Bellevue University

My primary complaint is the required Kirkpatrick Signature Series. Why would an IT person seeking an IT degree have to take a mandatory three month course on government and go through the pain of the VERY intense reading and writing workload in the accelerated program?? I understand accelerated and all that it entails but week one of the series is this: Read 80+ full pages of articles, write a 400-600 word essay on values, respond to five other people's essays with no less than 100 words, choose a topic for the final project (which involves volunteer work) and by the way, site all mandatory references.....Way too much in my opinion and definitely not for the working adult with family responsibilities!! Why is this three month course required at a $3,400 price tag when the University is already more expensive than other online programs almost $20K for nine classes?? Diploma mill no, but not being upfront about the intense workload and requirements, yes. If you are like me, an older adult looking for finish a degree and have a family and other responsibilities, you may want to consider another University. PS: I am NOT lazy or not willing to contribute time and effort to finish a degree, I just can't understand why this particular series is a requirement when other Universities do not have such a thing...

I have not been overly impressed. Seems more like a paper mill than really trying to prepare you for a real job. Try to ask advisor Henneberry a question and the response I got was, " I have 48 hours to get back to you." Some classes have been very good and challenging but a few I have actually taught the class myself as the instructor was not familiar with the subject.

I was not sure what to expect but decided to go with a full online program to fit my work/family balance. Bellevue was a great experience to complete my B.S. I had attended University of Texas at Austin previously, and Bellevue is definitely not an "easy" alternative. The coursework was extremely challenging and required a lot of dedicated effort on my part, much more than I had planned on. In most classes, somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of your grade will depend on participation and interaction with the class. This also set it apart from my experience at UT Austin, where participation in the class was rarely necessary. Bellevue puts a high emphasis on interaction. Your writings will often be reviewed and critiqued by other students. So, while the program can be completed 100% online and on your own schedule, you are far less isolated than many traditional in-person courses would be. I marked a 5 for support because some professors are not very responsive. Some are. The online tools (Blackboard) could use improvements. Most useful would be the ability to get email notifications when there is activity on the course discussion board. Finally, I've seen a lot of reviews regarding what is listed on the diploma. I received mine in October 2012, and it listed my degree (Management Information Systems) as well as my honors status. If I decide pursue an eMBA, I will go with a traditional, local and ranked program since the personal connection and alum network are often more valuable than the content. If I were to pursue another bachelor's, I would pick Bellevue again.