What do you think of the FREE online college degree?

[cookderosa]

Jennifer, are you saying a degree from U of P would be okay for someone just looking for a checkbox degree? Can a person get into graduate school in history with it?
AP, 
PrettyFlyforaChiGuy, let me see if I understand. 76 hours from 25 CLEP, DSST, and TECEP (do they take all of these?) exams would cost $2,500. 45 hours from 15 courses would cost $255. Would this hypothetical $2,755 degree actually be worth anything?

Do we need a new term here, degree laundering? Get a nationally accredited bachelor's degree to get into a regionally accredited master's degree program. It seems like a regionally accredited master's degree would render the national accreditation of the bachelor's degree moot, if this would even work.

Checking the box, in my opinion, is not the same as aspiring to attend graduate school. As soon as you start adding qualifiers, it gets sticky. I think this checks the box for some people better than others, but not BECAUSE it's *this school* rather because that is always true of the RA/NA debate.

However, my husband and I both have associate degrees that are NA. I opted to start new when I wanted to go higher, but my husband earned a BS from another NA college. He applied to a handful of RA and NA grad schools and was accepted at ALL OF THEM for an MBA which he finished in 2017. He teaches for an RA university- for sure his NA is laundered to an RA degree for this purpose.

On an aside, CLEP is currently $0 with a Modern States voucher- so maxing CLEP credit allowed at any school is smart money.

[clep3705]

Even if you get the CLEP exams for free through Modern States, you still have to pay U of P $100 per exam for them to give you credit. I think.

[armstrongsubero]

I spent about three terms in the CS program and I can say it's very quality. Lots of assignments, forum posting and keeps the student engaged. I think if they had the finances they could be RA. The curriculum is also very comprehensive as it is a BS after all, there are a lot of relevant classes. They also accept transfer credit and even some ACE classes (I can verify ALEKS transfers).

That being said I did't finish because its not for me. It really drags out classes (just like a B&M school) and is too slow pace for me. I also hate those forum discussions being force on you each week for each class as well as being forced to review other peoples work. There is a low amount of videos so you can speed through your modules by reading. Its like a trimmed down version of Saylor.

It is a quality school with good instruction, this is my opinion having spent three terms there. If you are looking for a more 'traditional' online college setting its for you. At $100 per exam its awesome and good value. I have tried to get people I know to join, but they are just to lazy to start.

If you are like me and like eating through courses in a day or two, then it's not for you. The slow pace will send you mad and get you disinterested.

[davewill]

I wouldn't call University of the People a good choice for a check the box degree. It doesn't lend itself to acceleration so much. I think it makes much more sense for someone who wants to earn a degree to enter their chosen career, particularly if they can get one of the scholarships. If you just need to check the box, one of the Big3 or a competency based school, like WGU, would work much better.

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

Jennifer, are you saying a degree from U of P would be okay for someone just looking for a checkbox degree? Can a person get into graduate school in history with it?

PrettyFlyforaChiGuy, let me see if I understand. 76 hours from 25 CLEP, DSST, and TECEP (do they take all of these?) exams would cost $2,500. 45 hours from 15 courses would cost $255. Would this hypothetical $2,755 degree actually be worth anything?

I found this information on their website:

Transferring to UoP shows that they will accept CLEP, but ACE Credit/CLEP in their course database only reveals three different course equivalencies. I may have just searched incorrectly, though, or no one has previously done the transfer. Either way, the cost of any course transfer still seems to be only $17, averaging out to $5.67 per credit hour. No UoP exam fees show up in their FAQ page. You can only transfer in 50% of your degree requirements, so 90 credit hours total. With Modernstates grants, these would be more easily attainable. Tuition is $100 per exam at UoP, so I'm unsure where the $255 value is from.

I'm not Jennifer, but ultimately, the reality for employment or enrollment at most regionally accredited higher education institutions will remain having a regionally accredited degree. I've read studies which indicate that as employers in general become more aware of online programs due to an increasing amount of people pursuing them, their acceptance of them increases. However, with graduation rates sometimes approaching single digits in some of these programs, you'd also likely at least wonder what kind of issues are creating barriers to the very people that these unis ostensibly are intending to reach, which can discolor many people's perception of overall quality. Within academia itself, the bar would be higher.

If you just want a checkbox degree, I guess it would be fine, depending on if any particular accreditation requirements had been spelled out. If you are one of the speedy types, this would be a slower option for you anyway, though.

I don't believe that pursuing a nationally accredited degree would necessarily preclude you from every regionally accredited graduate school program, but I know I would look deeply into your curriculum and coursework at UoP if I was considering your application for a grad school program. I'd be especially curious about the novelty of their curriculum, where students appear to do an out-sized amount of assessment of each other.

[armstrongsubero]

@prettyflyflorachiguy For the CS I dont think accredation NA vs RA matters that much. All that matters is that you have the knowledge to do the work and University of the People gives you that. They FORCE you to read and understand the material the way it is set up.

As for grad school there's always NA grad schools...Im planning on doing my doctorate in CS at Aspen University which is NA. Depends on your goals really.

It depends on your goals really. I think they are doing grest work and I dont see a RA school that comes close to what they are doing. They also offer an MBA which is amazing.

I call University of the People, Nations University, Ashworth College and Penn Forster the 'little four' because of the value they give to students with affordable payments, low cost, monthly pay etc.

It really deoends on your goals.

[allvia]

@prettyflyflorachiguy For the CS I dont think accredation NA vs RA matters that much. All that matters is that you have the knowledge to do the work and University of the People gives you that. They FORCE you to read and understand the material the way it is set up.

As for grad school there's always NA grad schools...Im planning on doing my doctorate in CS at Aspen University which is NA. Depends on your goals really.

It depends on your goals really. I think they are doing  grest work and I dont see a RA school that comes close to what they are doing. They also offer an MBA which is amazing.

I call University of the People, Nations University, Ashworth College and Penn Forster the 'little four' because of the value they give to students with affordable payments, low cost, monthly pay etc.

It really deoends on your goals.

I also think it depends on where you are located. I know that you, armstrongsubero, are somewhat limited in your options of US schools due to you being an overseas student.  In example, RA schools like WGU were not an option for you.

[cookderosa]

Even if you get the CLEP exams for free through Modern States, you still have to pay U of P $100 per exam for them to give you credit. I think.

??

Really, are you sure? You have to pay $100 to transfer it in?

EDIT: PrettyFlyforaChiGuy pulled the info - looks like $17 to transfer in.

I guess I define "checking the box" differently so that probably requires some discussion. I don't assume that to mean fast or cheap- I simply mean "having a degree" period. People spend a great deal of time and money getting a degree that checks the box (or "a" box anyway).

If you EVER want to transfer- NA is risky.
If you EVER want to teach - NA is out.
If you EVER need any kind of state license (nursing, medicine, CPA, etc.) - NA is out.
If you EVER want to go to graduate school - NA can remove a few of your potential options

Now go ask 100 people about RA vs NA. I've got a nickel that says no one knows the difference or cares.

More LIKELY to raise eyebrows about this school are 2 things (1) the name (2) the online component- which is funny because RA colleges almost all offer online options. But people don't know, so you're not dealing with a rational and logical audience, you're dealing with regular people and their understanding of the world, which is often illogical or wrong. Most people ONLY know a college's name - not the accreditor or anything else.

There are a hundred ways this degree can work for someone, but there are a few potholes that you have to think about. I guess I would reposition my opinion to say this would be a good degree as long as you can defend why you don't need an RA degree.