American InterContinental University

It's not so much the education that is bad as it is the management of this company. I went attended online course study for my Bachelor's in Computer programming, and I regret it. Everything was going great until I got to the end of my program and I was only a class away from graduating. They added 5 classes on to my program extending my graduation date. The problem with this was, I had gotten loans and grants to cover my entire program, but when they decided I needed 5 more classes, I was maxxed out on my loans and couldn't get anymore. They told me that I had to either pay for these classes or take Clep exams. Well, I wasn't in the position to pay any of this extra money for neither the classes or the Clep exams and so they didn't even let me finish the classes that were covered by my loan, the dropped me from the school and slapped me with a $900 bill. Which make no sense, because my tuition for the classes I was in at the time was covered under my loans. When I asked them why I couldn't finish what I had paid for they told me they didn't receive dispersment for that sememster yet. So I called the bank for my school loans and they said that when the school needs fund dispersed all they have to do is ask for the funds. AIU wouldn't do that, instead they kicked me out of the classes I paid for and gave me a bill. So I ended up with no degree and huge student loans that I can't afford. Over $50,000. I'm not the only one this school has done this to, check out Ripoffreport.com and search them. There are many others who had the exact same experience as I did. Stay away, if you don't have the money at the end of you degree to cover the extra stuff they slap you with.

I might be a bit biased as I graduated from the Master of Information Technology (MIT) program as one of the first graduates in 1999. At the time the school was very progressive and IT was a rapidly emerging field. The quality of the instructors and students were excellent. As students we were involved in alot of productive team based projects. Overall, my experience as a student was excellent. Its unfortunate to hear about a great program/school taking a hit. I think a big corporation took them over in 2000 so it probably turned into a different culture.

AIU is an extremely UNTRADITIONAL school. This is what makes it immensely valuable in our world today - especially in the IT field. Schools adhering to antiquated techniques and approaches are slow to produce trend changing business/technology integrators. To establish my credibility I will say that I have attended a hand ful of institutions – in each instance I had a purpose of obtaining some knowledge base in my curriculum. I did not seek degrees I sought knowledge. Today, the trivial (waste of time) TRADITIONAL schools teach you NOTHING about the real world. Imagine taking computer courses without a computer – ridiclious and absurd, but many traditional schools will have you believe this makes them refined – what? It makes absolutely no sense. AIU provides knowledge and real world experience from day one. I learned not from people who “could not do” therefore they “taught”. I learned from people who COULD do and taught because they LOVED their ability to DO. This is a major difference between AIU. AIU is in a class by itself that is way beyond the majority of institutions built on reputation and veneer. For example, I learned project management from an high six figured manager who told us and taught us what his days were like. This was not some nobody – write a paper professor – who THINKS they know something. This was an industry proven professional. No wonder the second I graduated from AIU, my career took off. I knew what the professionals were already doing! I copied them accordingly. In all of the schools I have ever attended, NEVER have I walked away knowing that I could succeed in the way that AIU enabled me too. I have seen an entire website dedicated to bashing this school. Yet, after nearly 8 years of education I find myself looking back at AIU and thinking wow – nothing comes close. It is truly a school that breaks the cookie cutter education mold – stripping the waste of education and giving you the vital ingredients for success. Simply put, AIU is way ahead of its time.

This school has a history of intentionally misleading students in order to increase enrollment. I completed the Master of Information Technology program in 2003 and learned as much as you would by spending a week on the internet. Classes went from basic to basic, some instructors didn't really even lecture. My advisor told me there was an 80% placement rate through career svs upon graduation, but for my class there was a 0% placement rate, not one person got so much as an internship. Employers don't respect the degree, you'll pay thousands in student loans for a useless piece of paper.

I am in the last throws of my Masters degree program in IT with AIU. I have read a lot of reviews online regarding this institution (negative, bitter, good etc) and I have come to conclude that AIU is generally a good school, perhaps not the best and lots of room for improvement. My particular areas of concern was the quality of the faculty and instructor feedback. Instructors' bio seemed solid but assignment reviews by instructors were less than academic, instructor comments were too simple, vague and not constructive. After course submissions are graded, students have no way of knowing what areas they have done well or need improvement (such APA, formating, sentence structure, paper theme etc). Of course as a graduate student I am able to self critique my work but I expected some informed and intellectual perspectives on coursework submissions by students. Comments such as "you did a good job" don't suffice. Overall, I found the experience extremely challenging and intense. This program requires effecient time management and strong self-discipline to succeed, it is certainly not a cake walk as some have suggested. The Discussion boards I thought were productive and refreshing. The collaboration technology was perhaps the best experience. Overall it is a good school and I think in the wake of the SACS suspension and subsequent reinstatement of accredtion status; AIU Online has improved tremendously in terms of quality of service and course delivery. The main problem as indicated earlier was instructor feedback and student course work review. Graduate programs are meant to expand your horizons and expose you to new thoughts, trends, technologies etc and provide you the resources to research and learn about things you primarily would never have known. if you failed to learn something it is likley you did not take advantage of all the resources available. I personally learned a lot in the MIT program particularly in the Object Oriented Application Development and Project Management courses.