Aspen University

[JohnDoe]

I have decided to join Aspen, and have submitted my papers for evaluation, since I am graduated in Norway. My experience so far with them are very good. They answer all my questions, and they answer them rather fast. I am looking forward to this :)

Are there anybody else on this forum now who are attending Aspen ?

It could be nice to establish contact :)

[johann]

Hi John Doe -

Our member "Insomnious" mentioned he's a happy Aspen student in the other (Aspen and NACES) thread you started a while back. I don't recall any other members reporting that they were Aspen students. Good school! I'm sure we'll have more students in the forum!

By the way, were you serious about posting your prospective MBA from AMBAI? AMBAI is the absolute antithesis of Aspen! AMBAI is totally unaccredited and at one time conferred Associate Degrees for one e-book course and multi-choice exam, for around $40.

Their site is www.ambai.org

Bachelor's and MBA's are still available for a few hundred dollars. There is no pretext of accreditation, but the MBA and around $350 entitles you to write the third-party "Certified MBA" exam. To some people (myself not included) completion of this exam lends some slight aura of respectability to the degree - though it is still 100% unaccredited and of limited use for employment purposes. I haven't heard many good comments about this deal, other than on their own site!

Here they are at www.certifiedmba.com

AMBAI, as I understand it, now issues - instead of Associate Degrees - a variety of "one e-book" certificate courses in business disciplines for about the same $40 as the old "degree" programs - and still confers unaccredited Bachelor's and MBA --um, "degrees". I think you know which of these degrees -AMBAI or Aspen - looks better on a resume! :-) I wish you every success at ASPEN!

Johann

P.S. Oh, dear! I just read your posting about your view of accreditation. You're entitled to your view, but I don't share it. In particular, enrolling at AMBAI does NOT show the same dedication and effort as enrolling at Aspen. Not only is ASPEN 10x more expensive, but you will be required to do MUCH more work -to a WAY higher standard there! Plus, you can legally use your degree from Aspen for employment purposes in all states. There are at least 12 where an AMBAI "degree" - certified or not, carries a penalty if used for employment purposes. You may well not go to jail, but you won't get the job, either!

I dispute that the AMBAI "degree" is more or less practical - it's just easier and cheaper! We all have to "pick our poisons" in life and an unaccredited ultra-cheap degree might suit someone (NOT ME) in certain cases -self-employed, etc. But NOT in the U.S. for employment purposes and where it's being "mixed in" with a GOOD degree! Displaying both would be the worst mistake. The bad one robs the good of much value!

[johann]

Hi -

This'll hook you up with other Aspen students. All comments from actual students/grads were positive. (Almost) EVERYONE likes this school! :-)

http://www.degreediscussion.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1419

Johann

[insomnious]

Greetings!

As was already said I do go to Aspen. If you have any specific questions that I don’t address below please let me know. I’m going to try and make this post a general over view of my experience for others that may read it in the future.

Aspen University was the near perfect choice for me. I was looking for a few things. Some of the things I looked at include program type, cost, variety, and accreditation.

Program Type:
I’m in the MS IT program. While I could certainly have gotten an MBA anywhere my choices for a Graduate degree in IT are more limited. Yes there’s a TON of Computer Science and similar degrees out there but the choices for IT programs are more limited. My second choice was the Master of Networking and Systems Administration from Charles Sturt. A program that still interests me and I may eventually take it as well anyway. In both programs every course was interesting to me and this was the most important consideration. I did look locally but unfortunately the regional sites of our big state schools offer very few graduate programs.

Both Aspen and Charles Sturt fit so well within what I already like to do that they take industry certifications for credit which I already posses. Charles Sturt allowing up to 50% of their program to be completed this way and Aspen allowing 25%.

Cost:
Ah cost. With Aspen’s full tuition rate at the time being $4,200 this was a no brainer for me. Charles Sturt came in at USD $20,553.60. However one thing that drew me to Charles Sturt’s program was the ability to take half the program by using existing industry certifications such as the MCSE. This would have cut the total cost nearly in half which made it closer to competitive to Aspen prior to the pay your entire tuition upfront deal.

Variety and Learning Style:
I like a change in pace not only in content when possible but with style. My BS is from Excelsior and I greatly enjoyed taking a combination of DANTES, CLEP, Excelsior, and Industry Exams as well as on-line and in-person courses. Aspen allows you to ‘test’ out of up to 9 credits of courses through their Credit By Exam, they accept up to 9 credits for the MS IT via the MCSE, they have online interactive, and online independent courses. They would also allow up to 18 transfer credits (the transfer, test out, and CBE total must be 18 credits or less). I didn’t have any transfer credits at the graduate level so this didn’t impact me.
To date I have used my MCSE for credit, I have taken two Credit By Exam ‘tests’, I have taken one online independent course, and one online interactive course. This gives me a grand total of 21 credits. I’m currently working on my last CBE and an online independent course.

