Aspen University School of Nursing Elwood Campus — Local services in Phoenix

I a currently registered student with Aspen University approximately 1/2 way through my MBA degree. I have found, as with most online programs, that you can get out of this what you put in. It is most certainly not a 'scam' in any sense. I'm sure people have lost money who did not pay attention to policies or processes. But this is an accredited institution and I find their policies to be fair and fairly and consistently administered. Aspen has recently upgraded their student portal and virtual classroom and I find the new improvements in layout as well as course content to be excellent improvements. There is now a great deal of consistency in curriculum across all the courses of a program. However, be advised that this is essentially self-guided learning. There is no synchronous learning component and the exchanges through blog posts etc have minimal value. Instructors grade assignments and provide feedback but it is difficult to learn concepts through this exchange. Typically this feedback is used to make adjustments to style of writing or assignment content to raise your grade. There have been times where I have struggled with some concepts and at those times wished there was a real-time resource that I could consult for guidance, such as the ability to call my professor or receive a semi-immediate response from a teacher. Sometimes emailed responses can take several days, so if you want to use that option you can't delay on your assignments. I was able to work through online resources and rely on friends and associates where I struggled. However, for the price, I find this to be the best low-cost higher education you can obtain. I have a limited budget and reimbursement policy from my job and were it not for Aspen I would probably not be getting my MBA at all or at a MUCH slower pace. Because I take the time to do the assignments as they are laid out, reading the chapters, researching my posts and essays and the assignments given, I have been receiving a good education in the materials and feel that this MBA has definite value in my career. They run the administration very lean and there are but a few people in each department. However, I find the responsiveness and service has drastically improved over the past year. My academic advisor now makes proactive calls during each semester to review my progress within the class and toward my overall goals. If you have more traditional classroom learning expectations this is probably not the place for you. If you prefer ultimate flexibility in your curriculum and course schedule and are a good manager of your own time and excel at self-directed learning, I think you would be hard pressed to find an equal value for the...

The RN to BSN completion program online is very difficult. Although the program is affordable for working nurses, however the program is not student friendly and does not accommodate working class students. Out-of-State students with different time zones are penalized for not posting at the same time as the location of the school.

Unfair Grading policy. Grades of 0% are assigned by professors without any discretion for discussion posts that were posted 1 min or 1 hour late, within the same week of submission. According to the school program policy "Late is Late".

An extreme 10% which equals to 10 points deduction is taken from late assignments, whether 1 min or 1 hour late. And a 20% deduction is taken from assignment posted in the upcoming module, which is approximately 6 days long. Due to their hard grading system, it is easy for students to fail classes.

The workload per week is greater compared to other competitive and accredited online programs. Because of the high workload per class, students are unable to do two courses at the same time. Also it takes longer to complete your degree.

Many professors takes longer than 72 hrs to respond to emails or complaints. I felt like the courses were not engaging and I could not get the help I needed on-time. On the other hand, the student advisors are reachable. I must admit a few professors are impeccable and compassionate.

The program lacks flexibility and accommodation. I would not recommend this Institution to working nurses who are seeking a flexible, accommodating and engaging program to complete their BSN.

I tried to Jump ship, but I was unable to do so because I was already half-way deep in the program. Please shop around before settling with Aspen University. The extra workload, strict grading policies, and lack of flexibility is...

The Admission process wasn't hard at all. The length of the program isn't bad. However, it is accelerated, so be ready for that. One thing they leave out is that they are essay based ( even the math course). Ideally, they want you to take two classes at a time to finish the program within the 36 months. The assignments are posted but the assignment(s) content are very vague, which can lead you either to write a really good paper or a really bad one. You order expensive books that do not really help with any of the assignments ( they really want you to use the aspen library as a source). Most of the information you get to complete your 1200-1700 word essays every week is purely independent research. If you have a question about your assignments, by the time the instructors respond to you, you have about a day or two if that, to complete a rough draft, final draft and make sure its typed in APA format and submitted on time. If you work full time, it is rough. The worst thing is that it is $450.00 per class. That is a lot of money for doing things on your own and not getting a lot of instruction. I guess that is why they call them " instructors" and not teachers, because they do not teach you anything. The school isn't a bad school- just not ideal for someone who has a family, full time job and kids who also have their own agenda with school sports, ect. I know nursing school isn't a breeze, just make sure you know what you are getting into...