I just got this, too! I'm thrilled about the lecture notes. I have not used any of the lecture notes I've ever purchased, and I'm halfway through the program. That will be a nice cost savings.

 What's the deal with the exam?? So, it was essay format, then got changed to multiple choice, and is now going back to essay format? I'm not too worried about following the changes since it will be about a year until I take the exam. By then, the final exam will likely consist of doing the hokey-pokey while drinking a glass of water and balancing a ball on my nose .

Well I hope their other programs are better than their doctorate program.  I recently enrolled in their doctorate program and it was the worst online experience of my life.  

1. The class discussion I was told I had to participate in was just me, no one else was enrolled in the class.

2. The course assignments did not match the textbook the I was told I needed to buy for the course.

3. Turns out I was enrolled accidentally in the old version of the class.

4. So I get enrolled in the new version, and the professor has not changed the questions.  So they still do not coincide with the textbook.  I cannot even complete the assignments. 

5. Once I was enrolled in the course the professor told me to expect 17-25 hours of homework a week.  Impossible with a full time job and family responsibilities. 

 

 

 

Did your classmates in Aspen's doctoral program seem similarly disenchanted?

-=Steve=-

---

B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

Is it just me or does the capstone seem to be a HUGE time committment..when your employer will not let you work on it on their time.

This thing almost seems not worth it

Your employer wants you to work on work stuff while he's paying you?  That's outrageous!

-=Steve=-

---

B.S., Info Sys, Charter Oak State College
M.A., Educational Tech Leadership, George Washington University
Doctor of Health Education, A.T. Still University, in progress

akamargo:

Well I hope their other programs are better than their doctorate program.  I recently enrolled in their doctorate program and it was the worst online experience of my life.  

1. The class discussion I was told I had to participate in was just me, no one else was enrolled in the class.

2. The course assignments did not match the textbook the I was told I needed to buy for the course.

3. Turns out I was enrolled accidentally in the old version of the class.

4. So I get enrolled in the new version, and the professor has not changed the questions.  So they still do not coincide with the textbook.  I cannot even complete the assignments. 

5. Once I was enrolled in the course the professor told me to expect 17-25 hours of homework a week.  Impossible with a full time job and family responsibilities. 

 

 

You should not get demotivated. This happens sometimes, but a quick mail - or telephone call - to Aspen will sort it out. The doctorate is quite new, so there can't be that many "old" classes.

I am also working full time, and I have 3 kids under the age of 6. 17-25 hours work per week on a doctorate seems quite reasonable for me. Other may chime in on this....

soto:

Is it just me or does the capstone seem to be a HUGE time committment..when your employer will not let you work on it on their time.

This thing almost seems not worth it

Well - I would believe that the capstone SHOULD require some serious committment of time, since you are supposed to learn something of value from the process. Of course on-line studies takes time, especially when you are combining it with family life and work, but that's the investment you have to put in (in addition to the money). Believe me; in the end it will be worth it.

 

Hi...  not sure if this is going to get to you in time, but I just received (Feb. 4th) an email fom Aspen, stating that both multiple-choice and essay formats are available for MBA-IM students (I just finished my Capstone Project and am lining up a proctor for the exam - there's a local testing center, but they will do paper exams only, so I'm going with the 'private' option....)  Having also just finished the Capstone project as well, congrats to you on your accomplishment! 

Here's the body of the note...(you may have already received the note, but others might want to read this...):

Dear Student:

Aspen University Degree Programs require a proctored exam.  As you are at the end of your program, you can complete the exam at this time.  Below, please find some information about the exam and its rationale. 

To complete the exam, students must go to an approved testing center to take the exam, and are responsible for paying the administration costs of the examination as set by the individual testing center.  In many major cities, there may be more than one testing center to choose from in the area.  It is the student’s responsibility to research the location and price that best accommodates you.  International students who may not have access to a testing center in there area may use some of the alternatives listed below. 

Testing centers for taking the Aspen University proctored exams are members of The National College Testing Association (NCTA).  NCTA is an organization of testing professionals in post-secondary institutions and testing companies.  NCTA has more than 700 members in the United States .

