Old Dominion University

Date: Jun 10 2016
Major: Communications (This Major's Salary over time)
I am an nontraditional distance learner, living in northern VA and working full time. When I decided to go back to school, I wanted to do it as sensible and affordable as possible. I earned an A.S. in Social Sciences at NVCC, then transferred. I chose ODU for their online option and because they offered a BS in Communication. My local universities only offered BA's and I would've had to spend more money taking remedial foreign language classes to major in Comms.

Yes, there are some professors who are not responsive or reasonable, and they seem to think that when instructing an online course, you can set it and forget it. However, that was not my experience with a majority of them. Most were helpful and innovative with their approach to distance teaching…they were knowledgable, engaged with students and approachable. I always check ratemyprofessors (take it with a grain of salt - though most assessments were accurate) and actually avoided taking a couple classes because of the reviews of some professors there.

To the students that dislike their advising experience - whether at ODU or any other school - be an active participant in your degree path planning. You are spending way too much money (and/or time) to have someone else tell you what you should do. Research your field, the degree requirements for your major, and the courses that will fit both. Degreeworks was an essential tool for me, as I designed my own degree plan, and then went over it with my adviser.

I only saw the campus once and it was just okay. I agree with others about the sketchy neighborhood and also received the emails about robberies and break-ins. I even had a classmate who lived just off campus that had her apartment broken into. For a distance learner, though, it doesn't really matter.

My two complaints about ODU:

The financial aid process and department is a crapshow…not one person I dealt with there seemed to have a clue about financial aid, the process, customer service or life in general. Luckily, I only dealt with them once before my first semester there because my great advisers (Missy and Nicole, located onsite at Quantico) would allow me to skip dealing with them at all and submit my forms for me. Never had an issue after that.

The available classes online were somewhat lacking. There were several classes I really wanted to take, but were not available online. Hopefully for future students, they will increase the online course offerings.

Overall, I enjoyed my online experience at ODU. I made a lifelong friend, snagged a new job related to my major with two semesters to go, and will finally have my bachelor's degree. I will definitely consider ODU online if I decide to pursue an MBA or if one day they offer a Master's degree related to my field online. If you are thinking of ODU online, I say go for it!