Online Learning
 

Last week, I was looking into getting more information regarding on an online PhD program from Argosy.

Within one hour they called me back. I told them to send me more info, but they insisted on getting connected the program's rep. I said I didn't have time at the moment.

They have called back 2X everyday since last Thursday! (9AM and 2PM)

If their academic faculty is just as good as their marketing staff, I'm in!

Argosy is a branch of the University of Phoenix I think. I'd think hard before putting out hard earned cash.

My former collegague recently earned his PhD in Psychology (at near retirement age) from one of the big online names. He was very satisfied about the experience and he's very particular.

I am aware of horror stories however-- not sure else how I could manage a PhD in this particular field while working full time. I probably won't take the plunge for another few years, so am just looking at this point.

U.P. is godawful expensive. I took a few certification required courses from them just because I am lousy at sitting thru traditional classes and wanted them over with fast. If I really intended to pursue a course of study in which I held interest, well....

I don't know how Argosy does things, but at the U.P. website you can't peruse their course catalog or any aspect of their degree programs without giving them your personal info for a sales contact. Seems kind of sleazy to me.

It depends on the field and what you want to do with the degree. I've sat on a lot of search committees for academic jobs. Graduate degrees from online schools don't hold a candle to brick and mortar graduate degrees for academic jobs. I used to teach for University of Phoenix. I don't know how their Ph.D. programs work but for undergraduate and master's level courses, they had absolutely no full time faculty. Unless things are different at the doctoral level it's hard for me to imagine how someone could be a leading expert in a field in which his work was just a sideline.

I wouldn't be teaching, it would be to practice and to be qualified to administer certain assessments.

In that case it may be fine. But it should at least give you some pause that I was on the faculty there.:D

Interesting. My ex-colleague will be teaching online psych classes. His program wasn't APA credentialed, so he can only teach and do research- but that's all he wants to do with it,

I taught there 20 years ago. At the time, UoP specialized in professional degrees, MBA's and undergraduate business degrees. Its expanded a lot since then. They definitely spent far more money on marketing than anything else. I liked the students because at the time they were only admitting students over 30(?) yrs old who had enough college credits already to be a junior. The school had no library.

"For Profit" online colleges and universities have the highest loan amount and default rates among students.

Being Indebted to For Profit School

Though some colleges dispute the numbers, the Department of Education says that students at for-profit colleges represent about 10 percent of the nation’s college enrollment. They take out about a quarter of all student loans and grants and of all the students across the country who default on their loans, nearly half come from for-profit colleges. And when students default, it is taxpayers who pick up the tab.

Some for-profit executives, as well as an industry trade group, acknowledge that their students are more likely to default, but they say it’s because their schools serve a low-income population that is underserved by traditional colleges. They also say that many students over-borrow by taking out loans to cover things beyond their tuition. For example, students will take loans out to cover their living expenses. That is money that the schools never see.