My Ashford University Experience : pittfalls

Get your MBA the quick and easy way

Cajun — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:58:00 GMT

My title got you didn’t it? You’re reading this blog post thinking “can I really get my MBA quick and easy?” Sure you can. It wasn’t too many weeks ago I interviewed a guy who had a degree from a wholly unaccredited and un-wonderful university (which shall go unnamed) and he told me how quick and easy it was to get his degree after he discovered through “casual conversation” as I escorted him out that I was a student. First a note to those of you who are interviewing or will be in the future, the interview isn’t over when they say it is, it’s over when you shut your mouth and leave, but that’s another post for another day.

In this case I didn’t recognize the name of the school listed on the resume. So of course I immediately asked questions all of which he answered with nothing raising a red flag during the official interview. I always check schools out after an interview if I do not recognize them through a handy little search engine provided by the U.S. Dept. of Education but in this case I almost didn’t even need to. Why? Because the interviewee in question openly and boastfully told me about how he didn’t even need to do coursework. No, instead he simply filled out an application, sent in a resume, did a brief phone interview and before you know it, he was a bona-fide graduate. The school itself may have been legal, after all they did ask him to write a paper or two and his degree probably made his mother proud, he was the first college graduate in his family. The problem is that the degree was worth less than the paper it was written on in the professional world (or should be) and he will willingly tell you it was “easy”. He wasn’t challenged into learning new things, he wasn’t tested on his applied knowledge, he pretty much left the same way he went in and that is a sad testament to the quality of this school.

Fact #1: There is no quick and easy degree that is worth its salt. There are quick degrees to be sure, such as a 10 month MBA program, but they are FAMOUSLY grueling.

Fact #2: A real college with real teachers and real coursework will change you. There’s no getting around it. Being forced to learn new concepts, new ways of thinking, new knowledge and then be tested and held to a diverse set of expectations by (at times) seemingly masochistic professors who thrive on your agony…will change you. You will become something other than what you were when you went in if nothing other than slightly fatter and balder from stress. Testing situations cause people to learn things about themselves…

Fact #3: Colleges and Universities are easy, easy, easy to check out. Hiding behind obscurity will not work if anyone in hiring cares to take more than 2 minutes looking into a school. Don’t take shortcuts. You may get the job only later to lose it in a sea of disgrace…but most of all, you’ll know you took those shortcuts even if everyone else doesn’t. Maybe that doesn’t bother you, but don’t let someone who spent 7 years getting to the Masters alum level find out you did it in 9 months. It won’t win friends and they will not be impressed.

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10 Questions People are too Scared to Ask MBA Students

Cajun — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 06:58:00 GMT

I’ve been known for years at my work as “that guy who goes to college online for his MBA” and often when people meet me for the first time knowing this I can tell that they are just brimming over with questions that they want to ask but for some reason they don’t. Sometimes people will ask me the question after many months once they’ve become familiar with me and always start with “I’ve always been curious…” or “I’ve always wondered….” Then they’ll hit me with a title wave of questions that they were too scared to ask before. Here are the top 10 I get and my responses to them.

1.) “Is it hard?” Now how vague can a question get right? Of course it’s hard. I mean I’m working full time and doing all of the same work that a full time graduate student would be expected to do and it’s an MBA program. Not exactly a program famous for being easy cheesy, fluffy or a piece of pie. But I don’t say all of that out of politeness, instead I say, “it’s just like attending a normal class only without the lectures”. What I’m thinking is heck yeah it’s hard. The sacrifices of time, the workload, the constant barrage of new information, the expectations and deadlines and of course you have your normal full time life as well. I frequently am under copious amounts of stress and MUST be forced to relax or suffer from tension headaches, depression and other stress related conditions. So, yeah, it’s hard.

2.) “I don’t like math, is there a lot of math?” Um…yep. I’ve been doing quantitative stuff that would keep a math-o-phobic awake at night sweating with fear and I’ve been doing it for 19 straight weeks. I’ve got 5 more to go, so yeah, I’d say almost 6 months out of an 18 month program is a lot of math. Honestly though, people fear what they do not understand and once the math begins to click it becomes much less frightening.

