Ashford University : B.A. Psychology Reviews
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on February 24, 2012
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STAY AWAY!
I had so little interaction with my instructors that in one course I had no interaction at all, other than one email I initiated to ask a question. Nothing in the discussion forums at all, and there were others like me.
Their financial department is a joke, they sent me a letter of disbursement, I sent them everything they asked for, many times over, and then they said my Financial Aid was not approved? The money had been disbursed!
They are unresponsive, uncaring, and uninvolved. Stay away from here. Try U of Phoenix or Grand Canyon University, both are WAAAAAY better than this shower.
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Hlsmith1972
(In Progress) on October 22, 2011
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Ashford University Online - Absolutely
I have been attending Ashford University Online since May 2011, and I have to say, it has been a great experience for me. I am n ot sure why some of these individuals are having so many issues with this university, but I have had no such problems. In fact, in the past few weeks, I was having medical issues that kept me from participating in my recent course. My academic advisor was very helpful and gave me the option to start the class over next week, or continue my absence. I opted to start the class over next week. I was only in the class for 1 week previously and was reimbursed for the course and the money was applied the the next course. The work is not easy, and it isn't going to be. If you are doing an online course you arew going to have a tremendous amount of reading and writing to do because you are not in an regualr classroom. I had problems in high scool and dropped out when I was 16. I got my ged at 21, and enrolled in a regular classroom based college. I had to quit after only one semester due to a disability. It is not 12 years later, and Ashford accepted my credits from my previous college experience. I have only had issues with one instructor out of 6, and the instructors have gotten back to me with answers to my questions very quickly. As far as plagiarism, I make sure I do what I am supposed to do and do it right. I do not pay attemtion to the other students because they are not my responsibility. I am averaging a 4.0 GPA and A's in every class. This is coming from a student who didn't think she would make it at all. I am retaining a tremendous amount of information and learning so very much. I am having a great time meating new people and getting to know interesting instructors. Yes, I am nervous about getting a reputable jobn once I graduate, but I feel that would be the case with any person who has been out of the job market for over 10 years. I am a stay at home mom of 4 kids, a daughter-in-law, and a grandchild who I love caring for, taking care of my home and going to college online full time. I am having a wonderful experience and I would recomend Ashford University Online to anyone I meet. Good luck to everyone!
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on September 30, 2011
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Financial Aid Issue
I am using the semi-new post 9/11 GI Bill in tandem with grants and student loans. I am a new student to Ashford but transferring in with a fairly substantial amount of credits from previous schools and filling in electives with my SMART transcript (military).
I have read a numerous amount of complaints regarding grants and loans. If you are a new student I would suggest you begin by reading what you are signing.
Ashford will absolutely try and sneak a form in on you which authorizes them to basically control your stipend. You do not have to sign this and you can change it at any time if you did sign it. They will happily give you reasons why they choose to try and control the delivery of stipends all of which make sense. Students who fail the courses, withdraw to late, drop, do not meet attendance requirements, you name it the ways to generate financial aid issues are numerous and can apply anywhere it is not exclusive to Ashford.
All of that being said what they will do if you sign off on it is wait 7 full academic weeks after your award letter is approved to disburse %30 of the stipend to you. They do this to control the aid money should you default for any reason. They wait another long period of time to disburse the rest of it.
If you are like me (and I am sure most people are) you do not want it done this way. You want it all, every penny of the balance, to you and into your account as soon as possible. So, to start do not sign that form and if you do pick up your phone and call them being sure to fill out the revocation form changing your status.
What this will do is bring you back into a more traditional state of affairs. Specifically, once you have received your award letter Ashford is responsible to disburse stipends within 14 days. All of the balance, directly to you, in whichever way you opted for.
Ashford online verifies attendance and while it is very easy to maintain your attendance simply by logging in and completing your assignments ON TIME it could be just as easy to fail to do the opposite and land yourself in scenerio where you are creating the potential to almost ensure a headache. Whether or not it affects your disbursement is not clear to me because I do not have this issue. Just know that Ashford does regulate attendance but that its certainly nothing to concern yourself with if you are even a semi-responsible human being and able to meet obligations ON TIME within a perfectly reasonable arena.
