Aspen University

Abner September 7, 2007 at 4:54 a.m.

This is a great school! I am almost half way through the MBA program at Aspen. I have studied at many schools, and I must say the coursework and customer service is excellent! I will give this school a 10 rating! For some reason, I could not post a rating?

Best regards,

Abner

Jeff September 26, 2007 at 2:52 p.m.

I have found a Principal at a local high school in my area that has agreed to proctor my exams if I enroll into Aspen University. I was wondering if this would satisfy Aspen U requiement to have the exams proctored. Anyone have any idea's on this.

Jeff September 27, 2007 at 2:54 p.m.

Ronnie, Thanks for the help. The University that is in my home city has a testing center but thier times that they are open not good for me due to me having to work during the day. I wonder if this would be problem for Aspen's proctor requirement. This high school prinncipal that agreed to help me would meet me at his school on Saturday morning to admister any test.

Johny October 7, 2007 at 5:30 p.m.

Hello...I see only good things about Aspen University in this thread. I like to talk to a student who is currently doing their MBA program and also someone who graduated from Aspen. Any guidance will be helpful. Please suggest

Jeff October 8, 2007 at 7:36 p.m.

Can you tell me more about the "Capstone Project" that Aspen U requires from students.

Jeff October 9, 2007 at 1:47 p.m.

I wanted to hear from a Aspen Student that has done a project. But I will call her anyway....

Jeff November 27, 2007 at 4:14 p.m.

Amanda,

Can you be more specific in your assessment of Aspen University? Please help us that have no idea what to expect.

Yogesh December 26, 2007 at 6:04 a.m.

I have finished all courses of MBA-PM program at Aspen Univesity and now preparing for Proctored Exam, which I am scheduled to take up at UMASS Boston on 28th December 2007.

Has anybody appeared for Proctored exam yet? I am curious to know the overall structure of exam.

After having done good in all courses since 3 years, I feel it is too much of asking to undergo revision of at least 4 courses.

To release from taking unnecessary stress and sleepless nights....please convey the structure and toughness of exam.

Thank You.
Yogesh.

Rale January 17, 2008 at 4:46 p.m.

Linda,

Then USDoE and CHEA are accrediting Degree Mills.... in that event all the schools/colleges/universities are degree mills in the USA. This comment from Linda is insane and not valid. Linda please keep off of this site.... and respect the importance of this forum.

Walter January 24, 2008 at 2:32 a.m.

Linda,

I’ve noticed you’ve attacked not only AU and CCU, but also CSU! I must question your motives concerning these three DETC accredited institutions. I understand your lack of comprehension concerning the accreditation process, but why attacked DETC accredited schools and not even one regionally accredited school on probation? You have yet to question any regionally accredited schools. They’re numerous regionally accredited schools that were or are currently on probation by their respective accreditors.

Am I saying these probationary colleges are bad schools? No! Why, because some newspapers don’t conduct their research just like some gov’t agencies. Case in point: A State was calling a recognized accreditor’s degrees substandard before the courts got involved, they figured out they were going to lose and changed their position.

It should be noted, AU, CCU, nor CSU has ever had their State approval or accreditation revoked, suspended or been placed on probation by any entity. Furthermore, both CCU and CSU are listed as PONSI recognized schools by the New York State Board of Regents. If you don’t know, the State of New York is the only State in the USA (Union) recognized by the USDOE as a degree granting State just like regionals. No other State has ever achieved this status, and by these two schools being recognized shows they’re definitely no D mills in DETC's listings.

PONSI History: The first step in the development of National PONSI came in 1973 when the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York initiated a pilot study to assess the potential of a college credit advisory service. This project was a direct outcome of recommendations made by the Commission on Non-Traditional Study, a two-year venture supported by the Carnegie Corporation, to provide a national perspective on the future of higher education, including recognizing and granting credit for postsecondary learning undertaken in noncollegiate settings. Comprising renowned educational and business leaders, the Commission called for a system to establish college credit equivalencies for courses offered by government, industry, and other noncollegiate sponsors.

Please do your research and weigh your findings before posting derogatory information. These sites are for prospective students, educators (professors), employers and alumni, not recognized accreditation bashers! Try a RA superiority forum, they’ll love to agree and call all non-regional accreditors D mills and all that stuff! Thanks!

Walter January 25, 2008 at 3:44 a.m.

