Edgewood College/UpGrad DBA; potentially $11,250

[Sagan]

In a very thorough discussion, their representative said Upgrad was a leads generator for them, nothing more. The courses, instructors, assessments, and administration will all be done by Edgewood.

[bjcheung77]

Oh, that's an update, I always thought that the UpGrad partnership was to use the courses on UpGrad's platform instead. So, practically everything would be done on the UpGrad end, you may have some of that done by Edgewood, but from reading the post above, seems different than what I understand it to be...

[lidel]

Oh, that's an update, I always thought that the UpGrad partnership was to use the courses on UpGrad's platform instead.  So, practically everything would be done on the UpGrad end, you may have some of that done by Edgewood, but from reading the post above, seems different than what I understand it to be...

I went digging through my notes from my Upgrad interview as I seemed to remember something about this. I was told EC uses Blackboard and that they provide all the education aspects, with Upgrad providing student, tech, and delivery support. 

The Upgrad rep had a very thick accent, and when he was talking fast, I had a hard time understanding him, so I called the phone number of the EC site and spoke to an advisor to ask some questions.  She has an Edgewood College e-mail address, but said she works for Upgrad also. 

Some of the things she said conflicted with what the Upgrad representative told me. Examples are that she said the courses were 7 week terms and with one course at a time, would take 4 years to complete the program. I had mathed it out to be more like 2.5 years based on six courses a year so I'm not sure how she came up with that. 
The Upgrad information shows that some courses are six weeks and the four dissertation and research-based courses are 8 weeks. The Upgrad website advisor said that it could be completed in two years with one course at a time.

I questioned the differing information with the Upgrad rep, and he said that the discrepancy was because the international students don't follow the typical fall-spring-summer semester system. 

I'm not from the US, but I did question why the discount isn't available to American residents. I was told that it is because they can qualify for other forms of government financial aid that are not available to International Students.

Hope this helps.

S

[lidel]

Oh, that's an update, I always thought that the UpGrad partnership was to use the courses on UpGrad's platform instead.  So, practically everything would be done on the UpGrad end, you may have some of that done by Edgewood, but from reading the post above, seems different than what I understand it to be...

I went digging through my notes from my Upgrad interview as I seemed to remember something about this. I was told EC uses Blackboard and that they provide all the education aspects, with Upgrad providing student, tech, and delivery support. 

The Upgrad rep had a very thick accent, and when he was talking fast, I had a hard time understanding him, so I called the phone number of the EC site and spoke to an advisor to ask some questions.  She has an Edgewood College e-mail address, but said she works for Upgrad also. 

Some of the things she said conflicted with what the Upgrad representative told me. Examples are that she said the courses were 7 week terms and with one course at a time, would take 4 years to complete the program. I had mathed it out to be more like 2.5 years based on six courses a year so I'm not sure how she came up with that. 
The Upgrad information shows that some courses are six weeks and the four dissertation and research-based courses are 8 weeks. The Upgrad website advisor said that it could be completed in two years with one course at a time.

I questioned the differing information with the Upgrad rep, and he said that the discrepancy was because the international students don't follow the typical fall-spring-summer semester system. 

I'm not from the US, but I did question why the discount isn't available to American residents. I was told that it is because they can qualify for other forms of government financial aid that are not available to International Students.

Hope this helps.

S

I had another Upgrad rep randomly reach out to me yesterday, asking for a conversation. I wasn't interested in doing another phone call, but I did ask a couple of other questions that I had regarding their cancellation policy and their policy for if a student wants to hit the pause button on studies to deal with a family emergency or take a vacation. Here was the response I got back. I figured I would post it for anyone else considering the program.


Regarding the flexibility of the Edgewood College DBA program:

• The program is thoughtfully designed to accommodate the needs of working professionals, like yourself. Typically, it requires an average commitment of 15 hours per week to complete successfully.
  
  
• While we recommend striving for a continuous learning experience, we do understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise. In such cases, we can assist you in taking a pause or break from your studies. It's important to note that there is generally a 10% deferral fee, but this is subject to consideration by our committee based on the specific situation.
  
  
• The absence of an immediate break option in our program is a deliberate choice, driven by our commitment to support learners in completing their studies in a continuous manner. While we do offer the flexibility of a deferral when necessary, our primary aim is to encourage students to pursue their education without interruptions, making the alternative option of a break available only in cases of genuine need.
  

For your queries about program cancellation and refunds:

• For the Edgewood DBA Program, there is an initial block fee of USD 1000 or CAD 1350, which is adjusted against your total tuition fees after any applicable scholarships. For instance, if your tuition fee is USD 13000, you are required to secure your seat by paying the initial block amount of USD 1000 within 24 hours of receiving the offer letter. The remaining USD 12000 can be paid according to a mutually agreed-upon payment plan within the following 7 days.
  
