California State University-Dominguez Hills

As one of the first students to graduate from California State University Dominguez Hills with a Post-Master's Certificate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, I recommend it highly. This is an excellent graduate school program if you are looking to be certified as a mediator or to complete a counselor licensure requirement. Two required internship courses and overall cost make this school a better choice compared to others. Although fees have just gone up, it is still a reasonably priced education compared to other conflict resolution progams that are offered entirely on-line. You should have good interpersonal communication and time management skills in order to get the most out of your experience. CSUDH has been a leader in distance learning for many years, so the professors are very knowledgeable about how students best learn the material. Classmates attend from all over the world with many different professional backgrounds meaning students get to explore different approaches from multi-cultural perspectives as well as multidisciplinary approaches; this also adds richness and value to an education in terms of how it is used after graduation. Perspective students should appreciate that in many classes, intensive group work is used to problem solve(or manage) a given scenario or real world crisis situation. The only road block I experienced was due to technical issues that are probably inherent to many distance learning delivery systems however, this minor obstacle only served to aid me in my ability to resolve conflict. Recently, the NCRPAA (Alumni Association) was re-formed to assist new students during orientation and to encourage networking with other professionals during and after graduation. GA

The CSUDH program is well-known among mediators and professionals I know and work with. When I attended CSU Dominguez Hills online from 2001-03, the program fell under the Behavioral Science department and the major concentration was in "Negotiation and Conflict Management". The course offerings have since been expanded to include more coursework on Mediation and Arbitration (example: Dispute Resolution in Sports, Divorce and Family Mediation), which I wouldn't mind taking. I thoroughly enjoyed attending this graduate program online so that I could tend to my family's needs. CSUDH makes excellent use of technology with real-time Internet broadcast lectures (synchronous) and archives (asynchronous) as well as real-time chat and use of Blackboard. Most of the professors I had were excellent and promptly returned emails. In one Negotiations class I had, the professor expected us to write seven papers (1,000 words each) and read three textbooks (technical, sometimes difficult reading) in addition to other resource materials. That was the EXCEPTION and not the rule. Nevertheless, the rigorous coursework will strengthen your communication, negotiation and mediation skills. By the end of my program, I had: written countless papers, produced two videos (one for a negotiations class and the other for a community conflict class), and managed and built a team project website (for a computer applications class). I had some issues with the Comprehensive Exam (oral and written), problems I attributed to the program coordinator's refusal to give us score breakdowns for both oral and written portions. With this refusal, you wouldn't know how well or how poorly you did. I assumed I did poorly on my written so I retook that, only to find that it was the oral that I should have retaken! Students need feedback or else how will they improve? Hopefully, they've changed the way they administer and grade the Comprehensive Exam. Overall, despite the bad experience with the Comp exam (I passed my oral the 2nd time and received my degree), my experience with the program was positive. At $180 per credit hour, the program was an excellent value! It's now $240 per credit hour, which is still a great value. The professors, technology support and online library access are unbeatable for the price you pay.