Some Master’s Degrees Are the Second Biggest Scam in Higher Education

[sanantone]

I don’t think certificates are scams or rip offs if they are for credit  and can be applied to a masters program. I would consider one this way as a quick way to get some marketable skills along the way to completing a masters. A certificate can be earned in usually 12 credits, then Throw it on your resume and continue working toward the 30 credit masters. I don’t think that is worthless at all and I certainly don’t see why it wouldn’t hold any value with employers.

I think the OP might have been talking about non-credit certificate programs. That's what he linked to. I've noticed that the Ivy Plus and Public Ivies market these expensive, non-credit certificate programs a lot.

[LevelUP]

The article can be a bit confusing as they are talking about 3 separate issues.

Issues
1. Some master's degrees, such as MFA's are overpriced and have poor outcomes.

2. Certificates and other types of non-degree online offerings from colleges provide no value to a person's resume, are overpriced, and often use poor-quality OPMs to deliver the material.

3. The trend is that elite colleges use their brand names to partner with OPMs to offer low-quality and overpriced online master's degrees.

You can do the math to see if it's worth to get a college degree
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...d-Find-Out

You are better off getting industry-recognized certifications than spending $3k-$25k doing various non-degree programs at these colleges. Often the education is sub-par with what you can find elsewhere. Employers aren't going to place much value on non-degree certs and other stuff from these colleges.

TESU, for example, offers certifications for free. You can use your free electives to take these courses, and students do these certifications because they are interested in the subject and to boost their skills. Though employers may not care much about these certifications on a resume, in this case, there is some value to students in taking these certifications. So in certain cases, it may be ok.

The article isn't calling the colleges themselves scams but instead says that some non-degree offerings are deceptive. They also highlight the trend of opening up the floodgates of the elite colleges offering online master's degrees.

[MrPanda]

Maybe one of these kind of certs could be what you were talking about?

https://online1.gsb.columbia.edu/chief-m...University

USD$ 28,000 for a 9 months non-credit cert from Emeritus & Columbia Business School.

https://emeritus.org/universities/columb...ess-school

[aslhou]

Maybe one of these kind of certs could be what you were talking about?

https://online1.gsb.columbia.edu/chief-m...University

USD$ 28,000 for a 9 months non-credit cert from Emeritus & Columbia Business School.

https://emeritus.org/universities/columb...ess-school

That particular program is not a scam, nor are any of the Columbia programs leading to a CIBE (certificate in business excellence).
You get Columbia GSB alumni status including being listed in their alumni directory, ability to join local GSB clubs, and a lifetime columbia.edu forwarding email.
I'm actually completing mine right now 
You can also get 25% off each course (if you do the 9 courses instead of the single program) by using an MBA graduate's discount, or my discount once I have completed the program in late April.
I get that $16-17k for a certificate is a rip-off, but it's by far the cheapest Ivy League alumni status program.

[LevelUP]

Maybe one of these kind of certs could be what you were talking about?

https://online1.gsb.columbia.edu/chief-m...University

USD$ 28,000 for a 9 months non-credit cert from Emeritus & Columbia Business School.

https://emeritus.org/universities/columb...ess-school

Keep in mind I didn't write these articles, so don't shoot the messenger.  Lolz.

The article referred to "some" Masters degrees being scams, but not all of them.

I look at things from a personal finance perspective so I'm basis on the ROI.

If certificate programs don't offer value, according to most employers, then it would be hard to get any ROI from buying these programs.

Ivy League Programs
https://www.gradreports.com/trends-insig...-price-tag

Maybe one of these kind of certs could be what you were talking about?

https://online1.gsb.columbia.edu/chief-m...University

USD$ 28,000 for a 9 months non-credit cert from Emeritus & Columbia Business School.

https://emeritus.org/universities/columb...ess-school

That particular program is not a scam, nor are any of the Columbia programs leading to a CIBE (certificate in business excellence).
You get Columbia GSB alumni status including being listed in their alumni directory, ability to join local GSB clubs, and a lifetime columbia.edu forwarding email.
I'm actually completing mine right now 
You can also get 25% off each course (if you do the 9 courses instead of the single program) by using an MBA graduate's discount, or my discount once I have completed the program in late April.
I get that $16-17k for a certificate is a rip-off, but it's by far the cheapest Ivy League alumni status program.

These things are up for debate, that's why we are talking about them.

What is the value of Ivy League alumni status?

Would some Ivy League schools take advantage of that status by pushing high-priced programs to students?

What happens to the overall value of the alumni if more people are let in and the bar to get in is low?

[cardiacclep]

These scams include Ivey League colleges and other elite universities.

