Baker College Reviews

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Needs more work in Gaming Software Development

Bachelor of Computer Science
Reviewer: nightwind19 email verified (Degree In Progress) on January 16, 2012

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The Game Software Development program is poorly put together and does need a lot of work. It would help if the college hired qualified Gaming Development instructors.

I adore Baker College

BBA Management
Reviewer: msshelleyb email verified (Degree In Progress) on November 16, 2011

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I've been attending Baker College for 2 years and in 2 semesters I will have my Bachelor Degree in Health Services Administration. This institution has been great. They have answered all of my questions and I've learned a tremendous amount of information. 
I was a transfer student from Davenport University and the classes here are very similar in size and intensity without the additional costs. 
Most of my classes have been online and I absolutely love them. They are great for individuals that are willing to buckle down and stay on task. If you take responsibility for your education and manage your time well you too can be successful in these types of classes. As in any other facility, your grades will NOT be given to you. You’re expected to do the work and in order to obtain the grade. I love the fact that as soon as the classes start you are given a list of all the assignment due dates. This allows you the opportunity to prepare your schedule so that you're not missing homework. They also post all of the assignments and due dates at the beginning of the week so that you can once again be aware of the assignments that are due and when they are expected. Being able to sign in anywhere and complete the required participation is also a plus. 
This is a good school and as long as you are not expecting the administrative staff and the teachers to carry you throughout the entire process you will do fine.

I was wrong

BBA Management
Reviewer: jfrican201 email verified (Degree In Progress) on October 1, 2011

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I thought I made the right decision on transfering from my community college to baker college online, but now I see I made the wrong move.  I used to read online reviews on how people were unsatisfied as well as satisfied so I was confused and decided to give it a try.  In the beginning, it was going great and I have a 3.5 gpa and made the deans list.  I didn't mind the massive amount of homework or the so called "posting at least twice a day for attendence".  I come to realize the teachers are completely unfair.  First of all I had a 3.5 gpa all on my own.  Baker college online teachers DON'T teach.  You are required to read your book, do your homework, and answer discussion questions.  Second (not all) some instructors do not even respond to your emails.  Instructors can decide to fail you if they want to for no reason.  Sucking up to them doesn't work. I emailed him and he never responded why I recieved a 0 for participation when I have participated more than once everyday.  Sooner or later this school will find a way to screw you over.  And that they did to me.  Never going to an online school again.  All my Accounting classes I have completed aren't even transferable to my community college; Go figure.  If you want to go to baker online go right ahead no one's stopping you.  This is my personal experience and maybe it can knock some sense to some of you.

Baker College Online

BBA Management
Reviewer: (Graduate) on September 11, 2011

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I am a recent graduate of Baker College Online. I enjoyed being student at Baker College. I obtained my Associated Degree in 2008 and my Bachelors in 2011. My degree will open doors for me to full fill my long-term goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher and advancing when new career opportunities become available at my current employer. Go Baker!

I must comment on the student who thought posting 2 substantial posts (5) days out of seven. This is standard and the norm at most universities.

Highly challenging and rewarding

Bachelor of Computer Science
Reviewer: johnmac81 email verified (Degree In Progress) on August 18, 2011

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I am coming to the end of my first year with Baker and I cannot speak highly enough of the system. It is very intense and effort driven so if you are looking for an easy way to get a degree, do not go to Baker. I have read other students reviews and I agree, 5 out of 7 days you must post 2 quality posts to the board and sometimes it is difficult. It is not impossible and requires just a few moments out of each day if you know the material and yes, some instructors like a couple of paragraphs but what is the issue with that if you have read the material. And for those of you stating that not all instructors facilitate the posting process, that is ridiculous. You will have questions yourself, your classmates will have questions. By either asking a question and/or answering a question on course material, your making a substantial post.
Bottom line is, it is a credible college providing high intensity workload in order to facilitate you not having to commute to campus every other day. It is no secret that online education requires great amounts of self discipline and dedication and those who lack these traits should definitely look for an easier school to attend. Just because you cannot commit yourself to the workload or maybe you give up to easily, does not mean you should try to discredit this college. Other students including me are paying hard earned dollars to get a degree and people who complain and pass the blame like this are trying to take away the good name of the college while not acknowledging their own issues.
Bottomline, I researched many online schools before deciding on Baker and I have yet to regret the decision.

