American Military University : BA in History Reviews

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Anonymous (In Progress) on August 17, 2011 (email verified)

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Just some thoughts Just observations, not complaints. It would appear that AMU has set itself up as the defacto university for the Military. The costs are very affordable, there are many policies in place that support a service lifestyle and all that entails. In that respect AMU is very good. Shortly into my degree, I noticed that despite the words, some of the instructors aren't that engaged. This maybe due to them holding down day jobs and working for AMU in the evenings? If so, that's understandable. This might be a personality type thing but it seemed to be a theme I encountered more and more. Also, the tests aren't proctored and, in some cases, not timed. This tends to make them ineffective as far as testing knowledge. I'm not griping, I'm just making observations that some others might find important when looking at online education. Just to summarize: The price is right, the offerings are substantial, the reputation is constantly building and, the staff and faculty do appear interested in the individual's success.

Anonymous (In Progress) on January 26, 2010 (email verified)

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Current Student I am currently enrolled in AMU in there B.A. in History degree. I have attended a "Brick and Mortar" college in the past. Keeping those points short, I can continue to my current experience with this University. I have had a couple of problems with AMU, none too dissimilar from those who posted negative comments here. I have taken 5 classes and withdrew from my 6th course. Within the first five courses there were a few issues that arose that were aggravating but none that were real "deal-breakers" for me. The first course (COLL100) was one that I initially felt I did not need to take. I am 35 years old, have attended college before, and have been doing online research for years; taking this course seemed to be a waste of time for me. However, once I put my ego aside and committed to the course, I found it actually very informative. Granted, from an academic learning standpoint, it was useless, but I did learn how to assess my learning habits and it helped me develop a routine for successfully navigating my online learning experience. I did take issue with one instructor for his lack of activity in the Discussion Boards but my grade was not effected because of this. I actually ended up having quite a discussion with him (course related) through emails. I did have one instructor who's computer did not meet the schools minimum technical requirements and, thus, had to adapt my assignments to formats that met the instructor's computer capabilities. These were aggravations, but did not I did not hold the school responsible for this. The materials in these courses has been challenging and assignments have been, overall, demanding. The sixth course (the one I withdrew from) was an entirely different "beast". The instructor set very high demands on grammar and format, yet her syllabus and online writing was atrocious. As a student, I was informed that I would be marked down one point for every grammatical and format error, yet she did not seem to hold herself to the same standard. The class also had "weird" deadlines that were very different from my previous classes. We had assignment deadlines on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday with some assignments to be turned in on a Monday following "X" week. The schedule she laid out would put me in front of the computer just about everyday and, I felt, this was a bit too demanding. So I dropped the class and will take it under a different instructor at a later time. I really do not feel that I would have any different experience with any other college. Overall, I am satisfied with the materials and the school. I agree there is definite room for improvement, but that seems to be consistent with every school I have researched. The price of this school and my overall experience (so far) is the reason that I recommend this school to friends. Thanks J.D. Current Student

Anonymous (Graduate) on September 2, 2009 (email verified)

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AA Real Estate Mgmt While I agree with the one review of '5th grade' level education from a conceptual point, I disagree with his overall review. The faculty do not have the pleasure of adjusting their syllabus, therefor the responsibility to adjust workload/tests/etc falls on the curriculum developers. He is right in regards to the tests, and I laughed at the comments about discussion boards because I can relate. I also agree that a placement exam MUST be instituted for all online schools (currently there are almmost none). This would weed out students who are simply not cut out for higher education - and yes, there is such a thing. However, I do not think this makes the school any less valuable. Many of the shortfalls experienced at AMU can be found in nearly all schools (including brick and mortar). From sport jocks forced through despite lack of ability to inept teachers. There are likewise many classes that are 'easy' at such schools. I would however prefer to see final papers for classes rather than open book exams which assess nothing other than my ability to read. All in all, AMU is one of the best online schools, and a decent school all together.

Anonymous (In Progress) on August 23, 2009

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It’s true! AMU is not entirely a diploma mill. At first I thought the complainers here were just idiots who couldn’t follow the school’s policies and procedures. But after completing 6 classes I began to realize how overrated the education really is at AMU. The instructors provided simple, cookie-cutter questions that any average 5th grader could answer. Of the 15 books that were assigned for my classes, I never cracked one open and yet I received an ‘A’ in 5 of my classes. The mid-term and final exams were never proctored and the instructors never gave less than a week to complete the exams. Even more surprising, my assignments were never adequately addressed; my personal feedback seemed very general and could’ve been written for any student. Though many of the instructors are experts in their fields, it seems they hold primary jobs at brick & mortar schools and work here for extra income. For those who disagree, just do a little research. Unfortunately, because placement testing is not required for enrollment at AMU, I would say that over half of the students I encountered couldn’t string more than two grammatical sentences. As part of the standard workload, students are required each week to answer Discussion Board questions and in turn respond to their classmates’ work. It was very frustrating at times to co-exist with students who have little or no basic analytical skills. Could AMU improve its education system? Sure, especially if AMU itself believed that “education is what you put into it.” If AMU delivered both asynchronous and synchronous learning, then perhaps the bar could be raised. Some possible improvements: mandatory placement testing; web conferencing tools to help build better communities (live meetings, face to face); pre-recorded video lectures on all classes; ALL exams to be proctored and timed (no open books). Otherwise it’s too easy to attain a 4.0 GPA and hard not to feel guilty about it later. Before I transferred with an A.A degree, I had some experience with online classes at a community college, but those classes required proctored exams and only 3 hours to complete – not all week with an open book. For obvious reasons, I cannot recommend AMU as a means of gaining a higher education. I understand this institution is regionally accredited, but what is accreditation without quality education? It’s a no-brainer.

Wcedmiston (In Progress) on March 19, 2009

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Great School This school is great. I took classes well deployed to OIF and they were both outstanding. The instructors are great and very understanding to the military lifestyle. Also, if you go on thier website and read the instructor's credentials, they are on par with any brick and mortar university and many are proffesors at other top schools. The system is user friendly and forces you to learn. No class is easy, and I always learn. Would reccomend to anyone. The staff is very helpful and the book grant is GREAT. Alot of online schools are more concerned about getting your money than getting you an education. AMU has shown me that they do care about the student and learning.

Gunslinger2130 (In Progress) on January 3, 2009 (email verified)

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Great Experience I strongly recomend AMU. I have had nothing but positive experiences there. I cannot speak to the finance department as some others have complained about here, but for military students there is no better bet. AMU has been helpful with any situation I have had come up and the classes put forth some great knowledge I am happy to have. When I signed up for a sociology class toward the begining of my degree I thought I could BS my way through the class. Not true. I had to put out a lot of effort but in return I learned a ton of information. The prices fall in line with military TA, however if they were a little cheaper you could take more classes per fiscal year, but if the military gave us more money we could take more classes as well. That is certainly not a fault of the University, after all every college needs to make money. Several people have had negative things to about the Intro. to online learning class. While I was an adult learner and already had a good idea of how to learn, this class was interesting to me, it put some new ideas out there I hadn't thought of before. Overall a great school with much to offer.

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