The Consortium of College Testing Centers (CCTC) is a free referral service provided by the National College Testing Association (NCTA) to facilitate distance learning.  The purpose of CCTC is to make test administration services available to students at locations close to where they live or work.  To locate a CCTC institution where you can take your exam, please go to;   http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/

For international students or students within the United States who do not have access to a testing center, you will need to find a proctor who can monitor the exam.  The proctor cannot be a relative, supervisor, or manager.  You can try a local library, university or college. 

Either you may choose to take the exam as a multiple choice computer based exam or an essay based exam.  Please let me know which version of the exam you wish to take before scheduling the exam with your proctor.  Once you have contacted me I will send the form for your proctor to submit for approval.  Once the form is received and the proctor is approved I will send the exam to them and then you can schedule your date to take the exam. 

Each exam is open book.  You can use your textbooks and lecture notes only.  No personal notes can be used during the exam.  The exam is graded PASS or FAIL.  If you fail to pass the exam on the first try, you will be allowed to retake it. 

The computer based exam and will consist of multiple-choice questions.  You will have 10 questions per subject to answer at the maximum. You will only be tested on the subject courses you took through Aspen University (any course you received transfer or portfolio credit for will not be part of the test).  The testing facility must have internet available for you to take the exam.  The exam will be taken through the online class portal www.ecreateyourself.net.  You must receive at least 70% to pass the exam.  You will have 2 ½ minutes per question to complete the exam. 

Example:  if you exam has 70 questions you will have 175 minutes to complete all 70 questions. 

The essay-based exam consists of a pool of questions based on each of the courses you have taken in your program of study. From that pool, you can select three questions on which you choose to write an essay. You will have 4 hours to complete the exam. 

Recommended time allocation: 1 hour for reading the questions, outlining your answers, and taking notes from any resources you wish to cite; one hour each for writing your three essays.

This is an open book exam that should (if possible) be completed using a word processing program. (We will accept hand-written answers if you cannot access a word processor at the site where you are taking the exam.) Lecture notes and personal notes may also be used.

Each essay should demonstrate mastery in the subject matter from one course. While it is important to include specific information in your essay, you cannot demonstrate mastery by simply restating information from the textbook. The essays will be graded on four elements: Organization, Content, Analysis, and Language Use and Style according to the following rubric:

 (rubric not included, for sake of space)

I sent out an email to Aspen regarding Essay Type exam....Below is reply...Still thinking whether to do with Essay or Multiple Choice...Any Suggestions???

Plymouthrock- How long did it take you to complete the capstone. I am working on my Capstone for MBA-PM. Mind sharing your experience regarding final capstone.

 

Thanks

 

Graded Elements	Unsatisfactory	Satisfactory	Good	Excellent
Organization	Thoughts are not organized or presented in a logical sequence. Shows intellectual confusion with lack of organization.	Demonstrates necessary knowledge but is not clear or concise. Paper has marginal development of ideas.	Well-organized and developed with good use of supporting examples. Scope of the question is presented in a straightforward manner with few contextual errors.	Exceptional quality of organization and amount of detail used to support or illustrate all points Scope of the issues to be explored is well described. Essay has logical organization with no errors.
Point Range	5	10	15	20
Content	Content does not address the question. Responses show little understanding of the questions.	Responses adequately address the questions. However, thesis is not well developed and alternatives have not been considered.	Responses demonstrate a clear understanding of the questions. Content is focused and straight forward, if uninspired, with few errors.	Addresses all points in a clear and articulate manner. Content is error free and presented with clarity and purpose with well-developed detail.
Point Range	15	20	25	30
Analysis	Analysis does not address topic. Failed to present relevant issues or show evidence of critical thinking. Responses fail to develop an analysis of an issue. There is little or no detail.	Analysis shows adequate development of critical thinking.  Uses enough specific information and examples. Identified some implications but failed to point out gaps or contradictions.	Evidence of critical thinking through clear analysis of problems and issues. Implications and contradictions identified but not thoroughly analyzed.	Analysis is clear and well organized. Synthesis of sources and ideas is insightful and indicates a high level of critical thinking. Implications and contradictions are discussed in detail.
Point Range	15	20	25	30
Language Use and Style	Numerous spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Severe and frequent writing errors. Demonstrates little understanding of the mechanics of writing. No attempt to apply APA style to text or references.	Contain few writing errors but little variety or sophistication in language usage. Several spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors which detract from project.  Attempted to use APA style in text and references.	Good use of the English language. Response has been proofread and has few, if any, errors. Uses language effectively, and contains few writing errors. APA style applied to text and references.	Responses demonstrate fluency, language control, and sentence variety. Excellent sentence structure, punctuation, and choice of words. The response has been proofread for spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors and is error free. APA style applied to text and references.
Point Range	5	10	15	20
Total Possible Points = 100   Passing Grade = 60

