Posts Tagged ‘University’
Application Letters & Personal Statements
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Getting into training programs, colleges and universities often requires application letters and personal statements as well as other statements. Furthermore, business plans, small business loans and grant applications for funding both businesses and academic research also require application letters and professional statements. For example, some colleges and universities require both application letters and personal statements as well as essay responses to set questions such as stating how one’s personal experiences relates to their chosen field of study or similar. These letters and personal statements are the first requirement just to be considered for acceptance into a training program, college or university and are necessary at all levels from certificate studies, to Bachelors programs to graduate degrees. We have a great deal of experience in writing personal statements and application letters and all we require is some basic information about you and our writers are able to incorporate this information into a concise, well-written letter, statement or application.
Tags: application letters, College, essay responses, information, professional statements, requirement, small business loans, study, University, writing personal statements
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iPhone Apps for Students
Friday, June 25th, 2010
The iPhone and now with the iPhone 4 release, is a ubiquitous device on most college and university campuses. While many might casually assume that college and university students are using their iPhones just for texting, talking and social networking, a quick analysis indicates that college and university students are able to utilize their iPhones in new and unique ways because of the host of iPhone apps that are available and useful to the college student. Below is a list of some of the more popular and effective student oriented iPhone apps:
1) BigWords: this app provides college students the ability to comparison shop college
and university textbooks
2) CliffsNotes: this is a popular application that builds on the utility of the well-known study guides that students have been using for years
3) History: Maps of the World: this really neat application allows users to download and view maps of the world as they would have appeared in different historical eras
4) Pandora Radio: of course college students must have time to relax and increasingly they can accomplish this by listening to their favorite music genres on web-based radio streams through their iPhones
5) Mathematical Formulas: this app preserves the most common algebraic, trigonometry and related mathematical formulas for easy reference
In addition to these popular and useful apps there are a host of others. College and university students can considerably ease their academic and scholarly burdens by making full use of their iPhones in addition to enjoying the everyday utility that the iPhone provides.
Tags: app, application, host, iphone 4, iphone apps, iphones, maps of the world, networking, pandora radio, University
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University of Phoenix Sucks
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
One Student’s Account:
“In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education provided a preliminary report to the university that cited untimely return of unearned Title IV funds for more than 10 percent of sampled students. The report also expressed a concern that some students enroll and begin attending classes before completely understanding the implications of enrollment, including their eligibility for student financial aid. As a result, in January 2010, its parent company, Apollo Group Inc., was required to post a letter of credit for $125 million by January 30 of the same year” –BusinessWeek
Subject: University of Phoenix Business Practices
I enrolled in the University of Phoenix in November of 2009 in its Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership program. At the time, the intake counselor (let’s call him salesman) advised me that the program entailed residencies that were held at various points around the United States. Additionally, he stated that if I could not make one then I could schedule an alternate residency. I explained to him that this was important as I travel internationally quite often and, of course, this would be a logistical problem. Again, this was BEFORE I agreed to register in the program. I completed several courses in the program and my residency was coming up for March of 2010 and informed the salesman that I would need to reschedule my residency as I would be overseas at that time.
Suddenly, rescheduling the residency was a problem. Several parties told me that I could not do it. Finally, when I threatened to quit the program they said I could do it. This was after being brow-beaten by my academic and financial aid counselors on a conference call wanting to know why I could not cancel my travel plans and attend the original residency. At any rate, they finally said I could reschedule but that I would need to WITHDRAW from school and start up again with my regular schedule after the residency.
Let me re-emphasize that rather than simply letting me take another course on the curriculum which, I might add, not every course is a pre-requisite for the next, contrary to what these sales people say, they told me that I would need to withdraw. Any other graduate school worth the appellation would have just let me take another graduate level course however the University of Phoenix forced me to withdraw. The school was stating that I would need to withdraw (fall out of compliance with financial requirements regarding full-time attendance) because the school would not allow me to take another doctoral course instead.
Rather than go through this ordeal every time I might need to reschedule a residency I chose to withdraw. Thus, since the University of Phoenix was forced to return some of the financial aid monies that it received from the government it is now stating that I owe tuition for a course which was supposed to have been paid for and for which this entire ordeal started because the salesman told me that I could reschedule residencies “no problem.” Of course, he disputes this now as one would expect but I can tell you that this institution is driven purely by the amount of churn it can generate through billing the federal government for federal financial aid funds. The actual treatment and outcome of the students is purely secondary which is why the graduation rates are so pathetic.
While I am certain the University of Phoenix might be able to rationalize its billing me for $2,301 in tuition in spite of it being the reason I withdrew, I am just as certain that there are inconsistencies in its accounting of my financial aid application, dispensation, and adjudication through this process. Please look into this particular case and add my official complaint of this University’s practices to the long list I am sure that you have already compiled.
