Pennsylvania State University World Campus

I will be graduating this December with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. I returned to school after 16 or so years of having graduated from high school. I have a full-time job, and I am a mother of two teenage daughters. First, the application process required some due diligence. I noticed some reviews that indicated this as a con; however, it is my belief that potential students, who cannot handle the application process or find it too tedious, will have a difficult time being successful with WC. Nothing worth having typically comes very easy, and this is NOT a buy yourself a degree program! Next, I transferred into Penn State WC with 18 acceptable credits from a local community college. I utilized the Penn State course transfer tool so see which credits were transferable, and once I was accepted, my advisor confirmed those credits. She then explained how their degree audits work, and she discussed which courses I needed to begin taking to fulfill my Entrance To Major requirements. She stayed in contact with me throughout the semesters. Now, I am about to graduate, and I could not be more proud or pleased with a rigorous, challenging, REAL education! I am highly prepared and qualified for graduate school!!! Importantly, Penn State has undergone a massive system change. It was a challenging transition for all involved from faculty, to staff, to students, to know telling who else! That being said, some of the reviews that referenced credits, money, etc. being lost and/or people not knowing what they are doing may have had something to do with this transition. These growing pains have slowly worked themselves out. Otherwise, it has been my experience that everyone is very helpful and polite. I have never felt like they were trying to hinder my graduation to make more money off of me. Come on! This is a huge, well established University; whom I'm certain has better things to do than con people out of their money. Additionally, people are human. So, I'm certain mistakes are made. For example, I had one HORRIBLE instructor (for a vital class), but I did not let that one experience ruin my whole outlook on my Penn State WC education! If you want a respected degree with a valuable education, I would highly recommend Penn State WC! While not the cheapest, it is not the most expensive. It is well worth it if you are able and willing!

I am deeply disappointed regarding my Penn State World Campus experience. Even as a part time student, the experience was overwhelming due to the ridiculous amount of time spent with numerous technology issues. My tuition wasn't billed properly, and even after paying my tuition for the semester, I received a bill. Their explanation was that the system just caught up to the amount of credits that I had transferred in. It was suggested that I use my tax refund that I had already earmarked to pay for this mistake. There were other numerous issues as well. After close to a year after being admitted, I was contacted and told that 12 classes that were part of my degree would have to be repeated if I couldn't provide a syllabi for each.This should have been handled before I began classes. I stated this to the Penn State representative, who responded that she wasn't responsible for what was done by admissions. I had already contacted my original institution to obtain my syllabus for one course that couldn't be found due to the lengthy time frame between when I took the course and today. I would not have attended if I knew my degree would cost me another $5000 and the school could not offer my a concrete curriculum that should not have changed during attendance.

I am shocked at the reviews some of the programs receive. While I cannot speak to them, I can provide insight into the MPS HRER program here at Penn State World Campus. Honestly, I have never been so challenged and I love every minute of it! In the interest of full disclosure… I will admit that I do struggle significantly with the posting restrictions during "all class" discussion weeks. Let’s just say that my Job is "all consuming" so the Wednesday and Friday deadlines in place particularly when I am traveling are next to impossible to maintain. This said, for those of you who may believe the programs here are "easy", I hold a Global Management role in a fortune 50 organization and possess a background in Classical studies including Greek and Roman Literature. This program is not for those seeking just a “piece of paper”. You will be forced to learn here. The program is led by the most outstanding group of professionals I have ever had the privilege of working with. Specifically, Dr. Klass, Prof. Simpson, and Prof. Willits, Prof. Stephens, Prof. Tewolde and Prof. Detrux are my favorites. Currently I am in my last class and will be wrapping my Capstone project by December. I cannot thank the faculty and staff of the Penn State World Campus enough for helping me expand my knowledge and understanding of this critical discipline and for caring about me as an individual... not just another student. Well done and Thank you!

