Columbia Southern University

I am currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Environmental Management program. I researched other schools for several months before deciding on CSU. It was very difficult to find an online school that offered this degree; it was the main reason for my deciding on CSU. But there were many factors that helped me decide. I would love to share my current experience for anyone that may be considering CSU. I cannot say enough about the quality of customer service. I received a complimentary evaluation of my previous credits for all my general education and electives. I was given full credit for previous work, which only left me needing my core classes to graduate. Once I decided to enroll, I was taken through each step regarding financial aid. The cost per credit hour is $210. The textbooks are included at no cost, provided you do not fail or drop the class. CSU offers 3 different options of enrollment. They have standard 8 week terms with determined start and end dates. You have a week in between each new term, a little longer if you complete the term early. By the way, 2 classes per term is considered full time. They also have what is called the per-course enrollment option; these are taken one class at a time, and you have 10 weeks to complete. Keep in mind, if you choose the course option, you will not qualify for financial aid. Per-course enrollment is self pay only. They do offer a flex enrollment for veterans, but I am not familiar with the details on that. In addition to the assigned coursework, you are required to participate in weekly discussions on what is called the Blackboard. The professor will post a question, and you post your reply. You are also required to respond to at least one other person's post. Most of the time, I responded to several people. This really helped establish a connection with the professor was well as other persons taking the class. It can also help if it happens to be a topic you might be having a little difficulty with. The instructors are very friendly and you can ask a question outside of class any time you need help. The coursework is challenging, but can be completed if you work your assignments diligently each week. The courses that have a final exam are usually open book, but do not let that fool you. The final exams are not just a set a questions you look up the answers to. They are designed to see how well you comprehended the material, as well as practice for strengthening research and writing skills. CSU uses a tool called Turn It In, which is used by many other online schools to detect plagiarism. Do not attempt to copy and paste anything from the web for an "easy" grade. You can end up failing the course, or even be expelled for not completing your own work. Another thing, when you are enrolled in classes, you have a dashboard that shows your courses and what your weekly progress is. Each time an assignment came due, I received an email reminder. I thought this was very courteous. Online classes are supposed to be completed by the student, with each person keeping up with their assignments. It was just another reinforcement to me that CSU is committed to helping students succeed. I also received emails for when my books shipped for the next term. Each student is also assigned an academic advisor you can email when you have a question about your account. CSU has exceeded my expectations for my education goals, and I plan on completing my degree here. CSU has a once a year graduation in mid October, and I plan on attending mine in 2015. For anyone that might be considering CSU, I highly recommend them for service, course content, and instructor quality. GO KNIGHTS! (CSU's newly acquired mascot).

I'm finishing my BS in Environmental Management currently. The support provided by CSU continues to amaze me. They walk you through the entire process from day one and are always there. The course work is laid out in an easy to use fashion. Books and material arrived ahead of time. Assignment scores are emailed directly to whatever email you provide so you know immediately what you scored. I'm very impressed with CSU and recommend them to anyone serious about obtaining their education. Books are paid for through a government grant which helps anyone attending as long as grades are maintained. Pricing is extremely reasonable compared with what I've seen out there. I've seen comments where people talk about how other schools are better. I really have no idea how a person can go school to school bad mouthing schools. Like what does that even mean? Usually you apply with a school and attend. So comments referring to other school's being better do not make sense to me. Matt,

I recently withdrew after seeing for myself how poor CSU is in education quality and level of difficulty. No job recruiter should take this place seriously. All tests are OPEN BOOK! The whole curriculum is based on you writing short papers. Like others that have commented, I feel that this school is a waste of time and money. The instructors are mostly "adjunct" professors, they are part-time and lacking the experience that is necessary to instruct. I also was perplexed with how poor one of my instructor's grammar was. These people are supposed to be grading you on grammar and spelling as part of the rubric. Ha! It's a scam. Go to a regionally accredited school so your degree will be taken seriously.

