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I received an email last week from Andrew Jackson University. They told me I had a choice...enroll in another semester or withdraw from the school. It's not as sinister as it may sound. After I completed my first semester final exams I sort of dropped off the radar, as far as AJU was concerned. They just wanted to know what I plan to do. For now, I will not be enrolling in another semester at Andrew Jackson University. Last semester, I tried to take four courses concurrently...three at AJU and one at Penn Foster College. It was just too much. Between working full time, doing volunteer work and family commitments, trying to study four courses at once was just not a good idea. Perhaps if I didn't have to work during the day it would have been fine, but I'm the sole bread-winner in the family. So I told the nice folks (they really are!) at AJU that I won't be enrolling in another semester, at least not for now. Once I finish my current semester at Penn Foster College I will be weighing my options. I want to see how many more courses I would need for my BA at Excelsior College. I have pretty close to 120 credit hours under my belt, so there is really no sense in taking several more courses at AJU that I may not actually need. When all is said and done, would I recommend Andrew Jackson University? Yes, I would. The courses are rigorous, the customer service is first-rate and the staff really does care about students making progress in their studies. I never felt like I was "just a number" at AJU, and I event had the opportunity to speak with AJU's president on the phone a couple of times as he personally worked with me to resolve some technical issues with my online exams. Try getting service like that at another school. It just doesn't happen. So, this will be my final AJU post, at least for now. If you ever have any AJU questions, please feel free to post them on the forum and I'd be happy to answer them.
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I have completed my final exam for my final course for Semester One at Andrew Jackson University. My final exams were all graded rather quickly, so I know my final grades for my three courses. I received A's for English Composition II and Survey of Communications. I finished Ethical Decision-Making with a "B". The final exams were tough. The Communication final was a comprehensive exam, covering material from the entire textbook. The final for Ethical Decision-Making was based upon the second half of the texbook. The final for English Composition II was the most nerve-wracking. It was an essay which had to answer three questions about the 16th century novel "The Prince" by Machiavelli. I actually scored my highest final examination grade on that one. Make no mistake: Andrew Jackson University might be cheap in terms of tuition, but that doesn't mean the courses are easy.
All-in-all, I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished. It's only 9 credit hours which will be applied toward by BA, but those 9 credits represent a lot of work, a lot of late nights spent reading and writing essays, and a lot of time away from the family. I sit here today with no Andrew Jackson University coursework to complete. It's a feeling of relief. So what's next? Well, I still have some courses I have to complete from my second semester at Penn Foster College. I hope to quickly work my way through the three courses I have left there. After that, I have a decision to make. Continue at PFC? Continue at AJU? Transfer all credits to Excelsior? Ultimately, my decision will be based upon which school will enable me to wrap up my BA in the shortest amount of time.
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I have to give credit to the instructors at Andrew Jackson University: they don't mess around when it comes to grading papers. Case in point: I received the grade for my final English Composition II research paper the same day I submitted it. Now, that's service! I was worried about this assignment, because I have never written a paper in the APA format before. It turns out, that cost me a few points on this assignment. I thought I had everything formatted correctly, but my instructor found some errors. My final score on this assignment was 188 out of a possible 200 points, or 94 percent. That's still an "A", so I'll take it! I spent most of my evening studying for the first of my final exams this week: Survey of Communication. I did OK on the mid-term exam, but I did miss a few questions. I'm hoping this last-minute cramming will stick in my head long enough carry me through the exam tomorrow evening. Just three exams separate me from a (hopefully) successful conclusion to the semester and 9 credit hours. I'll give it my best shot.
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It has taken me a few days, but I have finally completed the final assignment for English Composition II at Andrew Jackson University. I have now completed all of the required coursework for all three courses I have been taking at AJU this semester. I had to get an extension to do it, but it is finally over. It was none too soon. My final exams in the three courses are coming up this week. On Tuesday, I will take my final exam in Survey of Communications. On Wednesday, its Ethical Decision-Making. My final exam for English Composition II is Thursday. I have a lot of studying to do between now and the time I take my final exams. My final assignment for English Composition II was a 5-page research paper about the negative effects of television viewing on children. It had to be written in APA format, with a bibliography. I have honestly never written a paper in this format before. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about what kind of grade I will receive on this assignment, but I'm glad just to have completed it. In just four more days, my semester at Andrew Jackson University will be history, and hopefully, I will have 9 credit hours to show for all of my hard work and sleepless nights. As I have stated before, this will likely be my first, and last, semester at AJU. The school itself is great, but the amount of time it is taking me to work through the courses, especially three at one time, is taking its toll on my work and family life. I have my eye on a program at Excelsior College, which will hopefully take all of my transfer credits, including those from AJU. Depending upon how many credits they accept, I could be very, very close to earning my BA. I still have coursework at Penn Foster College to finish, so that is my next obstacle.
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I have received my grade for my final Ethical Decision Making paper. It was worth 200 points of my final grade, and I scored a 200! For this paper, I had to interview three people about the ethical challenges they face at their companies and in their industry. I spent many hours working on this assignment, and it appears that the hard work paid off! I'm feeling much more confident heading into my final exams next week. Tonight, I am working on my final paper in the English Composition II course. I'm not feeling as confident about this one, but I have spent quite a bit of time working on it. I spent several hours doing the research for it on Wednesday night, wrote my rough draft for three or four hours last night, and tonight I'm putting the finishing touches on it. The reason I'm not feeling confident is that I have to write the paper according to APA standards. I'm not accustomed to that style of writing. In fact, I have never done it before, and it is a significant part of my grade. But, one way or the other, that paper is being submitted tonight. I'll be spending the entire weekend studying for my final exams, beginning tomorrow night. I have an exciting Friday night of reading Machiavelli's "The Prince" ahead of me. On Saturda, I'll be reviewing the textbook for my Survey of Communications course. It is the first final that I have ahead of me, and I'll be taking that one on Tuesday. It's almost over. In one week, I will have completed my first semester at Andrew Jackson University.
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