Eastern University

Date: Jan 16 2008
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
NOTE: This review is about the accelerated Degree Completion Program (DCP) in general and specifically the accelerated BA in Management of Information Systems (MIS). I do not have any idea what the "regular" degree programs are like, hence I do not mention campus life, security, athletics, or anything of that sort. I will start off with a b*tch session about the issues I have with this program and then explain my reasons, so please keep reading all the way through.

There are probably some positive reviews from students about the DCP program. In my experience, those positive reviews would mostly be from students who had some hardships, whether real or perceived, and were given special accommodations. For example, some students come in and out of the program or get extensions for their assignments. If Eastern allowed me to do all that, of course I would be thankful too and give good reviews.

I am not putting down those students who have medical or other personal issues and really need the accommodations. My issue is with the students who are given accommodations when they should not even be in college. Because they give the instructors some "pity me" story, which is really just a bunch of excuses, they somehow make it through the program.

Some of the work that I have seen from these students is not even anywhere near college-level and it is an insult to the students who put effort into the program. But somehow, someway, these students get passing grades. So now you see why they would give glowing reviews of Eastern? Just tell your personal problems to the instructors, make them feel sorry for you, do less than minimal work and you will still get your degree.

I think the root cause of some of these issues is that the assignments are too lengthy for five-week undergraduate courses, so some students have a hard time keeping up. Yes, the students should have to put forth some effort, but some of the assignments are just overwhelming for an accelerated course.

And what is just so absurd is that the course designers make it out like this is the MBA program at Harvard Business School. Come on, Eastern is some dinky little university whose business programs are not even accredited by AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

On top of that, most of the instructors do not have the highest credentials in their field. One instructor (he actually was one of the better ones we had though) got his MBA from Eastern. He also teaches some of Eastern's MBA courses. What reputable school would do such a thing? That would be like an instructor with only a bachelor's degree teaching me.

Yes, I know that a degree does not mean everything, but this is a college here. I am not talking about someone needing a PhD to be a manager in a corporation. In an academic environment, advanced degrees are absolutely essential.

I have been enrolled in the DCP program for a BA in MIS since 2006. Thus far I am very dissatisfied with the school and thank the Lord that it is almost over!

Here are my reasons:

FINANCIAL AID

The financial aid office was not very clear on things and I had to repeatedly contact them to clarify billing and loans. After spending at least three hours calculating everything to figure out the discrepancies and then e-mailing them several times about it, they finally got things right.

Since this program is specifically designed for working adults and expects that many students will receive employer tuition reimbursement, one would figure that the process for getting a grade report and tuition receipt would be easier. But why make it simple and give the students the appropriate forms they need on the first night of class?

I had to look into this myself and go to two different departments to get the forms. Come on Eastern, I could not have been the first student to get employer tuition reimbursement! What is so hard about printing out two forms and giving it to the students on the first night of class?

CURRICULUM

The DCP department does not seem to have its act together. For one thing, almost every class we have has a totally different format for the syllabus/student guide. That would be acceptable in a regular college class, but with the DCP program, all courses are designed around the DCP theme and are specific to the DCP program.

Every time I bring up an issue about the syllabus/student guide, such as outdated information or errors, the usual response is something along the lines of, “We are constantly updating the program. Ok, it was 2007 and some of the materials were dated 2001. One class even had a case study that was over ten years old! I would not classify that as “constantly updating.

And on several occasions there have been sample assignments in the student guide that have obvious typographical and grammatical errors. After many years of this program, one would think that Eastern would have found and corrected all the OBVIOUS errors by now. It is pathetic because the students are supposed to base their work off of those samples.

And, on several occasions again, students would ask the instructors about particular assignments in the student materials and the instructor would contradict what is shown in the sample assignment or say that the sample is not a good one. Ok, if the sample is not "good" then why have it in the student materials? It is totally illogical.

I do not feel that I have gotten much out of the instructors save for maybe two courses. Some of the textbooks have been informative, but I have not really felt that the instructors have added much to my knowledge. I only had one instructor who held a PhD. Everyone else had a masters degree. That is fine for a community college, but this is a private university and tuition is not cheap.

I would speculate that Eastern has two curriculums—one that the accreditation auditors look at and one that the school actually uses. That could explain why things seem so disorganized.

COHORT SYSTEM

The term "cohort" seems to be thrown around a lot in the program descriptions. Basically it means that a group of students go through every single class in the program together—that is all. Supposedly that will provide a built-in support mechanism. Other than that, a cohort system is nothing radical.

In just about any other classroom setting students will work with each other on group projects and learn from and support each other anyway. So shared learning and support is not exclusive to a cohort. And working on group assignments is not always the best thing when you have some rotten apples that have to be carried along because they do not pull their weight.

FACULTY

It seems that as long as one has a master's degree, one can teach in the DCP program. So one can have degrees in education and be allowed to teach an MIS course. That in itself is not so bad if the instructor has done CURRENT work or research in MIS, but generally I have not found that to be the case.

The director of the MIS program only has degrees in education and no recent, relevant experience in the MIS field. So what value are the instructors bringing to the classes? Honestly, in most of these classes I was better off just learning on my own. Sitting in class having the instructor go over our readings almost page by page without adding anything insightful is not respectful of the students' time.

SENIOR CAPSTONE PROJECT

The MIS DCP program at Eastern involves this huge research project that one does on the side in parallel with ones regular classes. The project drags out over a year and I think the requirements for it are too lofty and ambitious for what students are actually taught. The requirement is to come up with a

technological innovation,

research it and basically develop a business plan.