In 2019, Carey took a long, dispiriting look at the rise of so-called online program managers, or OPMs—the private companies like 2U that major universities from Yale to small schools like Oregon’s Concordia University use to build their online offerings. These companies design and operate courses on behalf of schools—sometimes essentially offering a class in a box—that the university can slap its branding on. The OPM then takes as much as 70 percent of tuition revenue. That money is largely being funded with government loans, which may never be paid back.

So to the extent that you’re selling selectivity (bachelor's degree), you actually have to back it up with data, whereas, in the master’s degree market, you can call almost anything a master’s degree.

I think, an enormous temptation for institutions that have very attractive brand names, that are attractive in no insignificant part because their undergraduate programs are very selective, to open up the floodgates on the master’s side and pay no penalty in the market because people don’t know they’re doing it.

Some Master’s Degrees Are the Second Biggest Scam in Higher Education
https://slate.com/business/2021/07/maste...th-it.html

#1 Biggest Scam is certificates
There are certificate programs for various things such as Digital marketing, Data Analytics, and so on. These certificate programs' costs can range from 2k to 25k.
https://www.gradreports.com/trends-insig...-price-tag

Why would someone call these programs scams?
1. The university doesn't disclose who made the program, who runs the program, and who is making money from the program. You think you are paying for a premium education from a top school when in reality, you are purchasing something no more valuable than a Udemy course and being run by people that are no different than the ones being offered by fly-by-night schools.

2. They often let anyone take these programs and are not selective at all.

3. Certificate programs add no value to someone's resume, as employers don't care about these programs. 

Lessons Learned
Be careful chasing status from these elite universities, be aware of what you are buying, and what value you will get from it.

But many of the same universities would reject a third party like Straighterline for gen ed courses. The higher ed hypocrisy is maddening. Higher ed is a big slowly (maybe rapidly) imploding mess.

[aslhou]

>>These things are up for debate, that's why we are talking about them.

What is the value of Ivy League alumni status?
-->  Good question.
- For the University of Pennsylvania Wharton programs (GMP, AFP), you get full alumni status at U Penn and also to Wharton.  You get an @wharton.upenn.edu email address, listing in the alumni directory, and ability to join local alumni clubs. This can also be an advantage for your child when applying early decision to U Penn for undergrad... significantly increases their odds, from 6% to more like 35% chance.  Is this worth $70k?  That's up to you.
- For Columbia, the benefits are less, as only graduates of Columbia College and the Fu Engineering school get legacy status for their children.  You do get the benefits I previously mentioned above.

Would some Ivy League schools take advantage of that status by pushing high-priced programs to students?
--> Of course; they know people will pay to get an Ivy on their LinkedIn.  It also helps for management positions, especially if you don't have an undergrad degree (some of these programs do not require having an undergraduate degree to attend).

What happens to the overall value of the alumni if more people are let in and the bar to get in is low?
--> Generally these programs are so expensive that most everyone is sponsored by their employer to attend.  This means you are already an executive or highly respected by your organization.  Therefore, it does not lesson the value of their brand.
For example, I had bank CEOs and many senior professionals (partners, directors, VPs, etc.) in the programs I attended at Columbia.  Generally these are people already in the field, perhaps top of their field, looking for insights into how to improve their performance or scope at work.

Any other value that wasn't mentioned?
I was in a Columbia ESG (environmental social and governance) class that just completed.  The professor was a Harvard graduate and a Managing Director  of a large non-profit portfolio; she is in the vanguard of ESG investing.  We were asked to provide guidance for implementing ESG actions for a handful of target companies (each group was assigned a different company, and their executives would be on our presentation call).  These companies tended to take the advice presented by the students.  The executive from Wharton (one of the non-profits we were assigned) said he hired someone from the last class and that she has been a star performer.  Where else can you get this type of opportunity or exposure from an online course?

If you aren't interested in networking with executives, changing jobs, or growing your network, this type of program may not be for you.

Why did I do this Certificate program?
- Work wouldn't pay for the U Penn Wharton program ($70k).
- I got into an actual U Penn online masters (MCIT) but it's $32k and I'd only be able to take 2 classes a year with my tuition reimbursement.  Too much time and too much work.
If you're self paying, the U Penn MCIT would be a better value since it's an actual Masters degree.  It has around 10% acceptance rate though, so it's not a guarantee unlike many certificate programs.  Also, it was $25k and they jacked it up to $32k making it seem like less of a bargain.

---

Allow me to add some additional context.

In undergrad, I had a sub-par GPA in business (3.26).  My work agreed to pay for a Stanford academic certificate, so I did that remotely and got a 4.0 in 6 courses.  These were with actual Stanford Masters and PhD students and were absolutely brutal.
3 of these courses transferred into my MBA at Texas A&M Commerce and I was able to finish the MBA in essentially 6 months.
The graduate work (4.0) helped me get into the University of Pennsylvania Masters program, both due to the strength of the school(s) and my GPA in graduate school.  I don't believe I would've been accepted without the graduate certificate and or MBA.

