New York Institute of Technology-Ellis College Reviews

NYIT FINALLY!!

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on November 18, 2008

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First off I am a military student, that's why I rated the VALUE section as a 10 otherwise tuition is too costly for most people paying out of pocket. Heck you can go to George Washington University for a bit less.

The School is pretty good as is the "classroom" environment. Some of the teachers (the same happened during my regular courses as a B&M college) are not really that interactive, while other are over the top, but so far so good. 

Support services BITE! As mentioned above, ID's take MONTHS to get, diplomas take MONTHS to get after graduation, The financial Aid department OMG so bad it's not funny, Enrollment advisers have lied to several people I know to get them to enroll, No breaks between classes, the former Cardean Administrative people I spoke with were rude especially the former Provost of Ellis College (An NYIT PHd is now the Provost), I could go on.... All these things are too much for a student to be worrying about, classes should be the focus for us NOT the admin BS.

Basically this review is mute because NYIT - Ellis Branch is no longer accepting students for their online program. And NYIT itself is now overseeing the former Ellis College of NYIT students. In the future NYIT will be doing the distance Ed thing again so this is for them!

If it's an NYIT program GO for it, if it's an ELLIS UNIVERSITY or CARDEN LEARNING GROUP (of Chicago) program RUN AWAY and save your money. Until they get their act together in the Big Office going with Ellis University/Cardean LLC will not be worth the problems you'll have AND you will save money.

Excellent School---Great Education

BS Behavioral Sciences Sociology
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on November 9, 2008

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I have three more classes to complete at Ellis of NYIT. My degree will be from NYIT as will my transcripts. I will march in a graduation ceremony in Old Westbury New York this May and I will actually get my degree in March.  The teachers have been excellent and I am proud of the work I have done.  Do not let other people bring you down. If you want to learn you will and you can at this school. It is however up to each individual to make the best of every situation. I am a full time working wife and mother of a 7 year old.  If I can do it...anyone can!!!!!

Financial Aid Nightmare

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: shelynn102002 (Graduate) on October 8, 2008

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I have had nothing but nightmares in dealing with the financial aid department and reading the other reviews here gives me additional insight. It seems like they are trying to overcharge me but I am trying to verify that. I feel like I am dealing with some pretty stupid people. I'm looking at this report for the 10th time and now I might see the answer to the question but I would think someone that was intelligent would have been able to faster. Do not work with the financial aid department unless you absolutely must. It's better to just find a loan on your own. They are absolutely incompetent. I know more than they do. How sad is that. I have worked in finance and banking. I have received a lot of training. I understand accounting and documentation. The courses are good. But 6 weeks goes by awfully quick and so does the money. So far I haven't been able to break into accounting, which was my goal from the beginning. I'm thankful to have a job but I am worse off. I hope it pays off in the future. Do not rush into this program. Take your time. If you make a mistake then you will pay dearly for it. It might be better to go to a brick and mortar school even if it's more difficult and takes longer.

Great College, Bad Administration..

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: wsv (Degree In Progress) on September 26, 2008

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Let me clarify something FIRST, The NYIT-Ellis Academic Branch (or campus)and Ellis University are NOT the same school. The Corporation that administrated the NYIT-EC academic branch (Cardean Learning LLC) runs/owens Ellis University. The NYIT-Ellis Branch is run by and accredited under The New York Institute of Technology umbrella. Ellis College of NYIT students are in fact NYIT students.

Ok, now for the review. NYIT - Ellis is getting much better now that Cardean is no longer overseeing that program for NYIT. The NYIT-Ellis College students are starting to get regular NYIT student benefits as we should have from day one. The Cardean people were VERY BAD at administration, everything from financial aid and student ID cards, to basic information like when a class started was lost with them. They honestly sucked. 

However, the courses are top notch and are very interactive. This college requires lots of student interaction and writing projects. It's a breath of fresh air to talk to ones classmates.

Student Benefits:
Six weeks courses
Learning by doing
Very interactive
Great teaching interface/classroom
Yourname@NYIT.EDU Email accounts (starting very soon)
Access to all NYIT resources(On campus WiFi access, NYIT E-libraries, NYIT employment assistance etc...)

Graduate Benefits: 
NYIT Alumni
NYIT Degree
NYIT Transcript services

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

NYIT- ELLIS COLLEGE is NO LONGER accepting students into THEIR distance learning program, Ellis College will be fully integrated into NYIT over the next several months and will cease to exist.

