Northcentral University - Northcentral University

NCU and the future of online degrees

By: Anonymous (In Progress) on February 24, 2008

Materials:		Teachers:
Institution:		Support:
Value:		Technology:

Review:

I've read a lot of these reviews about NCU.  Many are true and many are false, but perception is reality in the eyes of the beholder.  

Basically, NCU is an online correspondence school:
- NCU gives the student the assignment 
- the student does it 
- the student turns it in for grading 
- at the end, a grade is given 
- and, hopefully, a degree is obtained.

There are no lectures (like at a Brick & Morter University) and there is no student interaction.  The only interaction I got from mentors was after I completed an assignment -- then the mentor would provide constructive criticism, along with a grade.  If I needed help, then I found answers on my own i.e. there is no one to babysit you or to hold your hand.  Once I got to the dissertation phase, then I talked to the mentor via telephone to get a basic idea of what his expectations were.

I have a MA from a traditional Brick & Morter school, so I have a basis of comparison from which to compare NCU.  I learned more knowledge at NCU, but I made more "community connections" at my Brick & Morter school.  Which is more advantageous? I'm not sure, but either way: both schools will provide a regionally accredited degree.  

Many NCU students seem to be complaining that NCU is nothing more than a correspondence school because NCU simply provides the assignments and the student completes them with little to no supervision.  The only way around this dilemma is to enroll in a traditional Brick and Morter university where there is plenty of instructor-student interaction, as well as student-student interaction.  Some people need this kind of interaction, while others don't need it at all to obtain a degree.  I also took a class at the University of Phoenix online and, frankly, I didn't get anything out of the "group projects;" nor did I get anything out of the "group postings" where we had to make a "quality post" for others to read.  It was silly.  NCU bypasses that and allows  students to work on their own, which I prefer; but conversely, I really enjoyed the interaction that I got while obtaining a MA degree at a Brick & Morter school.

The 21st Century is the "information age" and all of these online schools are unfolding before our very eyes.  Is it the wave of the future?  Time will tell.  It's probably going to be contingent on:
1. the students' perceived value of the degrees
2. the community's perceived value of the degrees
3. the long-term sustained profitability of online institutions
4. the regional accreditors

My .02