MCSE: I gave them a copy of my Microsoft Transcript and online access to my transcript at Microsoft for this I received 9 credits.

CBE: You receive a ‘test’ in word format and have one month to complete it. The test isn’t necessarily a test as one of the two I have completed already was actually more a project based on the course. The work involved for both of these CBE’s was less than the total work load for a full 8 week course but was certainly not easy nor fast. The CBE is pass fail and if you aren’t good at other subjects and want to be able to use courses that are easier for you to keep your GPA up you may not want to go this direction. When completed the CBE is e-mailed to the registrar and to an instructor for grading. I received my grade (Pass/Fail) within a few days. You may start a CBE at any time.

Online Interactive: An 8 week course with 8 modules. Most text books cover around 16 chapters so each module requires you to read two chapters. The work is the same as online independent with the exception of actual deadlines and posting to a forum. I liked the one interactive course I took. You may only use this option if there are enough students in the course you wish to take that period. All of the work is completed in word format and uploaded on Aspen’s student course website. You may start courses at any time.

Online Independent: A 10 week course with no per module deadlines. This style has the same work as the online interactive style with the per module discussions being included as part of your course work instead of being actual discussions. You still have to think through your response but you lose the interaction and knowledge that comes from seeing the responses of others.

I like and dislike each for its own reasons. I really like the ability to mix the learning styles.

Accreditation:

Ah the reason Aspen is almost perfect for me instead of perfect. I’m aware of the RA vs NA vs Other debate and that a non-RA degree can have limitations specifically if you wish to teach. Would I prefer this program have been RA? Sure. I did think about it and this is the conclusion I came to.
First off since I started using distance education to further my goals I’ve come to greatly enjoy it. At this point, and even before I started down the Aspen path, I’ve decided that Aspen will not be my last stop on the education train. I may go on to a higher degree or I may get another graduate degree. There are several fields that interest me, but alas this is for another post.

Second. Do I want to teach? Well as of right now my goal is to stay active in the IT industry and climb the corporate ladder as it were. In the future? Perhaps. Locally there are several mid-size NA schools that would be just fine with an instructor having an NA degree. In fact I know several adjuncts that work at these schools and many have just a BS. Of the local RA schools one is a community college, where I worked as an IT staff member, and they’d be fine with an adjunct having only a BS so I’m sure an NA graduate degree wouldn’t hurt my chances as an adjunct there. I know that if I want to teach IT at one of the larger state schools I’m going to need a doctorate even if only as an adjunct. Will it be harder to get into a doctoral program with a NA masters? Certainly for some but many require just a regional BS and there are others which will accept a NA masters. I am aware that there are some possible choices in the future that I’ve limited myself on and I’m still happy with my decision.

Third: DETC is legit. My current employer is happy with them, my manager is happy with them and for the most part I’ve read good things about DETC’s acceptance in the corporate world. Honestly I wasn’t considering an unaccredited school at any point during my decision making process. There is now one unaccredited school that I’m keeping my eye on but mostly to see if they make an attempt to become accredited as I find their programs interesting. This school is www.eccuni.us

To sum it all up. My experience with Aspen thus far has been very good. I like that I can start at the spur of the moment. I like the variety. I like the subject matter. I loved the cost. Some instructors are faster to respond than others, some are more interactive than others, but they’ve all been pleasant to work with. I’m actually looking forward to my course project. I was afraid it would become something I would dread but I now think it would be yet another fun challenge. The last step in any Aspen graduate degree is the proctored final test. My only worry there is getting a proctor worked out. I’ll post again when I’ve taken the project and the exam so that others can get an idea as to what they’re like.

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you may have.

[jwthornhill]

insomnious that was a great post!

I'm also enrolled at Aspen in the MSIT program.

How long does it typically take to complete the Capstone Project?

[yogeshda]

I have finished all the courses and Capstone project of my MBA-PM program at Aspen University.

I am scheduled to take up Proctored exam on 28th Dec 2007.

Can anybody help briefing me the overall structure and toughness of exam.

After continuously working so hard since 3 yrs, I feel it is too much of asking to prepare for 3-4 courses again................

It would be great if somebody relieves me from stress and sleepless nights during holidays.................by just providing overall information abt the exam.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Yogesh.

[jwthornhill]

Congrats Yogeshda on completing your Capstone project for your MBA-PM. I'm currently working on mine now. I'm on Module 3 and hope to be done by the end of this month.

It looks like you are taking your Final today so, I wish you good luck. If there is any helpful advice that you could share I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank,

JW

[yogeshda]

I think I have done well in Proctored Exam. Just waiting for the results now.......

1) Exam Duration was 4 hours
2) It was Open Book Exam. But Internet, module assignments, notes were not allowed. I got a 20 Page printed case study (Taken from Harvard Business School) to read...The case study was covering all the 11 courses in MBA-PM.
3) There were 11 Questions based on all 11 courses out of which one needed to choose 3 questions of 3 courses. (Course name was mentioned below each question)
4) We need to write analysis (essay) to answer those 3 questions that we selected. The analysis/essay/answer of each question should be at least 2-3 pages. The total pages of 3 answers should be no less than 6 pages........