  
• Refunds are applicable in two scenarios:
  
  
  • Pre-Cohort: If you request a refund before your cohort begins, you will be eligible for a refund of all payments made (excluding the block fee of USD 1000) without further deductions.
    
    
  • Post-Cohort: Once your cohort has commenced, refunds are not available. However, please be aware that we are committed to working with you to overcome any challenges that may arise, ensuring your continued learning experience.
    
  
  

[lidel]

After a great deal of due diligence on my part, I decided to be the forum test subject for this program and enrolled for a start date of December 31st. I won't likely do a course-by-course critique of the program, but I will try to pop in occasionally and give general updates on how it's going. I have talked to a few folks from UpGrad during this process and the Associate Dean of Business for Edgewood College, and they all went above and beyond to answer questions and field concerns. Fingers crossed!

S

[durain]

After a great deal of due diligence on my part, I decided to be the forum test subject for this program and enrolled for a start date of December 31st. I won't likely do a course-by-course critique of the program, but I will try to pop in occasionally and give general updates on how it's going. I have talked to a few folks from UpGrad during this process and the Associate Dean of Business for Edgewood College, and they all went above and beyond to answer questions and field concerns. Fingers crossed!

S

Just curious. Have you compared this USD12k DBA program with the following? If yes, what are the deciding factors for choosing EdgeWood?

- PhD in Business Management from Spain's Inter-University for Euro9k (link : https://www.uoc.edu/en/studies/doctorate...management )
- Prague University of Economics and Business DBA for Euro15k (link : https://fba.vse.cz/students/doctoral-stu...ration-dba )

[lidel]

After a great deal of due diligence on my part, I decided to be the forum test subject for this program and enrolled for a start date of December 31st. I won't likely do a course-by-course critique of the program, but I will try to pop in occasionally and give general updates on how it's going. I have talked to a few folks from UpGrad during this process and the Associate Dean of Business for Edgewood College, and they all went above and beyond to answer questions and field concerns. Fingers crossed!

S

Just curious. Have you compared this USD12k DBA program with the following? If yes, what are the deciding factors for choosing EdgeWood?

- PhD in Business Management from Spain's Inter-University for Euro9k (link : https://www.uoc.edu/en/studies/doctorate...management )
- Prague University of Economics and Business DBA for Euro15k (link : https://fba.vse.cz/students/doctoral-stu...ration-dba )

Hi. 

I did not specifically compare with either of these programs, though I did investigate over a dozen different institutions to some extent or another. I had no interest in a 3-5 year Ph.D. I felt more comfortable with the American schools as their systems and operations seemed more familiar.  Big factors for Edgewood were that it felt like an excellent fit based on my needs, and while it is still under accreditation approval, it seems pretty sure that it will come through, and once it does, it will be regional. The people I talked with were always very good about answering questions, and trust me I threw scads of them their way. 

S

[lidel]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick progress update on the UpGrad/Edgewood DBA program. The cohort officially starts in two days. 

About Dec 10th, UpGrad contacted me to set up an orientation and onboarding meeting for the program. Shortly after, the wheels completely left the cart in every way possible. 

There were issues ranging from inconvenient meeting times (2 am my time), last-minute cancellations and rescheduling from UpGrad, unresponsive emails, and unanswered queries. At one point I was even questioning if the person receiving my emails was reading them before responding, they seemed to completely disregard any input or questions. 

This gong show resulted in a couple of support tickets and a chain of something like 20 e-mails getting escalated before I was finally able to get them to send me the meeting summary in a two-page pdf, which truthfully would have been far more appropriate in the first place.

UpGrad got back to me yesterday with reasoning for the communication breakdown; Long story short, my newly appointed "Single Point of Contact" had a personal emergency and left my file with a staff member who was not fully trained on procedures. They have assured me that this is not normal for their team. I don't 100% believe them, but I'm pretty sure that once the course starts, their involvement will be minimal. 

I'd give them a failing grade on the whole onboarding process.

Fingers crossed that the experience improves from here.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays.

S

[GameSlinger]

 

I'd give them a failing grade on the whole onboarding process.

Fingers crossed that the experience improves from here.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays.

S

Thanks for the updates. Please keep us informed as you work your way through the program. This is one of the doctorates that I have been looking at so your input is appreciated.

[lidel]

Hey all.

Hot off the press, some good news I wanted to share. I received this email from Edgewood College a few minutes ago;

Join Edgewood College in celebrating our Doctorate in Business Administration degree's Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation achievement!  The DBA program now joins our list of long-standing programs in accreditation. 

The website isn't even updated yet so I imagine this was just confirmed.

Woo!! 

S