1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
9
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Winansian
(Graduate) on May 6, 2012
(email verified)
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Most people go to school for the wrong reasons.
For those who give negative feedback, you've never been to a real school obviously. You are paying for an education. It's up to you to READ the books and to get that education.
I have an AAS in Aviation Sciences from Utah Valley State Univeristy. AS in Graphic Design, BA in Animation from Westwood Technical College. Then came to CTU after a few bad Experiences with Uni of Ph, and Full Sail Uni. I decided to complete a few classes for the AAS in Criminal Justice, Just completed the BA in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Feb2011, now working on my Masters and will Gladly use this school to get my Doctorates.
Ive been to many schools attended on campus and online for most. CTU is BY FAR the best school for what they have. If you don't like the learning on your own format, do not even think about going to college. This isn't high school, they won't hold your hand through your classes. They do answer emails. There are 2 classes a week. I've NEVER had a professor miss more than 2 classes in a 5.5 week session. Wed discussion boards are due, Sundays peer responses to those discussions are due. Then Monday Individual projects are due. You don't do crap for homework, so those who complain that this is too much can literally go fall off a cliff. I remember having 2,000 word essays due each day in high school for a basic Lit class. Plus is had 8 other classes to do at the same time.
CTU is a great school, take it for the right purposes. Each of their classes are technical courses. Which means you have a class and you learn A LOT if you decided to READ the BOOKS and materials.!!! you know when you work at simple jobs like Home depot for 3 years, they want you to take a class to become a manager or a supervisor. That 1 basic class brings you up that much because it's a technical class. EVERY CLASS YOU WILL TAKE AT CTU. IS A TECHNICAL CLASS. there are a few basic courses that are common sense, but if you chose not to learn from the materials, you are cheating yourself out of your money.
After my BA degree I opened up my Own Federal Agency. I'm a CEO at 23. I'd say THANK YOU to CTU for the classes I took there helped me understand the aspects of homeland security and allowed me to do this. Maybe in the future you all will see my Inducted into the Department of Justice like I am trying to do now.
If any of you have issues that are keeping you from applying at CTU feel free to email me. I'll be happy to answer any questions as a Student. I do not work for CTU and Would tell anyone to take CTU's General education and transfer. If you want to stick with them with their programs.. do it.!
dabeleg13@gmail.com
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on May 5, 2012
(email verified)
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Know what your'e getting into.
You may be interested in this college for one reason or another, but you probably want to get your education for a job. You need to know that if you give them your e-mail or any information they will abuse the crap out of it. Upon sending my info to them online on their website requesting some information, I was called the next day by a recruiter who would not stop talking to me, even at work. I asked him to call back later. Oh, they called back alright. They called back the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day etc. Once I stopped answering they apparently elevated my situation to one of their "top recruiters." I didn't buy it at all, this was the most pushy, needy woman on the planet. But, somehow I was about to start classes when I decided it wasn't time for me. Apparently this was unacceptable and I was told "NO" at first. I just said to her, I don't care what you think AT ALL, I am not doing this. This was not enough apparently and they elevated me to her boss at some point. This is when I told her that I do not want to talk to that person ever again and the only way to get them to stop talking to me for now, was to tell them I would be taking classes next "session" instead. So guess what they did, started calling me again 5 weeks later and it was the same push woman who wouldn't let it go.
Well, my temporary employment at my awesome job ended and I was stuck questioning what to do. So, when this obnoxious woman called back, I ended up agreeing to take the classes. This didn't stop her from calling me every single day until I filled out the online forms. Once I did this I never heard from her again. This was both a blessing and a sign of shady things to come.
The first class they FORCE you to take (I say the first, because you have absolutely no control over which classes you take, when you take them, and the time they are)is a very, very elementary introduction class to the "online campus." Here you learn about setting goals and most of your grade is determined by idiotic responses to people's phony interest in the school and "information" we were getting. Also, there was no book for this course, but you still have to pay the full tuition fee, which I was told was so inflated due to books and material. The "live sessions" are one hour, twice a week, incredibly boring listening sessions. After the first 20 minutes of the teacher figuring out what she was doing and talking to students she began her now 40 minute lecture. This was about 5 minutes worth of material expanded for the duration, in part because of her slowness and in part because really dumb people had actual questions about what she was talking about. This class was mostly a joke, but it was just an introductory class, so I assumed that my next set of real classes would be much different.
