Regional Board - North Central Association of Colleges & Schools
School Characteristics:
For-Profit, Private
Credits:
122 minimum (Semester Credits)
Tuition:
State Residents: $ 250.00 per
semester credit
Out of State: $ 250.00 per
semester credit
Additional Tuition Information:
This degree is also available through APU’s sister institution, American Military University (AMU), with the same tuition, fees and admission requirements.
Total Cost of Degree:
$30,500.00
Is this an Accelerated Degree:
No
Prerequisites:
High School Diploma or GED Required: Yes (required GPA: No Set Requirement)
APUS is leagues ahead of other online schools. I attended others before finally transferring to APUS. The price was half that of the previous school I was at. While it is still inexpensive recently they add a technology fees to the classes. This extra 50$ per class isn't a good reason to shy from the school but it is one thing that is frustrating.
They claim to give all undergraduates access to texts, which technically they do. In the beginning they actually sent books then they moved onto using .pdf formats. These were acceptable. Now however they utilize an atrocious form of books on a site where the layout is horrible and it is a serious pain to read. I ended up utilizing extra financial aid and buying textbooks on my own. I'd assume the 50$ technology fee is to pay for the website access to these texts as I see nothing else different since the implementation. Not a huge thing but enough to bother me. For someone coming into it not knowing how things were before, it probably won't be as much of an issue. Just be aware of the textbook formatting.
Most Professors care and take their jobs seriously. I have had so many that I truly felt deserved and earned my respect and admiration. I have had a couple, unfortunately, that I wouldn't recommend. For anyone who is wondering why, it isn't grade related. It is the fact that they never replied to communications in an acceptable time-frame, didn't have things graded in an acceptable time-frame and never commented on assignments to help me to know what areas to work on. Again, This was very few and I did make my opinions heard.
A good thing about APU is that they listen when you speak. When I did communicate with their departments I was taken seriously and was never left hanging.
Some online schools will lay out your degree program for you but at APU it is more traditional. The schools I attended before APU did all the scheduling for me and it was very different when I came to APU. In hind-sight I wish that I would have taken advantage of the Student Services more to assist me in planning out my scheduling. I did in the end (I'm almost finished with the program) and they were a great help.
The courses are all relevant with relevant course book selections. The Professors are all experienced in the areas that they guide us on. I have learned so much from them, the course materials, and from my peers.
Online learning (for those who don't know) is self-teaching not classroom based but at APU it is Guided. Professors work to challenge you with assignments and postings. Peer interaction allows for people from all walks of life and experience to share and question. Everyone there wants to see you succeed and assistance is never out of reach.
This degree program is not too difficult that someone with no prior experience couldn't do it and isn't so easy that tech savvy IT nuts will be bored.
I give the overall picture an A- because of the few things I had issue with. However, to put it in perspective, the other online schools I have been to Averaged a D+. No institution can be perfect but APU is the best out there in online education as far as I'm concerned.
At first I thought APU was the Perfect School, However This Institute is almost impossible to deal with, there communication is extremely poor, I could not get any Assistance from the Alleged Admissions Representative. I left several Voice, e-mail messages that Got no Responses for a min. 2 day stints, inquiring about what documents I was required to File within a time sensitive frame. I would not recommend this Institute to any one, as this Institute clearly lacks the Professional aptitude required by serious professional seeking to increase there knowledge and advance there careers.
APU IT Professors are outstanding. They are true technical mentors capable of doing top-level corporate work in their fields. The classes are comprehensive and provide a robust coverage of the material. Students in this degree program graduate with the knowledge to actually work in the IT field, day one. As an IT hiring manager and software developer for many years I was uniquely qualified to view this program from the perspective of a seasoned professional capable of teaching many of these classes. The professors provided real-world assignments and modern textbooks, as well as constant assistance with technical questions and issues. The level of accessibility to the professors was outstanding, and I doubt students would realize this level of contact in a traditional setting. With only one exception, my entire range of professors in both the IT and General Education courses were outstanding, highly technical and in no way lost or mired in the trenches of academia.
The IT BS degree programs at APU are outstanding, and offer a wide range of technical electives to compliment any specific area of IT study. The online environment is very good, and moving to the award winning Sakai environment this year, and I was able to make terrific contacts throughout the program. There are no group projects which is ideal for busy working professionals, and students do not have to deal with working in a group setting when students are located in almost every time zone. I was adverse to group projects as an adult student who did not wish to spend extensive time working on projects with others who might not pull their weight and have the opportunity to compromise my grades. The cost is moderate, and well worth every penny. I was so pleased with this program that I begin a Masters of IT with a concentration in Digital Forensics this week!
Bravo APU! If you are interested in this program and enroll, make sure to specifically seek out Professor Abaza who will teach you more about real-world programming than any professor in the nation. He is one of the most professional, technical and dedicated professors a student could encounter.
Name: Ann Z-Not a Verified Student
Post On: September 6, 2010
Grade: A
Best online school! Free undergrad books, low cost, can take classes in own desired order, outstanding admin departments, FANTASTIC professors and course choices, and great electronic environment to work in! Finished all but one class - 119 credits - BS in IT in 17mths with 3.99 gpa! One class left to go! Checked out many other online schools before choosing APU - none compare in all areas.
Name: Matt-Not V erified Student
Post On: June 15, 2010
Grade: A
Great School! Online education at an affordable price. Have had many great professors.