I would go to elearners.com guide to online education, and lookup regional vs. national accreditation! It'll answer all your questions concerning accreditation. Thanks!

Raju February 29, 2008 at 7:46 p.m.

Ziad, it is good to know. I have completed MSIT from Aspen and I feel it is a great university to accomplish graduation while working. The course structure is very well balanced and practical. I really enjoyed learning and earning my degree from Aspen University. Wish you all the best!!!

Sachin March 18, 2008 at 12:09 p.m.

Hi Friends,

My college group of seniors in US have recommended Aspen University
to complete my higher studies while working.
I’ve completed my bachelors in Comp Science & Electronics from University of Pune - an Indian university.
And would like to persue MS / MBA through distance learning, while on the job.
I’m a control engineering systems expert and working as a Business Analyst – Solutions architect with a
engineering co. in Asia-Pacific.

I would like to know
1) whether Aspen’s MS/MBA courses are valid master’s courses in US / Europe – to qualify
for work permits and next higher studies. Like Phd, Research.

2) Does it give same credits as full time (on campus) MS/MBA as needed by Industry?

3) Where can I get the fees structure for MS and MBA?

4) Which are other USDoE certified universities that offer these courses in distance learning?

Please guide.

Cheers,
Sachin
email: sachin_dm@yahoo.com

Raju March 18, 2008 at 1:34 p.m.

I have very positive experience with Aspen University. The course structure for MSIT is very balanced and very appropriate for my job and future professional growth. The courses at Aspen are very economical. The faculty are very helpful....

Raju March 20, 2008 at 4:03 p.m.

Sachin,

Can you be more specific on your expectations from work permits (is this to get work permit to work in the USA?) and jobs

Raju March 20, 2008 at 4:21 p.m.

Sachin,

Your question: Does it give same credits as full time (on campus) MS/MBA as needed by Industry?

Answer: On campus are RA Schools. The RA schools have their own policies and procedures in accepting credits from other RA and NA schools. May be you would want to find your target University and find if the NA credits are transferable.

Grade March 23, 2008 at 10:28 p.m.

CHEA and US DoE should be the focus here, not RA or NA accreditors. If the US DoE or CHEA stated RA accreditation was in fact the “Gold Standard”, I’m sure the argument would conclude in RA favor. Unfortunately, neither the CHEA nor US DoE have supported that stance! So, if the degree meets the person’s needs, it’s recognized by CHEA and/or US DoE, credits are accepted by the RA college they wish to transfer to, and their employer accepts the degree..........

BK April 23, 2008 at 6:36 p.m.

I am planning to enroll for MBA in Project Management with AU. Can anybody share their experience with me?

Kevin June 11, 2008 at 12:40 p.m.

Aspen University seems to be the logical choice for continuing my education to advance my career. I have only heard positive things about them over the past year. Does any other university offer this program online at these low costs?

bobby August 14, 2008 at 8:51 p.m.

You are right Pete. My friend is a cop and tried to sign up for Criminal Justice and he told me they didnt keep their word on how he could get his degree. They told him he could get almost all his credits from the police academy and he only got less than half of what he was told. He is really down on Aspen and so are his fellow cops.

Ben October 6, 2008 at 9:51 p.m.

I noticed the debate between the regional accreditation (RA) and national accreditation (NA). I contacted an RA university about my degree that I am getting from an NA university (Aspen) and was advised that as long as the accredidation is recognized by CHEA, there is no problem and the RA university would recognize my degree from Aspen. Aspen University is recognized under CHEA and is accreditated by DETC which is recognized by CHEA and the US Department of Education.

Max November 24, 2008 at 9:33 p.m.

I have just learned that the proctored exam for the MBA program is a multiple choice set of 110 questions (covering all the courses)...Has anyone taken the proctored exam in that form? I have asked for a set of questions I could use to prepare for the exam or the some test link but nothing is available...I must say I am a bit disappointed - any other program I have attended provided me with some sort of guideline... My computer crashed about a year ago and I lost all of my assignments and I can even get them to send me the assignment that we are given at each module (never mind the answers I sent)...

Any advice

Max

JH November 25, 2008 at 10:34 p.m.

