Hellenic American University MBA: Overview of $3K RA MBA

[newdegree]

I am down to my last three classes, I will let ya know how the capstone goes. Hoping to finish by June/July.

That’s awesome !  When did u start ?

June 7 based on their previous post (which is just above the one you quoted): https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid334220

Oops.     I scrolled and scrolled. And it was right under my nose. 1 year. That’s great.

Correct I transferred in 9 credits also some semesters I took three courses in two terms (spring term 1 and spring term 2)

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It's a small school they can't offer too much on the budget they are on plus tuition at 3k for a regionally accredited program is like taking an MBA at a local small state college. These classes are 7 weeks long and kind of self-paced in a way. You are not required for most classes to attend live zoom meetings which is a plus. Instructors do respond to emails, phone calls, and messages but most of them are part-time.

You can't get an MBA at any state school in my state. Not possible. In state tuition is $625 per MBA credit plus fees at a nearby 4 state school. And it's 36-57 credits. Yikes.

In New York it's still much more expensive at CUNY or SUNY

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I had planned to enroll in this program, but they simply refused to answer any questions until I paid them money (to a random Venmo).  I know lots of people here have been happy with them,  but I just didn't get why it was so hard to answer basic items.  Every time I asked them something like "when is registration, what courses will I take, etc' it was always- "You'll learn about that after your tuition is paid."  Just really left a bad taste in my mouth

This is sort of what I meant about the administrative support. (As far as I know, in my opinion) they have no real computer system for all these things. Registration is done by the advisor, who in my case at least, is the Dean. Not all courses are offered each term, so it's not 100% a clear path to degree completion from start to finish. Everything is a bit more lax and manual and people wear a lot of different hats, as opposed to a larger/more traditional school. Like I said, it's noticeable to me, but its acceptable for the price.

EDIT: To be clear, these are all valid concerns and criticisms. Them being small is the reason for these things, not an excuse, and it's entirely valid that you don't want to deal with them because of it.

You are correct not every class is offered every term but if you are close to graduation you can send over an email to the dean the semester before and midway through your second courses before your last term to remind them and they will attempt to accommodate you by having those classes available or assigning a professor to teach those courses. They work really hard to ensure each student is on track even if you have to take a 15-week course online offered by their Greece campus. I am sure they have a real computer system for everything but choose to go through each student on an individual basis to ensure they speak to their assigned advisor. Mine was the dean but others have had other faculty members. I feel this is one for communication purposes through phone calls or email. In a small university, many people wear many hats which is fine but let's remember they do hold the accreditation standards needed to continue to stand with the work output they are providing to students. I am not saying this is a perfect university but they do a good job in my opinion and for the price, we can't complain about much. If someone is unhappy they can always transfer out and apply to another school that can fit their needs.

---

I'm finishing my first class this week: BUS526, Marketing Management. It actually turned out to have 10 students, and we did group projects instead of individual assignments. I lucked out and got a really good team who carried me, including someone from degreeforum. The instructor was great, the course content was fine but not exactly inspired, and the surrounding administrative support... not the greatest, but you get what you pay for, which I'm fine with. So far I'm happy with my decision to go for the MBA at HAU.

I'm the other degreeforum member who started with Flelm. I agree with everything that he said, with the exception of his team carrying him, it truly was a group effort and we all did our parts. I find that the educational side of things is going well, the instructor was great, and I feel like I have learned a heck of a lot in this first class. The professor, Dean, office staff etc have all been reasonably responsive and very friendly. I struggle a bit with the Blackboard Learning interface, it does the job but it feels very dated and clunky. It is what it is as I imagine it's one of the least expensive online learning platforms and it helps them keep the costs down. No regrets and I feel like I'm getting a phenomenal deal for what the program costs. Onwards to course #2!!

S

I must say Blackboard is much better than Moodle I used at my other institution. Maybe the blackboard needs updating? I feel it is simple to use.

[Flelm]

I am not saying this is a perfect university but they do a good job in my opinion and for the price, we can't complain about much. If someone is unhappy they can always transfer out and apply to another school that can fit their needs.

