Complaint Review: Strayer University Online - Newington Virginia

Strayer University is a private institution; your local community college is a public institution. You pay "$68 a credit" at the community college because of all the taxpayers and private donors who are paying for your education. It costs minimally $10,000 a year to educate a K-12 student. The "per student" budget of most school districts is far higher than that, and that is for K-12 level, *not* college. The per-student cost of most colleges is many times that. Strayer's tuition is about even with the other for-profit schools. I once compared their tuition to public and private universities and found that Strayer was cheaper than some of the top-tier *public* universities, and that it was *far* less than most private "non profit" colleges (and remember that those "non-profits" have huge endowments from private donors and alumni). At Strayer and similar schools, *you* are paying for *your* education. You're not piggybacking off other people's money. This, first, creates an investment in your education that students at "non profit" public and private colleges do not have. Secondly, it means that Strayer admits almost *anyone*, unlike public and private colleges, which are obligated, because of their endowments, to limit admission. When the taxpayers fund a community college, they do so in the expectation that the students who attend will succeed, and that those students will repay their educations by getting good jobs. When private donors fund a college, they have similar expectations. Therefore, every college has some standard of admission. For profit colleges can have open admissions standards because they are not beholden to any private donors or government funds. Additionally, there are several other advantages for students, such as a more generous policy when it comes to transferring credits from their previous colleges, and the ability to stay in the program even if they move. If you had paid $25,000 and completed your AA with Strayer and found it impossible to get a job because none of the employers recognized your degree, you might have cause for calling it a "rip off." However, being expensive does not constitute being a "rip off", and it is incumbent upon you to make wise decisions concerning your own education. If you feel that community college is better for you, wonderful! That's why there is a diversity of college options available for students. But *you* made the decision to enroll in Strayer University; *you* should have realized what an important decision you were making, and *you* should have taken the time to make that decision wisely.

I am currently attending Strayer and have not found any issue with them. I have also enrolled in another program at a local state community college. I transferred my credits, and they were accepted. Every one of them gave me an equal credit at the community college. If they were not fully accredited, I can't see a state college accepting credit transfers. I can not speak on the financial aid or financing issues because my company is doing tuition reimbursement, so I charge may tuition on a credit card and at the end of the semester my company reimburses me that amount. As far as the books, I have only had to purchase books for 3 classes from the book store. The rest I have bought on Ebay, as well as selling them to other students on Ebay. I have found some of the courses very easy, but there are others I have found difficult. I took SOC 300, and the instructor gave me an F because she felt I did not correctly cite a statement in my paper. Once I corrected it, she gave me an A. That told me she read through the paper. She state she gave F's, instead of just counting points off, to encourage students to correct their papers. I have also taken course in class as well as online. My accounting instructor was very knowledgeable as well as an excellent instructor. I can't say I have really had any problems or issues with speaking to anyone, not even my local dean.

I'll be able to obtain a masters for under $25,000, are you sure you got your figures right? And as for books, check the title and order through amazon.

I hate when people post complaints then some good ole' boy comes along and decides to challenge a bad experience only because he had a good one. You can't force down someone's throat that a particular school is "good," when,the complainer's experience clearly indicates it isn't in their opinion. People don't have time to come to this website to post complaints that are not just. If YOU had a good experience with these scam artist degree mills, why don't you use your time to file a good complaint with the BBB as opposed to wasting time on here. None of us who have established that Strayer is a BAD RIP OFF SCHOOL want to hear from someone who made a stupid choice to PAY THESE *&*&S for a degree they 9 times out of 10 won't be able to repay, or get a better job. When you graduate and actually see you can't get anywhere with a degree from STRAYER, don't complain you were scammed. ALL ONLINE SCHOOLS ARE RIP-OFFS! BUSINESSES DO NOT CARE ABOUT A BACHELORS DEGREE FROM AN ONLINE SCHOOL. YOU MAY AS WELL NOT HAVE ONE.

Reading this post I wanted to state, that the BBB or Chamber of Commerce are not what people expect, and you are wasting your time. They are a for profit pro-business lobbyist that makes monies annually from business memebrships whp pay them in return for a nice little plaque your business can disply- they will NOT come down on the businesses who are their bread & butter. Next, my wife researched many online programs 2 years ago and completed AA from Keiser, but it was not painless in the end. Besides administrative problmes we encountered in end, they took federal loan money for a total of 63 credit hours and the lastw eek of my wife's program, they all of a sudden tried to say they changed currciculum so her 63 credit would only be worth 40 if she went on into their BA program! We got livid and contacted federal agencies to this and others as it was simply fraud! Now, after going through all that (she ahs her AA degree and transcripts showing 63 credit hours) we are searching for new school. Reason is, even after many scholarships, grants, other monies, we are plagued with outstanding balance to Federal Govt. in excess of $14,000.00 for the Keiser AA program. Since we still cannot get new jobs here, she has no choice but to go on for a higher level degree to defer that cost and that is whatw e are researchig now and the best schools to do that. After she finishes the next step, I wonder if there will be jobs available for us to allow us to repay these loans anyway?

