American Public University System -- APU / AMU

[dfrecore]

I love the BS in ISS with a concentration in Cloud Computing for my husband - you can't find that everywhere! He works in Cloud Computing, so it's the best fit I've been able to find. I also like the fact that they don't require calculus and Physics II and programming for the degree - all things that he's not interested in and won't even think about taking. He's also not really interested in the CIS degrees - too much business stuff. So the set of courses in this sequence are right up his alley. And given that all of his credits have come from traditional routes means that he can take the few remaining requirements via CLEP/DSST/SL and transfer them in, and be able to take courses that are actually of interest to him.

Not every school fits in with "our" ideal (117-120 credits transferred in, all coming from non-traditional methods), but some may be a better option for people if they can actually get what they want out of it. AND, if you have tuition reimbursement that will pay for it too - then cost isn't a huge issue. Not everyone wants to just check a box, they really can't see getting a degree that doesn't interest them. I totally get that.

[bluebooger]

EOD is an extremely interesting set of courses. ... discussions when you go through with coursework/textbook from Chemistry of Explosives. ...

the course description says
AMU Course: HLSS230 - Chemistry of Explosives
"This combination of reference materials, website research and group-related projects, ..."
==================
did your class have to do group work ?
what was it like ?

I really hate doing group projects

so difficult coordinating group work when its all online
and you always get one or two people who are useless

[hightecrebel]

the course description says
AMU Course: HLSS230 - Chemistry of Explosives
"This combination of reference materials, website research and group-related projects, ..."
==================
did your class have to do group work ?
what was it like ?

I really hate doing group projects

so difficult coordinating group work when its all online
and you always get one or two people who are useless

I was in one of the earliest classes with very few people in it, so our group projects ended up being basically extended discussion boards done over a few weeks, with our professor interjecting every so often to send us back on the correct path. Most of the people in the program (at least back when I was actively taking it) are EOD professionals, so there were some more in-depth discussions than I'd expected, but they were all fascinating.

[videogamesrock]

APU's residency requirement is not generous. 30 max for nontraditional including CLEP, AP, IB. 91 max transferred overall. Effectively a residency requirement of 29 credits with a further restriction on non-traditional credits. This school is great for transferring out, not transferring in.

I believe they allow block transfers if you have an AA/AS. I'm not sure if that would reset the 30 credit nontraditional threshold.

[tsimmns]

AMU does have a lot of nice offerings. I was kinda put off by the initial class you are required to take with them if you have never taken an online class however. The one thing I do like about them seeing as how I use the GI Bill is they let you pay in payments which is great for people like me with the Montgomery GI Bill through the Guard who doesn't get the money up front. TESU makes you pay out of pocket which kinda defeats the purpose. While that's no issue seeing as how j have a great job it's kind of disheartening. Also, I really like the BS in Information Systems that AMU offers, however I would have to retake some classes that I initially made Ds in from back in the day again and in the long run it would cost more money and more time than for the BSBA CIS degree at TESU. However I might look at them for a Graduate degree. I sit hate that they are considered For Profit.

[TrailRunr]

Bumping this thread since APU/AMU recently came up....

Does anyone have a comparison between APU and TESU upper level classes? 12-week courses at TESU (and equivalent quarter school courses) are pretty mellow and slow, but 8 weeks is a concern since I have a full-time job. Is it open book easy like SL or are the exams designed so that you can't ctrl-f to pass. It would be great to compare the difficulty to a related TESU class, SL, or a CLEP/TECEP/DSST.
Specifically, I'm thinking UL math but it could be a UL computer course as well.

[adavis84]

I just wanted to come back and fill in what I said earlier in this thread about the Linear Algebra course I took at APU/AMU.


COURSE FORMAT REVIEW:
I finished the course on Sunday and received my final grade today. In general, I really liked the format and experience of the course. The only graded assignments are the chapter exams (one per week) and a forum post each week. There was no midterm and the final was the eighth week's weekly exam (rather than on top of an assignment for that week). The forum posts were actually more challenging than I had expected. The topics were not at all simple regurgitation of the material in the week's lesson (like most of my TESU ones have been) but rather required outside resources and study beyond the week's lesson. Some students basically wrote short papers for each one. There was more than once were I felt overwhelmed by having to self direct additional study beyond the week's assigned content. However, they are, in total, only 20% of the final grade so are not critical to passing the class should one chose to focus their efforts elsewhere.

GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:
For this course there were suggested problems from the book available in the MyMathLab dashboard. You could choose to work them in that environment (which I did as I got instant feedback and a step-by-step tutorial available if I need it), or you could choose to work them from the book (odd numbered answers are provided in the text and there is a student solution manual as well). The content was appropriately challenging, not a fluff course by any means, but also not senselessly complicated either. There was NOTHING in the course content-wise other than the assigned text book. If that format is true of all APU/AMU courses, you could very easily take a peek at the books beforehand. Again, this course used a prepackaged system, so other courses may be different.

EXAMS:
The tests were taken in MyMathLab, 20 questions each, open book, open notes, calculators allowed, and matrix software of your choice permitted/required for some application problems. Nothing was proctored. The final was comprehensive.


INSTRUCTOR ROLE:
The instructor provided very little to the course in terms of content (in my experience) and simply chimed in here and there on the discussion posts. However, the instructor was very active/responsive to questions and very very flexible and accommodating to me taking a few of the weekly tests late (without penalty).

