Athabasca University

Athabasca has provided me with an opportunity to a University education I would otherwise not have! It costs money, check, I pay invigilators to oversee my exams, yes, my total cost for my degree will be about $26K usd. Great value for me spread over four years .... I paid more for my new Nissan Rogue ... not much, but more :). I have had great experiences with the administrators, all pleasant and always helpful. My tutors have always answered my questions and queries in the time stated or sooner. The material requires much reading and study, and I have found it rewarding in many ways. Upon reading the positive and negative comments onsite, it seems to me that many of the students perhaps did not read the details of what the university offers and how the material is delivered. It would then seem that their negative reaction to their expectations derailed their commitment to learning and hard work. I am sure mistakes have occurred, I recently had a letter from the office of the registrar stating my final grade considerably below my actual. One email and a quick telephone call to the 1800 number and all was easily sorted. If you are able to read and study alone, on your own schedule, then Athabasca will provide quality materials to learn. I also seemed to find plenty of student support and library resources. If you require a professor to lead your education with visual aides and power points etc, perhaps your place simply is not at Athabasca University. Good Luck to all in your endeavours and enjoy, I am enjoying mine here at Athabasca!

I have read a lot of reviews here and quite frankly must be taking courses through a different university. I have been taking courses since 2009 and almost finished my bachelors in business management. I have never had any problems with the staff both admin and teachers. I have always received prompt responses and I have found the courses to be fair and reasonable. I have taken over 20 exams and never had a problem with an invigilator or the school. I am more than happy to recommend Athabasca University to any adult that wants to make an advancement in their education.

I don't even know where to begin with this. My experience at Athabasca was horrendous. The school has the worst administration I have EVER dealt with in my life. Please keep in mind I am a post graduate student with Dean's list standing every semester at my University where I am highly regarded by both my peers and professors. Because my school did not offer the courses I needed within the timeframes it was suggested that I take Athabasca courses. 4 of them unfortunately. I have paid out of my teeth to have incorrect exams sent, sent on wrong dates, tracking down exams, exams lost, and the poorest quality of exams I have ever written. The school has a great policies (thick with sarcasm) that every student must strictly adhere to otherwise you will be charged anywhere from 100-200 dollars, but if Athabasca messes up your schooling you won't even receive an apology. Any invigilator that I have utilized to write my exams for Athabasca says they have deplorable habits when it comes to sending exams correctly. Athabasca does not care about you as a student they "fee" everything and do not even bother contesting in their appeals department because it will fall on deaf ears. Honestly, it never ends with them. I was sent wrong textbooks, used textbooks (that I paid full price for), you name it they have done it to me. The courses range from the simplest, teach yourself in a week and get an A course, to the most cryptic, none course related crap you have ever tried to teach yourself without any help from tutors. One course I paid full price (which would typically include a textbook) and I ended up printing out 25 articles, each around 15 pages, to get my material for the course. It amazes me that Athabasca is receiving good, or even exceptional, reviews. If you don't mind wasting your time and money and dealing with the most incompetent staff in the history of online schooling, please be my guest and try it out. It's like playing Russian Roulette. Every course has been a stress inducing nightmare for the last 6 months. Enjoy.