I have a wife and three kids and I am not finding Ashford a difficult environment. Its like many online programs. If you do not log in, if you do not complete assignments on time, prepare to deal with academic and financial complications you would rather not be dealing with.
If I do not receive my stipend within 14 days of receiving my award letter I will absolutely come back and post to that affect. However, reading through some of the posts, while some had nothing to do with it others were clearly unaware they had ever signed a form allowing Ashford to handle thier stipend however they wished. And then when months had gone by before discovering it only by being disgusted at receiving an amount %70 lower than the expectation becoming all sorts of upset over it.
New students using financial aid....read what you are signing. If you already signed it just call them, fill out the form they ask you to fill out, and get a %100 of balance stipend versus a plus additional 7 week waiting period %30. A lot of the above complaints would have never of occured otherwise. Not all of them, I've read them, but enough to justify posting this to try and help people like me who are new students and wondering what all the fuss is about.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on July 27, 2011
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love it, but worried
I've been a student for over a year, but am not always challenged. Although this is true, I have learned a lot. In reading these reviews, I'd say that the negatives just depend on the people. My academic, financial, and even enrollment advisors have been great and they make it easy for me every step of the way. Friends that I have made have been transferring out, which leads me to my next point: the retention rate is low. REALLY low. I like the school & all, but after reading about it on Wikipedia, I am becoming skeptical. Tell you one thing: I will not be happy if I graduate from there & the degree counts for nothing!
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Hunniebearr
(In Progress) on October 14, 2010
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Ashford is a joke in everyway
Ashford University does not have the students best interest at heart. Instead they want to keep your hard earned dollars flowing through the university.My name is Lakisha, I have been a student at Ashford for 8 months, during this time I have found the teachers to be inconsistent with course material. The books to be manufactured by the school an Lacking in a lot of important information.Ashford also expects you to write research papers in the hardest format available(APA)with little guidance.If you are experienced in this format I am sure you will do ok. But if you are not skilled. I dont advise you to attend Ashford. The Instructors are not willing to elaborate on the proper technique. They rather you teach yourself.They also require different concepts of the format. Each instructor will want something unique and complicated in the assignment.To make matters worse, I was a accused of plagirism without even knowing what I plagirized. The instuctor gave me know feedback. Submitted my paper to a review board, the review gave me no feedback but told me I would be flagged in my file for plagirism and still I have not a clue what it was I plagirized because I am teaching myself the format. since I am learning on my own through A study guide Ashford themselves wrote. I am constantly confused on what each insructor wants. the worst part is they failed me for the entire course and want me to retake the calss again.As if I have cash on hand to retake classes, when I am supporting four kids. And finacial aid and loans, what a JOKE. Every dollar you get they hold on to it, an send you pennies here and there when they feel necesarry. But dont count on it improving your finacial outcome. believe me, you will barely be able to buy books and materials at the same time. They will always hold on to 80 percent and give you the student 20.I am highly disatisfied. I cant believe that this is legal. The student has no say in the matter. The board found me guilty without even giving me a chance to defend myself. I was not allowed to even rewrite my paper or given a second oppurtunity to fix a confusing problem. Now I am flagged as a plagirist and have no clue how to keep this from occuring again.I recieved no feed back, and a decision was made on my behalf without any input from me. Now I am faced with the delima of where do I go from here. Wherever I go Ashford wont be a part of it.Please think long and hard before choosing Ashford University.
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Indazul
(In Progress) on December 17, 2009
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Education in General
This school is like all schools in that you get what you put in. I have attended several schools, including a top ranked school on the east coast, and did just as well in those schools. The largest difference (-) here is the loss of "face to face" time with professors and other students while the (+) is time management. I have always worked full time while going to school and getting to set when I "go to class" is great. Outside of these key differences I would have to state that the quality of students (in general) is lower at Ashford because the university does not require, well; entrance requirements. I have found several students in level 400 classes that still have trouble with sentence structure, spelling, and using references.
I could go to the local public library and get an education that would equal that of any state/private school if I wanted to put in the time. Of course I would lack the credibility that that piece of paper (degree) would bring and that is why we are in school correct? If in the future, I hope sooner than later, Ashford University implemented enrollment requirements I would have no reservation(s) of suggesting this as a great alternative. However, without enrollment requirements I cannot, nor do I, expect anyone to take my degree seriously although I was an honor student at several tradition schools. Lucky for me I am returning to a traditional environment for graduate school, that has enrollment requirements, to avoid anymore "glances" when I mention my education.
