Strayer University - SC Review

And a graduate, yes.

IP addresses: Rest assured, they're not the same and mine is not affiliated with the school, nor am I aside from having attended. Administrators are likely aware of any cause for concern, were there any. Reviews: If responses are the same across several sites, it is reasonable that one person would have saved typing over again their own experience and researched data. It's not a valid indicator of a bot. I'm sure someone appreciates your time to look it all up though.

They do, Folterung, have time to correct misinformation and incorrect data about things such as this. It's part of their routine responsibilities in business....and some are good enough at it to have interests outside of work and likewise appropriately speak about their interests and defend them as opportunities arise. My original comments stand and your axe to grind against that institution is just that. BTW: you were outed because you don't know or care enough to keep your private info private or your opinions straightforward and intelligent. Before you respond with an accusation, no I don't work for Strayer either.

If it is convenient for someone to attend community college, it would certainly be more advantageous than spending extra money elsewhere. However, this doesn't necessarily work well for everyone. Based on info provided on the Strayer website, I calculated that it would actually cost in excess on $28K for two years of full-time attendance and about $30K for part-time. Based on $1510 per course (part-time), this comes to $335.55 per quarter hour (or $503.33 if calculated into semester hours). I compared this against the cost of tuition for online courses at the University of Georgia (where one of my daughters who lives in Texas wished to enroll). At UGA, resident online course tuition is only $203, which is less than half of that charged by Strayer; however, UGA's non-resident tuition is an astounding $882 per semester unit. Moreover, the resident tuition at the University of Texas ranges between $400 and $980 per semester hour; non-resident tuition is between $716 and $1250 per semester hour.

Regarding your cynical comment about the company I "supposedly run", which has received accolades from both the U.S. House and Senate, I merely dismiss it as childishly inane bravado. Among other core areas, my corporation provides investment funding for technical innovation in Central Asia, so if you wish to discover the meaning of debt or equity capitalization, I am sure there are sufficient definitions on the internet.

Last edited on Jul 07, 2009 at 9:47AM

As I stated before, I am not now, nor have I ever worked in any capacity for Strayer. This exercise has also been a learning experience for me. I suspect that Strayer is more expensive because it is for-profit. At least that is what I gather from the write-up on fundinguniverse.com (company history). Other than what we've discussed and what I've gleaned online, I have no idea what the educational policies may be in Northern Virginia.

I assume the differences in cost between non-profit and for-profit colleges can be attributed to the for-profit's tax liabilities and potential debt capital financing.

Last edited on Jul 06, 2009 at 2:58PM

You must have overlooked my previous post. Again, please refer to the George Mason University website:

http://admissions.gmu.edu/Transfer/TransferCreditSearch.asp?State=DC&School=005632&Course=View+All

According to GMU, there are 121 Strayer courses that transfer; they include: 12 accounting courses, 9 business courses, 21 computer information courses, 12 economics courses, 10 English courses, 5 finance courses, 3 history courses, 13 humanities courses, 5 legal studies courses, 8 math courses, 7 marketing courses, 5 political science courses, 3 psychology courses, and 8 sociology courses.

Also, your assertion that credits may only be transferred from an AACSB accredited university is erroneous. Please see:

http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~transfer/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=119

In short, "AACSB International does not have a specific standard relating to transfer credits. A school should assure that its required learning goals are being achieved through courses taken elsewhere." ( according to Amy Roberts, Senior Accreditation Services Associate, AACSB International)

George Mason University has already assured that its required learning goals are being achieved through those transferable courses taken at Strayer University.

Last edited on Jul 06, 2009 at 4:30AM

As a quick follow-up, it should be noted that the transfer credit search engine on GMU.edu appears to only be for undergrad credits (i.e., GW only showed undergrad, also). Most universities take very limited grad transfer credits on a case-by-case basic. However, in the case of Strayer, there appears to be a graduate agreement in place. Exactly what that ageement is, I do not know.

The differences in credits given are due to Strayer being on a quarter schedule and George Mason being on a semester schedule (4.5 qrtr = 3 sem).

Last edited on Jul 05, 2009 at 9:25PM

For Strayer transfer credits on the GMU website, you need to go to: http://admissions.gmu.edu/Transfer/TransferCreditSearch.asp?State=DC&School=005632&Course=-

Incidentally, I do not now, nor have I ever worked for Strayer. However, I have two daughters attending Strayer and they seem quite content.

The following is included in the articulation agreements for Strayer:

Graduate Agreements:
George Mason University
North Central University
Nova Southeastern University
USDA Graduate School
The University of Virginia 6+6 Program

Well, Well, Well... Look what I found on jobvent.com (http://www.jobvent.com/reviewDetail.php?ID=19810). I guess you did fabricate your whole Strayer-bashing story. Your post on this site was November 22, 2008 and your JobVent post was 12 days later. You didn't attend Strayer; you were just jealous because your co-workers who did go to Strayer were promoted.

