Kaplan University

My first term at KU is coming to a close and I just wanted to share my experience. I went to two brick-and-mortar schools in the process of working toward my undergraduate degree and ended up completing the last 1/3 online with University of Massachusetts Amherst (University Without Walls). I'm bringing UMass into this review as it is my only comparison for online study as I discuss my experience at Kaplan University thus far. At KU, So far, KU has been really easy to use from a technological standpoint, especially when compared to UMass. There are no huge files to download and all required texts for this current term and the next one I am registered for are available in ebook format (important to me, as I am currently abroad while completing this masters program; shipping is expensive and internet access limited). Every two weeks in my current class, we have a one-hour-long audio seminar, which is easy to access despite my slow and limited internet (important to note for others who might be in the field and interested in taking online classes). The online portal where everything related to the class actually takes place is well organized by unit, and nothing gets lost in the shuffle (unlike the customizable BlackBoard system that UMass used, which meant every professor put things in different areas and you spent too much time searching for them). Each week, my professor emails the class with an itemized list of weekly expectations, so it's nearly impossible to forget things. While there was a bit of a debacle with my financial aid (my status was listed incorrectly and therefore the award total was less than it should be), it was resolved after a couple of phone calls. I appreciate that I am always asked if all of my questions have been answered before the representative hangs up the phone, and I am also given the opportunity to review the phone call in the KU portal, to give the school additional feedback.Currently, my financial aid rebate/stipend check was mailed several weeks prior to when they said it would be, which is good news. On the downside, Kaplan still uses paper checks instead of a direct deposit system, which I think it rather archaic for 2015. Additionally, financial aid is not dispersed at the start of the term as one might expect, but rather you will get your first refund toward the end of the 6-week term. I do have a bit of an issue with the cut-and-paste emails I've received from my enrollment and academic advisors throughout the process, as they often contradict the conversations we have had via phone or give me additional questions regarding the status of something that I had already confirmed, but thankfully that has little to do with the actual educational process. My professor has always responded personally to all of my emails and there has been no confusion as far as the actual academics are concerned. I love that there is a standard policy for all Kaplan classes concerning late assignments, so you don't have to remember each professor's policy as you go through the program: you can turn things in one week late for a 10% reduction in grade, and two weeks late for a 20% reduction in grade. One odd complaint I have is that my professor grades so easy that I don't feel challenged. I can get all of my work done in the last two days of each academic week, so I never push myself very hard. When I get my grades back, even though I know I didn't try my best and that there were mistakes that could have been easily avoided, I usually still get 100% (unless I turned it in late). Yes, that means very little stress for me throughout this program, but the real question is whether or not I will actually learn something. Overall, I'm happy with the program at Kaplan.

I have just recently finished my MAT degree at Kaplan University. I currently live in Korea and when I told people what school I was attending they stated oh I've heard of that school and I've heard pretty good things about it. I haven't had any problems with FA as of yet and my adviser was on top of things (at times a little annoying). I was a little skeptical at first with attending Kaplan because you didn't need much to enroll and the idea of calling a call center to set-up my enrollment was a little off-setting. However, I know a few people personally that work for Kaplan and they told me that it was legit. I also did research on the accreditation and that was also legit. If the school was a scam I think the Board of Education and the accreditation board would have put up some red flags. Definitely, the media would have reported on the issues that I've read in some of these reviews. However, to each its own because I haven't had many problems. Actually I encountered more problems with my first university that is brick and mortar and has been around for years. Some people need to step back and look at themselves and figure out is it the school or is it them that is causing all the problems. It also seems that most of the problems are with the FA dept and people are so pissed at one entity that they are just stabbing in the dark to bring up other issues that aren't really occurring. As for rather my degree will be recognized or not I can't really speak on I can only hope. However, I read reviews that stated they had no problem with having their degree from Kaplan recognized. Also, Kaplan has an on-campus program that has been around longer then the online program so that speaks on how legit they are. Finally, many reputable universities are designing online programs Kaplan is just ahead of the game. Give them a break, but my advice would be is to do your own research and find out for yourselves. Online education is the new thing that will continue to take off in the future, problems and all.