Suggestion:
1) It is too risky to prepare only 3 courses and appear for an exam. Best way is to study (re-study?) at least 4-5 courses and then appear for an exam..
2) Better to read questions first, then select 3 questions and read the entire case study from those 3 questions point of view, highlight the important text then and there so that you dont need to go through all pages again...
3) Mix your answers from Case study as well as General understanding of that course.

I am feeling very happy that my decision of choosing Aspen University for my Masters proved to be more than worth as I could successfully obtain PMP Certification, convert myself to Project Mgt. consultant during my studies..........

I read in some post about Aspen University Alumini association. Please convey the details so that I can be part of it.

Happy New Year and Good luck to all of you.

Yogesh.

[insomnious]

Great explanation of the exam Yogeshda. I was relieved when I took my exam that it was only on three of the courses. As far as the Alumni Association goes you should be given a url as well as user/pass for the website after graduation. If you don't get this you could contact Dave Lady the Alumni Association director, he's a regular at degreeinfo.com so you could just PM him over there.

[gajaya]

Yogeshda,
Did you take all the text books to the exam.? Are the questions very similar to what we did during assignments.?


[QUOTE=yogeshda;6467]I think I have done well in Proctored Exam. Just waiting for the results now.......

1) Exam Duration was 4 hours
2) It was Open Book Exam. But Internet, module assignments, notes were not allowed. I got a 20 Page printed

[insomnious]

I took all of my books and then didn't feel the need to use them. The questions were not that similar to assignments. They were based off of a case study and in essay format.

[jwthornhill]

I'm scheduled to take the Proctor this Monday, Feb. 11. Thanks for the detailed info ! :)

[anh2lua]

Just took my final proctored exam last week, essay format.

Got the result this morning. Passed!

Moving on to the Capstone Project!


Hoo hoo

[dafrza3]

First off let me get to the facts. The school gave me an institutional loan to get my MBA. I was very grateful to the school and made my $90 monthly payments against the loan. Every class I took I had to purchase worthless lecture notes with grammatical errors and excerpts from the texts at $100 a pop. Nothing even remotely resembling a lecture or notes from any lecture. After graduation I was laid off from my job due to the current economic situation. I was told I could not receive my diploma until I paid off my loan in full. As I was now collecting peanuts on unemployment which could not even keep my household afloat I could not make payments and let the school know this.
A few months afterwards I finally land a great job, pending a full background check. Aspen University told the prospective employer that I did not hold a degree from Aspen. Crippling my chances at the job as my credibility was shot. After speaking with the horrible administration there and not even receiving a response from the new President of the University. I was told they would not confer my degree until my loan was paid in full even if it took 3 years. Now the job offer is being rescinded as I failed a background check. So not only can I not begin making payments again to Aspen but I have to go back into the job market and look for another job. Remembering to Omit my hard earned MBA. Nice job at holding my MBA hostage Aspen University.

[scaredrain]

First off let me get to the facts. The school gave me an institutional loan to get my MBA. I was very grateful to the school and made my $90 monthly payments against the loan. Every class I took I had to purchase worthless lecture notes with grammatical errors and excerpts from the texts at $100 a pop. Nothing even remotely resembling a lecture or notes from any lecture. After graduation I was laid off from my job due to the current economic situation. I was told I could not receive my diploma until I paid off my loan in full. As I was now collecting peanuts on unemployment which could not even keep my household afloat I could not make payments and let the school know this.
A few months afterwards I finally land a great job, pending a full background check. Aspen University told the prospective employer that I did not hold a degree from Aspen. Crippling my chances at the job as my credibility was shot. After speaking with the horrible administration there and not even receiving a response from the new President of the University. I was told they would not confer my degree until my loan was paid in full even if it took 3 years. Now the job offer is being rescinded as I failed a background check. So not only can I not begin making payments again to Aspen but I have to go back into the job market and look for another job. Remembering to Omit my hard earned MBA. Nice job at holding my MBA hostage Aspen University.

Why would you list a degree on your resume or application if you had not earned it or actually had a transcript that showed that the degree was conferred? For example, when I finished up my Masters degree in December of 2007, it was 2 days before Xmas when the last class wrapped. On the graduation application it stated that it could be anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks before a transcript that showed the degree was conferred would be available, since the university had to ensure that I had met all the requirements and financial obligations. I too was interviewing for jobs but I did explain this process to them, that I had met all the academic requirements but the actual degree conferring process takes 1 to 3 weeks.

Most universities, whether online, traditional, for profit, non profit, will not confer degrees unless all financial obligations are paid and settled, this is standard practice. Always read the fine print when submitting a graduation application to check for any fees or requirements that have to be met. Your prospective employer may have felt jipped or lied to, especially since they checked with the university to see if you actually had a degree.