My next set of classes start and lo and behold it is exactly the same setup. We are forced into responding to students for a grade with half-assed and phony responses. I still only have a 1 hour (ish) period of listening to a boring instructor and now there are group assignments. On top of all of this, I was taking classes that I didn't want to and didn't care about. So finding the motivation to get up at 5AM to listen to the teacher live was impossible. Apparently someone intelligent thought it was okay to have a 5am live class, which I figure I am paying for a class to participate in. I e-mailed the teacher about this and he said it will not change. So after the first week of hell, I decided I didn't want to do this. This is when very bad things started happening.
I call them up on monday and ask to be withdrawn from the terribly rushed and boring 5.5 week classes I was forced into. I got an immediate "NO." Apparently you only have the first 5 days of class to withdraw and get your money back. Unfortunately this was the moment I realized I participated in a huge scam. There was no pleading or arguing with these people that would change their mind, because it was "policy." But the good news was, I could withdraw and NOT get my money back! These people are a joke and could care less about any one student. After weeks of pleading with financial aid advisers, my financial aid was revoked because I accepted the withdrawal and I was stuck with a $900 bill and a $1200 loan for 2 classes I did not take, or want to take. I even filed a dispute with financial aid describing my situation and what had happened. It was promptly denied and I was left screwed over, learning nothing.
Sorry for the really long rant, but this place is mostly a money grubbing scam. If you want rushed courses that are packed into 5.5 weeks and cost over $1200 each this college may be for you. If you want little to no time with an instructor and a 1 hour twice a week listening and holding internet hands "live session," this may be the college for you. If you want forced group interaction, awkward communication, and a to hear meaningless responses from people that are probably dumber than you (no offense), this may be the college for you. Just know, you are only a dollar sign to these people.
5
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Mikepettinato
(Graduate) on May 4, 2012
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Not recommended
I must start by saying that I graduated with a 4.0 at CTU, so I'm not just another disgruntled student who thought he/she was going to get an easy ride; I put a lot of time and effort into earning my degree at CTU. I went above and beyond on my assignments to try to really understand the subject matter. Learning the material was really important to me, not just getting an A with the least amount of work possible.
Overall, CTU is not a very good value. The school is among the most expensive there is for online programs. The programs are really a joke in my opinion. First, the school tries to use the same exact syllabus for each class, which just doesn't work out very well. In other words, you end up writing a paper on math instead of actually doing/learning math problems. Secondly, the discussion board postings are worthless. Every week you have to participate in discussion boards, but there is never really any meaningful discussion going on. The discussion postings are mainly students who can barely read or spell posting comments such as, "great work, keep it up!" Third, you get virtually no help from the professors. During my time at CTU I tried to contact professors on several occasions to ask questions/seek more help on various subjects. I never received an answer of any sort. I was always told to Google it or watch the class lecture. I did watch the class lecture, but needed some additional explanation. What is the point of having experienced professors if they are just going to tell you to Google it? They don't even "teach" during the lectures; they simply read a PowerPoint slide to the class. Fourth, many times the subject matter was off base. For instance, in the object-oriented design class we wrote a procedural based program, not an object-oriented program. WTH? I got a 99 for the class, but didn't really learn much about object-oriented design. I learned more about object-oriented design within an hour of reading Head First Java on my own time than I did during the entire object-oriented design course at CTU. It seems that you are graded more for your ability to write than you are for understanding the subject matter. I will say that the technology is top notch, but it does little to overcome the weaknesses in curriculum. Fifth, financial aid was also dishonest with me. They are pressured to tell students whatever they need to tell them to get the most money possible. I explicitly explained to financial aid that I didn't want to take more classes than my student loans would cover in a year and if I had to drag out the length of the program that was fine. The main point was that I didn't want to have to pay out-of-pocket. Of course they told me I had plenty of available loan money and kept me enrolled in the maximum number of classes each term. Next thing you know, they said I'd need to pay $8000 for the remainder of the year because I had already used up all my loan money. I paid because I had no choice if I wanted to finish. This really left a sour taste in my mouth. Before this happened, my opinion of CTU was just that they were any other business with good intentions but simply had a very weak program. To me, the dishonesty there showed me they are worse than that - cons out to extort as much money as possible from their students in as short a time as possible.
I'll leave with this: the program is very, very easy and you won't really learn much, even if you go above and beyond. But, you will earn an accredited degree. If you're a working adult that hasn't been in school in over 20 years and consider yourself weak academically, you might benefit a little from CTU's degree program. Otherwise, there are much better schools such as UMASS (same price as CTU) and Western Governors ($6000 per year) for the same price or less than CTU. The important thing to remember here as potential students ponder attending CTU is that earning a degree is not the answer, it's really what you do with the knowledge gained. With that said, I cannot recommend CTU for 95% of the population. You'll end up with $50k in debt with little skills or knowledge to show for it. Even if another school such as Western Governors were found to be no better, at least you'd only be $12k in debt, not $50k.