I'm sorry to pick on you, but this is a refrain I hear over and over again on this board, from many people, for many different programs. People can absolutely complain and criticize for whatever reason they want. The only way to have real feedback and discourse is to allow criticism. By dismissing valid criticism out of hand just because "They're cheap and small, what do you expect" we're doing a disservice to new people that want to hear all sides of an issue.

[lidel]

I am down to my last three classes, I will let ya know how the capstone goes. Hoping to finish by June/July.

That’s awesome !  When did u start ?

June 7 based on their previous post (which is just above the one you quoted): https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid334220

Oops.     I scrolled and scrolled. And it was right under my nose. 1 year. That’s great.

Correct I transferred in 9 credits also some semesters I took three courses in two terms (spring term 1 and spring term 2)

---

It's a small school they can't offer too much on the budget they are on plus tuition at 3k for a regionally accredited program is like taking an MBA at a local small state college. These classes are 7 weeks long and kind of self-paced in a way. You are not required for most classes to attend live zoom meetings which is a plus. Instructors do respond to emails, phone calls, and messages but most of them are part-time.

You can't get an MBA at any state school in my state. Not possible. In state tuition is $625 per MBA credit plus fees at a nearby 4 state school. And it's 36-57 credits. Yikes.

In New York it's still much more expensive at CUNY or SUNY

---

I had planned to enroll in this program, but they simply refused to answer any questions until I paid them money (to a random Venmo).  I know lots of people here have been happy with them,  but I just didn't get why it was so hard to answer basic items.  Every time I asked them something like "when is registration, what courses will I take, etc' it was always- "You'll learn about that after your tuition is paid."  Just really left a bad taste in my mouth

This is sort of what I meant about the administrative support. (As far as I know, in my opinion) they have no real computer system for all these things. Registration is done by the advisor, who in my case at least, is the Dean. Not all courses are offered each term, so it's not 100% a clear path to degree completion from start to finish. Everything is a bit more lax and manual and people wear a lot of different hats, as opposed to a larger/more traditional school. Like I said, it's noticeable to me, but its acceptable for the price.

EDIT: To be clear, these are all valid concerns and criticisms. Them being small is the reason for these things, not an excuse, and it's entirely valid that you don't want to deal with them because of it.

You are correct not every class is offered every term but if you are close to graduation you can send over an email to the dean the semester before and midway through your second courses before your last term to remind them and they will attempt to accommodate you by having those classes available or assigning a professor to teach those courses. They work really hard to ensure each student is on track even if you have to take a 15-week course online offered by their Greece campus. I am sure they have a real computer system for everything but choose to go through each student on an individual basis to ensure they speak to their assigned advisor. Mine was the dean but others have had other faculty members. I feel this is one for communication purposes through phone calls or email. In a small university, many people wear many hats which is fine but let's remember they do hold the accreditation standards needed to continue to stand with the work output they are providing to students. I am not saying this is a perfect university but they do a good job in my opinion and for the price, we can't complain about much. If someone is unhappy they can always transfer out and apply to another school that can fit their needs.

---

I'm finishing my first class this week: BUS526, Marketing Management. It actually turned out to have 10 students, and we did group projects instead of individual assignments. I lucked out and got a really good team who carried me, including someone from degreeforum. The instructor was great, the course content was fine but not exactly inspired, and the surrounding administrative support... not the greatest, but you get what you pay for, which I'm fine with. So far I'm happy with my decision to go for the MBA at HAU.

I'm the other degreeforum member who started with Flelm. I agree with everything that he said, with the exception of his team carrying him, it truly was a group effort and we all did our parts. I find that the educational side of things is going well, the instructor was great, and I feel like I have learned a heck of a lot in this first class. The professor, Dean, office staff etc have all been reasonably responsive and very friendly. I struggle a bit with the Blackboard Learning interface, it does the job but it feels very dated and clunky. It is what it is as I imagine it's one of the least expensive online learning platforms and it helps them keep the costs down. No regrets and I feel like I'm getting a phenomenal deal for what the program costs. Onwards to course #2!!

S

I must say Blackboard is much better than Moodle I used at my other institution. Maybe the blackboard needs updating? I feel it is simple to use.