For the remaining students the courses will be still taught by adjunct faculty of Cardean and NYIT. Which is good because they have some impressively credentialed Professors teaching these courses.

PLEASE!!!! DO NOT LET ELLIS UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENT ADVISERS TRY TO TRICK YOU INTO THINKING YOU ARE ENROLLING INTO THE NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY THEN ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THAT YOUR AN Ellis University STUDENT.

THE CUT OF FOR NYIT-ELLIS' FINAL ENROLLMENTS WAS IN AUGUST 2008.

Ellis is the way to Go

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: Anonymous (Graduate) on September 24, 2008

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I highly recommend this school to anyone considering distance learning. You get great faculty who care and assist all the way. I was skeptical at first but I completed 68 credits and am now in their MBA program offered at alumni discounted fee.

Finanical aid-BEWARE PLEASE TAKE HEED!!!!!

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: lmjack2 (Degree In Progress) on September 23, 2008

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I took the MBA program and had a full financial aid package last october 2007. The school never acknowleged or signed off on my student loan which was awarded. They kept saying the loan was waiting to be certified. Well certified means all they have to do is verify that you attend. they continued to allow me to take classes and rack up a bill because they knew i was awarded a full loan from Sally MAe, after about the 5th class i called again to see if progress had been made.They in turn proceeds to tell me that my lender went out of business and  i had to re-apply again loan and my was no good. What the hell!!!! i was furiuos b/c not only could i not get another loan( b/c other lenders saw the approved loan for that academic year and felt i was trying to get over with financial aid process) i also couldn't find another co-signer. I went to school all that time and had a guaranteed loan of 18000.00 that they f#$ked up. i was way past furious. and then all they can say is you owe us 7500. WTF! first of all it's their own incompetent fault that they didn't get paid. i waited for about 6 months for a loan that was already approved sitting there for 7 months waiting to be stamped with yes or no i attend. I tell you guys what. The financial aid system there is less than retarded and please please please have your money together  and don't count on financial aid. No-one knows what they are doing and everybody you talk too for help will pass the buck b/c they too are lost. I thought this was going to be a good experience b/c of all the MBA options they offer. Boy was i wrong. Also upon withdrawing from the school, i spoke with an advisor that told me this is the 4th time in two years that the financial aid department has been outsourced to another outside company! Come on people what university does this? That explains why the employees can't provide adequate service they get a new batch of financial aid reps like every 4-5 months that they have to train. I will close by saying that they will get 7500 from me when they pry it from my cold dead hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
L. Jackson

Good School

BS Business Administration- Finance
Reviewer: babbitt72 (Degree In Progress) on July 23, 2008

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As of today, I've earned just over 30 credits at Ellis.  I'm a junior in the undergraduate finance program.  I'll give you a quick breakdown of my thoughts:

The vast majority of professors are excellent with great credentials.  They truly care about the subject and seem excited to teach it.  Response to questions is typically within a few hours. Though, I have had a couple professors that were real duds.  As a fellow student put it, "they were absentee landlords.”  I’ve also attended a traditional state university and they had their share of “bad” professors as well.  I would suppose this is the case at every university.  It’s the percentage of good to bad that’s important, and I’d say Ellis is 90% good.  
  
The online platform is very easy to work with provides helpful video clips.  Though, with technology advancing the way it is, it would be nice to see them add even more videos and advanced interactive learning aids.  Basically, what they have is nice but if they could take it up a notch or two it would be excellent. 
  
Six (6) week classes are awesome.  Right when I'm getting sick of the topic…it ends.  I can't imagine going back to the old 16 week semesters that drag on endlessly.   I wouldn’t be able to take it.

The very next day after a class ends, another begins.  This has allowed me to knock out a large number of credits very quickly.  Though, a one week break here and there would be nice (Actually, I just heard from my advisor that Ellis is considering adding breaks within the schedule).  

I chose Ellis because the degree comes from NYIT, a brick and mortar school with three campuses in NY and a 50+ year history.  I didn’t want to graduate and then be nervous every time I had to tell people where I graduated from.  I wanted to feel proud of it and know that it might not be Harvard (what is?) but it’s a solid, respectable college that no employer is going to question.  Sort of like buying a Honda…your friends won’t be in awe of you but they won’t make fun of you either.  It’s a perfectly respectful, solid car.  Classes are on the expensive side if compared to other online schools, but, compared to a brick and mortar school, which the degree comes from, it’s not bad at all.  