So academic certificates can be quite useful to bolster your masters applications to compensate for a low undergraduate GPA.
Also, having a graduate certificate from a school like Stanford can open many doors.  I was offered a position as a (high frequency) trader at another company soon after completing the program.

---

I don’t think certificates are scams or rip offs if they are for credit  and can be applied to a masters program. I would consider one this way as a quick way to get some marketable skills along the way to completing a masters. A certificate can be earned in usually 12 credits, then Throw it on your resume and continue working toward the 30 credit masters. I don’t think that is worthless at all and I certainly don’t see why it wouldn’t hold any value with employers.

I think the OP might have been talking about non-credit certificate programs. That's what he linked to. I've noticed that the Ivy Plus and Public Ivies market these expensive, non-credit certificate programs a lot.

Note that some EdX and Coursera certificates are non-credit but they also count for credit for certain Masters programs.  These are a nice, lower cost option if you intend to use the credits for one of the mentioned Masters degrees.
MIT has a MicroMasters ($1350) in Data Science and Statistics https://www.edx.org/micromasters/mitx-st...ta-science that transfers 4 courses (worth $12.4k) into a Harvard Extension Masters in Finance.
I took one of the Georgia Tech OMCS courses in the Analytics concentration from EdX.  Unfortunately the course could not be used for credit outside of Georgia Tech....  but if I wanted to do the Georgia Tech masters it was a great deal.

[Harry101]

Think this is the article LevelUp was referencing in his original post, it was published by Wall Street Journal;
https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-fancy-...1657126489
..it is a good article, and yes a lot of online "degree" offering companies are misleading and (ab)using the current lack of regulation in this department to confuse costumers/students.

This is just a small tid bit if people can not open the article, but i think it answers alot of the questions i saw in the thread;
"A spokeswoman for the University of Oregon said that it provides administrative oversight and that the partnership with 2U is noted in several places on the website and in its enrollment agreement. After The Wall Street Journal asked about disclosures in April, a line was added to the top of the boot camp landing page saying “in partnership with Trilogy Education Services, a 2U, Inc. brand.”

2U, which isn’t accredited as a university, kept 80% of the tuition from the University of Oregon program, according to its contract with the university, which the Journal reviewed. The university said its 20% share was about $600,000 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021.

The U.S. Department of Education set the stage for a boom in this “ed tech” industry in 2011. It issued guidance permitting universities to share tuition revenue with for-profit vendors that provide a range of services, including student recruitment. The law still prohibits paying bonuses or commissions to recruiters for securing enrollments.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in a May report, said at least 550 colleges and universities have hired vendors for online programs. At least 25 for-profit companies now are in the business of setting up online programs for universities and recruiting students to fill them, an industry with global revenue of an estimated $8 billion last year, according to the market-research firm Holon IQ. The companies have found willing university partners and an open faucet of federal and private student loans.

Universities, facing declining enrollment and cutbacks in funding, have looked to online programs as a way to generate revenue by reaching new audiences, including working adults. The promise of such programs became evident at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when many schools were forced to move classes online. Schools often set tuition and fees equal to or even greater than for in-person programs."

"“When I saw it was at UCF, I thought, ‘This is awesome. This is legit,’ ” Mr. Moore said.

The university sent him a list of student-loan lenders. He obtained a private loan to cover the $11,995 tuition.

Not until the second day of class did Mr. Moore understand that all instruction and curriculum were provided by 2U, not university faculty. In signing up, he hadn’t noticed a disclosure on the website saying UCF was working “in partnership with Trilogy Education Services, a 2U, Inc. brand.”

The website described Trilogy as a “workforce accelerator.”

Mr. Moore said that even if he had seen the disclosure, he wouldn’t have understood the role Trilogy played. “This is a Trilogy program with a pretty university facade,” he said.

Mr. Moore said the course didn’t teach him the skills he needed to become a software developer. He said he has been job hunting for more than a year while making $280 monthly payments on his five-year student loan at 10% interest."

..be careful everyone.

[aslhou]

Yes the developer bootcamps are costly and potentially 100% outsourced with no relation to the University.
However, they average around $12k no matter where you attend.
If you can land a $90-110k/year job after attending, then it was a good deal.

I know the big banks have programs to recruit people from these programs, but you have to be a (on paper) good coder during an assessment and also productive during a very long hackathon.

In summary, the EdX MicroMasters and Coursera MasterTrack programs offer the best value and ability to apply credits to a Masters degree.
Next are graduate certificates from top tier schools, although these are quite pricey, often $2.5k-4k per class.
Finally, the non-credit courses at Ivy-Plus Universities are relatively low value compared to graduate level certificates, apart from (potentially) providing some form of networking and/or alumni status.