Why did you choose your college or university?

Some of the members here have degrees from or have made serious attempts at degrees at 3, 4, or 5+ different institutions. Some of them have no degrees from or have not attempted degree programs at for-profit colleges. Why did you choose a public or non-profit institution, especially 10+ years ago when for-profit colleges dominated the distance education sector?

For-profit colleges don't have a lot of natural science programs, but they have just about everything else, including degrees for special situations. They have ABD programs, CBE programs, license-eligible programs, ministry programs, programs that accept alternative sources of credit, etc.

 

AA USNY Regents: Because I could test out of it in 8 weeks
AAS CCAF: Because I accidentally met the degree requirements while in grad school
BS (Business) USNY Regents: Because I could test out of almost all of it in 18 months
BA (Concentration in Sociology): Because I could test out of all of it in 3 months
MBA National University: Because my military career threw me all over the place and National waived transfer credit limits, plus it was much more accessible than were traditional universities
PhD Union: Because there were only a handful of short-residency programs and because I could design my own degree
DSocSci Leicester: For the hell of it

 

I always preferred the University of the State of New York Regents to Excelsior. There was dignity in the previous name and an association with the state of New York that was cool. In fact I seem to recall over time I met an officer who had a degree from there and an NCO.

Your other education is interesting in that you have the experience of the doctorate from Union and a UK doctorate. Having two like that says that the first one wasn't a fluke and you were up to UK standards.

And, for all Steve Levicoff's bragging and noting the superior time frame of his Union PhD, you passed him so to speak with your second doctorate.

 

All seven of my degrees are from state universities, but I attended three for-profit institutions. The third one might not count, though.

I was a first generation, economically disadvantaged college student, and I didn't have the slightest clue about how to enroll in college or get financial aid. The local community college staff members were rude and lost my paperwork. This was the early 2000s, so there wasn't a lot of information online.

I filled out a form online and was contacted by a University of Phoenix admissions rep. I told him that I wanted to become a history teacher. He told me I could do that at Western International University, which was owned by the same corporation. I was enrolled into an associate's program in business administration. I went there for 1.5 years and left for multiple reasons.

The technology back then was primitive. We were in mail groups; there was no LMS like Blackboard or Canvas. My younger sister, who was in high school at the time, laughed at my math assignments because they were middle school level. The courses were just not high quality, I had no interest in business administration, and they didn't have a teacher preparation program. Years later, this prompted me to apply for borrower's defense because I was lied to.

The second for-profit institution I attended was Colorado Technical University. By then, online programs had better technology. I left that school because I did not like their 5.5-week courses, and WIU and CTU had really racked up my student loan debt. In the 5.5-week courses, we didn't cover the breadth of the course subjects. There was a lot of writing on narrowly-focused topics. I also didn't feel like the discussion board assignments were valuable at WIU or CTU because many of my classmates could not write coherently.

I ended up learning more about criminal justice at the local community college district, and it was a lot cheaper. By this time, the admissions process had improved a lot at my local community colleges. I tried applying to multiple community colleges in the state, and based on the course descriptions and syllabi, the CCs weren't willing to grant a lot of transfer credits from WIU or CTU. Fortunately, a class action lawsuit settlement wiped out my debt from WIU and CTU.

After earning six degrees at state universities, I enrolled at Walden because they were offering the first term free in the CBE program. I disenrolled before submitting any assignments because I didn't have the motivation to complete a third master's degree with a lot of busy work. I've heard that they've since redesigned the program removing the busy work.

 

When I discovered USNY Regents, I was an education specialist in the Air Force. Once I got wise about it, I told everyone I could. There were five of us enlisted folks who did the degree, and all five went on to become officers.

There was also a colonel who hadn't done a college degree. He invited me to HIS office to discuss the Regents program. He was coming up for consideration for brigadier general, and knew the lack of a degree would prevent him from being selected. He had quite a bit of credit, so he passed two GRE Subject Exams and got his degree. He wasn't selected for promotion, but I'm sure the experience was worthwhile--and helpful in his next career after retiring from the military.

 

Because they appeared in my facebook timeline and offered a huge discount.

No, seriously, at least once that was really the reason for me!

 

Now that is a fabulous story! Congratulations on helping others achieve their goals!

 

BA - ancient history - I was told to go to school for something I enjoyed learning
BS - needed a career to make some $$$
ADN - Completed in 18 months due to a semester-to-quarter change or vice versa
BSN - Positive DI reviews, WGU completed in one term (< 6months)
MBA - Positive DI reviews, Capella completed in one term (< 6months)
MSIO - Positive DI reviews, Walden completed in one term (< 6months)
MSN - 75 + years old, nationally ranked by the US news
DNP - Same school at the time it was a bridge program from MSN
Dmin- Positive DI reviews, Abide University, dudeism !!!
PhD -Positive DI reviews, University of the Cumberlands, affordable, B&M > 100 years, sports team


There are two more degrees not worth mentioning

 

Impressive list! You have been diligent.

 

I am a devotee of John Bear. I learned of him in my local bookstore when I perused the College Guidance and Reference sections. I had already attended a local commuter university for two years and was burnt out from working an 11-7 night shift, going to morning classes, trying to sleep during the day, study when I could, and on and on. I fortunately found by pure happenstance my life's work, eventually owned several businesses, yet in the back of my mind it kept gnawing at me that I hadn't finished what I started. Hence, I eventually finished an associates and bachelors at a for profit college (in a completely different major I may add since I was originally a business admin major). And also earned a bachelors and JD at another for profit college. Both gave me the flexibility to work at my own pace (less with law school but manageable), since at the time, with several business locations to run I worked 60-80 hour weeks and had a family to take care of.

