Ashford University : AA Business Reviews
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on May 7, 2012
(email verified)
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Enjoying my experiences
I am currently in my fifth class here at Ashford University. I keep reading all of these reviews about the financial department, and I think a lot of it is who is your financial adviser. I have not had a single problem with my finances, any questions I have had were all answered either the same day or the next day. I would send a quick e-mail out and would get a call in return. My classes are fairly easy, I do not feel over-stressed about the workload. If you are the not the kind of "do-it yourself" person, then this is not going to be the place for you. As long as you keep up with the reading, discussions, and assignments, then this program really is a breeze. It's all about time management. I also LOVE how military friendly Ashford is. Classes and materials are discounted, which really save a lot of money. My husband and I live off of his income alone, since I am a stay at home mom at the moment, and we don't make a lot of money, so to get that extra help to make school affordable is amazing. I truly have had no bad experiences with any of my advisers or teachers and would sincerely recommend Ashford University.
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Anonymous
(Graduate) on November 8, 2011
(email verified)
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Horrible school
The school is nothing but a business trying to make money. At first they seem helpful, but as soon as they get you in, they only try to line your pockets. I had 41 transferable credits and it taked a couple weeks once you are in to post. They only gave me 5 of these credits, I had only enrolled in the school to complete my AA, but at that rate I am starting over again. They made me take the introductory class I had previously taken through CTU, which is a much better school. After I had realized they were only going to give me 5 credits, I decided to drop the class and go somewhere else, I was only in the second week. They told me I would have to pay $350 to drop out of the $750 for the simple introductory class. I decided to continue the class since I was on tuition assistance and was basically going to the school for free. I would have had to pay the $350 out of pocket or pass the class and have TA pay the entire amount. So I had decided to continue.
On the third week I had completed all of my assignments early (thursday) I did not need to turn in another assignment untill the following thursday. I had logged in monday after turning in the assignments on the previous thrusday to review what I need to turn in on thursday on the fourth week. When I went to turn in my week four assignments that Thursday, I had been locked out of my class for not logging in for a seven day period. Which I had, just did not complete any work for the simple fact that I didnt need to. I contacted the faculty and had to write an appeal to be let back in to my class. I was not let back in until the following Tuesday of week 5 and now behind a weeks worth of work.
I had asked my teacher for an extension, which she had approved. When I went to turn in the assignments, I was told I was too late and the final grades had been submitted, which resulted in me failing.
The school is horrible, they will bombard you with emails and phone calls for no real reason. Save your money and go somewhere else.
I cannot begin to describe how many glitches their system has and how many times I submitted work only to get a system error which resulted in me writing the assignment over again. Nothing on their system is completely functional, regardless if your computer is fully updated etc.
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S_obie86
(In Progress) on September 14, 2010
(email verified)
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Amazing
A friend of mine started at Ashford almost two years ago. Since she started, there have been a handful of our other friends that have started. Finally, I started. In the two years that friends have been attending this school, I have not heard a single bad thing about it.
When it was time for me to go back to school, I did my research and decided that Ashford would be the best fit for me, too. They're cheaper than online programs through local colleges and universities. If you want a cheap education, an online program isn't for you.
I'm only in my third class, but so far, everything has been great. No, you can't just sail by. If you don't do the work, you do NOT get the credit.
The teachers have been welcoming of any questions one might have and they do a pretty good job of getting back to you in a timely manner. There are also TA's, who do a great job of answering questions as well.
The first class, EXP 105 is, what I take to be, an intro to online college class. I've taken classes at a local college and they require the same type of class.
Loans don't get disbursed until you've completed a certain number of classes, which is typical of ANY college. Also, for the first class, you are charged $75 for the course, but you are also reimbursed the $75 a few days later.
When it comes to books, there are cheaper alternatives rather than buying the books directly from Ashford for a 5 week course. On Chegg, you can rent books for a few weeks and then return them. Best of all, for every book rented, they plant a tree! Also, you're not stuck with an expensive book that you don't need! The books there aren't expensive, either.
There is ONE $990 technology fee that you have to pay, but every other school that I or my friends have gone to have had technology fees, even the local community college. It should most definitely be expected of any online college.
The bottom line is that you only get what you put in. If you don't ask questions, you won't get answers. The staff doesn't hold your hand and lead you through everything. This is college, not elementary school. You have to do things for yourself.
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Ryanmourer
(In Progress) on June 9, 2010
(email verified)
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An HONEST Review of my experience so far
This is an honest review of my experience at Ashford. I have been attending for almost 2 years and will complete my AA in business very soon. 1st of all, you have to realize that no 2 people will have the exact same advisors and instructors, so experiences will vary. That sounded like a disclaimer if I've ever heard one!
My enrollment advisor was excellent, as she should be! They want you to enroll in their college and bring your money to them -- right?! I have had 3 different academic advisors and they have all responded promptly to any questions and concerns when they came up. These 2 departments were sufficient and deserve an "A" for their support and effort.
The financial aid dept is a completely different animal! I have had numerous financial aid advisors (too many to count!) and they were all inept. They (as in all of them) DO NOT respond to any questions asked and if they do it will be weeks, if not months, when they get back to you. Your academic advisor seems to not be able to help either when you voice your concerns on this issue. So beware of this fact... they are a FOR PROFIT institution and are owned by Bridgepointe Education and based in San Diego, CA. This is certainly more about business and money than education. If you apply for financial aid expect to receive it - if you don't want any more you will keep getting it and it is difficult to give it back, because the financial aid dept will never get back with you! They act like you are trying to run a scam or something when you want to discuss your finances with them. I have the money to pay out of pocket for my tuition and only wanted 1 disbursement of student loans. I now have 2 times the amount I originally wanted. I'm bummed -- I don't have the time to deal with trying to resolve these financial issues constantly.