Hi khsa0301...

I am pursuing the MBA-IM degree (as Independent study, to get those extra two weeks per course)... My company is 'providing the degree', and I had approached them about doing a project that would directly benefit my work group - initially, there was a project they were interested in, but it fell through (some change in direction up a few levels). They told me to pursue something independently. 

Given that change in direction, the 'sky was the limit', so to speak.  I then decided (perhaps a bit on the naiive side) that I was going to treat my Capstone Project as a research project... an attempt to do the same things as a university researcher, so to speak...  again, perhaps a bit naiive, but it seemed like a fun way to go about it...

I Googles several sources, and found a pool of IT-realated research out there...  in the World of White papers (a good source of information I used in my courses papers), I notices there there were several that dealt with 'big topics', and were broad in their reach... when i looked at research papers, however, I noticed something different. These papers, while lengthy, focused in on one specific item, and researched the heck out of the topic.  On oen hand, it seemed like every other statement was a quote of someone else (sheesh!)... 

In addition, I went out to the MIT site (there's been a bit of hoopa about MIT putting out their coursework on the WEB as a set of syllabi - addmitedly, without lab notes, etc.)  I pulled down the courses directly related to research, and kinds stepped through them.  The point I came away with was basically 'you've got a set of data - what conclusions can you draw form them?).  In and of itself, it was not the most helpful, but I found later that it came in handy..

I am fortunate enough to have some friends and relatives who are PhDs (some close, some distant)... I started asking questions (about a year ago) about 'hwo do people do research?  How do you know if the research is reasonable? What if people disagree with my findings?..  etc. ...

The best part about this was they were very comfortable talking about these (and other) points... from the conversations, I took away the following -

1. Figure out an area that you're interested in writing about.  Draw on your experiences to figure out what to focus on.

2. Go read up on everything and anything you can find (ProQuest Library actually had a good pool of papers, though go and look at trade journals -you can get the names of some from the references you get in the PQ library - in other worsd, they can pont you in other areas to look at).  As you look at the available research, make a note about the 'sub-areas within the areas' the researcher focuses on...

3.  One of the points that was MOST HELPFUL TO ME was 'you need to start with a broad topic, then narrow it down to a single question, even though that single question may have a few parts to it...'  once you hit that single question, you now have something you can research... 

Armed with that, I sat back and began to focus my Capstone topic  down to an area where I noticed that existing research (there was, of course, the chance I was overlooking a body of research, but I looked as best as I could) seemed to be "everything is looking at "aspect-A" and "Aspect-B" of this particular fous-area, but I never noticed research that looked at the two aspects together...  in reality, the two are inseparable...  so, I figured I had found something worthy of a Capstone pursuit.

I used the sample Capstone proposal I found on Aspen's website, and also had a few research papers (ok, more than a few), and used them as an 'outline' approach to put my proposal together...  it was handy to consider that you need to do all your research and build your bibliography in order to get the proposal together at the onset,...  Use your course texts among the research sources (after all, in many/most cases, they are loaded with research references as well)

 So, when I put the proposal together, I already knew what the single, focused, question was, and I had the body of available research pulled together, and I had an approach in mind as to how I was going to ask the question, grab the data, analyze the data, and draw conclusions...  all of this was in place as I was getting the proposal together...

I submitted the proposal, and I was expecting to have to make several changes, but was surprised when it was accepted with almost no changes necessary...  then I selected a faculty member with who to work on the project itself (I had chosen one of the folks I had for two courses during the program... ).