MAX.......don't know if this helps, but in various emails with the Aspen registrar-(S.P.).....it is like "pulling teeth" to get answers. She did state that you get 2 times to take the Multiple Choice Proctored Exam and that is it!! No more chances. So, I guess if you don't pass it on the 2nd attempt, you have 11 or 12 courses to show for your efforts and no MBA Degree!! Even their Website still states "essay exam." The "thing" I dislike the most is all of your MBA course work is in essay/case study format and so is your Capstone Project. Plus, until a few months ago the Proctored Exam was essay. Plus, as you said....the Aspen administration gives you NO Guidance as to what the Exam will be like or how to prepare for it, yet, you get all these Lecture Notes for each course. If I do fail on the 2nd attempt, I will contact the Aspen President and ask about a recourse to get my MBA Degree.....it is just not right for them to have my money for all those completed courses and all I have is a bunch of completed courses. If that doesn't work...then I am making a formal appeal to DETC. It is not right to spend months or years completing courses and then you "getting" or "not getting" your MBA degree all "boils down to" passing a multiple choice exam that takes a few hours. If their eLearning methodology is essay for all of their MBA courses, the final proctored exam should be also. I plan to take it the end of December or 1st part of January. If you take it prior to me....place post as to your experience. If I take it first, I will do the same...GOOD LUCK!!

JH November 27, 2008 at 12:18 a.m.

Kevin....did you take the new multiple choice Proctored Exam?? How was it?? Any advice for preparation?? thanks!

JH November 29, 2008 at 9:49 p.m.

MAX...

Sorry! I didn't keep my papers after getting my grades and completing the courses. I have the Lecture Notes that you purchase from Aspen for each course, and since you are allowed your Lecture Notes and Textbooks in the Testing Center to take the test....I will take those items. So, I will be reviewing basically the Lecture Notes for each course.

Hard to believe the courses are ALL essay based responses, plus, the Capstone, yet, the Proctored Exam now is Multiple Choice!! I completed my 1st MBA with them a couple of years ago, and the Proctored was a Case Study + 3 Essay questions just like the course format. Doesn't make since to me to have the courses and Capstone in an Essay format and then have a Multiple Choice format for the Proctored. The really bad thing, according to the Registrar (S.P.)...if you don't pass the Proctored Exam on the 2nd attempt...that is it....you are stuck with just courses and No Degree and Aspen has your money!! So, many months of courses and study for a Degree ALL boils down to you passing a multiple choice exam on two attempts at the end. This just does not seem right to me...will let you know after I take the Exam in a month or so...JH

JH November 30, 2008 at 5:22 p.m.

MAX

Will do.....my plan is since you get to take the Proctored twice...I will take it the 1st time to see what it is like. If it is too difficult to pass, before taking it the 2nd time, I will approach Mr. Alley about the difference in protocol of the courses & Capstone (Essay) versus the Proctor Exam (Multiple Choice) and see if I can change to a format as they used previously (Case Study & Essay) and especially since their Website and Catalog still state they still use that format as on of the three ways to administer the proctor exam....I am not going to settle for completing courses with "A" grades and then not get my degree, due to a multiple choice test at the end.

Due to them counting previous course work from my 1st MBA toward my 2nd MBA...I only had to take 4 courses, plus, the Capstone for the 2nd MBA..my Lecture Notes are for 515, 525, 545, and 685...after I complete my Proctored Exam..if those would do you any good...you are more than welcome to them at no charge. I will have no need for them at that point, but need them until after this proctor process is completed....I will stay in touch and let you know how the Proctored Exam goes and what steps I take next. JH

Meg December 2, 2008 at 3:02 p.m.

Has anyone finsihed their Capstone project? I am about 3 months in and being very slow in developing it and now I am freaking out about if they will like it. I am also taking my "final exam" on the 13th of December, which is in less than 2 weeks. I am atually VERY scared about this because nothing as of yet has been multiple choice and I have no idea what type of questions will be on the exam. If anyone takes it let us know how it went. I am just very scared to have 10 questions from each class decide my degree.

Meg December 3, 2008 at 7:44 p.m.

Max

I will let everyone know how the test goes. I spoke with someone at the school and was told not to worry. Others have taken the test and done well. I feel better about it but dont feel I can be prepared enough in 2 weeks. We will see.

Meg December 4, 2008 at 2:13 p.m.

Max

I am actually looking for mine right now. I had to get a new computer and I put them all on etiher a CD or a flash drive and I cant seem to find them. Right now I am re-reading the books and taking note of everything that is "fuzzy" and going over the (very few) lecture notes I have. If I find them I will contact you. Are you in the MBA PM program?

huh? December 7, 2008 at 8:13 a.m.

