Jack Welch Institute

[Prloko]

My understanding is that the federal government doesn't care about prestige, so a Strayer degree is just as good as any other degree. If the person hiring you has the same alma mater, then that is a different story. I wouldn't attend Strayer with the hopes that a hiring manager at one agency will hire me. If the federal government does care about prestige, you admitted that Strayer is not considered prestigious. Many other cheaper universities have a "fair" reputation. The deputy director probably could have gotten his position with a degree from Podunk State U.

Your comment is confusing, but I'll try to answer it the way I understand it.

Strayer is actually pretty popular in the area, and yes, people from the same schol DO network and help each other. Also, yes, to the FED, a degree is a qualifier, but when a hiring manager has to pick 3-5 people to interview from 30 people that have been referred, they will look at the degree type and where it was conferred, that is human bias. You state that many other cheaper universities have a fair reputation, but students do not only look at cost.

You seem to only base your education based on cost, where students in this area have other factors that they look into. Some students do not want to take the GRE/GMAT, or take placement tests, some students want the hand holding a Strayer provides, some students prefer to go to in person classes and live next to a Strayer location, providing flexibility and convenience. I would dare to say that in the area, Strayer has a BETTER reputation than our alma mater, TESC.

Finally, the schools I mentioned, were TOP schools in the area, these schools are incredibly expensive, difficult to get in, and take much longer to complete. Strayer provides a service for students who cannot get into one of those schools.

As far as the deputy director attending Podunk State as you say, that is basically an impossible thing to assume. Its possible, if he would have chosen another route, he would still be doing his MBA and would be not have had the opportunities, maybe not. My point was, that there IS value in getting an education from Strayer.

Cheaper is not always the best choice. We shouldn't be such snobs.

[rebel100]

I don't want to speak for Sanantone, she can do that fine for herself but I don't think her argument is that cheaper is better. Steve gets mad when I say this, but Strayer has a reputation in some circles as a "predatory" system. Like many of the for profits they key the cost against available aid and publicly guaranteed loans. This tilts the financial aid incentives toward the bottom line. The issue is not that they are "for profit", that's actually an arguable plus, but rather that they succeed by gaming the system instead of providing a better mouse trap. I think you have a point that an alumni network can hold great value and I'm certain there are places that have some predilection for Strayer grads....the flip side is folks like me who hold a strong bias against it. My opinion, and it's just that, an opinion, is that you would be far better of gaining credentials from an affordable venue that no one has ever heard of than going into debt while gaining a credential from a school tied to unsavory practices.

I don't really have a problem with graduates from these schools. UofP (I see Strayer in similar light) is popular with nurses and I don't think a credential from there should be held against the recipient....I usually find sincere dissatisfaction among those grads when they speak of their severe debt however. It is not snobbery to point out the negatives from a particular educational path. I considered the potential negatives of gaining my degree through COSC before I did it, I found the potential draw backs outweighed by the positives. I have lost the chance for employment from at least one job due to the online nature of the COSC program...yet I've also seen a promotion and found entry into a masters program with that BS, plus it cost me exactly nothing out of pocket to gain.

When reviewing applications I struggle to remember that I don't know everything about each candidates circumstances. I try to keep an open mind and I do agree that having a degree from the likes of Strayer is maybe better than no degree at all...but its a tough factor to overcome for me. Jack Welch is a business school....you would think that the risk/reward ratio would be a top consideration, sadly I think it is not.

[SteveFoerster]

Steve gets mad when I say this, but Strayer has a reputation in some circles as a "predatory" system.

Heh, Sanantone's not the only one one who can speak for herself. I don't get mad about differing opinions, I just offer a countervailing opinion when I think it's warranted.

In this case, my opinion isn't 100% the opposite of yours. Like you, I think it's too expensive, especially since it obviously doesn't a reputation in the D.C. area as high as George Mason, Georgetown, GW, Catholic, American, or UMD. But I also understand that which university is the right choice is inherently an individual decision, and Prloko is right that for some people there are circumstances where Strayer shouldn't be summarily crossed off. More importantly, those who would be disinclined to hire a Strayer student from thinking their choice shows they're not good decision makers, are themselves engaging in poor decision making by not considering those what individual reasons those candidates may have had for choosing the school, making it not only an error, but a hypocritical one.

