Columbia Southern University

Due to what I read online in various reviews, I was concerned about my CSU degree being nationally accredited through DETC. I am very happy to be able to say that I was accepted into a state school with one of the best distance learning programs in the nation, to pursue my graduate degree. The university I'll be attending is regionally accredited and they had zero issues taking my CSU degree. I am completely satisfied with the education I received at CSU, and have no complaints. A note to prospective students: be prepared to write! I took about 25 classes here, and the average amount of writing was 15 APA formatted written pages per class. Just because its a distance education school doesn't mean you get a free ride to a degree; you will have to earn your grade here.

This school prides itself on assisting military students, but I have been ripped off by the for-profit school on multiple occasions. It’s quite clear that they lack the true understanding of service and compassion for Soldiers who have unpredictable situations arise. Accreditation is important if you desire to attend a private or state school. Overall, I would suggest looking for a school that is dually accredited, and stay away from CSU.

I made the mistake of thinking this was a real valued university. it isn't by other 4 year state schools and business's alike. Sure it is cheap, easy, but in the end you are NOT doing yourself any favors by attending this school. My problem is I found out too late when I got one of those professors who was indifferent about teaching the subject at hand. Now I get to finish my degree somewhere else IF they will take my credits from this PUPPY Mill of a university.

I have attended CSU for almost four years now; I am working on my second degree from them and soon will go into my graduate level courses with CSU. It's a good school for the self learners, if you have practical working knowledge of society and how things work their system of incorporating the educational factor will be an easy fit for you. It's a practical school that works. They do have the free book thing but don't let that be your only factor of consideration, it's just a plain decent school to attend if you're a working person, heck I've continued my education with them through 2 deployments to Iraq. So If I can manage that, I'm sure you can find the time to get yourself educated too.

I graduated back in July of 2011 with a BSBA from Columbia Southern and I could not of asked for anything better. I retired out of the military and immediately found employment with a company called Biomet in Warsaw Indiana and was placed as a packaging Supervisor of 35 people making very good money for the Indiana area. This degree did everything that it was suppose to do. I had the leadership experience, I just needed the degree to get my foot in the door. Columbia Southern is meant for the working person that needs a boost. It worked for me

My husband and I started our bachelor's degrees September of 2008. We are done May 2012. I don't see how anyone could call this a diploma mill. Laughable. The classes are challenging, highly educational and we have loved our time with CSU. As financial aid recipients we are considered Term and have 8 weeks to complete the course. Each week is an assessment of questions and essays, with possible research papers and finals, but the course load is determined by each professor. I love being able to study on my own time because I am a mother of 3 soon to be 4 in December and I could NOT have achieved this degree in a traditional school. I tell everyone about CSU! Both my husband and I are moving on to our Master's as soon as we graduate. Don't know how I'll do it with a 1 year old and a new born, but I will fill you in as soon as I can! Graduating with a 4.0 as well. YE HA!

Im a soldier in the US Army who has over 22 years of Active Duty Service. A few years back my ultimate goal was to complete my undergrad prior to retirement. I came across CSU and after a good review I thought they had the best program to offer that accommodated my busy, full-time work schedule. Halfway through the program I was accepted to Officer Candidate School, where I graduated as the Distinguished Honor Graduate. I finished my BSBA with a 3.92 GPA, and felt like I had truly been enlightened. I've attended both types of colleges, traditional bricks and mortar, and CSU. My AA was from the first type where my GPA was a 3.78. I believe a student can get a lot out of CSU, if they truly wanted to put the work in. The only downside to CSU is the accreditation piece, CSU is only nationally accredited. The US Army recognized the accreditation at the time of my commission, so there's no issue there. The issue is my goal has now shifted to earning an MBA. The Army offers an MBA Degree Completion Program for officers who want to take 18 months to attend a traditional bricks and mortar university. A large majority of these institutions require an undergrad from a regionally accredited (RA) institution. I contacted CSU and they informed me they don't have any plans of trying to gain this type of accreditation. They do however have a partnership with the University of North Alabama and Waldorf University who are both RA. Overall CSU is great for obtaining a great degree that employers recognize, but if your plans include entering a good MBA program from a big name school, I would maybe consider other options.