In summary, the majority of professors I have had are high quality, several teach at name schools throughout the United States, several of the students are high quality but this is much fewer than at a traditional school, and the only real low quality thing about Ashford University is that it does not have enrollment requirements. This of course is how the label "degree factory" comes into play.
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Nicole.foley
(In Progress) on November 25, 2009
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Wow.
I have to say, I am a little shocked at some of the reviews. I am a current student at Ashford University and I am very satisfied with them. Granted, I have only taken 2 classes, but so far so good. As far as accreditation concerns go, Ashford is as regionally accredited school, not nationally. I think people are confused on what that means. Usually Regionally accredited schools have higher standards than Nationally Accredited school and thus not accept courses from nationally accredited schools. If you are concerned if your courses will transfer visit the graduate school you would like to go and see what accreditation they will accept. For example, Cal State San Bernardino is a regular run of the mill four-year college. If you would like to attend graduate school there they ONLY accept regionally accredited schools (like Ashford). The same goes for the private four-year College University of Redlands. As far as jobs are concerned, if you are looking to be a CEO of a major corporation, Ashford University is not going to cut it. Try Harvard or Stanford. But if you are looking to apply your Bachelor’s degree towards being a teacher or getting a higher paying job this degree will work, just like any other four-year college.
My experience has been much better at Ashford than the school I transferred from. The regular four-year college I went to was very impersonal, the professors hardly showed up for class, and homework was never requested. Ashford does challenge you in that the issue homework and final papers so you can retain more information.
In my opinion the people who are so passionate about how “bad” the school is want to have the college experience. They was to be able to tell people that they are driving to school or that someone in class was being stupid or that the professor was late. Ashford works for people like myself who want to get in, learn, earn a degree, and leave. Very simple.
I have not lied about any of the statements I have made. I am not affiliated with the school at all besides being a student.
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Uctechrichard
(In Progress) on November 7, 2009
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Very Pleased
I am finishing my BA in Psychology on the 14th of next month. This is the only online course I have taken, so I have nothing to compare it with. I had approached several colleges which offered online formats. Ashford was the only one that actually responded by phone. This told me something. My only concern was that, I had an enrollment advisor who was replaced by an academic advisor after the first course. Have had two since. I am applying at Grand Canyon U. for my graduate degree in counseling. It is my understanding that that one advisor will be with me through out my education with them. In addition, some people have advisors who check with them on a regular basis. The only one who checked in with me is the current one who called me once. Some of the students do seem subliterate in their forum posts. Besides these slight complaints, I have had a good experience. Ashford applied a lot of my previous experience as life credits. For instace, I received credits for attending Combat Engineer school for the National Guard (for building materials) and for a hazmat course I took as a volunteer fireman. The classes are demanding, requiring lots of reading and writing. APA format is strongly enforced. This is good, I am finishing my education at Ashford with a sense of accomplishment. Instructors are supportive and responsive. Financial aid has gone smoothly. It has paid for all my classes and have received stipend checks two or three times a year which helps with finances. The text books have been excellent. My last concern, as I am graduating, has been for the transferability of my credits. Ashford is regionally accreditted. The military advisor at GCU, who is assigned to me told me without hesitation, that my credits would be accepted. At 55 yrs of age, I have always wanted a college degree. My wife is a T 6 spinal cord injury, and I work full time. The online class has allowed me to meet all my responsibilities and get an education. If you are motivated enough to utilize an online format, I recommend Ashford. It is a challenging course, but a whole team is at your disposal to assist you. Thank you Ashford for an over all good experience.
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Kmcurrie
(Graduate) on May 4, 2009
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Just Graduated Two Weeks Ago- An Honest Review
As a recent graduate of this university, there are some great things to report and there are only one or two items, which are less than positive. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. If for any reason you are scheduled for a class titled Man dependance on the environment, demand another class. This so called class is the biggest joke, and waste of money I have ever seen. You are required to purchase a book, which you can get for free online. The class is nothing more than the same topic expressed every week. Oh and let's not forgot the mindless online lab (50.00 you will never get back) It's rare I would ever say a class is worthless, since I believe all education is valuable, but this class is a waste. Additionally it takes seven weeks to get any money back from your student loans. There is no reason any school should take this long to refund YOUR money. After all some students are living off their loans, and can not wait seven weeks. Now we have this out of the way, my overall experience has been pretty great! The professors generally care about their students, and want them to succeed. I have made many friends, both in the student body and staff. I would highly recommend this school. However, I will offer this suggestion. Be sure to give yourself enough time on the written assignments.
