apps in the browser. So far, most of this goes as you would expect it to go for an online class. You can download and install a myACE app onto your phone and you can download and install the Canvas app using your institution's credentials. The myAce app has already been generating lots of notifications for me from the messages part of the app. They seem to have a social media “forum” type of function that allows you to start a “GroupMe” group for specific discussions about a particular class, instructor, or other topic. There seems to be a robust participation in those discussions. I did reach out to my assigned “student success coach” with some questions about changing my start date from January 2025 to November 2024 and some billing questions, and she got back to me within 36 hours so I think that is a very reasonable window. I received an email stating that an admissions counselor will be in touch about switching my date to Nov. 11th, but as of now I have not heard back.
The American College of Education Experience 10.30.24 My enrollment counselor called yesterday and they moved my start date to 11/11. My first course has not shown up in Canvas for me yet as the start date is Nov 11, but there are three “courses” currently assigned to me: Student Commons, Student Orientation and an APA Resource Guide. The orientation “course” consists of 27 modules totaling 110 minutes of video and “interactive” content. I’ve spent the past two evenings going through orientation. A lot of it is similar to what I experienced in my previous degree program, but it’s nice that they have laid things out so well here - including strategies for managing your time, what a typical week looks like for an online learner, videos about APA, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, attendance expectations, Canvas, etc. This is MUCH more information than I got in my previous degree program - we just dived right in and figured it out as we went. Not to say that there wasn’t help available at Anderson, but this is a very well-thought out, user-friendly ( for the most part) and resource-rich way to kick off the program.
I hope it goes well for you. I took a look at their website and was pleasantly surprised to see how reasonable their fees were. More educational institutions should do likewise.
Yes, I think ACE has done "everything right" over the course of their existence - even though they are a for-profit online college, they are a certified "B Corporation" - they don't accept federal student aid, which has kept their costs low - they've kept their course offerings focused, and they have made it easy to afford one class at a time. Including some fees, my invoice for the first class is $825. Very reasonable. and it's a 5 week class so I'll be done with it before Christmas.
If you ever want to MBA in the future you can always check out the MBA program over at Hellenic American University for $3000 later in the future. Best of luck with your M.Ed degree, let us know how you like ACE.
I've always had positive impressions about ACE. Sure, for-profit, but low costs and regional accreditation. Plus, they've been a steady player in DL for two decades. It looks like I'm going back to school. I have a client who will pay for it and pay me to go and live blog my experiences. More info to follow next year....