While the education being conferred is mediocre, my professors have almost all been dialed in, engaged, and very willing to help. The courses are busywork heavy, with required discussion posts and disengaged required responses as a standard. On the positive side, you can take online courses at any of the PSU campuses. I've found the quality of instruction much higher outside the World Campus. I've been able to consistently take 25-29 credits each semester, make Dean's List, and hold down a full time executive job. So while the courses do require a lot of writing, with good time management, it's tedious but doable. However, the World Campus administration is absolutely THE WORST! My transcripts have been conveniently "lost" a number of times and the advisers are demon spawn. I don't know if it's incompetence, laziness, deliberate maliciousness, or a very unethical business model at play, but it seems like they throw hurdles and "policy" at every turn to slow down academic progress to keep you paying tuition longer. I had paperwork go "missing" for two months that conveniently prevented me from challenging a course in time for the semester, and requiring me to take the course to continue progress. My transcript has been "not received" 3 times, thus rendering my transfer courses ineligible to qualify for pre-requisites. Even with an instructor waiver of pre-requisite requirements, the academic advisers still refused to register me. In fact, with full knowledge, my adviser frequently MOCKS the lack of received transcript saying, "Well, why don't you take the CLEP for this course(the one she knows I already passed)?" "Wouldn't it be great if there were evidence of your CLEP score?" Lady, I could fax/email/courier you a copy of my proven transcript, if your administration team had the capacity to receive or process it. Luckily, being able to schedule online courses at any PSU campus has allowed flexibility to work around the World Campus academic blockade. I've found the administration at other campuses friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The other campuses seem genuinely interested in the success of students, using their knowledge to critically think and help find options/solutions to student concerns. If the World Campus Academic Advisers weren't such malevolently nasty pieces of work, the World Campus education would have been a positive experience. Unfortunately, the overwhelming quantity of time, effort, and mental stamina needed to manage these people while advocating for yourself takes MORE time than 26 credits of coursework. No joke.

Unfortunately I transferred to PSU World Campus and have now spent 3 full time semesters there. I'm in too deep to turn around and lose credits by transferring elsewhere. As far as the decorated professors--they're useless. Absolutely useless. Depending on your class, you'll be learning from someone who has little to no experience actually teaching. However, they will go on forever about their work experience in the industry (always outdated). Most instructors don't record video lectures. Only my macroeconomics class had lectures available. This makes it very difficult because everything you learn is straight out of the book and not supplemented by lectures. Even the assigned reading is lacking and very generic. My education at PSU could have been as expensive as the texts on Amazon, but instead I'm paying $8k per semester in tuition. My experience at PSU has proven to be a colossal disaster. And before you start jumping to conclusions and making assumptions, I'm deans list every semester. That's means absolutely nothing. Aside from their math department that is full of actual professors with tons of teaching experience--PSU borders on garbage. One department does not make up for the failures of others. There are better schools with better teachers. Pick one of those. The online campus is a huge profit-making machine. Don't let the claim that they follow the brick n' mortar syllabus fool you. That's what conned me into buying in. All you do is read and pray an instructor sees your email within a week and that they bother to give you a poor response--they are not enthusiastic about their jobs. For many, it's a temporary second job.

I'm reading a lot of bad reviews, and I can't understand why. What are you all talking about? One person said it wasn't great because of the amount of work it requires (which is a lot), but isn't that how you learn? The world campus is an amazing experience. However, it is a lot of work, and quite expensive (though no where near $1,000 per credit hour(as a matter of fact, it is currently $579 per credit hour)). As others have mentioned, the faculty are very well decorated, and this helps when you have questions about the subject matter, or questions about industry practices and experiences. If you spend a lot of time asking questions that you could have read out of the syllabus, course notes, or emails, then yes, I can imagine that anyone would get a little upset. Remember, this is a distance learning course. There is a lot of reading involved. The World Campus is designed for adult (this being the key word here) learners. Your hand will not be held, you will work, and you will learn. If either of these aren't on your list of things to do while attending college, then don't apply to the World Campus. Instead, hop on over to www.instantdegrees.com. And if, by some amazing feat, you manage to apply to the World Campus and come out knowing less than you did before you went in, then hop on over to www.guinnessworldrecords.com, so they can finally fill in the space they have designated for the world's dumbest individual. This is a great school, and an amazing experience. They work very hard to ensure that the degree quality remains high.

While searching for additional degrees from World Campus, I found this site for reviews. I had to give my own, especially in response to the sole review placed. Not everyone has the same experience, or views things the same. I was reluctant to get my degree online, as I am more of a traditional learner. However I found it to fit my working and home life well. As for the Penn State experience, I found all of my teachers helpful! Anytime I had questions, they were more than willing to assist. There are plenty of options out there, but I am very happy with my experience from Penn State.

This class would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that the online textbook is no more than an unedited manuscript. It's a nightmare to read through in terms of syntax and the chronology of concepts and ideas. Be prepared to read other sources for clarification. The instructor is enthusiastic and will try to challenge you, but it will feel more like being given one shoe out of a pair and being asked to run a marathon. If I could go back and start from the beginning, I would probably make sure I had other resources to tap into (and there are a bunch online, so Google will become your best friend for researching concepts) and not spend quite as much time obsessing over trying to understand the text. The class is very much designed to favor those who have professional experience in the field, or at least those who have some GIS academic training under their belts already. I would take recommend taking the class, and I am going to continue with the rest of the classes I need to finish the program, but definitely be prepared for battle. You are essentially teaching yourself.

