Empire State College, State University of New York

CDL is not for everyone. While the business model is excellent (and probably will drive education in future) the execution is problematic. Students tend to be older with adult lives: families and work. There are always a few in the class who add a third element to the workload: a full time school program! Any glitch in any of the three aspects impacts the others. While some instructors have a laissez faire attitude, others work to a published schedule and reduce grades for late submissions. That can be a rude shock to some students. The mentors are largely overworked. The concept of a personal mentor is perhaps a holdover from the flower power days of ESC's early life in the 1970s. Don't expect too much hand-holding. If you have a problem with an instructor they will (eventually) contact the instructor and relay her response to you. Like many professional educators, mentors are more geared to asking you "What would you like to study?" rather than "To get this marketable degree you need to take X, Y and Z in that order. By the way, Z is offered only in spring and fills rapidly." The education is not tops by any stretch; ESC hasn't produced an overabundance of Rhodes Scholars. For most of us, some education is better than no education. The price is clearly in the right place if you can keep your focus.

After much deliberation, I've decided to transfer to another institution to complete my degree. The school is starting to rely too heavily on remote adjuncts who teach for multiple schools and are completely overextended. It ceases to be a SUNY education when the instructors are institutional babysitters hundreds of miles from the nearest SUNY building who did not author the courses they are instructing and only silently drop in every 7 to 10 days to leave a few much-belated grades. I would expect this from U. Phoenix or the like, but I think it's a shame that a SUNY school is going this route. If you just want a degree, it's a great value. Just don't expect an education. If you're going into a field (or applying t a graduate program) where instructor recommendations would help give you an edge, steer clear of SUNY Empire State College's online establishment.