I only posted this review because I don't want other students to be in the same boat I'm in; that is, a lot of debt with little education. I'm looking into attending another institution and earning a second degree just because I feel that my time spend with CTU was pretty much useless. I hope that those reading this won't make the same mistake I did. Please, find another school to attend.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5
10
Anonymous
(In Progress) on March 15, 2012
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current student-3 classes away from associate's
For the most part, my experience at CTU Online has been positive. The school gives you two classes at a time that are 5 1/2 weeks long. It is a fast-paced school. I have attended a traditional school, and my experience here has been different. To begin, there are almost no multiple choice tests; everything is essays. This produces two different results: 1. If you have poor writing skills, you will not succeed here, even if you fully understand course concepts. 2. This allows the instructor to give biased grades. The instructors are supposed to follow a grading rubric, but it still gives plenty of room for them to lower a grade based on opinion. The classroom structure overall allows teachers to favor some students, and not others. For example, I had an instructor grant an entire class one free late pass, no explanation needed, for any assignment in the course. At one point, I asked for an extension and gave proof of an extreme medical emergency, yet I was denied. When I asked the reason, I was told she had too many to keep up with so she couldn't accept mine late, too. The school told me that they recognized that it wasn't fair, but if I contested it, I would run the risk of "rocking the boat" and receiving low grades for the remainder of the class. To me, this was a perfect example of how the structure of the class allowed the instructor to take advantage of their position; if I made her too upset, my grade would suffer. If I had chosen a school with actual tests, then this wouldn't have happened. I have not yet tried to switch schools; I am so close to graduating, that I'm going to take my chances. I know there is a common misconception that CTU Online is not accredited. However, if the students making those claims filled out their FAFSA application electronically, then they would see that it is, in fact, accredited. The website specifically tells you what schools are accredited, and which ones aren't. To wrap this up: This school is very different than a traditional school, but not unlike other online schools. The cost looks high, but it does include materials like books, webcams, software, and more, and traditional schools do not include this when they give you tuition costs. Finally, if you decide to attend here, butter-up the instructor as much as possible; it will benefit your grade.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3
10
Nychsa
(In Progress) on March 10, 2012
(email verified)
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Will give you no credit for prior education/experience or certifications
As I was researching schools for a graduate degree in Information Systems Security I came across CTU online.
I was told by the recruiter at CTU that I would receive credit for prior learning, and experience. The classes looked interesting and the online school was tied to a brick and mortar school. In addition it was an NSA Center of Excellence. So I believed the recruiter and came on board with CTU.
I had my graduate transcripts from George Washington University sent to CTU only to learn they could not give me any credit for them because they were 5 years old. Then they told me to write up descriptions for my certifications. If the descriptions matched to some of the course material, I could get credit for those courses. Since I knew several of my certifications would map to the course material, I gladly wrote up the descriptions. I have the following certifications:
CISM
OCSP
CNSS 4015
CNSS 4012
CNSS 4011
NSA IAM
FQ Navy Validator
After I pulled together those descriptions and sent them, I was told they can't give me credit for any of them because I am at the Graduate level and they only give credit for professional certifications at the undergraduate level (funny how Western Governors seems to have no problem with this)!
Then they told me to send my resume and a write up of my experience and references. Determined to get credit for the many years of work and study I have in the field of information security, I put that package together only to then hear again, I can't get credit for any of that at the graduate level - they only do that at the undergraduate level!
For CTU, it was clearly about the money. Had I known CTU would give me no credit for anything I'd done, I would not have gone to CTU. So, to make a long story short, they lied .
In the mean time, I took the Operating Systems security class, which was taught by someone who barely had an understanding of information security. Since he had no clue about OS security all he taught was security policy and management.
Next came network security, and that was taught by an instructor I had for systems engineering. He knew systems engineering but was out of his element with network security. It was painful to watch him stumble through it!
Then there was an instructor who's slides and English looked like it came from a 12th grader. Obviously
I was too far in to get out. So, I stuck it out. In my very last class, they tortured us again with these ridiculous group assignments (have you ever tried to work in a group with people who are all full time employed, living in different time zones? It doesn't work out too well). There were four of us in the group. One person dropped out. The instructor then told the rest of us in an email that we had to make up the missing student's work! So, not only do I not get credit for work and experience and certifications, but I also get to now do work that some other student was supposed to do! That was jut adding insult to injury! I called student advising and complained and I was told it is the instructor's discretion.