I had a very positive experience wrapping up my BSBA. I got more out of this program than I did sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture. As a working professional online classes offered me the ability to log on when it fit into my schedule. I had up to 10 weeks to complete my course work. If you are looking to complete your degree quickly the best CSU can offer is 3 courses in a 12 week period which is equal to what I could take at my local University 3 nights a week at triple the cost. Schedules and funds were important to me so CSU was my best option. I learned a lot and had great feedback from the professors.

My overall experience with Columbia Southern University was Outstanding. From my very first class in my undergrad program to my Graduate program the staff and Professor have been their to guide you through the challenges that were around the corner. For those of you that question whether or not this is real or not, I am currently employed by the federal government as a contract specialist because of my degree from Columbia Southern University.

The courses you take here cannot be transferred to a legitimate, regionally accredited school. I took courses here and then wanted to transfer to a state school and they wouldn't take the credit so I had to start all over again. CSU doesn't tell you that up front, so watch out. I think they market it so people won't know that...

Columbia Southern University has many excellent degree programs. I am active duty military and I would not be this close to completion of my BS without their flexibility. The per course or open enrollment and the 3 to 10 weeks per class has been perfect for me. I have nothing but good things to say about CSU and would reccomend them to anyone seeking higher education. James

CSU provides a great academic environment, with outstanding support from the staff. I would recommend this University to anyone interested in pursuing higher education while simultaneously being employed in today’s fast paced economy.

I did my research before choosing CSU, I made the right decision. I was worried how I would handle the online education and the individual responsibility to complete each course in ten weeks. CSU's course format made it easy to stay motivated and finish under the allotted time. That is why I decided to stay with CSU for my MBA. Four graduate courses down, eight more to go.

Im nine hours away from my educational goals, and it only took 2 years! I work fulltime, in addition to being a full-time Mother to a 3 year old. I enrolled for the cost and stayed enrolled for the exceptional support I received thoughout my degree. The staff at CSU truly vaules every student. The Dean of Students, Poche, is the only Dean I came across who actually returns my calls before he leaves at the end of each day! I feel like I'm the only student enrolled! Another perk CSU sets themself apart from other universities is retenting! I received calls from CSU staff on regular bases! They kelp me informed and on tact! You can't find a package this good to be true anywhere else! A very special thanks to Ms. Perkins for always being there with all my questions and issues! If she couldn't assist me, she found someone who could! I can't forget my Advisor, Ms. Veigas! Her knowledge helped me tranfer credit that I had no idea about! They made this experience fun and exciting! HANDS DOWN, CSU ROCKS!! Thanks ALL OF YOU at CSU!

Normally I keep my opinions to myself, but after reading the critique from “anonymous dated July 08 2008”, I have to put my two cents in. I started school with CSU 2 ½ years ago. This was after heavily researching online institutions. They honored my military training, CLEPS and previous college courses. Working 12 hour days as a route salesman, flexibility was one of the primary factors in my decision process. Once enrolled, I found the curriculum challenging, the staff is very accommodating, and the professors are competent and helpful. I can honestly say that I’ve not had one negative experience resulting from CSU. Since my degree completion, I have been promoted and received an increase in salary commensurate to my new responsibilities. Now I must address the critique made by anonymous. My experiences with CSU are diametrically opposed to what anonymous stated. I cannot rationalize why someone would stay with a program they feel possess no value. The level of effort expended in obtaining a degree is tremendous. Hopefully those who read the venomous words will realize he/she has an axe to grind. This quite possibly could be a student who was removed from the rolls due to an impropriety. And one more thing, anonymous may want to take a refresher class in English Composition, because you would not have made it through Dr. Borne’s class with that diction.

After searching many other online programs I found CSU to be the most affordable and flexible. I didn't want a program were I was required to login so many hours or so many times per week. I wanted the flexibility to log in as many times and for as long as I wanted. So far all my classes have been challenging, but on my own terms the syllabus are clear, the assignments are clear and manageable. I can easily manage unpredictable work schedule, family time and school assignments and even vacation time.