Comments on NCU?

[juliemyr]

I recently enrolled, as I posted elsewhere on this site, in the MA Psych. program (but have not started yet). I like the Health Psych/Behavioral Medicine coursework which they offer that I cannot find elsewhere--the only reason I'm going w/NCU.

Capella's psych programs are MS vs MA and the course descriptions not for me--too much leaning in the direction of research and stats--not the direction i'm going in. I've noticed other programs are similar, like Walden's.

But those offer fin. aid which I could really use, but . . . my luck the school that has the program I want doesn't have the aid available.

Point is, is the school any good?!
Anybody know?
As I have also posted elsewhere, they do accept credit for coursework from schools that are not accredited. Apparently, they do this on an individual basis. Someone here had responded to my post about that and enlightened me that it happens all over and prob'ly just about 1% of students.

Any comments on any of this would be very helpful.
Thank you. I really like this website btw as I've been researching online schools forever. It helps to know many of you have done the same!

[Dennis Ruhl]

As I have also posted elsewhere, they do accept credit for coursework from schools that are not accredited. Apparently, they do this on an individual basis. Someone here had responded to my post about that and enlightened me that it happens all over and prob'ly just about 1% of students.



I've got some 15 year old literature that said that Harvard would consider unaccredited degrees. It might no longer be true, I don't know. About 5 years ago, on one of these sites, someone prepared a list of accredited schools that would consider unaccredited degrees and it was substantial. I said consider, not routinely accept.

The lack of accreditation says nothing about the quality of an academic program. There is a whole range of program quality out there in unaccredited schools. Considering that most accredited schools will give significant credit for non-formal non-academic programs, it should not come as a surprise that some will accept credit from substantial unaccredited schools.

[scaredrain]

I recently enrolled, as I posted elsewhere on this site, in the MA Psych. program (but have not started yet). I like the Health Psych/Behavioral Medicine coursework which they offer that I cannot find elsewhere--the only reason I'm going w/NCU.

Capella's psych programs are MS vs MA and the course descriptions not for me--too much leaning in the direction of research and stats--not the direction i'm going in. I've noticed other programs are similar, like Walden's.

But those offer fin. aid which I could really use, but . . . my luck the school that has the program I want doesn't have the aid available.

Point is, is the school any good?!
Anybody know?
As I have also posted elsewhere, they do accept credit for coursework from schools that are not accredited. Apparently, they do this on an individual basis. Someone here had responded to my post about that and enlightened me that it happens all over and prob'ly just about 1% of students.

Any comments on any of this would be very helpful.
Thank you. I really like this website btw as I've been researching online schools forever. It helps to know many of you have done the same!
What are your career goals with this program? Do you want to become a licensed counselor or therapist? This will help you to decide if you should choose a program with a broader focus thats easier to find or stick with NCU.

There are many unaccredited schools out there and you do have to be careful, I applaud you for that.

[juliemyr]

I am pursuing counseling work within the Behav. Med. dept of an inpatient hospital.
Thanks for your input.
Any thoughts on Walden U?

[juliemyr]

:roll: Hi
I had originally asked re NCU and then enrolled.
Well, i was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and my experience
doesn't mean it's true for the whole school situation but i am very disappointed.

Here's why:
I enrolled in the MA Psych. program (health psych concentration).
All was fine until i received the textbook required for the first (and only) class I started with, Life-Span Devlopment, and found out that the required text is mainly used for UNDERGRADUATE classes.

Unfortunately, this did not come as a surprise as i noticed the material was a bit TOO user-friendly, tho I really like the text a lot and will use it as a reference as it is full of great material.

However, it is clearly an undergrad book and pretty much covers what i learned in undergrad psych. classes and child development classes and gerontology classes in the past. Not that there's anything wrong w/a little review, esp'ly at the beginning of a program of study.

But I really felt kind of silly, to be honest w/you, using this textbook.

The second problem I had is that on the Forum where students and professor are supposed to post an intro, etc. and we are even told to let the professor know when you get your text so he is assured you have the right one ( i found this odd as it should be a given, but . . .)

Anyway, mine is the ONLY current post. All the rest, including the professor's are dated 2007. That is not a typo. 2007 is the last time anyone posted to that class's forum and the professor was talking about an 8-wk class on there (it's 12 wks) which really threw me, until I looked at the dates! Guess it used to be 8.

I emailed the professor about my confusion on this and have had no reply.
So w/the combination of these two situations, on top of the lack of reply from the professor, I have decided to withdraw and get 80% refund of monies paid to date for this class (the first installment of the monthly payments, almost $500 ($525/credit --the rates went up in january) not to mention non-refundable fees, etc.

So there you have it.
I admit today is only Day 2 of the class but from my experience w/online schooling (Thomas Edison State College, NJ) the professors are ready even BEFORE the start of class and the posts are NOT 2 yrs old!

And since i want the most i can get of my refund, i'm not waiting around for the prof. to decide to get to me about where everybody went! I want to give them plenty of time to make sure they credit my credit card!
well, live and learn. you really never know until you're in it and i didn't want to stick around for any more surprises.

[scaredrain]

I am pursuing counseling work within the Behav. Med. dept of an inpatient hospital.
Thanks for your input.
Any thoughts on Walden U?

Hi, I do not know much about the counseling programs at Walden, but my experience has been good so far. Anytime I had a problem I got a response right away. I do have a professor on my current class that has what I call "doctorate head," meaning that she feels that as a doctorate student we should automatically know this or that. A few complaints later from other students in the class and shes changed her tune.

I am in the process of changing programs at Walden, due to my career goals. Walden and Capella are about the same in my opinion. Both have 8 week courses, both require some residencies for their counseling/pyschology programs, so check before you enroll, and both are around the same price.

I would have gone with Capella but the many residencies put me off, especially with my full time job, but I did consider them.