How can this be? If CTU is going to play money hard ball with students, then we are definitely customers and need to be treated equally. To me that means if someone in another group writes one paper and has a shot at the same grade, I should not be asked to write two for the same grade! In addition, given that I am a Navy Veteran and have been working and leading teams for the pat 13 years, I think I've had my fair share of experience in terms of picking up the slack for someone else. CTU does not need to try to teach me that lesson either.
So, in all – if this ends up being the case that the only way I can maintain my GPA is by taking on another student's work, then the complaint may end up being a bit more than just a complaint. It is bad enough that I was lied to during the recruiting effort. But to not get credit for prior learning as promised only to then be saddled with doing another student's work is really adding insult to injury.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
9
10
Jdpryor87
(Graduate) on January 26, 2012
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Scary Experience turned Perfect!
I begin attending CTU in 2010 I pursued an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. I graduated September 2011. I am currently working on my Bachelor's in Health Administration. Since, I am already employed, I cannot say that having this degree has helped me with obtaining employment. It did help me get a $2.50 raise!!! The one thing I will say is, that I believe once you know how a program operates, you know how to deal with the people involved. In my associates program I had a baby and had to repeat two of my classes, while I was out I received a student stipend, Once I was aware that I would have to repeat my classes I asked financial aid did I have enough student loans and pell grant to cover my classes, I was told yes, but upon beginning to complete the classes I noticed that I had a balance of $2100. Its a long story and eventually it all worked out, but the lesson for this story would be, when speaking with financial aid write down everything. So another situation happened recently and because I wrote everything down, I was not in the dark and knew exactly what was going on in regards to my account. So best wishes to anyone who decides to attend the school. I give them a overally 9 because no one is perfect, but they are pretty close.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
10
10
TajaAndOtoGSDs
(In Progress) on October 30, 2011
(email verified)
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Phenomenal Online Program Experience
Choosing CTU was the best decision I could have made. After being out of school for 30+ years, I completed my associate program with a 3.73 GPA. Quite an accomplishment for someone who had no interest in being in school during my high school years. I am now halfway through completing my bachelor's program with a concentration in International Business and have a 4.0 GPA. As well, I am enrolled in my master's program, which is scheduled to begin August 19, 2012 immediately following my graduation from my bachelor's program.
My interaction with my class instructors and learning lab facilitators has been nothing short of phenomenal. Most have business experience in the subject matter they teach and are able to bring real-world aspects into the material being shared to make it more enjoyable. I have stayed in touch with 99% of my instructors after our classes have ended. They are a terrific support system and never-ending fountains of valuable insight.
All I can say is that anyone who had a bad experience with CTU did NOT take advantage of all the resources available to them. By comparison with other online schools, CTU has the most interactive platform between students and instructors you will ever find. Of course, the ones complaining are only looking for a place to lay the blame for their own failures. If one is looking for a free ride with no personal investment of time or energy, then of course they will find fault with the professors. Professors have high expectations of the students just as the students should have high expectations on their own success. As Colin Powell has said, "[t]he only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."
For those saying the discussion board format is a way for instructors to have students grade another's work, you are so off base it's ridiculous. That is the last thing expected within that format. The concept is to share ideas and broaden each other's perspective. Apparently you were not present for the live chat in the first class where providing comments on grammar, punctuation and APA formatting is not the purpose of the forum.
My overall experience with CTU has been challenging, rewarding and personally fulfilling. There are many reasons for seeking a higher education degree; however, if the primary focus is increasing your salary level or because you need it to get a promotion then you are in school for the wrong reasons and will never get the true value of what is being offering.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1
10
Tipton.chad
(In Progress) on September 10, 2011
(email verified)
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CTU on line the worst educational experience of my life
Wow so many bad things to say about my experience at CTU. I realized after six months of attending CTU on-line that is a scam. These people should be ashamed of themselves for wasting tax payer money. I have found a newspaper article that anyone planning on attending any of these ridiculous on-line schools like CTU, ITT Tech, Westwood College or university of Phoenix, ECT... should read. It is titled In Hard Times Lured into Trade School and Debt. By: Peter S. Goodman. The New York Times, March 15, 2010. This article explains exactly what these types of phony schools are up to.
I found CTU On-Line to be a miserable experience. The on-line class environment is a joke. All the instructors do is read you a book over the internet. Listening to the instructors just read you a book over the Internet was intolerable and boring. The instructors would never answer any questions, saying that they had to finish reading the required material in these live chats ("class sessions"). The assignments that some of the instructors posted were stolen from other schools internet sites word for word. I found this out by googling the key words of assignments and found the exact same words for assignments on other schools web sites. The instructors say you can e-mail them for help "since you can’t ask questions during the live chats”, but good luck getting a timely response. Most live on-line chat sessions I attended at this "school" had very few participants; maybe three out of forty people participated on average. The chats are recorded but that's even more intolerable and boring than listening to the live sessions.