3.) “Is there a lot of reading?” Yes, there’s tons and tons of reading over often dry and uninteresting topics. It feels a lot like work actually. Now that I think about it, it IS a lot of work. Go figure.

4.) “How hard is __________?”(fill in the blank) Look, neither I nor anyone else can answer that for you. I can tell you that whatever you are assuming a class to be like is just as likely to be wrong as right. I don’t know your skill level, history, experience, talents, phobias, natural abilities, etc. It turns out I’m not bad at accounting, or at least as bad as I originally thought but I suck at economics whereas I thought I rocked in that area. So I can’t even answer the question for myself much less anyone else. Sorry.

5.) “Isn’t it expensive?” Well I could go into the whole concept on return on investment, the time value of money, etc. But suffice to say that yes, it feels expensive up front and no, it likely will not be expensive over the long run, especially if you are planning on working for the next 30 years. Again however, some schools are more expensive than others.

6.) “Where should I go?” Again, a question only you can answer. I can suggest, attempt to guide you based upon your criteria, etc. but only you know the answer to that question. If you don’t have a criteria and are basing your decision 100% on my opinion, go to Ashford University. (seriously though, do some research, please).

7.) “What can you do with an MBA?” Everything. Nothing. It actually is a degree in general business and management concepts. A jack of all trades master of none kind of approach. However an MBA is a big picture focus kind of degree. One which is designed to prep the leaders of tomorrow in a variety of industries, literally thousands upon thousands of jobs are perfect for MBAs from government to private sector however what you do with it is entirely up to you. Be warned however that MBAs are expected to posses certain skills and understand certain concepts. A paper tiger is welcomed nowhere, except perhaps in government, they love them.

8.) “Where should my (wife, brother, sister, lover, dog) get their MBA?” See question 6 and apply it to them.

9.) “How do you pay for it?” That’s easy, I don’t. At least not yet. It’s called financial aid and of course I use some of the tuition reimbursement from my work (meager though it be) which does help. Other than that, I am expecting this to be an investment that will increase my earning potential to offset the cost of getting the degree in the first place.

10.) “I’m not sure I would be able to do all of that to get an MBA. Do you think I should?” No. If you’re not 100% committed an MBA program will chew you up and spit you out. The workload and sacrifices are no joke. The learning can be tough and you will be expected to learn new things and demonstrate that you’ve learned it. Even worse, you will be expected to accept change as if it were almost 2nd nature. Accepting change is one of the most difficult things people cope with and school will expect you to do just that, with regularity.

Does this post seem kind of harsh? Well it should. I started my MBA program with a lot of excited people who paid a lot of good money to be there. After about 3 classes I started noticing different people with only a few of the names being the same. Now this is partially due to my doubling up one class and accelerating, partially because I am in my own program and partially because people find that they cannot handle the workload. A friend of mine started his MBA at Texas A&M Commerce as a cohort unit. They started with 30 to 40 people in the cohort group. By year two, nearing the 18 month mark there were 14 left who did not fail, drop out or just quit to catch their breath. This is not a decision to be made lightly. If you decide to pursue an MBA you will be undertaking something that a lot of people want to do, but few ever accomplish. Just know this, anyone who has the letters MBA after their name has made some sacrifices in order to put them there. Will you?

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10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part II (6-10)

Cajun — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:56:00 GMT

This is part II of a two part series. (Click to view part I.)

6.) Technology. Technology is an inevitable part of being an online student. Using new, unfamiliar software and mastering the art of using it skillfully will become essential. If you are still carrying a pager, use a rotary phone, are afraid of a fax machine and believe scientific calculators are still over $100.00 you may need to reassess your ability to adapt quickly enough to learning via an online format.