Um, hello, this MIS program does not really teach students enough about [information] technology to be innovators in that field. It is a BA degree that teaches more management than information systems. So I do not see the sense in the requirement for a “technological innovation. It seems to me that Eastern jumped on the bandwagon and throws the word "technology" around a lot to make their program look impressive.

And because this project spans over one year, some of the technology that students might have considered could be outdated by the time the project is completed. Part of the project is to update it throughout the year, but why not just have one or two contiguous classes at the end where students can fully complete the project and not have to worry about their ideas becoming outdated?

Eastern does grant six credits for the project, but I would rather just take two classes instead. This whole MIS program is eighty some weeks long, so what is another ten weeks for two classes?

It would help to have the mindset to just take each class as it comes. But since the capstone project spans over a year, it is always on one's mind because there are pieces of it due throughout the year. So one cannot just concentrate exclusively on the class at hand. Since the classes are accelerated, there is a lot of reading and work involved, so it is not easy to do that and the capstone project at the same time.

RELIGION

I know this is a Christian school and that the degree is a BA, and I thought I would be ok with it, but I am not sure now. I respect other's religions, but it is very discomforting when certain instructors want to say a prayer before and after class and quote the Bible all the time.

I am an adult who is already established in my religious beliefs and do not find it appropriate that the school is basically pushing Christianity on me. This is from one of our student materials: This module has been prepared to glorify God. Is that comment even necessary? I think God would like to be glorified by other means than course materials for an MIS course. I would estimate that most adults attend Eastern based on other factors, NOT because it is a Christian school.

As an adult student who wishes to quickly attain my degree in a major relevant to my field of work (IT), my choices were limited. That is why I chose Eastern. Sometimes I wonder if the main purpose of the DCP program is to promote Christianity since student education does not seem to be a priority.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SCHOOLS

I thought I did my homework researching schools, but in retrospect, I should have done more thorough research. In this area, Albright College, for example, offers a similar accelerated program, but theirs are BS degrees, so all the classes are relevant to one's major. I got accepted there but decided not to go because they were tough on giving credit for prior learning which would have required me to take at least three extra classes (or CLEP them).

The problem with any school, especially for an adult student, is that once one enrolls, one is basically stuck with the school unless one has the money and time to enroll elsewhere. The switching costs (in time and money) would deter most students from switching. What sucks with schools is that even though students are essentially their customers, once enrolled, most students can not do much if they are dissatisfied. Unlike other businesses, one cannot just stop patronizing a school without incurring a loss in time or money.

Things seem so uncoordinated that I cannot imagine how this program has stayed afloat for so long. I think that the students, because they are adults and work full-time and have families, put up with this crap just to get the degree. I speculate that enrollment in Easterns DCP program has declined or will decline because many local and national schools like Albright College and DeVry University have similar DCP programs now. The competition should force Eastern to reevaluate its DCP program and redesign it or lose enrollment.

As a working adult, having to spend a few minutes here and there figuring out issues with billing and discrepancies in the syllabi takes away time I could spend on schoolwork. The classes are only five weeks long, so if one runs into any issues with a class, there is a very small window of time to address them. Other students might not care about the quality of their education and also do not want to "rock the boat" and be deemed a troublemaker, so they do not express their complaints.

Anyway, here is my idea for doing better research on schools:

1) Meet with the advisors in person and get all the info one can. Demand to see a sample syllabus.

2) Go on epinions.com and other review Web sites to find more info.

3) Ask the advisor when and where the current classes meet.

4) Now, do not let the advisor know that one is going to do this, but go stand outside the classes one night and just talk to the students for a few minutes as they are walking in or out. Try to pick a class of students who have been in the program for a few months so one can get better opinions of the school.

CONCLUSION

I am almost done with the entire program and have invested too much time, money, stress, and frustration to even think about switching to another school. Some of my classmates are dissatisfied as well, but they do not want to speak up and so just put up with this crap. I do not want to be deemed a troublemaker so I do not bother discussing any issues with faculty. The best recourse I have is to not recommend Eastern to potential students. I will not bother helping Eastern to make its DCP program better because 1) it will not benefit me because any major changes would not happen until after I have graduated, and 2) I look at all the issues and annoyances as a test of my will to succeed.

I will conclude this review by giving two (IMO) important pieces of advice:

1) When one decides on a school for a DCP program, do not let the length of the entire program be the only deciding factor. For example, two extra months at a school that one feels is better will be easier to handle in the long term. If one picks a school just because one can get done two months earlier, that might not work in ones favor if the program is bad and one dreads going to class. Most adult students have waited ten or twenty years to go back to school so a few extra months should not be an issue.

2) Do not pick a school just because it is a shorter drive and more convenient. Most programs only require one session a week, so it is not like one would be driving to school every day. An extra hour a week of driving, for example, is not a huge sacrifice for ones education—not everything in life is about convenience.

OTHER SCHOOLS TO CHECK OUT

Here is a list of some local schools that offer onsite DCP-type programs:
Albright College—As I mentioned earlier, I got accepted here but declined to enroll. The program looks decent and the tuition is reasonable. They also offer more majors than Eastern and their capstone projects are done within a class.
Neumann College—I went to an information session here. The tuition is reasonable. One issue I have with this program is that the degree is in Liberal Studies (albeit with concentrations of one's choice).
Holy Family University
Cabrini College—Their Organizational Management program looks exactly like Eastern's. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they are across the street from each other.
Rosemont College
Drexel University—I looked into this a bit. They have a BS in IT degree, among others, that seems very practical. The curriculum is very comprehensive and covers many areas of IT but the tuition is very expensive.
Peirce College—I looked into this a bit and was not very impressed initially. Plus they are in the city, so parking will be an issue.