The instructors would have you grade and comment on other student’s papers. This was a joke because most of the papers sucked and I didn’t want to be the one to tell these people they had no clue what they were writing about. Most of the student responses would only be a few sentences like, nice work on your paper I found it interesting. This really was not helpful at all and a complete waste of time.
The instructor’s comments for grades were basically the same, consisting of only a few sentences that really didn’t help me learn anything at all or correct my mistakes or clear up any confusing material. Most of the time the instructors would use the cop out that you can find everything you need on the internet, what a joke.
They (CTU) have this thing called group assignments were you team up with others from all over the country to do assignments together. This never worked because of different schedules and time zones. I was the only one most of the time that would even try to get the group to work together. It never did go very well though.
The APA style writing they push on you was a joke too. Every instructor had different interpretations of what APA was and nobody I talked to or even myself ever had much luck writing "correct" APA format.
I was getting A's and helping other students out with programming concepts and Java code writing. If you attend this school you had better love sitting in front of the computer forever. The college algebra class came and myself and allot of other students were struggling and trying to find help, but there was none. I was spending 30 hours a week doing all these things and feeling like I was wasting my time and money.
I learned more about computers from my own studies than the classes provided. Most students in my classes were so lost that I spent most of my time trying to help them make sense of the garbage the school was presenting.
I really think that you should choose a school carefully and ones that advertise on the TV or radio usually aren't very good. I got out after $9000.00 in total charges after like six months and six worthless classes. I would have been better off investing that money in any other way rather than trying CTU.
The admissions people are quite the sales talkers. They called me constantly for two weeks straight to get me to pay the $50 application fee and start my FASFA papers so they could get paid as soon as possible. What a joke that school will pass anyone through the courses so they can collect the easy money their stealing from government loans.
I think people should attend a class room based school with hands on training. That's really the only realistic way to go. Who wants a bunch of Internet trained cops, engineers or doctors working with them, I know I wouldn’t. I would advise you to ask the HR department of a place you would like to work were they have their employees trained and go to those classes. I have taken company sponsored classes that got me certificates that increased my pay and value to the companies I was working for. Hope this helps and good luck in your search for a school
I believe this school will accept anyone for their programs just to collect the easy money from the government loans they are stealing from. The fifty dollar application fee is just feel good tactic. Anyone who applies to this school will be accepted. Seriously DONT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL, YOU WILL JUST END UP IN BIG TIME DEBT WITH NO SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS. Now I’m so mad because I was a MORON for believing this "school" was going to improve my education and job options.
DONT GET SUCKERED IN LIKE I DID, I KNOW I WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF INVESTING THAT MONEY IN ANY OTHER WAY. My E-mail is tipton.chad@yahoo.com and if you want more explanation of what I experienced I would be happy to save you from the worst (AND MOST COSTLY) decision of your life, attending Colorado Technical University On-line.
The grade I would give CTU on-line is 50% or an F.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1
10
Anonymous
(In Progress) on June 30, 2011
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High Pressure Beware!
CTU is a very high pressure group of sales people. Right from my first contact inquiring about online college in Feb.- I was overwhelmed with lengthy phone calls, emails, told "I need you to "log-on" Go here, click there, fill this out, complete this, etc. If I didn't respond right away or said I want to hold off, they'd pass me off to the next person up the line for further convincing.
Classes were to start mid-May. A month prior I tried to back out; I was very hesitant and concerned about cost. I did not qualify for a loan or grant. Pushed again and assured I'd have zero out of pocket cost, they moved forward. I was told I could withdraw at any time up to and within the first 7 days of class (disclaimer omitted).
By May I was deeply involved in a family situation consuming my time and money. I was stressed and just wanted to withdraw and couldn't get the point across that I had reconsidered and just needed to hold off.
Overall I tried three times telling three different advisors, the last attempt was 4 days before the "deadline" by email and voice mail, which wasn't received. Yet again pressured and now on day 8 of the first session ..."give it a chance, everyone is nervous at first" and "I've worked so hard for you" to "Just log in and I'll help you complete your assignments - I can even do it for you" and so on.
Still trying not to be rude and after being pushed - I did agree to log in and do assignment 1. I had literally only posted one introductory message about myself, even then saying I wasn't feeling ready (got an A and more coaxing).
Beware...a month after I finally got the advisor to understand I wanted out and was done - all of a sudden the collections dept.calls and rudely tries collecting several hundred dollars, due immediately, but with no prior notice.
