AMU / APU - Thoughts or Experiences?

[marianne202]

I know we have had some members talk about AMU/APU on this board, but I'm wondering if anyone has gone to school with them or had any experiences with them? Good or bad? My son found a program there that looks to suit his needs better than EC, but they seem a little expensive. He will be doing his BS and transferring in about 50 credits. I'm wondering about their transfer acceptance policy as well as their acceptance of CLEP/DSST. I found their list of CLEP/DSST exams they accept, but I wasn't able to find their residency requirements or anything about ALEKS or SL. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[chasm636]

I went to AMU to finish up my AA in General Studies. For my particular situation, it would have been better/easier to just finish at my local CC. I saw that AMU had 8 week courses and I thought I would be done in half the time. That didn't happen. The amount of work was the same, just compressed (obviously). This lead me to quick burnout, and I would take breaks. The quality of the classes was just as good or better than my local CC, and I was very impressed with the background/qualifications of many of the instructors.
I would also say that AMU was very good about transfer credit, whether from my CC, CLEP or DSST. Basically, if it says they accept it on their site, they accept it. I will say that the initial evaluation happened VERY quickly, and my first CLEP was also added to my online degree plan very quickly. However, towards the end, I added a few DSSTs, and the evaluations team took quite a while to add these, even though they were listed as accepted on the site. As far as Straighterline, I went before that came into the spotlight. I wouldn't be surprised if they accept it, you'll just have to email the school.
The only problem I had was with the billing dept. I had a grant as well as loans to supplement. This seemed to create havoc with them. I would receive refund checks constantly, only to call and have them confirm that I shouldn't cash them, because I shouldn't have gotten them. That is insanely frustrating.
Overall, I don't think AMU/APUS is any better or worse than any other school. Their tuition is pretty reasonable, considering they will include materials. Their residency requirement is 30 hrs for a BA/BS, which is what you can expect from most schools. If I'm not mistaken, the initial evaluation is free, so give it a shot. Let me know if there is anything I haven't covered.

[taylor]

Since I was in a mad rush to meet a graduation deadline, I took 2 upper division classes there since their 8 week classes were shorter than TESC. They seemed to have the online teaching format down. The professors I had were knowledgable in their fields and were responsive to a lot of my questions. However, in both classes I got A's and I didn't deserve them for sure but I wasn't going to complain either.

[marianne202]

Thanks for the feedback! It seems that they will allow him more flexibility in choosing his core and core related courses than will EC or TESC. That is a plus for him along with less required math credits. He really loves IT work and he is so good with the technical stuff and creativity side of IT that I hate for him to get frustrated with classes in areas he knows he doesn't want to work. I know he needs to be well-rounded but I would hate for him to hit a brick wall along the way. I'm off to try to do more research AMU/APUS - anyone know how they are received by government agencies when it comes to jobs? Thanks again!