Aspen University
Aspen University Reviews:
Not for Everyone - But excellent for the right person
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I a currently registered student with Aspen University approximately 1/2 way through my MBA degree. I have found, as with most online programs, that you can get out of this what you put in. It is, however, not for everyone. You must be very self-disciplined and excel at self-learning to excel in this school. Aspen has recently (2015) upgraded their student portal and virtual classroom and I find the new improvements in layout as well as course content to be excellent improvements. There is now a great deal of consistency in curriculum across all the courses of a program. However, as I mentioned, with the MBA program, this is essentially self-guided learning. Quite honestly, if you're going for your MBA I feel this is a completely reasonable expectation. You should be able to do proper research and absorb concepts through reading on your own. There is no synchronous learning component and the exchanges through blog posts etc have minimal value. Instructors grade assignments and provide feedback but it is difficult to learn concepts through this exchange. Typically this feedback is used to make adjustments to style of writing or assignment content to raise your grade. There have been times where I have struggled with some of the more difficult concepts or more often with understanding the assignment, and at those times wished there was a real-time resource that I could consult for guidance, such as the ability to call my professor or receive a more immediate response. Sometimes emailed responses can take several days, so if you want to use that option you can't delay on your assignments. I was able to work through online resources and rely on friends and associates where I struggled. As far as bang-for-the-buck higher education, I find this to be the best low-cost higher education you can obtain. I have a limited budget and reimbursement policy from my job and were it not for Aspen I would probably not be getting my MBA at all or at a MUCH slower pace. Because I take the time to do the assignments as they are laid out, reading the chapters, researching my posts and essays and the assignments given, I have been receiving a good education in the materials, I have a 4.0 GPA, and feel that this MBA has definite value in my career. They run the administration very lean and there are but a few people in each department. However, I find the responsiveness and service has drastically improved over the past year. My academic advisor now makes proactive calls during each semester to review my progress within the class and toward my overall goals. If you have more traditional classroom learning expectations this is probably not the place for you. If you prefer ultimate flexibility in your curriculum and course schedule and are a good manager of your own time and excel at self-directed learning, I think you would be hard pressed to find an equal value for the money invested.
If you can read books to learn, you learn through Aspen
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I have learned a lot despite having an undergraduate degree in business management and substantial experience doing project management (PM) work. My goal is to obtain a Master's Certificate in PM, become certified as PMP, and then finish my MBA in project management. The classes are all online. If you enroll in the "Flex Scheduling" program, you essentially have 10 weeks to complete 8 Modules. Each module consists of reading 2-3 chapters in a couple of textbooks (in the case of the PM classes the PMBOK, the book used by the internationally known Project Management Institute, is one of the textbooks; but it is supplemented with others) and then writing an official APA research paper that addresses 4-5 main topics. The key to doing the research paper is to demonstrate you read the assignments and fully understood the concepts being presented. Before looking into it further my impression was that an online class would be an inefficient process of online chats; thus, I was pleasantly surprised to learn it is not like that. For the most part you just read the assignments, turn in the paper, then get a grade in 2-3 days. You're also required to answer a question online for each module as part of your "course participation" grade: which is easier since those questions don't have to be in APA format (no need to cite references or worry as much about formatting), and you get to see how others have answered the question too. Therein one does get a little more interaction and one could probably utilize it more than I do if that's your thing. I enjoy writing and so for me it's a very solid way to learn. It took me the full 10 weeks to complete my first class: mostly because I had learning curve for the APA research paper (I eventually found a template that helped a lot) plus had more activities going on with my kids (football season, etc.). I was able to complete subsequent classes in about half the time (you set your own pace as long as you finish in at least 10 weeks). Flex Scheduled classes start every 1st and 15th of the month, so starting new classes is easy.
ASPEN MBA = what a joke!
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Maybe I am jaded because I expected too much from the program and I received my undergraduate degree from one of the top ranked universities in the nation. The courses Aspen offered were easy and the assignment were nothing more than busy work. Every course has modules and every module consisted of questions from the end of each chapter. Each module would consist of 8 to 10 questions that Each response required a minimum of 250 words. They assignments were easy but time consuming. I finally got to my breaking point about half way through the program. I knew I was spending hours working on these assignments and the professors were not taking time to review them or leave constructive comments/reviews. I started submitting assignments that were simply ridiculous and complete nonsense and was still receiving 100s. If you want an easy MBA choose Aspen, if you want an legitimate MBA that does not waste your time and that will actually help you advance in your career - choose a different institution. The old saying is true - "you get what you pay for!" In fact, the Masters Program in Education is such a waste of time, many, many, many public schools will not accept teachers with a Masters in Education from Aspen. It is a joke! BEWARE!!!!