So I've experienced both non-profit and for profit colleges/universities. And to me the differences didn't mean much then or now. I had good and not so good professors at the non-profit. And my grades were better with the good professors (no surprise there) and since I prefer to study by myself.....sometimes even better at the self-study, self-paced for profits. Either way, I feel I received the best education I could afford and navigate, and found schools more tailored to my style of learning.

 

I like think I am more of an opportunist

 

I have several degrees, all of which were non-profit state schools.

Of these, all but one of them I completed in whole or in part using online classwork... Asynchronous and using LMS such as Canvas, Blackboard (my least favorite), or Brightspace (my favorite).

This was all due to the fact that I work a rotating shift as a first responder, so once my career got started brick and mortar education with a set class schedule was not possible.

For the record, I have never attended a for profit school.

BS Emergency Management/Healthcare Admin.. this was brick and mortar, but my career hadn't started yet. I picked the school for the simple fact that at the time it was the ONLY school in the state offering the EM major.

AAS in EMS ... hybrid classes at my local Community College to complete my degree. I had already earned my paramedic certification, but wanted to the degree for professional reasons.

AS in Life Sciences... given to me by the CC after finishing one additional class online, after I transfered in my BS and they realized I checked all the boxes once I finished the AAS.

AA in History . . . Required four additional online classes. Completed after I had transferred in my BS to the local Community College and done the earlier associates degrees.

Associates in Liberal Studies in Philosophy. Completed just for the hell of it at another local Community college after a semester of online classes, once they had transcripts for all the previous degrees... Did it to exercise my mind prior to starting my masters.

MS in Public Safety Administration.
Completed exclusively online. Picked the school for three reasons. First it was geared toward firefighters and paramedics, secondly it promised entirely asynchronous classes. Last, it was an in-state school and I had to pay entirely out of pocket. I could not afford a better out of state school, though many exist.

Graduate Certificate in National Security... picked this program because it offers classes that will count for a doctoral degree. Again, picked due to online asynchronous nature and cost.
It is offered through a state school and is easily half or even less of what a private school program would cost.

Of the three doctorates I am looking at, all are online, and two of the three are public universities. The remaining option is private, but non-profit and offers a significant discount for first responders... even so it is barely within my budget. If they raise prices again, it won't be a contender.

Whichever doctorate I pick, will be selected purely with two factors in mind: asynchronous classes, and the cheapest school I can find... Anything over 20,000 will be excluded.

 

• BS in Computer Science - IT was the only three colleges that offered a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the time, online/distance learning, "Troy University, Granite State College, and the University of Illinois at Springfield.). I chose Troy University because of the military community support and acceptance of CLEPs.
• Master of Science in Telecommunications Engineering- Actually, I want to study Computer Science, but due to my low GPA (3.18) and lacking mathematics, it was difficult to get into any top online Master of Science in Computer Science at the time. I also avoided the GRE because 90% of these programs require it. So, I chose Southern Methodist University with a 50% discount on tuition.
• Master of Professional Studies in Technology Management from Georgetown University's on-campus program because of prestigious, 100% veteran tuition support plus a monthly stipend from the VA.
• Started multiple PhD and Doctorate degrees, including accepted admission (Nova Southeastern University's Ph.D in Information Assurance, 45% completed), Colorado Technology University's Doctor of Computer Science in Big Data Analytics, Capella University's Ph.D in Organizational Leadership (Completed 3 courses), Northcentral University's Ph.D. in Computer Science, then University of the Cumberlands' Ph.D. in Information Technology (ongoing). Also, DBA at ESGCI... and DBA at SMC University, and Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at Liberty University.
• Then MBA at the Imperial College London, affordable, international networking, and flexible.
• So now, the University of Cumberlands' Information Technology or no more school

 

Wow, Dr. Tan, it's your turn now, dude!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tankwanhong/details/education/

 

Good grief! I realize some of those are spurious but others are genuine. I wonder what potential employers think when they see all of that. He must have money to pump into that stuff.

 

All his degrees come down to these:

Doctor of Business Administration | UCAM Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia
Master of Education in Leadership, Policy and Change | Monash University
Master of Science in Finance | Grenoble Ecole de Management
Master of Science in Human Resources | Edinburgh Napier University
Bachelor of Science in Economics and Corporation Communications | Singapore Management University

The rest are garbage. His professional title is DBA6.

 

Apollos University was or is accredited as well. I believe he got a DBA there.

If I were him I would trim off the fat. There is a fine line between looking impressively qualified and strange.

 

And then there's Graham International University (see the Faculty & Staff page) where the person is the Provost.

 

East Central University - Bachelor of Science: I chose this university because it was 1 hour away from my hometown. As an 18 year old, it got me far enough away where I was not around everyone I knew in my town but close enough that if an emergency happened that I did not feel equipped to handle, I had my parents (call me crazy).

Southeastern Oklahoma State University - MBA: My wife and I moved to Emporia, KS where I was working on a MS in Molecular Genetics when she ended up pregnant with our twins. I decided to change career paths and entered the banking world. Because of that, I needed some business knowledge and SOSU’s program was online and AACSB Accredited. So it fit the bill for what I needed.

Duke University - Master of Science: I started watching Duke basketball back in 2003-2004 and immediately fell in love. It was at that point, when I was 12ish years old, that I knew I wanted to earn a degree at Duke one day. I did not get admitted out of high school but once the opportunity arose to earn a degree via online learning, I took it. Best educational decision I have ever made. I even wrote a blog post about it that is now on Duke’s website.

 

I didn't choose the college, I went to the one that accepted me. The other universities didn't accept me at the time.
It was hard in Soviet Union time, if you didn't have money to bribe, or connections, and your grades were just OK, etc.