From the other reviews I’ve read it sounds like most people really like the educational part of the school (the most important part) but are having trouble with the financial aid department.  I’m not personally using financial aid but I can see how that could be a serious issue.  I’m taking some courses outside of Ellis and had to deal with the transfer department in assessing the transferability of the courses.  They were reasonably quick to accommodate my request.  

I truly value what I’ve learned at Ellis/NYIT.  I have about another 50 credits to go and I’m very happy that I’ll be finishing them at Ellis/NYIT.

Great Place

BS Computer Science
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on June 17, 2008

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I love the School!!! I started off at the University of Waterloo in Canada, I was doing great but then I had to let go because of personal problems (5 people in my family died one after another). I was out for about 18 months, and I was embarrased to go back and continue because all my friends were in 3rd and 4th year. I wanted to catch up by taking some courses online and thus came accross Ellis. Since then I don't have the heart to move back. 

It is uber expensive, for example when I was in Waterloo I was paying $700 per course and now I'm paying about $1500 per course. 

However, when I'm learning soo much more in in an online environment then at a brick and motor university. All the professors are qualified with either a masters or PHD and have relevent work experince. They also answer all questions and make marck assigments truthfully. I mean they can just give you 100% for everything but they dont.

Another good thing is, that the degree is nationally accredited which means you can walk out of Ellis with a NYIT degree which is worth alot. You can then go and apply at any University in the world, depending on your marks, and you will be sure to get in. 

They have real live graduation where you loved ones can join, a party for their grads and they even send you the grad suit early so you can take your grad pictures at a studio..


this is an awsome place to bee...i love it

Avoid Ellis if Financial Aid is a Must for you

BA English Professional Writing
Reviewer: poohparry (Degree In Progress) on May 11, 2008

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For the most part, the classes and the convenience of the English literature program was enjoyable.  HOWEVER... federal financial aid was a MUST for me to pay for my education and Ellis does NOT have its act together in the financial aid department!  There is little or no communication between yourself and the financial aid office.  Not only was my aid continuously processed wrong, but on a number of occasions my funds were returned to the lender with no contact or notification as to why.  

The most recent case occurred on the Friday of my last week of classes (classes end on Sundays).  $3500 was returned to the lender with no phone call or email as to why or what the problem was THIS time.  To make matters worse, I did not see the new balance on my account until I logged in to submit my final assignment on Sunday morning.  Of course I freaked since this was the very last day of my very last class with Ellis, but of courses all offices were closed.  I checked and rechecked all voicemails and emails and not one person with the financial aid office contacted me to tell me money was being returned to the lender and why.  Had they contacted me, we might have fixed the latest problem.  However, when I called on Monday, I was told that there is nothing they can do to get the $3500 back because as of midnight the night before (just eight lousy hours prior), I was no longer a student because I had completed the program.  I was told I can make payments to them but they will not confer my degree until the money is paid off - which for me will take a couple of years because not all of us can qualify for that kind of loan or credit card – not with the housing market the way it is right now!  Not only have they screwed me financially, but they have ruined my future career and academic studies.  I had been accepted to attend grad school at a state university for the fall but I've had to cancel my enrollment because Ellis will not relinquish my final transcripts or confer my undergrad degree.  Their poor financial aid management has literally cost me my future career.    

So....unless you have the cash to pay out of pocket or a credit card with a big fat balance - DO NOT ATTEND ELLIS COLLEGE.

Stay Away

BS Political Science
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on May 9, 2008

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I started at Ellis College with what they call a "Bridge Program"  It's for people who have been out of school and have not earned any college credits.
So everything was fine, I took the first course, earned 2 credits, took the next class, earned another 3 credits. The problem came when I had to temporarily withdraw from school.
I asked if any of the credits I earned would be applied towards the bridge program when I come back. They said no one is allowed to take a break on a bridge program, I either complete it in one shot, or withdraw and if I decide to come back, it will be starting from scratch. So I withdrew(personal reason-a family crisis), knowing that the 5 credits from 2 classes would be wiped out. Something that they should have told me before I signed on...Now I am out $2600, which went for nothing.

