Any reason why I shouldn't attend AJU's for their MBA degree?

[norema]

I usually research 'til my hearts content, but I'm tired now and don't want to miss out on attending the college this fall. Besides them being a national accredited school which I could work around, does any other reasons stick out for anyone? Or are there other schools offering master degrees that cost about $2000 total... I know that sounds like a joke, but AJU cost under $2000 so there may be others.

[cookderosa]

I usually research 'til my hearts content, but I'm tired now and don't want to miss out on attending the college this fall. Besides them being a national accredited school which I could work around, does any other reasons stick out for anyone? Or are there other schools offering master degrees that cost about $2000 total... I know that sounds like a joke, but AJU cost under $2000 so there may be others.

>>

The only sticking point for me is NA, but that's an issue you are already aware of. My husband is considering AJU too. For the price, you can't beat it.

Possible pitfalls specific to NA:
1. You decide to transfer out- expect limits or restrictions going in elsewhere.
2. You want to teach at a community college- not possible with NA*
3. You later want an RA degree- master classes require a lot of time, and you will have lost that work as you start over.
4. Some state licenses don't allow NA credit (CPA, K-12 education,etc)
5. Narrow/expensive options for NA DBA programs, RA DBA programs are off the table.

All of that should be taken with a grain of salt. MANY MANY MANY people work in fields that people don't give a flying hoot about the kind of accreditation- only that the college is accredited. Let's be honest, most people don't even KNOW what kind of accreditation their own college has. It's usually only something that comes up on boards like this. Like I said, my husband is strongly considering his MBA from AJU.

*business transfer programs/courses at regionally accredited schools require RA master's degrees, but career programs at RA schools are not [I]required for teachers to have RA degrees of any kind- so in that case, your MBA neither helps or hurts you- but schools can have any requirement they want as long as it meets or exceeds regional accreditation rules...so even in some cases where an RA MBA is not "required" it is actually "required" by the college.[/I]

[alissaroot]

The only drawback I've read about the program is that it involves a lot of busy work, like many quizzes and homework assignments, some of which can be writing intensive. This isn't a bad thing at all when you are learning, but the complaint is that the workload for the class requires so many little quizzes and essays that you may not want to carry a full load every semester, which will drive the price up since you may have to spread it out a bit more than you would like and pay for more semesters. It will be a lot of work, so make sure to choose a degree program you will really, really love.

But, if you don't have a crazy, hectic full-time job or other extremely time-intensive, demanding responsibilities, then you can probably handle it. And even if you do have a busy life, you could only take two or three classes per semester, it will still be insanely cheap compared to many grad school programs out there. And you will learn a lot. Go for it! I strongly considered AJU because of it's price, but my heart would not be in the studies for any of the degrees they offer, so I'm looking for something else.

I don't know of any other programs in the $2000 range, but if you become interested in anything in the $5000-$7000 range, I'm researching some for myself. Feel free to send me a PM if you want the list of my current contenders.

Good luck!

[norema]

>>

The only sticking point for me is NA, but that's an issue you are already aware of. My husband is considering AJU too. For the price, you can't beat it.

Possible pitfalls specific to NA:
1. You decide to transfer out- expect limits or restrictions going in elsewhere.
2. You want to teach at a community college- not possible with NA*
3. You later want an RA degree- master classes require a lot of time, and you will have lost that work as you start over.
4. Some state licenses don't allow NA credit (CPA, K-12 education,etc)
5. Narrow/expensive options for NA DBA programs, RA DBA programs are off the table.

All of that should be taken with a grain of salt. MANY MANY MANY people work in fields that people don't give a flying hoot about the kind of accreditation- only that the college is accredited. Let's be honest, most people don't even KNOW what kind of accreditation their own college has. It's usually only something that comes up on boards like this. Like I said, my husband is strongly considering his MBA from AJU.

*business transfer programs/courses at regionally accredited schools require RA master's degrees, but career programs at RA schools are not [I]required for teachers to have RA degrees of any kind- so in that case, your MBA neither helps or hurts you- but schools can have any requirement they want as long as it meets or exceeds regional accreditation rules...so even in some cases where an RA MBA is not "required" it is actually "required" by the college.[/I]

The reason why I was thinking of not worrying about it being a NA is because I ran across a couple of transferring options. Either taking 15 credits of their MBA and transferring it towards the APU's MBA degree (since they are a NA & RA college). Or completing the whole degree to implement those credits into one of the Capella's doctorate degrees (since the elective courses could be any type of graduate course). They also are an RA college who said that since AJU was with CHEA that their course would be accepted. However, after reading your statement I must admit it will take a bit of time to complete the PHD if I chose that route. Which would make me have to go by the MBA credentials for a while. I just thought about the end picture. Figuring that once a PHD was obtained no-one would care about the MBA, so that's why I figured it could just be used as a stepping stone. The problem with all of that is that I really could care less about having an MBA. I don't know where any of my degrees will take me. I've always wanted to have them and it's taken me too many years to finally get them and I don't want to stop acquiring them until I have to. I really just want to be prepared for whatever comes my way once I get back out in the work place by having them... I actually probably won't even use them, it will make me happy just to have accomplished getting them... but just in case... I want to be ready!!!

