Management and Systems

Anonymous December 5, 2007 at 8:51 p.m.

I took a few courses at NYU SCPS. I should confess it was the worst. First, the quality of the faculty. The faculty was not prepared at all. He was too slow and did not complete 70% of the materials he had for the class, on time. There was too much homework, which I guess is fine, since it is an online course. I have no complaints about this. But the instructor would give too much reading assignments when he failed to catch up to speed.

Second, I had to wait for feedback on my assignments, several months after I completed my course. How on earth am I expected to monitor my progress if I dont get periodic comments??

Third, instructors dont respond well to your emails. This is so annoying when you ask doubts and wait endlessly for the instructor to answer.

Fourth, tution is too high, for such poor quality of teaching.

Null August 14, 2008 at 5:27 p.m.

I am an alumnus from the master's program. I was introduced to a lot of topics I wasn't aware of but in use by most companies I wanted to work for. I acquired a few skills but the courses didn't go in depth; you need to practice them in the real world and research the subject on your own to get more meat out of these subjects. I lost my job during the program (a layoff,) and had a hard time finding a job. The employers I interviewed with liked the fact I graduated from NYU - they liked the name - but didn't know what the program was about. I think that it is the experience of the person that counts the most, rather than the degree from NYU that suits any managerial position.

This program was extremely challenging because I was new to the technology field. There are a lot of assignments, homeworks and fewer tests. The tests weren't difficult; they were open books. At times, I felt it was very hard for me to keep up. The passing grade was B for all courses, except for the thesis (pass/fail). The thesis was probably the most demanding aspect of the program; my thesis went through a lot of reviews and took 2 quarters to complete.

About the instructors: I am not able to judge how well prepared they were for the classes. But what I can tell is that they were active practitioners in the field they were teaching. A few had PhDs, though. I think that this was the drawback for me, as I also wanted to get a more theoretical understanding of the subjects they were teaching. I have to say that if you are teaching a graduate or undergraduate course, you need to have a PhD. I wasn't so enthused about their educational achievements.

I haven't kept in touch with any of the classmates, though I have to say that this is different for everyone. I have met with about three of my classmates in person. The remainder, I don't know their whereabouts. I have a closer tie with students from my undergraduate school. I suppose it's because they have other life commitments, are mature adults, and are at a stage in life where they are only interested in learning and practicing their lessons in real life, and networking with people whose interests match their own.

Compared to the tuition of other schools, SCPS is a little more affordable. I received a small grant, and was able to pay it off through my personal savings and my ex-company’s tuition reimbursement program. It wasn't cheap though.

For those who don't know anything about the technology industry, this program will open your eyes as it has certainly done for me. For those who already know more than I did, you'll probably wind up learning more about technology and business, and how the two integrate. I think this has been helpful in my career, as few people have the knowledge of the two. But I have to say, this will not open your doors to the job market unless if you have considerable experience or expertise in your field.