I have a great career at a company that is paying for my second bachelor's degree, as clearly stated in the post if you would have read the entire thing. You also would have noticed that I am mature enough not to make personal attacks. I was simply pointing out that had you done the math first, you wouldn't have gone through the entire process of applying at Strayer, enrolling in classes, filing for student loans, and then buying books. If you really think the book company ripped you off, file a report with your local BBB. There's probably more to the story, but if they did make a mistake with your order the BBB can help you fix it. As far as Strayer being a scam, I'm sorry but there are thousands of people out there who simply aren't going to agree with you. Strayer is only about $150 more per class than the last State university I attended. Strayer is also regionally accredited, which is a very rigorous and difficult process for schools to complete. They didn't reach that level by ripping people off. Better luck with your next endeavor.

Yeah, whatever!! I did the math and they are a Rip Off! Done deal! The bill is from Strayer University and not from the bookstore. Let me know when you get a job, lol.....Peace

To address the original post, the bookstore you bought your books from (I'm guessing MBS Direct) is a totally seperate company from strayer university. MBS Direct partners with different schools in order for the schools to sell books online. Whatever issue you have with them, it has nothing to do with Strayer. Sorry you feel like you got ripped off, but you probably should have done the math before you got to the point of buying books. That said, I attend Strayer University, both online and at a campus location. I also did the "traditional" four year college degree, but returned to Strayer for a 2nd degree since my company offered to pay for it. It is a university designed for students who work full-time, and the classes and curriculum clearly reflect that. While I agree that it is definitely easier to manage attending an online class, I disagree that online classes are easier. It depends on the instructor and the class. I have found that some classes are much harder because you have to put significant effort into learning the material on your own. While testing is open book, several instructors I've had will go out of their way to make the tests as difficult as possible. I've also found that I participate more in an online environment, rather than sitting in a classroom for an hour every week pretending to pay attention. In a regular classroom I could go an entire semester without participating in class. Strayer online finds ways to force students into participating in class exercises every week. Furthermore, most "traditional" colleges are offering online classes now as well because of their obvious benefit. In addition, Strayer is one of the few regionally accredited universities of it's kind. There are obviously scam schools out there, but Strayer is not one of them. The school has been around for over 110 years. It's not Harvard, but if you're a working adult looking for a higher education, it's a good place to look. They also have corporate alliances with several large companies, which means further discounts for students.

Online Universities in general are a lot more expensive than the traditional community colleges in your neighborhood. There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost is convenience. You can go to class whenever you want in most instances and you only have to stay there as long as it takes you to do your work. Second is ease. When you are testing in an online environment, everything is open book. This makes it significantly easier to pass than in a traditional setting. I first attended University of Phoenix for my AA in business and then transferred to Strayer to complete my Bachelors. The AA at Phoenix ended up running in the neighborhood of $10,000. This is because I took three CLEP tests to speed up the process. The tests at $55 a pop were a much better alternative financially than the classes at $800 a pop. The Strayer leg cost me about $14,000. This is because Strayer requires you to take 12 courses in house in order to graduate. The rest were transferred in and CLEP tests for me. All in all, when you weigh the costs against other PRIVATE universities, the costs are generally in line with higher education. There are many private undergraduate universities that are over $20,000 a year to attend. Even the local public 4 year universities in my area are pushing $10,000 a year. With this option, I completed a 4 year degree in a little under than 3 years for a little under the cost of attending a traditional school for 4 full years and a whole lot less headache. I put in far less hours of work on my class work than I would have put in simply sitting in class in a traditional educational setting. To add to it, my employer had tuition reimbursement which allowed me to recoup about $15000 of the total cost spent over the three year period. I realize that is not a benefit that everyone's employer offers, but it helped. If you want a degree to advance your career and pay grade, the online universities are a viable choice. They are for people who do not have the time or the patience for a traditional 4 year program. In exchange for the speed and ease of work, you will pay monetarily for the convenience. That's the society in which we live. If you are simply looking for a certificate or a 2 year degree, a community college will be much kinder to your pocketbook, however, keep in mind that these classes are often full semesters long with required testing and attendance periods. This is a stark contrast to the onlin environment with classes ranging from 5 to 12 weeks in length and having Google at your fingertips to give you the answer to any question you get stuck on.

They did that to me also :( I am still fighting with them over the $2500.00 that they say that I owe them.