University of West Alabama

I am a student at UWA and I love the fact that I do not have to interact  with students or instructors.  I am able to complete the assignments early, I can do assignments in the middle of the night, and I can work on assignments periodically throughout the day.  This program is all that it is designed to be.  Its great for working individuals with families and a desire to obtain a higher education. In every program, whether online or on campus, there will be some type of issue.  The remote proctor is a requirement for the program.  All programs have requrements. I graduated from UAB oncampus and  there were many requrements.  Life has requirements. Either you want to get your education at your home, on your time, at your convienience; or you want to rearrange your life for on campus classes. 

Now, if you have never completed any on campus classes then online school probably  is not for you, period. There is a certain level of discipline and experienced, study habits that makes online school successful. Good luck  with your decision.

I attended UWA 2006-2008 and I found the quality of education GREAT. I notice many say their is little interaction from the professors. I did not find that to be the case when I attended. The professors interacted and gave assingments where you did have to read but if you needed their assistance they were available. Online education is not for everyone and some people need more hands on to get an understanding. With that being said the education I recieved was no different from when I attended on campus undergrad listening to a professor talk the whole time. As far as the name it does not have to played in television commercials.

Please do yourself a favor and consider another university!

I have found that many universities and colleges offer more interaction in their online courses than does UWA. UWAs courses are almost like just taking a correspondence course and mailing in the assignments. On a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the best or highest, I would rate UWA a 5, or average, overall for their online programs, 2 for name recognition of the institution, 2 for interaction, and 3 for student services. Again costs are still fairly reasonable, but there are many better alternatives to earn a degree that is more meaningful.

I've completed classes on campus and online at UWA. The online program is good but not great. Distance learning is not designed for everyone. I would recommend this to working adults who need a degree for career advancement. The courses are 8 weeks so you have to read a lot, fast. If you can't learn on your own by reading the text books then you may want to consider going to a local college in your area.  If you are straight out of high school please do yourself a favor and get the full college experience by living on campus at the school of your choice.

Hello,

Could anyone explain the difference between a MS in Counseling/Psychology and the MS in Continuing Education- Counseling/Psychology offered by UWA.

Use of technology is limited, as assignments are not preceeded by lectures or recorded video. Student services could be improved. Tuition has increased, but remains somewhat reasonable, though I would like to see more use of technology in the online courses. School has no name recognition.

I am very disappointed in the quality of education from UWA. There is hardly any interaction with professors or peers when taking an online class. The professors do not teach at ALL. It is more like a self taught college course. You are required to read 4-5 chapters each week and then you are tested, no guideline or study guide is provided. Beware of the remote proctor: It only causes more problems. The remote proctor froze up my computer. I ended up having to put the computer in the shop. You are not able to call the help desk directly and must wait to be contacted by them. It was two weeks into the course  before help desk ever contacted me. After several weeks of going back and forth with help desk the remote proctor issue was still not corrected and I was forced to drop my online class. Terrible terrible experience, I would not recommend this school to anyone.

Disaster waiting to happen....Employers do not undersrtand the MSCE and the program is not CACREP accredited. So basically you are with a bachelor's degree because the degree does not exist...The only plus in the degree is that it can be applied to hours for licensure after completing a CACREP accrediated program which takes another two years so no bang for your buck.....Be careful....

I began the masters elementary education program in August 2010. I will be finished in October 2011. I have enjoyed this school's program. HOWEVER, I REALLY do not like using the remote proctors!!!!!!!! I have trouble with them almost every time I take an exam. UWA, please use something else ~ I would like to go on to get my Ed.S. with you.

I would not recommend this school to anyone. I have used the remote proctor for one of my classes and it locked up my computer. I notified the instructor to advise of the problem I was having. He advised I couldn't retake the exam although the issue of the remote proctor was not my fault. UWA needs to ban the use of the remote proctor as it has caused so much havoc. On several occasions, I couldn't get the remote proctor to work on my computer and they ended up sending me one as the one I previously owned didn't work properly. I had 2 classes left, as a result the instructor gave me a F due to my inability to take the test.
DO NOT ATTEND THIS UNIVERSITY EVEN IF IT'S THE LEAST EXPENSIVE SCHOOL!!!!

I'd be very concerned about the remote proctor.  It only works on 32bit Windows machines.  Those of you running 64bit versions are out of luck, as well as Apple users.  They just advise you to borrow a friends computer.  Which is another thing.  Every student has to buy their own.  You and your roommate couldn't share one, even though it attached to one computer, and only one of you at a time would be using it.  Then there's the yearly maintenance fee.

This remote proctor is less about keep you honest, and more about generating money for the college.  They should at least provide a way for you to take tests if you don't have a supported computer, but that's not allowed.  They want their money for the device reguardless.

Beware!  I am a current student at UWA.  About a third of the people have trouble with the remote proctor.  I can't get the finger sensor to work and Customer Support hasn't been able to help me.  I've spent more time with Customer Support than working on the classwork.  It's very frustrating.  The Remote Proctor is the only downfall so far.  If it worked right, then I would have absolutely no complaints with the school.

I am in the process of trying to be admitted into UWA's online program. I am very much interested in this particular program but do not understand the constraints that have been set forth for admission. I am a little concerned about the remote proctor and being timed on tests, but I am willingly to go through the process to obtain a higher degree.

UWA has a great group of faculty members and staff.  I have nothing negative to say about their program.  I would like to comment on the fact that, unless you specifically need a professor to clarify or explain something, there is no teaching from the professor and other than Blackboard's discussion questions and responses, and assignments there are hardly any student interaction.

A major concern that recently came about this past term was the introduction of a computer Exam Proctor.  I am not sure what UWA's reasoning was (they may truly believe it was warranted)but it was unnerving for me having to have my own computer, with the aid of this gadget, cause increase and undue stress anxiety.  I don't think I minded too much having my fingerprint being taken to verify that I am who I say I am taking this exam; but I really had a problem with an increase in my heartbeat as I watch this timer at the top of the page count down by the seconds.  Not to mention the fact that after a certain amount of time had elapsed I got shut out of the system and had to begin the entire process of resigning in.  Yes, I did loose minutes, not to mention focus.....and I did have a couple of hundreds of grey strands added to my, already greying hair! Are all online schools now engaging in this method of testing for online students? I would like to hear comments or similar experiences.  Thank you

I did not expect that at this level I would have to prove my academic efforts and honesty!  Am I paying for someone else's mistakes?  Is this the way it is or should be?  What do you think?

I'm VERY interested in UWA's school counseling program but I don't understand or trust the complicated certification rules for uncertified teachers from out of state. Can anyone clarify the process for someone (without a teaching degree) looking for GA school counseling certification through UWA's program?

Hi, did you ever have any luck finding an online master's degree program for school counseling? 

I was quite impressed by the program offered by UWA online.  The only two downsides are that the material is pretty much straight out of the textbook (all of which you will read cover to cover) and there is little teacher input.  But if you study the stuff they assign, you should pick it all up.  The degree itself was accelerated, not to mention quite affordable.  The support was pretty good, well above that of my brick and mortar undergrad.  Ultimately I passed (with no trouble) the state tests required where I live and was quickly certified with little difficulty.