I learned the hard way that somewhere in those tasks and forms they had me "checking off" online, apparently I signed off on something that said I’d be charged each time I "log-on" to the students website. No wonder every call was all about "can you go online"?
You'll want to have serious control with this group. Don't cave, be prepared, and of course, read the fine print!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
7
10
Jbridgland
(Graduate) on March 1, 2011
(email verified)
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BSBA-IT Degree Completed
I attended CTU for a year and a half, graduating in 2008 with a BSBA-IT degree. I had attended one other on-line degree University two years before starting this one, and had been completly unimpressed, so I was very thorough in checking this one out. My initial classes proved irksome, mostly because I was unfamiliar with the procedures and the two initial professors were a wrong choice for new students: non-communicative, poor people skills. After that, however, I became more familiar with the medium and impressed with the quality of the instructors. The level of support is very good - many resources to choose from. Immediately upon graduation I received a healthy wage increase at my place of business, where I am a Director of I.T. Overall, this can be a good experience, but as with anything else, you get out of it what you are willing to put in.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
9
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Richardmthomas
(In Progress) on September 6, 2010
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Great Choice for the Employed
My name is Richard Thomas. I have a promising career as a software analyst for a major software development company and I am also a former U.S. Marine (89-93) and Soldier(95-03). Coloardo Technical University Online has been a great school for me because it fits in to my very busy schedule where I balance a full time job, my family life as a husband and father of 5, and school. My job requires me to travel almost every month and CTU Online allows me to carry the school with me. I've never had a problem getting my assignments in on time but the Professors are very understanding (within reason) on turning in late assignments.
I have taken several correspondence courses and online college courses while serving in the military and I have to say that CTU is by far the best that I have been associated with. Their live chats are like sitting in a brick and mortar classroom and the Professors are very helpful. The use of tutors and their learning labs also are very helpful in learning the information. I have always had good, positive communication with the professors as well. Small group assignments help the students learn the skills necessary to work as a team in the "real world". The level of instruction is also top notch. There have only been one or two classes that I felt I was not challenged. Most of the classes are very useful and geared towards work related skills rather than just useless book knowledge that so many schools teach.
On the negative side, the University is a business and they have used a lot of pressure sales tactics to get me to commit to classes and programs that I did not want to take. My advise is to stick to your guns and make sure you are taking what you want to take. It may take longer to get setup, but it is your education not theirs. The financial aide department is also very frustrating at times. However, so are most other schools financial aide departments. My Niece is enrolled at the University of Florida and she is equally frustrtated with their financial aide department.
The important thing to remember is that all schools are in the business to make money. They have to be in order to stay in business. Regardless of whether you attend CTU or not, keep that in mind. You will have times you are very dissapointed and you will have times that you are extrememly happy at any school, or in life for that matter. For me CTU fits exactly what I needed. I earned my Associates degree in March of 2010 and am currently enrolled in the B.S.B.A. program and I am very happy with the school. CTU provides great instruction with relavant information and I can take it with me where ever I go. Although there are times when I get frustrtated, I am over all extrememly happy with this institution.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5
10
Joshy327
(In Progress) on June 29, 2010
(email verified)
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Buyer Beware
I contacted CTU in June 2010 to inquire about possibly transferring from my current school, to CTU's Master Program in Finance. While I can't comment on the actual course work, I will state the enrollment experience was very similar to purchasing life insurance or a used car- VERY high pressure sales push from my enrollment counselor.
My enrollment counselor was completely uninterested in what was in my best interest, and was way more interested in just getting me enrolled in the school ASAP so they can start billing tuition fees. Instead of listening to what I my goals were, he repeatedly tried to get me to start a month earlier than I had originally wanted to. Then he proceeded to call me every day for two weeks trying to get me to change my FASA and dis-enroll from my current school, but I refused to do so. I didn't trust this guy and wanted to make sure I still had my current school to fall back on if my credits didn't transfer. So while I was waiting to here back about my credits, I got a surprise e-mail from the school saying I've had books on the way. Surprise! Now keep in mind, at that point in time I hadn't filled out a FASA, gone to orientation, or dis-enrolled from my previous school yet, but I had books in the mail for a class that turned out to be the same class I was trying to transfer. Unbelievable...
When it came time to get an answer on my transcripts, he he gave me the same line everyone else is complaining about- that the transfers department couldn't take my classes, and that it would be same with any other school. Whatever!!!
I'm going to keep shopping around, if what he says is true, I'll just stay with the school I'm already at. But I'm willing to bet he's wrong. I'm pretty sure someone out there is more than willing to take my loan money.