Almost complete first year of my program. First off, in reading some other reviews I find it ironic that most of the people who give poor reviews cannot spell, and are complaining about the cost of course extensions, exam rewrites, etc. which tells me they failed or did not complete the courses within their contract dates. If you are self-directed, and responsible enough to set a schedule for yourself, you can do well. If you are one of the growing number of self-entitled whiners who wants to have their hand-held through life - find another school. In the contract you have 6 months to complete a course (4 months if you are getting financial aid), and you usually have your course material in hand 1-2 weeks early so you can start reading in advance. The textbook and the supporting website from the textbook publisher are usually the bulk of the course material. The actual AU course sites, at least for the courses I have taken so far, primarily detail readings, assignments, and sometimes expand or clarify material from the textbook. Some courses use discussion forums for student interaction, others do not. Overall the course sites are 'minimalist' do not expect 3d virtual streamed lectures or other bells and whistles. The tutors or call centres (depending on which faculty you are dealing with) have service standards for responding to emails, phone calls, and for assignment and exam marking. Most academic experts beat these standards at least 90% of the time. Like my brick & mortar university experience, the quality of feedback depends on the individual academic expert you are assigned to. If you have a complaint about marks there is a procedure for getting reassesed by a different marker - have not needed it yet. As far as cost, what is advertised on their webpage is what you pay - and they are very clear that you are responsible for examination fees, which you should shop around for if possible. Most 3 credit courses currently cost around $760 (nursing courses cost more) and include all your course materials (although I believe there is a surcharge for lab kits for a few specific courses). You live at home, so there is no commuting, residence, or cafeteria costs. While the course is more expensive than the tuition at my previous brick & mortar school it is far cheaper (even with exam fees) than what I paid for residence, tuition, textbooks, meal plan, travel home on holidays, student union dues, and mandatory student health insurance. Approved exam invigilation centres set their own rates - The one I use is flat rate $50.00 per exam - some I looked at charge hourly fees which can add up during a three hour exam. All courses have a final exam, and many have a midterm so plan on $100 extra per course. Overall, I am happier with Athabasca than I was at the brick & mortar institute who was nickel & diming me to death with fees, who deflated marks by marking on a curve, where the TA's provided no more feedback than the Academic Experts AU assigns, and where I had to learn on the prof's schedule not my own. The only things I miss about my previous institution is connecting with classmates... and pub night.

Courses are for the most part very good, most of the tutors are great people. Some tutors, however, seem to have a point to prove. First year bird course tutors seem to want to prove some point. Some of my lowest marks are in courses that were very straight forward. Most tutors are as hands on or hands off as you'd like but I had at least one that gave me a 22% on a major project because I did not call her first to review the material. The web interface for online courses is generally awesome although you will occasionally run into out of date information. Course work is challenging and you feel you're actually earning your degree not getting it handed to you for nothing. Administration is the worst I've ever seen. I have never ran into such an unapologetically cold group before. You'll have to fight tooth and nail for every transfer credit, it took me over 2 years to get all of mine despite having two previous diplomas. There was a screw up on my plan and I was recommended the wrong course for my degree which the administrators blamed on me. That took 2 months to get straightened away. Even graduating has proven to be a chore as professors failed to enter my marks on time and my actual grad date will be about 45 days after I finished my course work. Keep this in mind if you plan on going to graduate school and need your marks from Athabasca. If I had my time back I definitely would of looked more closely at part time studies at local universities. The great tutors were far overshadowed by the abysmal administrators

Judging by the poorly written negative reviews, some people are resentful of being held to university standards in their coursework. I have had a reasonably good experience through approx. 20 courses taken with AU. As others have stated, tutor quality and marking are hit-or-miss, like any other educational institution. Marking times are generally good and feedback is almost always provided. Use of technology is lacking, online lectures are few and far between (even though they help immensely). I have had issues with the school's administration, specifically with my loan officer, who has made errors on my loan applications that delayed my payments. She is, however, very accommodating with regard to extensions and changing upcoming courses. The main thing that I find is missing is the social aspect of interacting with the prof/other students. For anyone who is established in a career/has attended university/is connected, taking courses through AU is a fine option. For anyone thinking of gaining an entire degree from scratch without a career base or connections to build off of, the lack of a social aspect may hamper your education.

I am a mature working student in a management position. Athabasca University was a great experience. Prior to AU, I attended BCIT and completed my business diploma. Also, I have attended other university to earn credits. Overall, my experience at AU has been outstanding. The course material are at the same level as other universities and colleges in BC. The instructors were responsive and supportive. The technology used to access the courses was effective. Distance education has its strengths and limitations. I believe AU offers the best value to balance these issues. As a working students with a demanding job, evening lectures from UBC, SFU or BCIT were not realistic due to my frequent business trips. The course material were practical for my position. The degree enhances my credentials on my resume. I recommend AU to mature working students seeking to complete their degree. The Bachelor of Management program was challenging and requires discipline to complete.