7.) Will power. Also called grit, guts, stamina or courage. You must have the ability to get knocked down and get back up. You have to be able to motivate yourself, likely nobody else will do it for you. If you get an “F” on an assignment you really worked hard on, it’ll knock the wind out of you. But you have to get tough, work harder, be objective and keep slugging away. Nobody is likely going to be cheering you on, nobody will beg you to do the work, nobody will care if you drop out or fail other than you and possibly close relatives. It’s up to you to get it done. You have to be able to accept failure and move on. You have to be able to overcome your shortcomings and keep growing. You have to accept the fact that you are nowhere near perfect and get over yourself enough to get better. You have to have will power. Campus based students will have to have some of this but they will also have the support of a peer group and the knowledge that their friends are sharing their experience. You on the other hand are going to go it very much alone by comparison.

8.) Self -discipline. Self-discipline is not will power, but it is a close cousin. The difference between will power and self discipline is that will power is what motivates you. Will power is the voice in your head that tells you go get up and keep going when you’ve been knocked down, the thing that keeps your feet moving underneath you when you don’t think you can run anymore. Self-discipline is the fore knowledge of what you need to do, making a plan and sticking to that plan no matter what. Self-discipline is the ability to delay pleasure in the knowledge that the sacrifice will pay in the long run. Will power is the drive where self-discipline is the map. One without the other is useless. You have to be self-disciplined. You will not have the peer support or pressure to show up to class every day like your campus-based peers will have. You will not be meeting friends in study groups at night motivating you to do so. Your success and reaching goals will depend 100% on your ability to envision what needs to happen and stick to the plan.

9.) Reading comprehension. You will have to read everything you learn likely. Where your peers can sit through lectures and hear the information, you will have to read it. Where your peers can reinforce the knowledge imparted to the class through discussions, you will have to read and write about what you are learning. It is likely that you will be required to have a higher level of reading comprehension than your campus based peers because it is the primary if not the only means of communication in online learning. You likely will not have auditory reinforcement of the information like sitting through a lecture. You will not likely have the visual of seeing the information being demonstrated on a chalkboard. With rare exception all the information relayed to you will be via text and graphics, nothing more. You will have to learn to comprehend what you read. This will include skillful note taking, learning your reading comprehension limits (we all have them) and develop a means of overcoming your shortcomings. For example, I find it hard to concentrate on a text for over 30 straight minutes without a break. Otherwise I am reading, but not comprehending the text. The more precise and dry the material, the shorter my attention span is. As such I take careful, easily referenced notes and take a break of 5 to 10 minutes at least once every half-hour without fail. That is what works for me, you will have to develop a plan that works for you.

10.) Communication through writing. This is a shortcoming for many, many people. I revise reports daily as part of my official duties in the workplace and I continually see people who struggle in the area of communicating effectively in written word. You would not be alone in this struggle. I too have spent and continue to spend minutes upon hours upon years developing my writing skills. It is an art form that few people if any, ever perfect, yet one that must be mastered to a high level of competence in online learning as this will be your primary if not only means of expressing your thoughts and engaging in the communication process. You may have a way with words and wit in person, but translating this onto the page is a struggle I believe most people, myself included engage in.

Well there you have it. I hope this post does not scare you off of attempting a degree online, but there are things you need to be aware of before committing your time and money to such a momentous undertaking as earning a degree online.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer.

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10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part I (1-5)

Cajun — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:40:00 GMT

Okay I know it seems strange for a guy who is all about distance education to write about the negative aspects of learning online, but for the sake of fairness sometimes it is necessary to look at the bad side of learning as well as the good. After all it is important to make a well-informed decision when considering going back to college. If you choose to become an online student sooner or later you will note some of the pitfalls, traps and shortcomings of learning online. Personally it is my belief that you should go into the decision informed and with fore knowledge of struggles you may face.