[rebel100]

Heh, Sanantone's not the only one one who can speak for herself. I don't get mad about differing opinions, I just offer a countervailing opinion when I think it's warranted.

In this case, my opinion isn't 100% the opposite of yours. Like you, I think it's too expensive, especially since it obviously doesn't a reputation in the D.C. area as high as George Mason, Georgetown, GW, Catholic, American, or UMD. But I also understand that which university is the right choice is inherently an individual decision, and Prloko is right that for some people there are circumstances where Strayer shouldn't be summarily crossed off. More importantly, those who would be disinclined to hire a Strayer student from thinking their choice shows they're not good decision makers, are themselves engaging in poor decision making by not considering those what individual reasons those candidates may have had for choosing the school, making it not only an error, but a hypocritical one.

Touche' and I have been forced to scale my thinking. I am surrounded by UoP grads as I mentioned, some quite capable. My capstone MBA team project included a UoP grad who worked tirelessly to execute which helped everyone on the team graduate. She was genuinley sharp....and she never stopped bitching about what a poor financially crippling choice she had made. If Jack Welch and Strayer are the right choice so be it...but understand the choice you make.

BTW, I wasn't putting words in your mouth so much as acknowledging that you and I have a difference of opinion on the matter.

[sanantone]

Your comment is confusing, but I'll try to answer it the way I understand it.

Strayer is actually pretty popular in the area, and yes, people from the same schol DO network and help each other. Also, yes, to the FED, a degree is a qualifier, but when a hiring manager has to pick 3-5 people to interview from 30 people that have been referred, they will look at the degree type and where it was conferred, that is human bias. You state that many other cheaper universities have a fair reputation, but students do not only look at cost.

You seem to only base your education based on cost, where students in this area have other factors that they look into. Some students do not want to take the GRE/GMAT, or take placement tests, some students want the hand holding a Strayer provides, some students prefer to go to in person classes and live next to a Strayer location, providing flexibility and convenience. I would dare to say that in the area, Strayer has a BETTER reputation than our alma mater, TESC.

Finally, the schools I mentioned, were TOP schools in the area, these schools are incredibly expensive, difficult to get in, and take much longer to complete. Strayer provides a service for students who cannot get into one of those schools.

As far as the deputy director attending Podunk State as you say, that is basically an impossible thing to assume. Its possible, if he would have chosen another route, he would still be doing his MBA and would be not have had the opportunities, maybe not. My point was, that there IS value in getting an education from Strayer.

Cheaper is not always the best choice. We shouldn't be such snobs.

You don't know if the deputy director got his job because of Strayer either. There are other things that are more important to the Feds like experience and military service. Cost is not the only factor I'm considering. I'm considering ROI. Like Rebel100, I would expect any business student to know about ROI and consider it. With Strayer's reputation and mediocre academic offerings, I don't see it being worth the cost. If someone wants to advance to management and executive positions and needs the hand-holding Strayer provides, then I don't even know what to say to that.

There are almost always better options. APUS may not have campuses, but it is much cheaper than Strayer and has a decent reputation across the public sector. They also don't require the GRE or GMAT and have ACBSP accreditation. The school where I got my master's degree has a good reputation with the Air Force since their professors teach at the intelligence school in San Angelo. I'm sure if I looked around the DMV area, I could find something better.

I've attended two for-profit colleges and taught at one. I'm not saying they are all the same, but the ones I've dealt with aren't even close to being the worst officers and I've witnessed their predatory practices. If I'm going to attend an unranked for-profit college, then I'm going to choose the cheapest one. There might be some value in attending Strayer (there usually is a little value in attending any accredited school), but there could be even more value in attending a different school.

[cardiacclep]

This has been around for a while now and is essentially Strayer licensing Jack Welch's name for profit. It isn't cheap, and the program's reputation doesn't hold a candle to the (expensive) elite online MBA programs offered by Kelley, Kenan-Flagler and Tepper or even to the "best of the rest" online MBAs. Considering that you could get an online MBA from the likes of Isenberg as an out-of-state student for cheaper, I can't see this program being a good investment. Why go to a for-profit when there are plenty of respectable state schools offering better, AACSB accredited programs for less?

I have to agree. The $39,000 price tag is not worth it. For MBA go to the best or find the cheapest.