Great education
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I am close to finishing the MBA-PM program. I have found it to be a great program. Studying online takes a lot of discipline. It is not for everybody. For me, it was a great choice. The administration has been very responsive. The assignments are challenging and the support has exceeded my expectations.
Excellent
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I am half way through the course work. I find it very useful. you definetly get more than what you pay here at aspen. the school is very helpful when you call to talk to them. some professors get back to you with comments in 2 or three business days. course work is graded fairly with comments. I am happy I made a good decision joining Aspen.
Good experience with Aspen MBA-PM Program
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Aspen's MBA-PM program compares well with non-online programs. The case studies are great reading and th text books met my expectations. I would agree that the lecture notes are not needed. Overall, Aspen provides a solid education for the cost.
Does not care about Students or Alumni only $$$
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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.
Agree with Below....False Advertisement!!
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Agree with the below writing...as to misleading information. As per their Proctored Exam, their Website and Catalog states: "the exam may entail a written examination, objective assessment through computer-based testing, or preparation of assigned papers." However, they only allow you to take the objective assessment...the other two forms of Examination DO NOT EXIST!! Yet, all of their course assessments for learning are via written or assigned paper evaluation. Aspen gives NO guidance for the objective assessment Proctored Exam....yet, you have to buy their "worthless" lecture notes. Forget the lecture notes and provide "objective assessment practice test" for each course you complete that prepares the student for the Proctored Exam, since they only provide "one" form of final examination and not "three" as they so state on their Website and in their Catalog!!
MBA-Project Management
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Teachers are basically very good. The problems exist with some of the administrative staff, which appear less concerned about your success and concerns, but more concerned about collecting your money.
If you're PMP certified - enroll
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The Aspen MBA PM program covers foundational MBA courses seen in all MBA programs. There's case studies and research like other MBA programs. If you're PMP certified, you'll get up to 9 credits toward the degree. Faculty support is really good - I never waited more than a day for feedback and grades. The costs / fees are compatible with other online schools. Would highly recommend.
Pleasantly Suprised
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I am currently half way through the MPA-PM at Aspen U. I am pleasantly suprised with the support and courses that I have taken. I do agree that the lecture notes are not needed unless you are studying for the mid and final exams. Aspen gave me a deal in that if I paid for 4 classes upfront at the normal price, all lecture notes would be free. This was a good deal since I feel that lecture notes are not necessary. I would say this is a great education for the price.
Good Program Made Poor By Requiring "Lecture Note"
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I have been taking MBA in Project Management courses since early 2005. The curriculaum is good. Selection of text book is good. The cost is low. Delivery is not as good - even though it supposed to be an online program very rudimentary technology is used. Student read course assignments online, submit assignments via email and participate in discussion groups. No interactive contents, online tests. I was satisfied until late 2007 or early 2008 when the introduced what they called "lecture notes". They require purchase of this "lecture notes" at the time of course registration. These "lecture notes" are very low quality, full of typos and other mistakes and often word for word copy of major points from the test book. They were useless to me but I had to purchase them paying $75 to $100 since they are required. IMHO, this is a very agressive way of quickly making a lot of money without providing any values in return. I have lost my respect in this university as a result of this.
Caveat emptor
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I'm two-thirds complete on the MBA-PM program. Aspen provides generous credits to existing PMPs. Otherwise, the rest of the MBA PM curriculum emphasizes heavily and possibly irrelevantly on the accounting / finance side. Materials include Aspen-made "lectures" notes (there are no lectures - this is an online school), replete with spelling and reference errors and coming with a hefty $100 price tag - essentially for 30 pages of copy paper - no doubt to make up for the tuition they lose in charging $4500.00 for the entire program. You can test out, but Aspen still require you to purchase the text and lecture notes for the course.
MBA-PM
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The school is now "Aspen University" as Ted mentioned. There are two options, independent learning or interactive. If you go independent the program is what you make of it but no matter how much education/experience you have you still have to work. The material is very similar to what I have done at other schools but it’s flexible to go at my pace/timing.
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