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Stupafly
(In Progress) on January 12, 2009
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So Far, So Good
I just wanted to say that I am in my third class at Ashford. The stipend payments were disbursed exactly when they said they would be in my notification via email, and the date of the payment under "financial information" link online coincided with when I received my check several days later. I already knew there would be a wait for the first disbursement, thanks to my enrollment advisor letting me know, but my first set of books was free, again, just like my enrollment advisor indicated.
Speaking of books, I tend to buy mine on Ebay. They are a lot less than at the online store.
As for Ashford being a diploma mill, I would disagree. So far I have a 4.0 grade point average, but the average grades for each class (which are posted) are much less than mine. The quality of some of the posting on Blackboard is poor, but I believe that people there are graded fairly. My three teachers so far have been very responsive to any questions I have had.
There are brick and mortar institutions where you actually have to wait all the way until the end of the quarter to receive any stipends for left-over funding. So that would be at three, six, nine and 12 months, if you attend even in summer. I don't feel the seven and 15 week policy is unreasonable.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on November 30, 2008
(email verified)
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Ashford University
I am not at all surprised by the handfull of people that have posted with complaints. They state that advisers, professors, etc are sometimes uncaring. I wish to ask them if they ever stepped foot in an actual college or university? I have seen the same form of uncaring, unknown individuals as you have seen from an online college.
As for those that commented about any "poor folk" could pass. I would have to beg to differ on that. Just like anything else in life, you get out what you put in. If you don't do the work, you fail. Plain and simple.
As for the comments on the professors being "housewives", I would like to see your proof on your assumptions. I did research on some of my professors and found what they stated in their introductions to be valid and truthful.
I have attended Ashford for over a year now, and yes, I've had my share of issues. I've spoken to a friend who has done both "regular" and "online" schooling and understands when certain things happen. If you can't reach them by phone, e-mail them. I have kept 99.9% of my communications with Ashford by e-mail. So financial aid has a new policy, did you RESEARCH it? Its not their doing, but a FEDERAL order. Don't always blame someone else for your own failures.
I am studying for a BA in Psychology and Criminal Justice. I have a friend who attends online with me. She would be the first to come forward if anything seemed "easy" or "fishy". Also, I had dropped out of high school ( but did obtain a GED ) and these classes are NOT a cakewalk.
If you don't like a college, then move on. Just because Ashford is owned by a private company, doesn't mean its bad. Look at other public colleges, look who runs them. A "Board of Regents" - sounds business to me.
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Valerieahoward
(Graduate) on November 17, 2008
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Ashford? Absolutely!
I enrolled at Ashford in June '06 and graduated in Dec '07 with a BA in Psychology. I had a wonderful experience. The 5 week intensive classes were just long enough to keep my attention. The only reason I did not continue at Ashford for my graduate degree is that my major wasn't offered. Now I have 10-week courses and find myself bored around week 6. Ashford kept me on my toes. I loved that I knew what to expect with each class because each class follows the same frame work (weekly quiz, discussion posts and responses, papers due in week 3 and week 5). It worked for me. Sure, there were classes in which the instructors were not as visible or available, but as an online adult learner, knowing how to work without supervision should be part of one's make-up anyway. This happens in B&M schools, too. I excelled at Ashford and was ecstatic to finally finish my B.A. with a 3.93 GPA at the age of 36. I earned every A. Ashford is no diploma mill. You study, do the work and put effort into it, you get good results. If not, well...then, not so much. I drove with 10 members of my family and close friends in a bad snow storm from Chicago to Iowa to the B&M Ashford for graduation and it was worth it. I truly accomplished something and am a role model for my kids and anyone who never thought they would have the chance to go back to school after making some bad decisions in their youth or just because life threw them a curve. I recommend Ashford to anyone who is computer literate, is a self-starter, and works well without supervision.
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