To be fair, the actual classes might be awesome. So if you're starting fresh and not worried about transfering credits, this school might be good choice. And if you're in a hurry, they'll have you going in less than a month.
My name is Josh Martin, and I'm a real person. I still have all of my original e-mails from my enrollment advisor, and I can be reached at joshy327@gmail.com if anyone would like more info regarding this review.
10
10
Biggidybomb
(Graduate) on May 2, 2010
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excellent education
I pursued the MSM in project management with CTU (this was a successful experiment). Online programs are challenging for both students and instructors; just as not every student can succeed in the virtual environment, not every instructor can teach in one for that matter. The curriculum was amazing, the technology of the course was superior, and my knowledge gained in the project management field surpassed that of project managers above me in my job field. The 18 month time consuming program is backed by the Project Management Institute. I sacrificed 18 months and I worked hard extremely, and attained a 4.0 while I watched other fine student misinterpret the requirement only to attain a 3.5 GPA. The instructors worked with my remote and isolated location from Hawaii, the lacking infrastructure that impeded my virtual progress, earth quakes, long work schedule, and travel. My peer group consisted of all high caliber students (unlike Phoenix), the instructors were intelligent and helpful (besides one who was a novice obviously), and the scenario based curriculum was a fine approach. Both schools would have been rather costly for me had it not been for the G.I. Bill. I am a civilian bomb technician and a nationally certified quality auditor (CQA). My job is to scrutinize written standards and move only when requirement is clear and concise as well as communicate clarity and requirement to the workforce. The biggest challenge of the online format is the team project. I understood clearly the requirement of each assignment, and if I did not, I would contact the instructor to tighten all the loose ends. My obvious understanding of each assignment allowed me to progress effortlessly with a 4.0 and focus all my time on researching the many aspects above the assignment’s requirement. Other students tainted the requirement with opinions, bias, or trivial bouts of laziness, and did not embrace all the available resources such as instructor chats and emails, the syllabus, or school materials. These students would argue the requirement and waste precious time playing email tag trying to sway other team members to join forces like on the show Survivor. I would tell them I have a 4.0, pump the brakes and listen to the requirement. I only ever had two team members with egos that were too inflated to see clearly. I was not boasting my grade more than applying it as unarguable proof of understanding. These students were difficult partners. Thus concludes the challenges of the online format. You will not go wrong pursuing an MSM in Project Management with CTU if that is your goal. I have launched myself far above my work peers in both certified education and knowledge attained by this program.
9
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Anonymous
(Graduate) on March 5, 2010
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I'm proud of my degree from CTU
I attended CTU in 2005-2006. I entered with my A.S. degree from the Air Force. I completed my B.S. in 15 months (Dec 2006) and worked hard every month of those 15 months. I put in 20-30+ hours a week into my assignments while working full time and it paid off. I graduated with a 4.0 and am very proud of the hard work I put into it. I wish online degrees from quality schools, such as CTU, would get a little more respect from others out there. I'm married, with two kids, working full time and couldn't have returned to a pysical college campus. I feel I learned as much, if not more, than if I would have attended a brick and mortar school. You can't cut class or have a buddy take notes for you. YOU have to do all the work to get the credit and grades. So, I beleive I got a better education than if I did attend a "regular" school. I only have two negatives: Group assignements suck because some of your group members don't put the quality into the projects that I expected and did. The second is cost. Its pricey, but my GI Bill paid over $17k of it. And, with the 5% pay raise I recieved at work for obtaining my degree, it has paid for the remaining balance in two years. FYI, my degree was accepted by my employer, the State of California and recognized by the USAF. It's a good school and I recommend it.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
9
10
Technofox
(Graduate) on November 18, 2008
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Information Security
I attended CTU Online and received a MSM in Information Systems Security. I was hired within 2 months after obtaining my degree by government in whom I am still working for. CTU Online professors are no different than the state university that I had attended for my under-grad; some would pass anyone as long as they did their work, and others looked for quality. Those that looked for quality, tended to have the highest amount of students dropping out, because they just could not cut it.
I had one classmate start an opening sentence with "Because" in a group project I was in, obviously a big mistake and we all paid for it with a C+ for a group project. Some of the professors were very challenging and required several resources from trusted sites as well as from the actual textbooks. Most of them accepted online resources as long as they were from reputable sites.
I would recommend CTU Online to anyone interested in some of their online programs, but be aware, this university is best known for Project Management, which is a major plus; especially if you end up dealing with huge projects.
As for those who bash this university, you really need to do your homework. If my degree allowed me to earn a position within 2 months after graduation, then they must have done the right thing. Believe it or not the training in my degree program fit in perfectly with the job I was hired into and served in for over a year and five months, before moving into a higher paying position with better opportunities for advancement.