OTHER NOTES:
The really impressive thing for me is how quickly everything operates at AMU/APU. There was an error in my final grade (a "minus" lower than it should have been) that I didn't catch until yesterday evening (after the course had ended). I sent an email to instructor and within 30 mins I received a reply stating it had been updated and submitted to the registrar's office. THEN, five minutes after that, I received a notice from the registrar that my transcripts had been updated. Not only did I have my final grade in the course 4 days after the course closed, all of the changes were made in less than an hour. MUCH faster than ANY transaction I've had with TESU.

I likely do not need to take any more courses from APU/AMU, but they will certainly be the first place I look if I do need any further courses not available in SL/CLEP/etc format.

[bjcheung77]

I just wanted to come back and fill in what I said earlier in this thread about the Linear Algebra course I took at APU/AMU.

EXAMS:
The tests were taken in MyMathLab, 20 questions each, open book, open notes, calculators allowed, and matrix software of your choice permitted/required for some application problems. Nothing was proctored. The final was comprehensive.

I likely do not need to take any more courses from APU/AMU, but they will certainly be the first place I look if I do need any further courses not available in SL/CLEP/etc format.

Awesome Review!! These points alone would be great for classes especially those hard to find upper level courses in the Area of Study.
I would guess many would like the non proctored open book exams/finals and the cost is significantly cheaper than a course at the Big 3.

[TrailRunr]

I just finished the same linear algebra class at APU. I mostly agree with the previous review. Here are my impressions.

Enrollment - Since this class has a calculus prerequisite, you will need to fill-out a waiver form before you will be allowed to register online. After class starts, you have a one week period to refund at 100%. Take your first exam by Saturday so you have time to drop for free if you think the course is way over your head. When comparing the cost to TESU, don't forget you don't have to pay for the book. The online edition is included with your tuition for undergrads. If you can find a way to get a copy of the physical text or e-book, that would be helpful during the open-book exams.

Overall - I felt that the course is too fast for someone with a full-time job, family, and other courses. I think this pace would work fine for humanities and social science. It's rough for an upper-level math class where the concepts are more complicated. But I think schools like TESU should migrate to the 8-week term. I'm very happy that the class is over so quickly even though the pace is quite rushed. The course is 75% on MyMathLab website which is where you take your exams and do your online homework. The forums and the class website are on the Sakai platform, which is OK. Just like with most online courses, this is mostly a teach-it-yourself-from-the-book course.

This course is also demanding. It's more difficult than calculus and the lower math classses. Linear algebra would be an easy course if it's just computational, but this is not just a computation course. If you don't put in your 10+ hours per week on homework and gain a conceptual understanding of what's going on behind the matrices, you won't pass. As a result of the many hours in this class, I learned a lot in this course. I think many of my fellow classmates had a rough time and might not pass pending their results on the final.

Exams - There are 7 weekly tests worth 8% each and one cumulative final exam worth 20%. So 76% of your grade is based upon tests. The good news is that none of this is proctored. That's the end of the good news. Unlike TESU, there is hardly any multiple choice. Most of it is fill-in-the-blank numerical answers. If you don't know the answer on a TESU test, you have a 25% chance of guessing the right answer. In a way, multiple choice is undeserved extra credit when its a wild guess. With these exams, you are going to get zero credit if you have no idea. Many of the questions are more conceptual than computational, which will make passing the class hard if you don't understand what's going on behind the computations. My instructor is OK with taking tests late with no penalty, but don't let them snowball. The tests will take around 2 hours even though you have 3 hours. The exams will be a time sink on their own. The MyMathLab homework I'll talk about later will help you prepare for the exams. There will be a few word problems/concept questions on the exam that you never saw on the homework.

Homework - Homework doesn't count towards your grade directly. The homework is available from the textbook or the MyMathLab online homework page. I would do the online version since feedback is immediate. The test questions mostly resemble what is on the homework. You need to do most of the homework to pass the class. I highly recommend printing out on PDF all of your homework for later use as well as all of the examples in the homework. The homework is very time consuming, so don't wait until the due date of the test. The homework are often multiple choice, but much of the actual test will be fill-in-the-blank. The practice chapter tests are too easy, so don't bother. A 90% on the practice test doesn't mean anything at all. You can be woefully underprepared with a 90%.

Forums - I think they were easier than the previous review. It takes a bit more effort than TESU, but only a bit. Because the exams are so harshly graded, you need the free points from the forums even though forums are more work than TESU forums. 8 forums are worth 20% of your grade.

Writing project - There is a short 5-page paper on a linear algebra topic of your choice. APA citations required. 4% of your grade. Do the final first to see if you need to do the paper. If the paper won't make a difference to your letter grade, I wouldn't bother turning it in. Most people will want the free 4% since it could mean the difference between a C- (not passing in TESU's area of study) and a C.

[redpanda]

I wanted to bump this thread because I am interested in apu for a masters degree. I am doing my bachelors through thomas edison. I notice apu requires a GPA of 2.0 for admission into the masters program. I know tesu does not award gpa's.

Would i be able to take one of my undergrad psych courses through apu so they could see the gpa i got in the class, and transfer it to tesu to use in my undergrad psych degree? or would i have to graduate from a university that awards gpa's itself. i have read a few threads but i am not sure how this whole process works. i am trying to plan ahead so that i can have some kind of gpa to use for masters program admissions. but i am just not sure if taking one class would be enough. 

money is a big issue and i have not been able to use financial aid so far since i have been going thru straighterline and such. but if i had to take a few 'real' classes somewhere like apu in order to transfer those credits to tesu, maybe i could get financial aid for those classes?

thanks for any help.