On JobVent, you wrote:

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"Folterung: 12/04/2008 8:19PM
Faux degrees are the norm at Falls Church. Several of my managers needed an MBA to reach the next pay grade, and every one of them went to Strayer or Phoenix. Raytheon only cares about the piece of paper that says you have a degree, and not about any substance behind it."
---

Now, what were you saying about Strayer "... not preparing you for a career or any other school"? I think the appropriate thing for you to do would be to retract your statements and apologize.

In any event, I sympathize with your situation. But Strayer isn't your problem and I cannot see an upside to posting fallacious comments. I would hate to discourage anyone from pursuing their education because of your personal (and unrelated) discontent with an employer. That's only deflecting the issue. Anyway, I hope everything works out well with your job.

Last edited on Jul 02, 2009 at 3:30AM

Some people have insinuated that Strayer’s degrees are worthless and will not be accepted by other universities. I challenge them to name those schools so that I may independently verify their claims. To the contrary, I have not found a single accredited university that refuses to accept Strayer degrees.

Some have also complained that Strayer does not have AACSB accreditation. Well, neither does the University of Maryland University College (online branch of UMD). What's ironic is that the dean of UMD's Smith School of Business sits on the AACSB board. Both Strayer and UMUC assert that they have not sought accreditation. That's sufficient for me; they are both fine schools. Regarding transfer credits, Penn State, as an example, which is an AACSB accredited university, does in fact accept transfer credits from Strayer.

As the CEO of a corporation that provides both commercial and governmental services in Central Asia, I can say without reservation that I would hire a Strayer graduate. In fact, depending on the position requirements, I might even give preference to a prospective employee who has shown that he/she is capable of conducting independent research - a quality that is inherent in online education and is severely lacking at many traditional universities. You who have actually attended Strayer know what I mean. Face it, online education is growing and will soon overtake the mundane, facilities-based classroom. Even ivy league colleges have recognized this since they now offer distance courses and degrees (i.e., Harvard, et al).

Last edited on Jul 02, 2009 at 3:09AM

Strayer moved from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. in 1904 and has been based there ever since. It falls under to MSCHE, not SACS. (http://www.msche.org/institutions_directory.asp)

Having personally attended both traditional and online colleges (at various levels since 1978), I can say that Strayer's courses are quite comprehensive. For instance, Strayer's course in International Banking and Finance is given at the undergrad level; however, this same course is often offered at other "brick-and-mortar" universities at the grad level. In fact, one prominent grad school covers the text material (Eun and Resnick, "International Financial Management") over a two-semester period.

This person's comment that there were “never any tests or exams” was a clear tip-off that his/her opinion is completely uninformed and does not comport with reality. All courses at Strayer have exams. I took an Export-Import class that required me to produce a 46-page business plan during the final week. Moreover, most midterms and finals are timed and range from four to twelve hours of work to complete. It should also be noted that many of the online instructors are either tenured professors at top universities or possess otherwise impressive credentials (my International Marketing instructor collaterally taught at USC; my Religion and Philosophy instructor was a Saudi diplomat; my Global Management Instructor was an instructor for U.S. Customs).

Strayer has been around since 1892 – about as long as Stanford (1891) and the tuition is reasonable.

Last edited on Jul 02, 2009 at 3:24AM

"The textbooks were of a grade-school reading level, and there were never any tests or exams." - This is a lie. If you believe it, then you didn't show up for class and read your Algebra 1 book from 8th grade for the first time.

Find any other accredited University with local and multi-state campuses, 100% of graduate courses run by doctorate-level instructors, online resources such as EBSCO-host and hundreds of on-line classes available to the working masses. Enterprise Education sure beats the hell out of budget-strapped state run and private education options with no ability to raise tuition or increase public funding these days. ...Much less, the class schedules of traditional institutions are not designed for people with careers and as with any institution, classes can be hit/miss for quality and instructor.

The fact is that the Enterprise Education system is here to stay, works best for many people and (at least at this school) degrees are certainly earned. No matter the accdredation body, thety exist to ensure quality education and resources are consistently available and in accorcance with established rules and qualifications.

Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it will not be easy. No, it doesn't mean less of you to consider it or go there.

Last edited on Jun 10, 2009 at 10:06AM

Further, Strayer's business degrees are not accredited by AACSB. The school's MPA degree is not accredited by NASPAA. The regional accrediting association for schools with headquarters in Virginia is SACS, not MSCHE.