To actually perform the research, I had to choose my audience (again, choosing carefully to not let scope-creep make it unwieldy),  design my survey, implement, gather data, then analyze...  I again searched out the points about analysis (the Quantitative Methods course provided some direction, and I also surfed the web for papers on data analysis - the Research methods book for the Capstone Course was helpful, but once I found the type of data I wanted to collect, it meant only a portion of the book was helpful, as it covers a wide range of data and ways to analyze that wide range of data...).  Then, it was pretty mechanical... survey, collect, analyze, report, submit.

Overall, it took the one month to write up the proposal (could have had it done sooner, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it took the full month)... after that, it took about one month to set up the survey and collect the data, and another two months to analyze (I did a bit of second-guessing and trying to make sure I had close-to-bulletproof methods of analyzing the data).  Writing the report itself was not a big drain...

 Notwithstanding the up-front work I did before enrolling in the course, it took three months.  Report was submitted.  Report was accepted (form a content and an APA style standpoint.

 Hope this helps .  Good luck.  Have to say - most favorite course of the program...  ;-)

plymouthrock:

Hi khsa0301...

I am pursuing the MBA-IM degree (as Independent study, to get those extra two weeks per course)... My company is 'providing the degree', and I had approached them about doing a project that would directly benefit my work group - initially, there was a project they were interested in, but it fell through (some change in direction up a few levels). They told me to pursue something independently. 

Given that change in direction, the 'sky was the limit', so to speak.  I then decided (perhaps a bit on the naiive side) that I was going to treat my Capstone Project as a research project... an attempt to do the same things as a university researcher, so to speak...  again, perhaps a bit naiive, but it seemed like a fun way to go about it...

I Googles several sources, and found a pool of IT-realated research out there...  in the World of White papers (a good source of information I used in my courses papers), I notices there there were several that dealt with 'big topics', and were broad in their reach... when i looked at research papers, however, I noticed something different. These papers, while lengthy, focused in on one specific item, and researched the heck out of the topic.  On oen hand, it seemed like every other statement was a quote of someone else (sheesh!)... 

In addition, I went out to the MIT site (there's been a bit of hoopa about MIT putting out their coursework on the WEB as a set of syllabi - addmitedly, without lab notes, etc.)  I pulled down the courses directly related to research, and kinds stepped through them.  The point I came away with was basically 'you've got a set of data - what conclusions can you draw form them?).  In and of itself, it was not the most helpful, but I found later that it came in handy..

I am fortunate enough to have some friends and relatives who are PhDs (some close, some distant)... I started asking questions (about a year ago) about 'hwo do people do research?  How do you know if the research is reasonable? What if people disagree with my findings?..  etc. ...

The best part about this was they were very comfortable talking about these (and other) points... from the conversations, I took away the following -

1. Figure out an area that you're interested in writing about.  Draw on your experiences to figure out what to focus on.

2. Go read up on everything and anything you can find (ProQuest Library actually had a good pool of papers, though go and look at trade journals -you can get the names of some from the references you get in the PQ library - in other worsd, they can pont you in other areas to look at).  As you look at the available research, make a note about the 'sub-areas within the areas' the researcher focuses on...

3.  One of the points that was MOST HELPFUL TO ME was 'you need to start with a broad topic, then narrow it down to a single question, even though that single question may have a few parts to it...'  once you hit that single question, you now have something you can research... 

Armed with that, I sat back and began to focus my Capstone topic  down to an area where I noticed that existing research (there was, of course, the chance I was overlooking a body of research, but I looked as best as I could) seemed to be "everything is looking at "aspect-A" and "Aspect-B" of this particular fous-area, but I never noticed research that looked at the two aspects together...  in reality, the two are inseparable...  so, I figured I had found something worthy of a Capstone pursuit.

I used the sample Capstone proposal I found on Aspen's website, and also had a few research papers (ok, more than a few), and used them as an 'outline' approach to put my proposal together...  it was handy to consider that you need to do all your research and build your bibliography in order to get the proposal together at the onset,...  Use your course texts among the research sources (after all, in many/most cases, they are loaded with research references as well)

 So, when I put the proposal together, I already knew what the single, focused, question was, and I had the body of available research pulled together, and I had an approach in mind as to how I was going to ask the question, grab the data, analyze the data, and draw conclusions...  all of this was in place as I was getting the proposal together...