[norema]

The only drawback I've read about the program is that it involves a lot of busy work, like many quizzes and homework assignments, some of which can be writing intensive. This isn't a bad thing at all when you are learning, but the complaint is that the workload for the class requires so many little quizzes and essays that you may not want to carry a full load every semester, which will drive the price up since you may have to spread it out a bit more than you would like and pay for more semesters. It will be a lot of work, so make sure to choose a degree program you will really, really love.

But, if you don't have a crazy, hectic full-time job or other extremely time-intensive, demanding responsibilities, then you can probably handle it. And even if you do have a busy life, you could only take two or three classes per semester, it will still be insanely cheap compared to many grad school programs out there. And you will learn a lot. Go for it! I strongly considered AJU because of it's price, but my heart would not be in the studies for any of the degrees they offer, so I'm looking for something else.

I don't know of any other programs in the $2000 range, but if you become interested in anything in the $5000-$7000 range, I'm researching some for myself. Feel free to send me a PM if you want the list of my current contenders.

Good luck!

I thought all of that type of work is what I would have to look forward to in obtaining a masters degree. I really would prefer not to do all of what you described. I have become accustomed to take three course every six or eight weeks. Hoping I would be able to do this with someones masters program and completing it within a year. I know most colleges only do this with MBA's, but if you come across any other programs that does this let me know. I'm not tied down to obtaining an MBA.

[cookderosa]

The reason why I was thinking of not worrying about it being a NA is because I ran across a couple of transferring options. Either taking 15 credits of their MBA and transferring it towards the APU's MBA degree (since they are a NA & RA college). Or completing the whole degree to implement those credits into one of the Capella's doctorate degrees (since the elective courses could be any type of graduate course). They also are an RA college who said that since AJU was with CHEA that their course would be accepted. However, after reading your statement I must admit it will take a bit of time to complete the PHD if I chose that route. Which would make me have to go by the MBA credentials for a while. I just thought about the end picture. Figuring that once a PHD was obtained no-one would care about the MBA, so that's why I figured it could just be used as a stepping stone. The problem with all of that is that I really could care less about having an MBA. I don't know where any of my degrees will take me. I've always wanted to have them and it's taken me too many years to finally get them and I don't want to stop acquiring them until I have to. I really just want to be prepared for whatever comes my way once I get back out in the work place by having them... I actually probably won't even use them, it will make me happy just to have accomplished getting them... but just in case... I want to be ready!!!

You can apply directly into a PhD program (or DBA), there is no reason to get the MBA if a doctorate is your goal. A master's is usually *but not always* gained on the way to a PhD if you stay at the same school- in your case where you are considering a different school (Capella), you'll be doing both without overlap. That's a LOT of grad credits- well over 100 by my calculations. Are you sure? The cost and time involved will be very steep. Will your income recover those costs?
It's like getting an Associate, and then getting a Bachelor's without brining in the Associates (60+120) as opposed to going straight for the Bachelor's (120).

I know there are a lot of people who could make an argument for doing both- but I just wanted to say that you don't have to do one enroute to the other.

I like your plan of using APUS to launder your AJU credits. Smart

[bat21]

N/A will not hurt you if you are working for the federal government, since they take and recognize both accreditation s with no problems.

And if you can wash the credit with AMU/APU that is even better, AJU is probably the biggest bang for the buck out there right now.

I say go for it!

[norema]

You can apply directly into a PhD program (or DBA), there is no reason to get the MBA if a doctorate is your goal. A master's is usually *but not always* gained on the way to a PhD if you stay at the same school- in your case where you are considering a different school (Capella), you'll be doing both without overlap. That's a LOT of grad credits- well over 100 by my calculations. Are you sure? The cost and time involved will be very steep. Will your income recover those costs?
It's like getting an Associate, and then getting a Bachelor's without brining in the Associates (60+120) as opposed to going straight for the Bachelor's (120).

I know there are a lot of people who could make an argument for doing both- but I just wanted to say that you don't have to do one enroute to the other.

I like your plan of using APUS to launder your AJU credits. Smart

Most of Capella's doctorate degrees have a number of elective credits within that degree. They accept any graduate courses towards those electives. 120 quarter/90 semester credits to obtain the doctorate with upto 48 quarter/36 semester transferable credit. Therefore, someone could actually look at it as getting an AJU's masters degree transfered for none other than cheap credits to apply towards Capella doctorate. Resulting in 72 quarter/54 semester credits left needing to be done at Capella. Oh yeah and to go for their doctorate degrees they do require a masters degree first.

[cookderosa]

Most of Capella's doctorate degrees have a number of elective credits within that degree. They accept any graduate courses towards those electives. 120 quarter/90 semester credits to obtain the doctorate with upto 48 quarter/36 semester transferable credit. Therefore, someone could actually look at it as getting an AJU's masters degree transfered for none other than cheap credits to apply towards Capella doctorate. Resulting in 72 quarter/54 semester credits left needing to be done at Capella. Oh yeah and to go for their doctorate degrees they do require a masters degree first.

>>

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you could go from a bachelor's to phd at capella- but it's an option at most other universities (less so among private than public) that I just wanted to toss out there. I DO wish you the best whatever path you choose!!!

[norema]

>>

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest you could go from a bachelor's to phd at capella- but it's an option at most other universities (less so among private than public) that I just wanted to toss out there. I DO wish you the best whatever path you choose!!!

That's okay I know alot of colleges do that, I'm just confused as to what I should do. I sometimes research too much before I make a move and then end up loosing out. That's why I wanted to put the question out there to everyone to make sure I hadn't missed anything, or to just show me another option.