BBA in Finance

BBA Management
Reviewer: donovanpratt email verified (Degree In Progress) on July 20, 2011

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I am in my second year at Baker College Online. I feel that the classes are very demanding which requires the student to be self-motivated and willing to actually do work. I see some complaints of previous students, and if working through a problem or challenge in any life event is going to make you quit, then maybe college is not for you. From my experience, I get more feedback and interaction from students and instructors than in a traditional classroom with the flexibility of an online classroom. The material can be tough, but reading the book and participating in class is necessary to learn the material. Baker College Online is not a diploma mill, it is actually a college. You will have to do work to EARN your degree.

Not For Working Adults

Marketing
Reviewer: Anonymous email verified (Degree In Progress) on July 9, 2011

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While Baker advertises itself as a great online program for working adults, it is anything but. Their log in requirements alone negate a "flexible" school environment. In any class, students are required to log in and post to a discussion board 5 of 7 days out of the week. Some instructors require more postings than others, and some require nearly full-page essays per posting. Few instructors help facilitate any discussion, and some actually hinder students from obtaining participation points. There is no school-wide consistency regarding discussion board participation, and it is left up to the individual instructors to determine what qualifies as "substantive" enough to receive points. 

Most classes also have assignments due throughout the week, instead of at the very end of the week, forcing students to meet arbitrary deadlines throughout the course, and again, definitely not allowing the flexibility they claim in their advertising.

The school's bookstore is questionable. More often than not, students are provided with wrong ISBN numbers for textbooks, and Baker rarely has used textbooks available for purchase. Whether this is a ploy to force students to purchase new  textbooks through Baker, or an honest mistake (time after time) on the part of the bookstore, it is very frustrating when trying to find a cheaper alternative for textbooks. Since Baker doesn't provide extra class (or instructor) information until the day before a class begins, students either have to order through the bookstore, or wait until after the class has started to receive textbooks. With the arbitrary deadlines I mentioned above, this could be dangerous in regards to losing assignment or participation points, since most instructors rely very heavily on textbooks. 

Baker uses "quarters" instead of semesters. This makes transferring any credit earned here extremely difficult. 

For any written assignments, Baker requires APA format. It is not difficult to follow, but there are instructors more concerned about format rather than content, and will fail a whole assignment over one formatting error. 

Instructor quality is hit-or-miss. Some are very educated, helpful and knowledgeable about their classes. Others are overbearing, narcissistic and downright hostile towards students. I am a straight-A student; I am aware of the challenges (and benefits) that go along with online learning. After an instructor whose workload was beyond excessive, was impossible to please (20+ students dropped that class by the time it was over), trying to communicate with her to no avail, and finally sending a 5-page letter to the dean that was basically ignored, I decided to find another school to finish my degree, where I am currently enrolled and very pleased with.

Stay Away

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: Anonymous email verified (Degree In Progress) on June 19, 2009

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While I have nor problem with the intensity or the quantity of work for their online classes.  When I first looked for information on this school there was not a lot out there to go on.  I wish there was.  It would have saved me a lot of grief. 

But I didn't like that there was no interaction whatsoever between the professors and students when it came to discussion questions.  There is no meaningful exchange of ideas, there is no way to know if you are on track until after everything has been graded.

Their administration is a joke - particularly financial aid.  Beware if you are in the grad program that your first class is not covered by aid [it is not even considered a full class and yet it is mandatory] and they will send all monies back to the originator forcing you to carry a balance that you are personally responsible for. This will also cause any other loans in deferment to come due during the class and they won't be placed in deferment until you are in the second "full time" class.  

Their platforms are supposed to be compatible with a variety of computers, but beware - professors will require software for certain classes that are only compatible with PC's.  So if you are on a MAC or Linux you are out of luck. 