My chief complaints are the following:
The school required me to withdraw to change my residency date
The school “auto-withdrew” me from a course-whatever that is but I question the methodology because the school uses something it calls the “Course Exit Tracking Checklists” to determine attendance or withdrawal apparently which I neither signed, approved, or was made aware of in advance
The salesman than enrolled me in the program ensured me that I could change my residency dates yet never mentioned that I would need to withdraw in order to do so
These and other issues are why the University of Phoenix Sucks.
Tags: apollo group, apollo group inc, class action, course, department of education, financial aid, financial aid counselors, financial aid practices, fine, guilty, I, intake counselor, lawsuit, organizational leadership program, Phoenix, residency, school, settles, Taiwan, U.S. Department, United States, University, university of phoenix, university of phoenix settles, university of phoenix sucks, university of phoenix sued, uofp
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College & Twitter
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Some professors are finally beginning to see the light. While most colleges and universities and certainly most professors and faculty view technology as a threat, a brave few are promoting it as a means to improve the educational process and make the college or university experience more relevant for students today. An adjunct professor has just begun to incorporate Twitter into his class format by encouraging students in class to tweet notes back and forth which essentially creates another level of dialogue in the classroom. This method also encourages those who would not normally participate to begin to interact with their peers. However, there were of course some objections from the dinosaurs within the educational establishment who consider this strategy to be another opportunity for distraction. Of course, this possibility exists but just because the methodology needs to be improved does not mean that this is not an effective method to adapt, innovate and make more relevant the 21st century classroom.
Tags: 21st century classroom, adjunct professor, beginning to see the light, class, classroom, College, college classroom, colleges and universities, course, educational establishment, faculty view, light, method, note taking, technology, technology in the classroom, tweet, tweets, twitter, University, university class, university course
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Administrator Pay-Up Again!
Monday, January 18th, 2010
College administrator pay is up again! Enough is enough. International students already pay as much as 3X what regular students pay for tuition in the US and in the UK as well in most instances. A recent article in the New York Times points out that despite the global recession and ongoing financial hardships that many students face, college and university administrator pay went up by an average of 1.1%. This might not seem like much but what the article also points out is the ridiculous amount of money that these administrators make. For example, the President of Ohio State University makes about $1.6 million! $1.6 million! Furthermore, many community college Presidents make in the area of $400 thousand annually and up! There is nothing that college and university Presidents do that deserve these types of exorbitant salaries. This is especially alarming considering that while these administrators are giving themselves raises, increases in student tuition, fees and college texts are going up even higher to pay for their ridiculous salaries. Where will it end?
Tags: administrator, administrators, College, college fees, college president, college president salaries, community college presidents, cost of college, cost of textbooks, cost of tuition, exorbitant salaries, financial hardships, global recession, pay, President, student expenses, student tuition fees, tuition, UK, University, university president, university president salaries, US
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Degress = Practicality
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
The New York Times points out that college degrees and the schools that offer them are now attempting to make these degree more relevant to the workplace. Students are more concerned about their employment prospects now than at any time in the past and this is a critical shift in college student mindset. It also says something about the character of what a college education has become and what sector of society is defining what it means to be educated. This is why universities such as the University of Phoenix have been so successful because while most traditional universities tend to look askance at the University of Phoenix, almost all universities are now employing almost the same exact online format for some or all of their programs that the University of Phoenix has employed for years–don’t believe me, even Harvard now offers online degrees and online learning platforms and courses–see the Harvard Extension School. However, for those who are concerned about their employment prospects take a look at the University of Phoenix’s online programs that are targeting the workplace specifically:
Tags: College, college degree, critical shift, employment, employment prospects, harvard extension school, harvard university, job training, online, online programs, Phoenix, real world skills, traditional universities, University, university degree, university of phoenix, vocational degrees, workplace
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Administrator Pay-Outrageous!
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education in the United States (US) discusses the level of pay for many of the nation’s top private universities. In this global recession when many families the world over a struggling to simply purchase food and many of people are returning to school in order to improve their economic outlooks, the barriers to gaining a better education or new job skills through training are constantly going up. The article notes that university presidents such as Rensselaer’s College President, Shirley Ann Jackson, receives more than $1.6 million annually. I’m sorry, and what the hell does a college president do that’s worth $1.6 mllion annually–provide strategy? This is ridiculous and people wonder just why college and university tuition rates are skyrocketing in a manner that is far outpacing inflation. Until the egregious (some might say almost fraudulent) salaries of these top university and college administrators are reigned in the cost of higher education will certainly continue to rise at a rate higher than inflation making it far more difficult for people to begin or complete the higher educations.
Tags: article, chronicle of higher education, College, college administrator, college education, college expenses, college president salary, economic outlooks, Education, global recession, President, rising costs of college, Shirley Ann Jackson, tuition and inflation, United States, University, university administrator, university education, university president salary, university presidents, US
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