10
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Stomes2005
(In Progress) on November 12, 2008
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I'm a better person now!
CTU has been an excellent experience for me. I can honestly say, I'm a better person now. CTU has taught me self discipline, responsibility, and organization, something I don't feel I would have gotten from some Joe-Smo school. I think it's really ridiculous that people come on a review board to post arguments back and forth. Everyone gets caught up in technicalities and personally I think it's pretty immature. Not everyone is going to have a delightful experience, and those who expect perfection from any school, have pretty unrealistic expectations. I've been with CTU for about 2 years now. They are affordable, and their staff have real-life experience and are as qualified as it gets. Don't get me wrong, you'll get a bad apple from time to time, and it's frustrating, but that goes back to the less than realistic expectations of perfection. I would recommend this school to ANYONE.
8
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Chrisingrassia
(Graduate) on March 1, 2008
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Pleasantly Surprised & Satisfied
Let me just start off by saying that I am not an employee of CTU. I'm Chris Ingrassia, so you can verify that I was really a student.
This school has its pros and cons.
First, the pros:
The curriculum is very well-organized and straight forward. When completing an online program, just know that it requires you to be extremely diligent and focused on the tasks. All classes are 5 weeks long, you take 2 classes at a time. That's upwards of 20-25 assignments in 5 weeks! The university website is very clean and easy to navigate. Live lectures are cool, the professors can display PPT's or documents as they speak. The professors that I had were awesome.
Cons:
I hated group projects!! Please....if you decide to attend an online university, make sure you are prepared to commit the time and effort to your work and to other students. The incessant focus on proper APA formatting rather than content quality got annoying. This can really be a discussion within itself, but I found the professors to really be overconcerned with it. My uncle always told me "you're not there for an A, you're there for a BA." It helped me to get past the petty grading and just consistently turn in quality assignments because I'm paying for the knowledge not the grade.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my university choice. Do the research first and understand what will be expected of you as a student. Like I already said, I wish that more students attending really actually cared about doing the best they can on an assignment. Doing simple steps like spell-and-grammar checks, proofreading your work before you turn it in, using high-quality references, and really putting thought and research into your assignments will make the education that much better. I hated reading assignments by students who half-assed their work. People probably think that online universities are easier than an "actual college." Well.....kiss it. I busted my butt for my degree, and spent countless hours doing research and writing assignments and reading the text and putting together slides, I'm now exhausted of it all. But I feel empowered by completing it. I skipped vacations, did homework on christmas day, and have created friendships with other students across the country. The price may be expensive, but it's probably cheaper than a standard 4-year, plus college isn't supposed to be cheap, so people complaining about the cost should stop their whining. Here is my email: chrisingrassia at hotmail dot com if you want to really speak to me about the campus or have real questions on anything. I would be glad to help with whatever you want to know about the campus. Thanks for reading, and best of luck!!
Study hard, work fast, move on!
--Chris Ingrassia
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2
10
Anonymous
(In Progress) on September 19, 2007
(email verified)
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Beware
I was very interested in CTU because each class is only 6 weeks long. I went through a month-long admissions process where the admissions advisors were calling me every day to make sure all of the paperwork was on track. They are good with follow up. I wasn't going to commit until my transcripts had been reviewed so I would know which classes I had already taken would be applied toward my degree. During the first week of class, it still was not determined which classes would be transferrable. The admissions advisor kept pushing me to "log onto classes" which of course would have automatically committed me to pay for the first 2 classes when I wasn't even sure if I was going to attend there. Each time I had a discussion with Admissions about this, it was clear they didn't care what my personal goals were, all they cared about is getting that money. Financial aid told me to NOT sign or accept any student loans until I was sure I was attending. Admissions told me I had to sign them, they kept callling me every day. At the end, when they finally reviewed my transcripts, and mind you, at a normal school 16 of the classes I had already taken would have been transferrable. At CTU, they didn't not accept ANY OF THEM toward the Bachelor's degree. One week later, I was enrolled in another school which ACCEPTED ALL OF THEM. And the new school is also regionally accredited, so don't believe them when they tell you that's the reason. I was told by the CTU director of who knows what that NONE OF MY CREDITS WOULD BE TRANSFERRABLE AT OTHER UNIVERSITIES EITHER. They want every dollar of that $30,000 for the bachelors degree and the Admissions Advisors will be DISHONEST to try to force you to enroll. My experience with CTU was a gross waste of time and bordered unethical. And probably most of the people on this board that are writing all of the positive reviews are working for CTU.
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