Bellevue University

I am a Criminal Justice major in the last class of the Kirkpatrick series (graduate in four weeks). I was originally a Security Studies major, but switched because of concerns in federal government cut backs. Still torn about that decision. After reading other reviews, I would say it is certainly not a diploma mill. I learned a great deal in this degree. Our first three classes were taught by a lawyer and the CJ portion was taught by a retired police chief of three fairly large police departments. The part I enjoyed the most was the individualized feedback I got from each assignment. The CJ instructor also took time out to personally counsel me concerning career choices. Most every class had a final paper and many of the CJ classes required local research as well as going out and personally interviewing people. I'm 35 so it took me awhile to come around to fully appreciating the personal enrichment that comes from higher learning. I'm very happy with Bellevue in this regard. I transferred in the maximum allowable credits. I actually went over the amount of credits I needed. I believe the max was 82. The transfer of credits was the reason I chose Bellevue. That said, it has taken every bit of 19 months to finish. (Lost a month in between the major and KSS because of schedule) Also, the Kirkpatrick series has been a very enjoyable and at times challenging experience overall. I can see why they included it as a requirement for the school. It gives the degree a liberal arts component that helped round out the degree instead of it simply being a degree concentrated solely on the major. This is something I very much appreciate now though at first I felt like it was a waste of time. Overall I highly recommend the school. I have certainly enjoyed my time as student.

I can remember reading these same reviews prior to enrolling at Bellevue University and was extremely concerned with some of the negative comments about Bellevue being a diploma mill and the classes being sub-par. I figured since I finished the program last year, I could give my 2 cents on the matter-both good and bad! I don’t know who said that Bellevue was a diploma mill, or that the classes were sub-par, but that was not my experience at all. Before enrolling at Bellevue University I had around 90 hours from Texas State University in San Marcos Texas. Unfortunately, due to a new job I had to move to an area where finishing my B.S. at a traditional “brick and mortar” school was not an option. I obtained a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from Bellevue University and found the classes to be similar to what was offered at Texas State University. I am now completing my Master’s Degree at University of Nebraska-Omaha in aviation. (I would’ve continued on at Bellevue but UNO offers an aviation option to the MPA). Even after finishing my first year of grad school, I can say that Bellevue is NOT a diploma mill and is honestly equal to both Texas State and UNO. Now for the bad! It’s a little pricy but after looking at other “online” schools it’s definitely one of the better choices. I wish I could have finished traditionally and saved a TON of money but unfortunately that wasn’t an option. I didn’t see how taking the Kirpatrick Series was relevant to my degree. It really seemed like a way for the university to make money but it’s been my experience that degree programs at many universities have required courses that could be eliminated from the program. After saying all that, I really found the Kirpatrick Series to be extremely interesting and very insightful but just not relevant! The only other thing I would say was below my expectations was after I graduated dealing with the registrar’s office. I had the most unfortunate opportunity to deal with the biggest A-hole in the entire state of Nebraska who happens to work in that office. Other than him, I found the faculty and administration to be EXTREMELY helpful and willing to help whenever I had questions or concerns. Bellevue is like any other school, it’s going to have both good and bad points. I am just generally pleased with the education I received there and I am really thankful I picked Bellevue University.

I would like to say that for any critic out there, you probably didn’t attend Bellevue. Bellevue is the best choice I have made in my life. I graduated with my B.S. in Criminal Justice and within months of graduating, I received a promotion at work. I work for a government law enforcement agency where I held the title of Police Officer. My salary was around $65,000. After receiving my degree, I applied for the position of Special Agent and received the position. My salary now is $95,000. So what is a degree from Bellevue University worth? You do the math. There were many options available for me to combine my previous college credit with my law enforcement training. Bellevue developed a program for the courses I needed to take and they were very challenging. I am extremely satisfied with the money I spent and would recommend Bellevue to anyone.

I am currently attending Bellevue University – accelerated Bachelor’s degree cohort program with an emphasis on Criminal Justice, I am in my last class (Capstone project). Overall I have had a rewarding experience however there are some areas that I feel need to be addressed (and I would have liked to know before enrolling). 1. The online classes are very intense and time consuming, do not think that you will just be able to retrieve your assignments, then post them and be done. 2. The online classroom and discussion boards are user friendly and easy to navigate. 3. You do have the same instructor throughout the program which has its pros and cons, Pros – you know what to expect from this instructor, how demanding they will be, what type of submissions they want, and what type of interaction is expected from you. Cons – the instructor has a mindset of what they want and will not deviate from that mindset, the instructor doesn’t like for you to question their authority or opinions, and you don’t receive the diversity of new instructors. 4. Group projects – this was my biggest complaint throughout the program. Each class you were assigned to a group, only group grades were given for the assignments so therefore you had several in the group that would not contribute at all yet they received a good grade based on the efforts of the rest of the group. To me this is educational welfare, there should have been a grade for individual participation and a grade for group but this was not to be. Overall I enjoyed my experience and would recommend Bellevue to anyone wishing to obtain their degree but be prepared to work for it.

I completed the criminal justice progam online and must say that it was overall a good experience. It was weird at first having the same teacher but as time went on I learned he was very informed on the subject(s). One dissapointment though was the cheap looking diploma that took months to arrive. Criminal justice was not listed anywhere on the degree and when I inquired I was told that other colleges omit the major also. In the end I would recommend the university just don't be surprised by the diploma.