Bachelor of Arts in International Relations

REVIEW THIS DEGREE

Name: honesroc

As an alumnus of American Military University, an online institution based in West Virginia, I wanted to offer a candid review of my experiences there from 2006 – 2009. As with all schools, AMU has both pros and cons, and I think it’s important to highlight those factors so as to give prospective students an honest assessment of what they can expect from pursuing their degrees there. First let’s talk about the online classroom experience. It’s true that APUS employs qualified faculty who are experienced in the fields for which they teach – particularly when it comes to homeland security, intelligence studies and political science. However, the level of faculty interaction has been, in my experience, mostly nonexistent. With the exception of one or two professors, I never saw any feedback on my discussion board postings nor any of my comments to other student’s work. Rarely, in the case of a major paper, I would receive a ‘cookie-cutter’ response cheerleading me along (by telling me what I great job I was doing), however, I quickly grew accustomed to never seeing any indication on how I was progressing as a writer. While good grades came easily enough, student development and personal attention were two factors largely amiss. Indeed, you quickly get the sense that students are herded through the curriculum as fast as possible in their paths toward graduation. This is, in my opinion, APUS’s greatest weakness. On a positive note, APUS did offer timely student, financial, and tech support services. I’ve worked with both Educator and Saki classroom environments, and never had any issues with either of them. Saki is a fairly straight-forward platform that has decent organization, proper layout, and available access to the online library, student email, and other academic tools. Additionally, tuition is another attractive factor here (costs are relatively low), and I think this is the major reason why APUS has remained as successful as it has to date. That being said, there are a number of steps APUS can take in order to increase student learning. These steps include the following: 1.Make all DB postings due by Wednesday so as to allow sufficient student and faculty response time. Currently, all assignments – whether they be DB postings, tests, or papers, are due by 11:59pm Sunday night. This fosters low quality work and procrastination. 2.Incorporate video lectures in all classes. This isn’t currently offered, but would go a long way to underline lessons from the text and provide a more personal learning experience. 3.Move away from E-Books. While probably cost-effective, they don’t inspire and aren’t user-friendly. 4.Shrink class size and make feedback/constructive criticism mandatory for all assignments. This will help develop better writers and better students. 5.Fully adopt timed tests. While open book test options could remain available, the fact that exams are timed will ensure that students actually read what they are assigned to read. 6.Fully adopt proctored exams – this will prevent academic dishonesty. 7.Make ‘Turnit in’ mandatory for all papers. Again, this will prevent academic dishonesty. 8.Move from an open admissions policy to a more selective one. This will ensure that the classroom is filled with students who know how to write, spell, cite sources and progress through their academic career. 9.Employ more full-time faculty vs. part-time adjuncts. Instructors will treat their responsibilities towards their students more seriously if they are being paid to do so. Ultimately however, it remains to be seen if APUS will implement any of these measures. Sooner or later, the school’s administration will have to decide if they want to offer an environment that is more conducive to student learning (which I hope they do), or continue to offer the easiest way toward a degree. Certainly the answer to that question will determine APUS’s future reputation. In the finally analysis, the American Public University System is a better option than other for-profit schools, in particular UOP or Kaplan University, however, their student learning experience is more than lacking. Until this improves, prospective students are advised to seek their educational goals elsewhere.

Name: kamau

I am a Kenya, aged 39 years, and I am working very hard to sustain my family. I want to work smarter by getting an online International Relations Degree. Any help accorded in allowing me to select the best degree is highly appreciated.