I loved Ellis College

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: kland2003 (Graduate) on April 8, 2008

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I graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in March 2007. I loved the online atmosphere. It is very interactive and I liked how I was able to have conversations in real time with other students in the class as well as be able to leave messages on the message board. Most of the teachers I had were great. There was one teacher who was horrible! He would answer student's questions with questions. The financial aid dept, bursar's office, and the other support services left a lot to be desired. It took about 6 months for me to finally get my diploma. Then when I got it, they spelled my name wrong!!! I still haven't got that fixed yet. My family and I went to the graduation ceremony in May 2007 and it was great. There was no difference between the people who went to Ellis and NYIT. I would attend Ellis again in a heartbeat!!!

Don't Hold Your Breath for Diplomas

Bachelor of Arts
Reviewer: jewelie1981 (Graduate) on March 2, 2008

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Oh, 9 of 10 professors for me were awesome.

But admin... student services... the bursar's office... financial aid...  they are all ridiculous.

I actually finished my degree program in the beginning of September. Would you believe they promised that the diploma process would take a "short" three months? No lie, that's what they promised. 
Here we are in the beginning of May, just days shy of being a FULL SIX MONTHS, and I STILL do not have my diploma.

I've contacted my advisor, who points me to student services, who points me to the bursar's office... and so on. No one answers the emails, no one returns the phone calls. THey told me to call a "Kevin Adams", with whom I've left a dozen messages, and I still have yet to be contacted. But I'm paid in full... why bother with me??

In short, the teaching might be great, but don't count on your diploma anytime soon... which, of course, as we know, affects jobs, pay scales, and many other things.

Great teachers, but every other department has proven itself to be inconsiderate, careless, and lacking in the common decency and respect that one would ASSUME is necessary in Customer Service.

Very Good Program

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: cher364 (Degree In Progress) on January 19, 2008

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Support systems underwent some difficulty during business changes, have not found problems other reviews mention.  Excellent instructors all but two, one good, one brilliant, but not a good teacher ~ excellent average, comparable to B/M program, perhaps better. 

EXCELLENT, TOP NOTCH technology, best in field I think.  Very fast, thorough response to technology problems. Both advisors college graduates, first working on MBA so suggestions were right on. 

I have found excellent fin aid, bursar, advisor, and administrative support (Deans).  Online material/text in some cases out of date, but instructor/professors engaged/engaging and brought material current. 

Graduated "Ivy League" undergrad with 3.5; Ellis program entirely comparable in my experience.

Good MBA Program

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on October 31, 2007

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I am currently enrolled in the MBA program and I am very satisfied with it. The technology for the online learning platform is very comprehensive and easy to use. The classes are well structured and seems to be very solid academically so far. The professors have been knowledgeable and helpful and the assignments are challenging yet convenient for a busy professional looking to earn an MBA at a pace that is appropriate to accomodate your work schedule.

not bad

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: Anonymous (Graduate) on October 31, 2007

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The school is a quick way to finish a degree.  Admin is a bit messy, I had 4 advisors over a 2 year period.  But I also had some personal problems which interfered with my progress and they were understanding. It is expensive, but the classes are pretty good, I had great instructors, and I have an accredited degree.

Horrible experiance

BS Behavioral Sciences Sociology
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on August 17, 2007

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So I have been in audit with this school about the financial aid for over a year now. I got stuck in this audit because they told me I wasn’t allowed to file independent (because I wasn’t married for long enough). So a year later I get called telling me the I have to change everything. So after I sent them the massive amount of crap they ask for, they have called and e-mailed me 3 times a week for the last three months telling me something is missing, till this poor girl on the phone (yes the dreaded middle man) finds it and sends it back to them. The middle man can always find it, yet the ones doing the audit always says it’s missing. It was suppose to take 3 weeks, but since their auditors don’t know how to read, it makes things difficult. 

As for the teachers, I tried asking questions when I had problems which was a big mistake. One teacher told me that I should ask my fellow students and not bother him with questions (and btw I’m the person that asks like one question a year because I just prefer to deal with less people as possible, I’m not the kid that asks why the sky is blue). Another teacher told me I was unmoral because I wanted to track game play for a research assignment (and game play is the same as crack apparently, “I shouldn’t be messing with people’s addictions, and most of all their head.”) There are a few good teachers, just nothing exceptional. 

They also overcharged me the first year I was there by about $300 per class, that too took forever to clear up, especially since they kept doing it.