So without further ado:

1.) A feeling of detachment and/or loneliness. Often times a distance education student will not feel part of the school by which they are earning their degree. I have experienced this myself at Southwestern College. The school is a private, campus-based college with colorful newsletters highlighting student life, showcasing beautiful pictures of the campus and there was even a forum by which students could post questions to the College’s administration. However online students really didn’t really have any representation in the literature or forums of the school other than what was provided on Blackboard. To make matters worse going online to the bookstore to order a tee-shirt or something would inevitably lead to a phone call the next day stating that they cannot process your order because the bookstore didn’t update their page with current stock. Instead you had to kind of blindly guess at what they did have and didn’t have at the moment making you feel just that much more out of touch. Often times as an online student you just feel alone and detached. Kind of like you are in an individual struggle and that you will make it or lose it by your will and determination alone. Though this isn’t true at all, it may be a feeling that you experience as I did when working for years on a degree online, where there is little to no tangible gain as you progress. Especially when the school is primarily geared towards campus based students and the online college is just an extension of a greater overall mission. Ironically however upon graduation, being able to walk around a campus and meeting dozens if not over a hundred of my fellow online graduates led me to feel an unbreakable attachment and source of pride in my school that I had not previously experienced. The very fact that there was this living, breathing organization that I was now a permanent part of, that I could see and touch just led me to a sense of belonging. Meeting people that had experienced what I had experienced only bolstered the feeling of belonging. Of course the faculty and staff made sure that we graduates experienced this even to the point of lining the halls and applauding us as we walked to our seats. The very thing that can cause you to feel isolated during the process can also lead you to feeling a part of an overall larger picture upon graduation, in my case it was the campus itself that I had never seen. I arrived a stranger and left as a part of a family.

2.) Distractions. It is so easy to be distracted when you are not expected to show up to class. All of a sudden hundreds of “more important” things will pop up that you have to take care of and before you know it, you are hopelessly behind. You absolutely must be self-disciplined and be pragmatic enough to say “no” when you have to. I know that at home we often have more distractions than anywhere else. We have kids, spouses, chores, internet, television, video games, our hobbies, books we enjoy, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. You have to cut things out of your life to go to school online, period. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Look at your life, is it full? Can you cut back on anything or cut anything out altogether? If you cannot, you will not be successful online.

3.) Fatigue. I have found that the only way to stave off fatigue as an online student is to stick to a rigid schedule. If you do not, you will get behind. If you get behind by the time you catch up you will be behind on the following week’s work and it will become a exhausting cycle of stress inducing, sleep depriving and relationship busting work. Once you become fatigued as a student online it can literally take months to recover if you do not get a break between classes. Avoiding fatigue is no joke when you make this type of commitment so beware this potentially fatal pitfall. Many students who hit the wall and take a “break” never come back.

4.) A feeling of being overwhelmed. Learning new things can be exhilarating yet stressful. Wonderful and altogether overwhelming. Most of the feeling of being overwhelmed is how you react emotionally to the stress of being forced to learn something new within a predetermined time frame. I have felt it, you likely will to. After a while though you just have to learn to control your emotions and not let them control you. A feeling of being overwhelmed can spoil the experience for you, sabotage your work, destroy your schedule and quickly lead to our #1 enemy, fatigue. Find ways to relax and calm down. Learn to embrace change. That sounds kind of corny but it is against our nature (for most of us anyway) to embrace change but it is absolutely vital for you to do just that.

5.) Venting. Being an online student does not mean that you are free of the stresses that classroom students experience. But it does mean that you are likely not going to have the same sort of outlet that your campus based peers will have like standing in the hallways after class complaining about the enormity of an assignment, or how your last grade was unfair, etc. Instead you will likely complain to your spouse, who will quickly tire of it. Then you may try your friends and coworkers who will likely tire of it just as quickly. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that most of them cannot relate or just do not share your feelings. Sooner or later you will have to find an alternate manner of venting and “letting go” of some of the pressure that can build up. I find that forums like eLearners provide or blogging helps a lot more than I could ever explain. Once you’ve experienced what I’m talking about, this will make more sense. By the way, do not fall for the temptation of complaining on the discussion boards on Blackboard in your classes. Trust me, it will not come off like you intended.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer. Part II (numbers 6-10) will be posted tomorrow night.

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