University of Advancing Technology

Does anyone feel like they really got their money's worth 

I'm already drowning in debt from getting a Civil Engineering degree from Purdue.  Having graduated burned out and already being tired of my job after only about 6 months I'm starting to seriously considering leaving the boring, stable job and pursue being a concept artist.

I'm just wondering if its really worth it or if its possible for people to do just as good on their own.  

My experience has been that most professors don't teach much more than what you can get out of the textbooks except for correcting the odd mistake here and there or teaching a best practice.  There are very few who actually brought any true expertise into the class in a way that students could benefit from.

Do you really think the professors' classes are worth the money? 

Does anyone think its realistic to learn it and get good enough to break into the biz on your own by setting goals and work towards them while asking other people online for help and feedback when necessary?

what i don't get is they don't some of classes at uat online like japenese and art of the comic book.it sucks uat bookstore don't have a website so i find textbooks and art kit buy it online.i having hard time finding what art supplies do i need for my art classes.i'm going be taking game art and animation online to get a b.a. degree.

@Blake
I would be carful with full sail. my friend graduated from there with there music degree and cant get a job anywhere because they dont tech Pro-Tools(the industry's standard). now thats just that i cant say anything about there other degree's I personally just enrolled at UAT and start next month. Im a game designer with some friends at blizzard and Apple and both companies hold there degrees at high regards. I dont know what your wanting to go for but if its for any kind of Programming course they are the way to go.

My so has been talking about this school since the 8th grade, now he is a senior and is still talking about it. I really would like to get some feedback about the school because come high or low i know he is applying in the fall. Any suggestions will be helpful

I am a student and an employee of UAT. i work the front desk and answer phones it helps pay the bills. If your son is interested then a suggest you take part in the fly in GEEK. the take you through the steps and give you and your son a glimpse of the school. plus you get a $400 credit towards your tuition. but what i would really suggest is tell your son to take it Sirius i can count how many kids go there and think they can just play games and get a good grade. in final tour the campus its small and tight knight. good luck with your choice.  

Matt you scared me so much with your problems. sorry to here that.But judging by the others it is a great school.

To everyone else.please help!! i want to attend that school but i don't know where to turn, there are so many options.What about full sail?

hmm sorry to hear about your troubles with the school there matt.. im currently attending UAT. I Transferred from a community college and received my 3-D Design and Animation degree. they took all my credits and i was able to pick and choose what classes i wanted.. i don't how you where unable to choose classes but that's completely wrong.  the school is very expensive so i do recommend going to a community college to get all the general credits out of the way at least.. 

as far as staff, they are very quick for responses for me, i have no complaints about the school...

Sorry, reading the bad posts on UAT prompted me to make my own. I have been pursuing a online degree with UAT for a year now and love it. Staff is great, classes are challenging and I have learned a GREAT deal with each class. If anything, it is very hard to keep up with. Some classes are easier than others, but there is always a load of work to do. All my instructors have gone out of their way to make sure we know what we are doing. Not only that, but I've had instructors open up a thread just to ask questions about working in the field, real questions with real honest answers. I am working on a BA in Game Design.

Concerning Matt's comments, I'm currently attending UAT as a distance educational (online) student. Personally I applaud the program that UAT offers. 

I'm sorry to hear of his associated problems with his scholarship. And I too have had some instances where it has taken some of the professors extraordinary amounts of time, but I have found that to be more of the exception, than the rule. As for the general staff and their reaction time, WOW! I'm not sure who he was dealing with, but that has not been my perception at all. Ok, unless it's around Christmas time, but that's as to be expected with people going home for the holidays and all. As for the degree's acceptance, I work for the DoD, and they will accept my degree and hold UAT in good standing as an accredited university. 
My main reason for going to UAT is because they are the most technical accredited university that I've found, that offer the opportunity for you to attend their course online. For someone like me, with 2 kids, a job, and bills, that's short on free time, this really makes sense. I've attended numerous other universities and it's been more than three years now (at UAT), and I must admit that I'm still interested in attending. I dropped out of all of the other universities, largely because of their academic course structures, and my loathing of general academic courses. So that being said...you get what you pay for. Sure, they're not cheap, but I've heard that Strayer is much more expensive, and also more academic. UAT simply hits the right coard for me, and I'll be happy to receive my degree from them. Mainly because a lot of the skills that they're teaching me can be turned around and used in the real world.

On another note, after you receive your bachelors from UAT, you may also find that they offer other courses that will help you to be certified, and these courses aren't being offered at too many other schools. I'd rather have that opportunity, than not.

UAT has no real concern for its students.  Their actions have contradicted their literature several times in an effort to squeeze me for more money.  

Here's what they did:

1. Scholarship bait and switch:

They offered me a scholarship based on my credentials.  On the day classes started, they notified me I was too late to receive it, without ever telling me what I needed to do or that there was even a deadline.

2. Assessment bait and switch:

The UAT literature says that if you take assessments or have professional experience, they will promote you to the next class.  I passed the assessment and it took me 7 weeks of fighting with their administrators to get them to advance me.  As of this writing, my transcript there still shows an F for the class (for which I passed the assessment) and they have yet to change it.  It takes weeks, literally weeks, for them to take any action.  The first line support staff do everything they can to try to get you to go away and stop bothering them.  They go silent for days with the excuse that they are "checking with the supervisor."

3. Course management shady practice

This one shocked me -- you don't get to choose your courses!  What the heck kind of college doesn't let you manage your courses?  They choose them for you!  And they conveniently don't mention this little tidbit until you actually start taking classes.  I was so amazed when I logged in that I had no control over classes, that I looked through all the literature to be sure I hadn't missed something.  There was no warning about this huge policy shift from traditional universities.  So, you never know what your next course will be, and you don't get to choose what you want to study.  And forget about doing anything creative like a minor or a dual-degree.  Just not going to happen.

I'm giving up on UAT.  The courses were mediocre, definitely not worth the hassle of dealing with their shady business practices.  I highly recommend just going to a community college and saving your money.  UAT will end up costing you at least $60K in loans, 4 years of your life, and it's not even clear anyone will consider it a real degree.  So, you *might* find an employer who will accept it, but it's not clear you can get a graduate degree from another university after completing the UAT undergrad tracks.

They really are not trying to help you achieve your goals, like a traditional university would.  They are in it for the money and it's painfully slow dealing with their staff.

My advice: stay away.

I'm looking for information relating to both the quality of education available from this institution's online program and the marketability of degrees from this institution. I note that they are not yet regionally accredited, and have heard some talk on the street about IT folks having trouble marketing their UAT degrees, but have found no solid info. Failing this, does anyone have any reliable info on a quality IT, Network Security, or similar type degree available online? Thanks.