Okay degree,.but support is disorganized

Interdisciplinary
Reviewer: keepinthagroove (Graduate) on July 25, 2007

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I completed the degree program, but found the college overall to be unorganized with respect to their support services and financial aid.  I had three different advisors in one year and my financial aid was process incorrectly every single time it was time to process it.  I had to constantly keep accurate records of what had been paid because their online student account system was always wrong.  

My advisors were nice--they just kept changing them which was frustrating because I would keep having to introduce myself and explain what my goals were every time I called advising.  The undergrad instructors were good and most were extremely supportive.

The program is expensive but it is convenient.  Definitely room for improvement and there is a huge disconnect between the NYIT portion of their "college".  NYIT has little to do with Ellis College which is owned by the Cardean Learning group. Being associated with a brick and mortar school gives them some credibility but they definitely need to develop more bite when it comes to valuing students and organizing support services.

If you are looking for a decent, accredited, and fairly quick undergrad degree they are okay.  Just be prepared to spend a lot and I mean a lot of time on the phone and e-mailing financial aid, bursar, student records, etc.  Once you get past that--then it is okay.

I Love it!

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: elliot.riley (Degree In Progress) on July 19, 2007

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I am a current student of Ellis and couldn't be more pleased! I've had some problems with the administrative departments of Ellis, but its worth it once you get to the course. The courses are fully interactive and the professors are quick with their useful replies. Great school!

Admin Nightmare

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: swalled (Degree In Progress) on June 29, 2007

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If you enjoy spending hours on the phone with outsourced financial aid and bursar's office employees, if you enjoy spending lots of time on the phone with your financial aid lender, if you enjoy being advised on your MBA by someone who hasn't even graduated college, if you enjoy school officials who lie to you about what your degree will say (Executive MBA vs MBA), and if you enjoy calling the NYIT main campus and have the folks on the other end respond, "Ellis, who?"  then this is your program! 

The administration of the program has been completely outsourced to a company in Chicago which in turn outsources all the back end functions such as financial aid, bursar, and what not to companies across the country.  My original advisor for my MBA progarm was not even a college grad.  Eventually she was replaced with someone who is an MBA but he could care less about actually advising me and just wants to register me for courses.  

It hasn't been all bad.  The prof's - all of them adjuncts, not an NYIT faculty member in sight - have been really great but they must teach the class as the school designed it so the prof's do not deviate from the lesson plan even if the students' really want to spend more time or want more resources on a topic.  The bookstore they've outsourced to is pretty good - fast on email and shipping - but is very very very expensive.  

I'm leaving Ellis shortly to transfer into another distance MBA program.  My first question to all the schools I've looked at is: How much of your program and admin features are outsourced?  Trust me - it makes a huge difference

Great College!

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on April 12, 2007

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I'm currently a student at this school and think that it is exceptional. You've got to remember that online schools do cost a lot more than traditional schools. My BSBA was completed at another online school and was almost twice as much as my friends paid at a public university. The teachers are great and the e-classroom experience is outstanding!

To Much Money

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on January 20, 2007

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I started Ellis College in January of 06.  I find the online courses well laid out and the professors very good but the price per course is just ridiculous. a cost $1200 every six weeks and the and bursers and financial offices are incredibly incompetent. I have spent many hours of my time communicating information  between these two officers because they are unable to talk to each other on the phone.  They tell me they are only capable of communicating via e-mail or through updating their database which is not communicated to the other office until the next day so a simple message can take up to a week to be verified because of their refusal to communicate by phone.  This will caused incredible frustration if you plan to use a student loan or grant.   But, if you don't care about the cost I highly recommend Ellis Of the New York Institute of Technology.

Great Education at a High Price

Master of Business Administration
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on August 11, 2006

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I give the college a nine overall for the sheer cost factor of the school.  Tuition amounts to $1995 per class with twelve required for an M.B.A. and fifteen required for an M.B.A. with any one of their specializations.  My current specialization is technology management.  Over the course of the last year and a half I have learned so much more than many UoP graduates and have made friends that I will most likely keep for a lifetime.  Their online system is unique to the college and allows for realtime chat, video conferencing, posting, etc.  I also like that in addition to the books they provide online video's of a professor and of course a real life professor (9/10 containing a doctorate) to help you along the way.  This is also great in the sense that the highly regarded NYiT is behind the issuing of the degrees and a real life graduation is attended with the rest of the NYiT graduates.  If the cost was $500 cheaper per class I would put this at the top of my list!  Go Ellis Go!


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