Quality of education at Penn State is shockingly low. While instructors do have impressive resumes, they are, by no means, good educators. You will basically pay almost 1k per credit hour to read nonsense, stroke someone's ego and walk out dumber than you were going in - the epitome of American education.

Penn State's online professors are awesome. You are being taught by J.D.'s, PH.D.s and professional human resource personnel at prestigous organizations. Their program is absolutely comprehensive and also provides really good coursework for International HRM. Only disappointed with one professor who didn't keep up to the standards as the rest. It's expensive, but the learning is invaluable. Just be ready to work hard - there is no way you can pass these courses or maintain a B average without reading all the material, etc.

The staff at Penn State cares as much about their students as Joe Paterno cared about Jerry Sandusky touching kids. If you are considering Penn State because you think it will "fit" into your life better - you are wrong. You will end up doing much more work than in a traditional setting PLUS have to deal with all the BS from the World Campus staff. I'm convinced they don't care about any students and sit around, sip coffee, and gossip ALL DAY. I have over 100 college credits completed, but I will be transferring out of PSU to complete my degree elsewhere. These people don't deserve your money OR respect.

I'm half-way through the MPS HRER graduate program at Penn State University. As with any school, you are going to have great instructors, and instructors that are just okay. I've only been disatisfied with one professor. Overall, I am very pleased with the education that I am receiving online, and feel that the instructors are well qualified, with Phds, laws degrees and in many cases both. Not only do the instructors have great academic qualifications, many of them have, or are working in the field that they teach. I've read some reviews that claim poor communication between students and staff. I have not experienced this at all. Penn state offers a degree programs that are challenging and time consuming but well worth it. I've taken online courses at SU and WSU. The way Penn State structures its online courses and degree programs is one of the best. I know from experience that it isn't easy to contruct an online program were students don't feel isolated. When you take a course at Penn State you feel as though you are part of class and a part of the University.

I started out at Penn State Berks but then had to change to Penn State World Campus after an accident. I was not impressed at all, actually I was pretty frusterated. The support system was clueless, they had no idea of simple things and I ended up calling University Park because they simply said "write an email" and no one would respond. The teachers are terribly rude and lazy, 3/4 of my teachers were very rude when questions were asked. They use a lot of technology which is good but that's also a down fall because things get lost in transit and even if you have the document on the computer saying that you submitted it but it must have no processed they thought you were lying. It took me 3 WEEKS to change back to Penn State Berks because they just had no idea how to change campus' and never responded to emails which were sent multiple times. It works but there are definitely better places you can get a degree online!

No this is not Harvard, Yale or Columbia but it certainly is a great school! Iam currently in an Associate’s degree program for Letters, Arts and Science (Social Science) and will be graduating in about four months. The program is great and certainly designed for working adults (I'm active Army). The instructors are friendly and willing to work with students to maximize their learning. Yes, many are hard to understand do to a slight language barrier but not anything that will hinder your learning. Only real negative I can provide is the lack of online degree programs offered. Many programs are somewhat of a joke (Hotel Management, Turf Grass Management, etc…) WE ARE…PENN STATE!!!

I was at student at Penn State University Park for my first three years. Due to medical problems, I had to finish my last year of my degree online through Penn State's World Campus. I could not have been more satisfied with Penn State World Campus. The classes were challenging enough to to make me feel stimulated, with many of the professors being professors on campus. The material was relevant to the degree. The ease of completing assignment through their online website was remarkable. I couldn't recommend Penn State World Campus more. I even was able to attend graduation with my fellow students at University Park. No one knew I took any classes through World Campus. My diploma recognizes that I graduated through Penn State University. No mention of World Campus. I am Penn State proud, regardless of where I finished my degree. I am just thankful that opportunity is available.

Penn State world campus is amazing, I wish they had it years ago. You get the Penn state education standards, ciriculium and challenges but the ability to do it online. Like any real college you are not hand walked through it, you make your own choices about classes and have to work hard to do and accomplish the work but if you do you will have a degree in your hands from Penn State! I would put the effort in and get a Penn state degree actually doing the work over any of the fly by night online school that are out there. I have tried others like AIU and its strictly a paper writing push you through school. Thats not a solid education you need to be tested and learn and really able to feel like you accomplished something. Thats what Penn state online has done for me, Im about 18 credits away from finishing my BS degree. If your looking for a real school that will give you a real education go here! if you want a fly by night school that will hand walk you through your classes and be a worthless education go to one of the three that are constantly advertised on tv

Being an Online Degree, This shool implements all facets of the course material very well. I have taken 4 classes and would recommend this University over several other online shools that I have researched and heard about. The courses are presented very well just as good if Not Better than in person or in class situation. For an adult with a demanding work schedule looking for a part time shool set up to earn a degree, Penn State World Campus is an excellent choice.