Is there some reason you people are complaining about a multiple choice test? If you know the material you should have no problem passing. If you fail it twice you have no business being granted the degree.

GO December 8, 2008 at 9:04 p.m.

Could someone share their experience with multiple choice proctored exam.
Im done with course and project work, got to take proctored exam next.

Meg December 17, 2008 at 8:25 p.m.

Hey Max,

I had jury duty and had to postpone the test. I believe I may take it this weekend before the Holiday season because I know I wont get anything done if I wait another 2 weeks. I have re-read all of the books, gotten all the lecture notes and tomorrow plan on reading over all the notes one more time and doing it again on Friday. This will be the second time I have read the books cover to cover so I hope I am prepared for the test.

M December 22, 2008 at 7:45 p.m.

Hello everyone! The final exam I took went very well. It was multiple choice and it was a very traditional multiple choice test. I definitely recommend re-studying every subject thoroughly ( I re-read every book and restudied the lecture notes and powerpoints the professors provided)and bringing the books as you should always take advantage of an open-book test. It took me about 2 and a half hours to complete the test. I found the test to be fairly difficult and definitely what I expected of a masters-level exam. I am excited to be able to finish my thesis and graduate soon. Good luck to everyone!

GO December 29, 2008 at 5:49 p.m.

Max,
PP presentations are part of online course material, these are links within module(s) and gives an high-level description of the module/chapter.

LA January 24, 2009 at 6:07 p.m.

M or Meg,

Congrats on your success about the proctored exam. I have specific questions hope you will answer.

Is that each question labeled with its subject name?

Can you go back and change your answer?

Can you skip a question and attend next?

When do you know you passed the exam?

What is the depth of question? Could you please post a sample at least one question?

I am scared the way you described to prepare for Proctored exam.

Anybody who appeared the exam please help.
Thanks.

JS In California February 1, 2009 at 5:53 p.m.

I also just passed the MBA-IM exam. I agree with GL, the coursework had very little to do with the answers to the questions. I got all A's on my work and learned so much but I found the exam very difficult "Who wants to be a Millionaire" factoid type questions not in the index's either. Facts I would not have normally committed to memory. There is no mention of what course the question is from, you can't isolate what book the fact might be in such as "a total sale of 200X for a certain company for a certain event". Maybe it was in the lecture notes but they were not required years ago when I first started the MBA-IM so I had none to help me. I studied for weeks, the exam took hours to complete and I barely passed. I am so glad I passed because I don't want to ever take it again it was so hard. Good Luck, Take the essay!

Max February 28, 2009 at 5:35 p.m.

Hi Bob
I am getting ready to my final exam - hope to take it in late March but I am opting for an essay.
Capstone was ok, it took me about 5 months to get it in and required some ground work research and interviewing different people (I did a case study) etc, but the advisor was very helful (I have contacted him about once a week with partial work) and i ended up getting an A.

Bob March 11, 2009 at 5:47 p.m.

Max,
Thanks for your reply. I am on my last class now and will work on the capstone through the summer. Glad to hear they are helpful with putting the project together. Keep me posted on how the studying and final exam goes.
Bob
sixbee11@hotmail.com

Shawn March 21, 2009 at 3:34 a.m.

I am in the MBA program in my 7th course. So far so good. The textbooks chosen for each course are great, usually they are the most popular texts in the given field of study. The instructors have also been of high caliber to date. I have not had a single issue with staff since starting in 2007, they are very helpful overall. The program does take a fair bit of time out of the week so budget 15-20 hours.

I can also say that I have been promoted in Business since taking this program from a sales engineer type role into management. This MBA was one of the reasons I was promoted, it helped for sure.

Anupam April 4, 2009 at 7:09 p.m.

All, I have just finished my last course for the MBA program at Aspen, and was wondering about the Proctored exam. I am told by the university that I should take the exam in the next two weeks as things are still fresh in my brain...not sure how much though! Please guide me if anyone has recently taken the Proctored exam! Thanks in advance

vj April 6, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Somone mentioned that the Capstone project takes 5 months? That is a good reason enough for me to drop fro mthe course. I value my time that I can spend on technical skills. I may drop from the course. FInance topics are way difficult without proper guidance.

vj April 6, 2009 at 5:09 a.m.

