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Unodir72
(Graduate) on July 27, 2011
(email verified)
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A Degradation of an American College Education
I can say with confidence - and can back with plenty of evidence (I am writing a book on this topic) - that National University (NU) represents everything wrong about the for-profit model and the subsequent degradation of the American college education. I recently graduated with a MS in Information System, 3.9 GPA and "Honors" Capstone. In my evaluation of the school (part of the graduation process), I gave failing grades in nearly every category. Interestingly enough, not one person from NU has bothered to contact me to ask me how they can improve. I guess from a business process standpoint, they are doing just fine. Oh, and sure they have a regional accreditation, but after my experience - which was reflective of many others - it’s likely that accrediting bodies are highly political.
In the end, NU was a gross waste of my time. The on-line instructors exerted very little effort; courses were unorganized; expectations were mixed and confusing; plagiarism among students was rampant (as was the school's lack of ANY enforcement), and learning through the nonsensical, plainly uninformed, and poorly written posts of my "peers" was not an effective learning methodology. PERIOD. Highly profitable (i.e., pay instructors little money, let the students "teach each other," give them a quiz and a paper that will not be read, and rake in the dough) . . . but ineffective.
I know of at least two people who received Master's degrees without demonstrating an ability to form a sentence, construct a paragraph, or complete a thought above the 8th grade level. I know: They were my Capstone group members. I suppose it is a good thing that some employers place the value of a degree from NU in the same waste paper basket as those that come from the University of Phoenix, Capella, and the like.
Please feel free to contact me at unodir72@gmail.com for more information.
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Anonymous
(Graduate) on November 22, 2010
(email verified)
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be careful with financial aid
The academic quality of National University is well above average, especially if you're lucky enough to find a program that's offered onground in a traditional classroom. Online education, though convenient and a strength of the university, tends to be less predictable in terms of instructor quality, and many instructors have not yet learned how to really engage with students online. Many of the instructors also teach at other top quality public and private universities, so provided they're comfortable with the accelerated 4-week class format, and versed in best practices for online education, the instruction here can be compared favorably with any other 4-year liberal arts or technical college.
Where National University really suffers is in administration and financial aid. The university is understaffed and systems are woefully inadequate; thus many important matters related to records, financing and progress toward graduation may be overlooked through no fault of the student. Students receive minimal guidance since staff is overworked, and must be exceptionally self-reliant and pro-active to get the service they need; even then major blunders can occur. Be especially careful and attentive to financial aid; make sure that you understand the full cost of your program and any classes that you might be expected to fund on your own. The university seems to want to minimize overhead by inadequately training staff and paying them below market. In the long run this works against the university as students may leave their program with a bad taste from the administrative and financial problems they had overshadowing what was an above-average academic experience. In the end, one cannot be proud of a university where one had such shoddy experiences, and this is no way to think about one's alma mater.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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Anonymous
(Graduate) on October 28, 2008
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Good Experience
I earned four degrees (an undergraduate [BPA-CJ] and three [MA/HRM, MA/MGT, & MPA] graduate) from National University while stationed in San Diego, CA. with the U.S. Navy in the early to mid 1990s. Ivy League it's not, but a solid education it is. Ninety-five percent of my Instructors were working professionals who brought great experience to the classroom; approximately 50% had earned terminal degrees. Five percent of the Instructors were, well, not so great, but I think that's the nature of any educational institution; however, now were malicious. My National University experience allowed me to later pursue a MBA in finance, and later an Ed.D in Organizational Leadership from reputable regionally accredited brick and mortar schools. I now have my own LLC, teach undergraduate and graduate studies as an adjunct at two universities in multiple academic disciplines, and attempt to give my students all the support and learning opportunities I was given by NU Instructors and Staff. Like most things in life, you get out of only what you put into any endeavor. National University was a great starting point for me and it has served me well.
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on November 20, 2007
(email verified)
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False Advertising
National University promises superior level of education, compassion, mutual respect, encouragement, support within classroom walls, facilitate educational access & academic excellence through exceptional management of operations. I did not receive any of the above mentioned they promised. The instructor did not provide any info on how to submit assignments but reserved the right to take points off which does not promote academic excellence nor it is superior level of education. When questioned about it, he attacked me on a personal level which cannot be called mutual respect. I was told no matter what I do I should not expect an A, which can’t be called encouragement or support. The instructor was unresponsive & did not provide feedback so that I could learn from my supposed mistakes, which does not demonstrate support or exceptional management. When I let National University know about the situation they told me that their teachers are “not required to give feedback on student submitted work”. Then, may I ask how we suppose to learn or verify that the teacher would be correct? I would never enroll in this University and would take the enormous amount of money education cost somewhere else.
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