I've taken a few classes and the program definitely needs improved curriculum and instructors. It seems like Penn State doesn't want to invest much in this program. There's only one section of each course. The instructors seem to be bottom of the barrel from the College of IST. They have poor ratings from professor review sites, and rightly so. Many of them speak English as a second language,but aren't very proficient, which makes it difficult to understand them. There are a few good instructors, but not many. The course content has been sub par too. After finishing the courses with A grades, I didn't feel like I actually learned much. The material doesn't seem to have much in-depth knowledge to offer to someone that's already working in the IT field. The use of technology isn't too bad though... the course management system is a bit clunky, but much better than others I've used. They use MediaSite for recording and broadcasting lectures, which worked great for me. Overall, I wish they would put better course content and instructors into this program. I'm looking around at other degree programs before I get too far into this one.

Please note: I have been fortunate in my course selection--I give a total rating of about '9'--maybe even a total '10'--for the courses in which I have taken--but I have spoken A LOT and communicated A LOT with course mates, who have taken other courses which, from my understanding, deserve a crappy rating. They suffered. And I will write more about it at the end of this review. I am a senior and returning student to Penn State Harrisburg and have taken two World Campus courses to transfer in. My advisor is the coolest and most understanding professor ever...he hooked me up with an INTENSIVE independent study pgm--with special permission only and not online (I have also taken, with his recommendation and support, another lower-level, 300-level course from a different prof)--and by intensive I mean--if you're not in the classroom, you WORK for your grade--a LOT of papers...a LOT of research...anyway, I took 2 online courses this semester--an intensive 400-level international communications course and a 200-level literary journalism course (the last 200-level I was eligible to take). The 400-level was difficult. But, as a returning senior (and now mother of a tot), I managed an 'A'...but it was HARD. and GREAT. I did pull some all-nighters. The material provided was invaluable. I am not kidding when I say it educated me to a point where I have changed ideologically. A 10++ for that course--she was unorganized a few times, but much of it was the result of the 'angel' platform/blackboard administrators. She was apologetic and made up for any inconsistencies in a very fair way. Her material provided makes up for any and everything else. My 200-level course is a course I took because I was booted out of a communication research course. THANK GOD. But more about that course in a minute. My literary journalism course, albeit a 200-level course, was something I treated as a 400-level course. I want to write well; I'm a senior, and I'll be damned if there isn't a person out there that can't benefit from a decent book list. I put my soul into the work (as of now I have 2 weeks left), and, accordingly, I've gotten an 'A'--so far--something you care about when you've riddled the globe with your antics and haven't completed your degree--but the expectations are that of Penn State. Think before you write, and if you are half-assed in your work and writing in general, so will be your grade. Dr. Berner is reliable; on time, waaaay organized (I've taken note of his black board organization) and provides awesome authors who will enlighten just about anybody out there. Very much recommend. A 10++ recommendation. Now, I've been one to call students in North Korea and California. Yes, I am accustomed to brick-and-mortar and I need me some reliable feedback and productive discourse. I have heard SO many complaints from students taking other courses. Courses that I, THANK GOODNESS did not take...one professor was a complete ass and decided she wanted to fail half (or more) of the class...this was for some random philosophy course. I've taken a similar course in class (at an unknown university called 'Kutztown University') and all was well. I can't tell you what high horse she was on or what she was smoking...but I know that many Penn State students (main campus or satellite campuses) who take courses online, generally, bust their butts to make it work (this is according to my humble experience only). They're accustomed to higher expectations and work accordingly. This is twice fold for any student who dares enter an intensive summer online course. Like myself. So, while this course, according to feedback, had a terrorizing professor, maybe other professors will be as awesome as the ones I had. As a footnote for this course, i should add that several students told me that they feel like a guinea pig--in that Penn State wants to maintain their 'exceptional' online programs and runs test drives (apparently) with totally mean and uncommunicative professors. But I have been especially fortunate. I loved my courses and sacrificed much in the way of a personal life, to make it happen. The other course, that I did not take (THANK GOD) was a communication research course (fyi, I suck at math--as does much of America according to the 5th and 6th grade-level GRE math preps I am now studying for). This course, as I've heard, was also terrifying for students. As a senior who wants a diploma and who wants to enter an MA pgm (with a decent GPA), I couldn't have been happier with my being booted. Such instances tell me that there is a god, a god who wants my education to not be as shoddy and terrible as my HS education was. Nobody i spoke with was happy with this course. Then again, I spoke with only several potentially failing students. I wish I had a name to give you as I am certain that there are awesome professors that teach this course (but not this one). I actually still have the books and will keep them. Totally not money wasted according to me. I'd like to one day, so some real research. And so I have some great books:) And the material provided was excellent, and in my humble opinion, necessary for any communications-related endeavors. To conclude my humble rating, there two professors that I was fortunate to NOT have--and my luck, hard work, and corresponding results reflects as much. Had I had these rude and unrealistic professors, I may have created a website to protest them. Seriously. But with Penn State brick-and mortar, I've always been fortunate. The brand lives up to its name. With Penn State World Campus, I now believe that there is a god of education, lol. I've been very fortunate. My two courses that I've taken through Penn State have proved to be more than I may have learned in the classroom. But this, as I am no longer 21 and itching to go to the local uni bar and bring the entire campus with me, seems to be what you make of it. I am torn, in that I've had such fortunate experiences with awesome professors at Penn State World Campus but that my cohorts gave me a line of utter frustration. It is to this end, the consumers end, that I'll recommend also checking out Massachusetts University online. The reviews are great and they lead me to believe that, perhaps, some institution out there, has surpassed that brand name you seek (and are probably looking at this review because of). Because of their program options and great prices, I've already recommended them to my sister. Who thinks I'm better at research than I actually am...but I don't trust google (and I'm assuming that's what you've used to get here) and to that end, my research is limited. Else wise, I may have gone through about 5 pages of online search results to consider mentioning them to you. Just sayin':D That is all