I have no experience with Moodle and have only ever used the UMPI interface previous to this. The UMPI dashboard was nothing fancy but seemed more modern overall. Blackboard gets the job done and for the most part, is simple, but the user interface is not super intuitive. It reminds me of those specialty programs that places like banks use that all look like they were created in 2002. Not a harsh complaint by any means, it works, but yes it does feel like it needs an update.

S

[Vle045]

I think education programs are a mixed bag at best.

I know it’s not exactly the same thing, although maybe similar… but I have worked in two different k-12 programs on the administrative side. One looked like it’s a DOS program. I felt like I was back in the 90’s. The parent/student side is pretty basic. The staff side looks like it’s running on a Tandy 1000. But it is EXTREMELY well made for all the reports that you need to remain compliant with state reporting. I could export sheets for pretty much anything I wanted to know. Now, I am working in a whole different program. It looks really pretty. The parent/student side is beautiful. But building reports is extremely complex and it’s not very intuitive when you want to export out some info. Some days, I wish I was in the old program.

I would imagine a similar experience with some of these college level programs. They might not be super pretty on the student side, but they might be hard to replicate on the administrative side.

[newdegree]

I am not saying this is a perfect university but they do a good job in my opinion and for the price, we can't complain about much. If someone is unhappy they can always transfer out and apply to another school that can fit their needs.

I'm sorry to pick on you, but this is a refrain I hear over and over again on this board, from many people, for many different programs. People can absolutely complain and criticize for whatever reason they want. The only way to have real feedback and discourse is to allow criticism. By dismissing valid criticism out of hand just because "They're cheap and small, what do you expect" we're doing a disservice to new people that want to hear all sides of an issue.

As you stated everyone is entitled to their opinion and criticism of the program. I am just stating it is indeed a small school with a small budget which results in limited resources. All sides of the table should be heard and as I stated there are other options if people are unhappy, they are not stuck with this program being the only option there are thousands of schools they can apply for to fit their needs.

[ss20ts]

The tuition I quoted was a SUNY school. It's for the MBA at SUNY Oswego. I didn't include the fees which are even more ridiculous. 


I must say Blackboard is much better than Moodle I used at my other institution. Maybe the blackboard needs updating? I feel it is simple to use.

[Pats20]

It’s a $3000 MBA program from a regionally accredited school. Take it or leave it for all its faults and glory.

[ss20ts]

I'm sorry to pick on you, but this is a refrain I hear over and over again on this board, from many people, for many different programs. People can absolutely complain and criticize for whatever reason they want. The only way to have real feedback and discourse is to allow criticism. By dismissing valid criticism out of hand just because "They're cheap and small, what do you expect" we're doing a disservice to new people that want to hear all sides of an issue.

You'd be hard pressed to find any university that doesn't have some problem. None are perfect. You have to find whatever works best for you. Transferring is extremely common because we don't know how well of a fit a school or program will be until we're actually taking classes. And yes with inexpensive and small schools you do need to have a great deal of patients and resourcefulness. You need those two attributes in life and work as well.

[Flelm]

I'm sorry to pick on you, but this is a refrain I hear over and over again on this board, from many people, for many different programs. People can absolutely complain and criticize for whatever reason they want. The only way to have real feedback and discourse is to allow criticism. By dismissing valid criticism out of hand just because "They're cheap and small, what do you expect" we're doing a disservice to new people that want to hear all sides of an issue.

You'd be hard pressed to find any university that doesn't have some problem. None are perfect. You have to find whatever works best for you. Transferring is extremely common because we don't know how well of a fit a school or program will be until we're actually taking classes. And yes with inexpensive and small schools you do need to have a great deal of patients and resourcefulness. You need those two attributes in life and work as well.

I think I'm being misunderstood. I'll try to clarify once more.

The specific attitude I'm talking about is "of course ABC program is xyz because of this or that, if you don't like it you don't have to apply/attend/talk about it." I think that specific attitude (which I've mostly seen with ENEB, not to redirect) is what I have a problem with. I feel like valid criticisms are dismissed by zealots as "well if you're not 100% on board it's not for you, so shut up about it."

Maybe it's just me and maybe I'm seeing something that's not there, but that's just my 2 cents.

[Vle045]

Flelm, I 100% agree with you. I see the same thing sometimes.