The quality of education varies. I have learned things in some classes, and not a thing in others. I really had to concentrate in the math and accounting courses, because if you cannot teach yourself the material -- good luck! Most of my instructors were prompt with answering questions, but I feel that a lot of them replied to discussion posts and assignments with "canned" or pre-prepared responses that were not even pertinent to what you or a classmate wrote. Not all of them, mind you, but most of them! Disscusion post plagarism happens often! I cannot tell you if it is addressed, because I am not privy to correspondence between other students and the instructor. Some students do not possess college level writing skills, or high school for that matter, yet they seem to show up in other classes on down the road -- what does that tell you?! I tried hard at 1st, but have loosened up as time goes by. I still have a 3.9 GPA and sometimes even skip whole assignments. I make the Dean's List every time it comes out. I thought this was a great accomplishment at 1st. Now it's not so great because I hardly try at all (apparently I don't have to) and still make it no problem!
The tuition is reasonable if you are a military vet like myself, but if I had to pay full price plus the cost of books, I would definitely go to another school. Try buying your books on eBay instead of new -- then resale them there. I get my books for free, since I am military, and then sell them there for whatever I can get after each class. College textbooks become obsolete after so long, so there isn't much use in holding on to all of them. Some are good to keep and reference though. My tuition rate stays the same, $750 fixed per course (military), but the regular students often see tuition increases -- at least once or twice per year. This may happen at every university, though, so be prepared for this. Is the degree worth anything to potential employers? I'm not sure, but it is an accredited university, so I would hope so.
If you want to get that piece of paper saying you have a degree from an accredited university, then Ashford is okay for you. If you are going to pay $1100 plus per class, and want a more quality educational experience, then I would research a higher ranked, NON PROFIT university to spend your hard earned money at.
I hope my review and time spent writing it helps someone out.
I am looking into Liberty University for pursuing my bachelors -- does anyone have any knowledge of this school they can share with me??
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Sdmgdchick1904
(In Progress) on November 15, 2009
(email verified)
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Not whining here
Opposed to many reviews here, I did not feel pressured into enrollment with Ashford. I am content in my decision to get an education with Ashford, and my enrollment advisor is a very laid back, sweet woman that knows what she is talking about with anything pertaining to the enrollment process or Ashford in general. I am in my fourth course and I still keep in contact with her every once and a while, even though I have a different acedemic advisor.
My first financial advisor was a dissapointment and it aggravated me just trying to get ahold of him, let alone the ONE conversation I had with him, which proved to be a complete waste of time because of his incompitence. I now have a different financial advisor who has answered any and all of my questions within 24 hours or less. I would advise anyone having problems with one of thier advisors to simply ask to speak with a different advisor, not a supervisor, just a different advisor in that department, instead of complaining about it on a review board.
I am maintaing a 4.0 GPA, though I am still early in my education, and I have worked hard everyday since my second course (the first course was really easy, mainly there just to familiarize people with the online enviornment).
I manage a large hotel and am also a single mother, and Ashford has worked into my schedule wonderfully. I find all of my coursework challenging and when I am doing my school work I always learn something new. My instructors, with the exeption of one, have been absolutly great.
I know for a fact that a degree with Ashford IS accredited, because I have done extensive research to make sure it is; calling various HR departments, asking supervisors of accounting companies and businesses, etc. All over San Diego California, New Mexico, and Iowa(because those are the places I travel to for work). I have not had one company tell me that an Ashford degree is not acceptable. People who say that Ashford graduates are laughed at are rediculious, I don't think we will see anyone laughing when an Ashford graduate is running the business your working for.
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Lotaleg
(In Progress) on September 7, 2007
(email verified)
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I love Ashford!
I initially enrolled with Ashford in May of 2006. I was able to transfer in with 30 credits from my local community college, which was great. Also, I LOVED the fact that I was easily able to take a 6 month leave of absence when I gave birth to my son in Sept. of 2006.
I am currently just a few months away from obtaining my AA in Business. As soon as I get my AA, I am then going to continue my education with Asford and pursue my BA in Psychology. So far, just about everything has been great. My enrollment advisor, Marcus Hillman, has been awesome! Even though his obligations to me ended after he got me signed up and enrolled in my first classes, he has continued to email me or give me a phone call every once in awhile just to see how I am doing and to give me encouragement. My academic advisor is Erik Peiperdink and he has also been amazing. I have bugged him SO many times with numerous questions, and he has always been great about responding to me right away. The one negative thing that I have experienced with Asford is their financial aid dept! They have switched my financial advisor on me several times...and each one that I have gotten has been awful. They never answer my questions, or if they do, it is usually the wrong answer that I am given.
All in all, the teachers have all been great, I have been learning ALOT in my classes, and I really enjoy the fact that I can work on my assignments when it is convenient for me and my hectic schedule. Also, I just noticed that Ashford was listed as one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News and World Report, which I thought was awesome. As for the person on here who did not have a good expereince, what were the names of the teachers/advisors who weren't doing their job correctly? Because as I said, so far I have had great experiences with everyone at Ashford, with the exception of the financial aid department. I love this school and I cannot wait to fly out to Iowa in May of 2009 to receive my BA in Psychology!!!:) (I am not going to attend the ceremony for my AA...I am going to wait until I get my BA)
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