The IMBA seems like a good program. Some major hiccups. The chair does not respond to emails or phone calls. If you call his assistant, then you get routed to the main office, where there is a office assistant. You probably will not get all the information you need. It is a very tough process to understand what is required. The application process also has problems. I submitted the fee (there was no problem collecting that). Then I submitted my documentation. There is an online screen which tells you what was recieved or not. That is just a placebo, it doesnt get updated. After several calls to make sure they have everything and sending several copies of the same document did they confirm. I recieved an email notification that I was accepted and need to pay $500. It didnt say where to send the payment or anything. Again, had to follow up. Course descriptions not available, professors who are teaching the courses not available. There are too many whatifs with the program. It seems like they are looking to collect $$. You can not decipher the real value of the program. Not to mention you are always looking for a reliable point of contact for information. You dont seem to have that here.

Penn State's M.Ed. in Adult Education was challenging, team-oriented, pragmatic, and exactly what an online degree program should be. The nice part about this program is that it provides the fundamentals of the field of adult education (principles, research, the roots of adult education, etc.), and the projects that you complete can be chosen to meet your individual area of interest. You must learn to write academically and at a scholarly level. In my case, I work in distance education marketing, and devoted all of my projects to enhance my knowledge. When I completed my degree in 2005, my final paper was dedicated to the topic. After contacting several scholars, my research was picked up by one of the leading publishers in the field of education, and led to the co-authorship in the International Handbook of Distance Education that comes out this April (2008). My skills were developed in this program, and I was able to pursue my interests while still gaining a global perspective of the field of adult education. I also was impressed with the ability of the program to cater to my needs as an adult student. Two of my children were born while I was pursuing my degree, and I was able to stop and start my coursework following the semester schedule. The student services staff is always accomodating (Jane Ireland is a sweetheart), and I rarely had a problem with the technology, course work, or instructors. Penn State is a leader in higher education, and got it right with their distance education program.

The Penn State iMBA program is a very demanding hybrid-online program involving two graduate residencies. Having spent 9 months in the program, I can say that the foundation courses I have taken have impressed me, especially in the subjects of business statistics and management theory. The first residency takes place in two weeks, as our cohort heads to Greenville, South Carolina to function as impromptu consultants for the Michelin Group. This should prove very enlightening, and will help us as we complete a demanding financial analysis of this company. My team consists of an accountant, two engineers and a Naval Academy graduate. All of my teammates are doing well in their chosen professions and easily match my drive and ambition in their quest for higher levels of management success. They are great, and we have formed a strong work bond (which was tested this week with two 6-10 page papers). Overall, I am loving my PSU experience. While it is costly, every time I mention my MBA program it has gotten a good reaction, both from good friends and complete strangers. PSU's iMBA has taken the best of its graduate business programs (including professors from the world-renowned Smeal program) and fused it into something truly dynamic and worthwhile for students whose work/life balance mandates that they cannot attend brick and mortar classes.