I submitted the proposal, and I was expecting to have to make several changes, but was surprised when it was accepted with almost no changes necessary...  then I selected a faculty member with who to work on the project itself (I had chosen one of the folks I had for two courses during the program... ).

To actually perform the research, I had to choose my audience (again, choosing carefully to not let scope-creep make it unwieldy),  design my survey, implement, gather data, then analyze...  I again searched out the points about analysis (the Quantitative Methods course provided some direction, and I also surfed the web for papers on data analysis - the Research methods book for the Capstone Course was helpful, but once I found the type of data I wanted to collect, it meant only a portion of the book was helpful, as it covers a wide range of data and ways to analyze that wide range of data...).  Then, it was pretty mechanical... survey, collect, analyze, report, submit.

Overall, it took the one month to write up the proposal (could have had it done sooner, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it took the full month)... after that, it took about one month to set up the survey and collect the data, and another two months to analyze (I did a bit of second-guessing and trying to make sure I had close-to-bulletproof methods of analyzing the data).  Writing the report itself was not a big drain...

 Notwithstanding the up-front work I did before enrolling in the course, it took three months.  Report was submitted.  Report was accepted (form a content and an APA style standpoint.

 Hope this helps .  Good luck.  Have to say - most favorite course of the program...  ;-)

 

What is the minimum amount of pages acceptable for the capstone?

 

Abner

Here are some of the details, direct from the course module itself... 

Capstone Project Format Requirements:

Your Final Capstone Project submission must be professionally prepared and free of typographical, spelling and grammatical errors. Although the specific length of the formal document may vary somewhat depending upon the topic selected, the use of tables, matrices, graphs, PowerPoint or other visual supplements, as well as the degree of reliance upon statistical data, etc., the formal paper should be 5,000-7,500 words in length (equivalent to approximately 25-35 typed pages) inclusive of a title page, a one to two page abstract or project summary, a background or introductory section, a succinct statement of the issues and questions being explored, a literature search, a description of the research design, protocol, or model followed, discussion of findings, results and/or recommendations, an appropriate bibliography and appendices as appropriate. Additional details concerning the format and recommended writing style will be included in the Module 2 Study Guide documentation.

The Final Capstone Project submission should be prepared using the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as appropriate), appropriately paginated using a twelve-point standard style font such as Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, etc.

The use of footnotes and hot linked website addresses in the body of your paper as appropriate is encouraged.

 

Hope this helps...  

 

plymouthrock:

Here are some of the details, direct from the course module itself... 

Capstone Project Format Requirements:

Your Final Capstone Project submission must be professionally prepared and free of typographical, spelling and grammatical errors. Although the specific length of the formal document may vary somewhat depending upon the topic selected, the use of tables, matrices, graphs, PowerPoint or other visual supplements, as well as the degree of reliance upon statistical data, etc., the formal paper should be 5,000-7,500 words in length (equivalent to approximately 25-35 typed pages) inclusive of a title page, a one to two page abstract or project summary, a background or introductory section, a succinct statement of the issues and questions being explored, a literature search, a description of the research design, protocol, or model followed, discussion of findings, results and/or recommendations, an appropriate bibliography and appendices as appropriate. Additional details concerning the format and recommended writing style will be included in the Module 2 Study Guide documentation.

The Final Capstone Project submission should be prepared using the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as appropriate), appropriately paginated using a twelve-point standard style font such as Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, etc.

The use of footnotes and hot linked website addresses in the body of your paper as appropriate is encouraged.

 

Hope this helps...  

 

 

Heck yes it helps!!! Thanks so much for sharing, and welcome aboard!

 

I appreciate it,

 

Abner :)

Thanks for sharing your experience.....That Helps !!!

KHSA301/ABNER...

 

You're both welcome.  Actually, am so excited about the project, I think I'll go see if i can get it published...  ;-) 

 

(If anyone wants, I'll post my experiences as I go down that path... )