I just graduated Columbia Southern University in August of 2010 with my BS in Environmental Management. I placed my resume online and within a month I was offered the position of Health, Safety and Environmental Coordinator for an energy company with a starting salary of $70K. I have attended other online school programs that cost twice as much as Columbia Southern University. The education I received from CSU was at times very demanding, quality focused and relevant to the real work environment. The staff and teachers were always there to help me understand the materials and apply the knowledge at work. Don't listen to the negative people out there that complain about CSU. It is a wonderful school that can help open doors to your future. A CSU Education can truly open up opportunities where none existed before. They helped open one for me!

I enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management program at Columbia Southern University. I withdrew after three classes and a TOTAL waste of my money! The quality of the courses and instruction were far below par in comparison with other schools I have attended. I almost felt that it was a joke. The questions on the tests seemed to be written by someone that doesn't have English as their first language, and the materials were littered with grammatical and spelling errors. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. Meanwhile, they are supposed to be grading you on grammar in your essays with APA rules in mind. ALL THREE CLASSES I TOOK HAD MULTIPLE ERRORS IN THE TESTS. They were grading me wrongly, even when I chose the correct answer. I ended up spending alot of time trying to contact professors to alert them of the errors, as well as petition them for credit that was rightfully due to me. That's right, all of a sudden it was my job to QA every test I took and report to the school all of the errors I encountered. I paid alot of money to basically do their jobs for them. People, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY HERE! Also, this school is NATIONALLY accredited. If you want to pursue a Master's or Ph.D. at any REGIONALLY accredited institution out there, you will not be able to. Your degree from Columbia Southern WILL NOT be accepted during the admission/application process. Again, do not waste your time at this dead-end school like I did. I am now enrolling at a regionally accredited school to complete my bachelor's so that I may choose to pursue a Master's and above after I finish.

CSU has provided an opportunity for me to balance my Family, Career and mmet my educational goals to advance in my organization. The material is comprehesive and applicable to today's technology. The Professors provide excellent feedback and guidance on all assignmets during the course.

Having obtained my Associates Degree ten years ago, I desperately wanted to complete a Bachelor's degree, but was very afraid to do so. What if my online skills were inadequate? What if I had waited too long? Would I be too 'outdated' to pick up where I left off? All of these doubts clouded my vision of achieving my dream. I decided to take the plunge. I contacted this school and immediately my fears were put to rest. I started out with an extremely friendly Admissions representative who cheerfully answered all my questions and easily lead me through the enrollment process. I had an Academic Advisor to help me decide where to start and has since guided me along the way. This school has a Success Center, which I'd never heard of, that was there to help me whenever I needed extra assistance with a course. I was also assigned a Student Services representative that has been at my side through the whole experience. Even if I wasn't asking for help, they were diligent in letting me know that they were there and that they actually cared. I am finishing my degree in June, and honestly, I feel as if I'm leaving a family when I graduate. Thanks CSU for helping me to achieve my dream!

Wonderful online classes. Easy to work around lifestyle and obligations. All teachers seemed to really know their subject areas well. An overall good and quality experience.

My educational experience at CSU gave me the flexibility to continue my daily activities as a working professional and complete the degree requirements with ease. The program was well organized and is value added to me and my organization. All materials were current and significant to the my educational goals. I am currently working on a master program with CSU because of my experiance wth the institution. I have recommended CSU to colleagues seeking to improve their education and skills within their particular industry. CSU provides the best education for the working professional at a competitive rate.

Getting my degree in Environmental Management through CSU was the best thing I could have ever done. The course work was more challenging than in a regular college setting and tuff because you did not always have the one-on-one interaction with other students and faculty. However, companies do not look down on how I completed my BS, but recognize I completed a rigorous course of work to attain my degree. I would highly recommend anyone that is looking for an opportunity to get their degree through distance education - go to CSU first. Their tuition rates, faculty, course material and use of technology is the best out there. I am going back to get my MS in a few months. Thats how much I think of their under graduate and post-education programs they have.

I am very satisifed with my experience at CSU. I have a job in the environmental field, and the education that I received prepared me for the requirements of the job.