Are there 2 proctored exams or just one exam? The MBA PM page says there are 2.

VJ April 10, 2009 at 5:08 a.m.

Anupam, Which MBA did you do? Finance or PM?
Did you read all the books all over again.?
Do you have a choice for proctored exam? Multiple choice vs essay.

VJ April 10, 2009 at 10:17 p.m.

By looking at the cost of MBA in other places this is a life saver. Most of the so called accredited places charges 20-40k. I may change my mind and get over the DETC issue. I am sure Aspen will be very popular in the near future becasue the learning process is tougher than many other schools.

Ben April 13, 2009 at 2:48 a.m.

I believe the proctored exams have been changed. I understand that the first exam is half-way through the program and then the second at the end.

As far as the regional and national accreditation, I have checked into some regionally accredited universities with online doctorate programs and 2 of the 3 will recognize the Aspen University degree. It appears there is still some discrimination against the nationally accredited degrees but not enough to deter me from Aspen University. I feel I am getting a quality education and that is what counts.

Miki May 10, 2009 at 2:59 a.m.

How are AU degrees recognized in Europe or India.
I know that US RA degrees are widely accepted what about DETC?
AMy one had to evaluate their AU degree by official recognized agency such as NARIC UK etc?
If so what was the outcome of such evaluation.

Thanks

DJ June 28, 2009 at 11:48 p.m.

Can anyone provide an example of the proctored exam questions? I will be taking the exam soon.

Plymouth_Rock July 29, 2009 at 3:58 a.m.

I completed my MBA-IM at Aspen back in March. I took the essay format, as I had the option of Essay or MC (it was a no-brainer for me - I enjoy writing!)

For the Capstone course, I decided to treat it as a research project (I had never done a research project before). To prepare, I went to MIT's website (they have their course syllabi out there for the downloading), and downloaded their research 101 and 102 courses... in there, I found a set of data, along with the question "what conclusions can you draw from this set of data?" That got me thinking about data in a 'different way'...

I also have two friends who are professors at different schools, and I picked their brains on 'how do you approach something to research?'

The best advice came from my friend who's a professor at U of Chicago... his advice was 'spot on' - he suggested starting with a general area, then hone in on a more detailed piece of that general area, until you reach the point where you have a 'single question' to ask, which becomes your hypothesis... in refining the question, you have the chance to weed out variables which are mostly 'noise', and get down to a few variables which are direct and 'survey-able'... then, research the heck out of that area, figuring out the depth of existing research and/or whether you have found a niche which has received little research. Once I had done that, I was ready.. I set up my proposal according to the format in the text, submitted it, and received immediate acceptance, with some compliments on how well-organized and detailed it was...

by the way, I had waited a few weeks while I was talking with my friends, and then enrolled (and purchased the text)...

As far as the rest of the project, I was told there would be monthly assignments, but when I approached my faculty advisor about it, I was far enough along that he told me 'just keep me posted'... I had some direction-setting questions to make sure I wasn't straying, and also ran some of my statistical analysis questions by him, and received well-thought-out responses... took about three months to complete, and the APA-style papers we had to do for all the courses made it very easy to format for the Capstone Project doc...

all in all, a worthwhile expenditure of $$ and time... for me, learning about forecasting methods had the most immediate benefit (my undergrad was in MIS, but heavier on programming and AD than on 'business' courses...)

Jackie September 3, 2009 at 1:51 a.m.

I just started the MSCJ. Does anyone have any experience with the credit by exam.

Aspen MBA Graduate November 13, 2009 at 9:39 p.m.

Hello everyone. I recently took the MBA Essay Final Exam at Aspen. My exam covered my entire program since I started before the mid term was introduced. I was glad to take the essay since I enjoy writing and I dislike multiple choice tests. Why? I believe an essay exam is a key indicator demonstrating you know the material. After completing my capstone project I studied for several months for the final and glad I did. My advice to you is this. Don't memorize anything; know the material and how they integrate into the other course subjects such as understand how economics plays a role in marketing and financial management. If you just do the assignments for the sake of doing them you may have a problem. I walked out of my proctored exam feeling confident I had passed it. It would not be fair or ethical for me to provide an example of how my essay was structured nor should anyone else! If you know the material you have nothing to worry about. If you have little experience writing essays then I suggest you do some research on the web about how to write an essay since part of your score is based on organization, content, and formatting. Good Luck ?