If you need assistance.  Good luck.  You will get passed around 4-5 times to people who are clueless and have no problem saying that they are clueless and can't help you.  Not only that, but you get the privilege of having people be mean, rude, and disrespectful when you are in need of help. 


So think twice, three times, before thinking of going to this school. 


They are even being sued: 

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-miedce/case_no-5:2008cv13061/case_id-231972/

I don't know the particulars, but research before you get involved with any school.  Truly better safe than sorry.  And I am sorry I ever dealt with these people.

Bad Experience

BBA Management
Reviewer: Anonymous email verified (Degree In Progress) on February 23, 2009

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I was previously a student at Baker College Online. I left because, I grew frustrated with Baker College's unrealistic and insensitive method of delivery.

Students were required to submit 2 'substantive posts' 5 to 6 days a week. This was analogous to a traditional student going to the same class 5 to 6 days a week and actively participating each day. To compound this burden, I found that few of the instructors actively facilitated discussion. Sometimes I was relegated to a form of discussion board trivia or simply paraphrasing relevant text. Imagine how difficult the 10 to 12 posts per week were when taking courses such as algebra or accounting. The lack of instructor facilitation did not prevent them from deducting participation points for missing a daily post, or for the post not being 'substantive' enough. One instructor (with a bachelor's degree) made up for his lack of credentials by grading extra hard, which means that even if I had 13 weekly posts, a few just weren't 'substantive' enough.

It gets worse. Since Baker College is in Michigan, they are on Eastern Standard Time; which means that their students across the world are also on Eastern Standard Time. I was in Washington, which meant that I had to do all of my participation by 9 pm. That was never less than 24 posts; 36 when I took three classes. Those posts were in addition to all of the assignments which were also due by 9 pm.

Due by 9pm, 12 EST, meant that exclusively. There were few instructors that allowed late work. I just didn't understand that at all. Were there instructors waiting until midnight to grade papers? When I brought this to the attention of a dean and a professor, they both said something to the effect of 'although east coast students have more time at the end of their day, you have more time at the beginning of yours.' I countered that, just like them, I wake up when it is dark, go to work, and get off at 5 pm. The difference is that east coast students have 7 hours to eat dinner with their families, perform course work, and perform other activities. I had 4!

They were also quite insulting with the amount of transfer credits awarded for military training. They gave me a whopping 8 credits. By contrast, my new school gave me 32! I was going to tough it out for one more semester to get my associates degree, but then it hit me; I had 88 credits and still needed 5 more classes for an associates!

The worst part about their technology was that none of it was intertwined. For class, I had to log into Blackboard. To register, I had to log into the Solar System. To use my email, I had to log into Baker Webmail. The school library, which you can only get to through the Solar System still required an additional login!

Horrible

Bachelor of Computer Science
Reviewer: Anonymous email verified (Degree In Progress) on December 10, 2008

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I do not even know where to begin with this school.  First of all, if you ever need help to use their Blackboard system, then you better hope one of your fellow students are kind enough to walk you through because the support team won't help you and the teachers themselves do not even know how to work it properly.  Grades are never posted in a timely fashion and it maybe by the end of the second seminar that you see your grades for the first one.  If you do not understand what you are reading then don't expect that the teacher will either.  I have had two teacher claiming to have PH.Ds and knew less than the students did about the material.  Also, if you don't agree with the teacher on a particular topic like euthanasia or Native American heritage then plan on getting C's for the rest of the quarter because you are wrong they are right and that is that.  Financial Aid is only done by one person so good luck on getting a call back for that.  The business office staff may get back with you next week if you are lucky after calling them five times to get through.  Seriously, Baker is a waste of time.  There teachers are incredible messes and you are not getting a worth while education there.

MBA

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: mike.gourley email verified (Graduate) on April 8, 2008

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Superlative asynchronous adult learning environment and presentation.

Want More Information about Baker College?

Looking for more information about Baker College? Complete an information request form and their admissions office will contact you to answer any questions you may have.