American Public University System Reviews of Master's in Public Administration

"Unlike a traditional university, an online university is very much a double-edged sword. APUS fits well into this mold. The issue that most people have with online education is that they often feel that they don't get as much out of their education as they would with a traditional school, and for a lot of people, that is very much the case. However, for APUS, you get what you put into it. Nobody is going to goad you into doing your work. It is all up to you to learn. Of course, typical listening lectures are missing, however, having lectures being given in either a video format or reading a lecture makes it much easier for people who are already in a career to balance work, home, and school. In my opinion, APUS does a fairly good job at what it is supposed to do for a reasonable price. For the self motivated, especially those who are seeking a degree to further their career, as opposed to those obtaining their first degree, APUS can be an excellent option and I am glad I attended and graduated."

"The thought of entering s classroom again didn't appeal to me. After watching my mother get her degree from AMU, I decided to check it out. I received my Bachelor's degree and am continuing my Masters's degree through them. Classes are easy during undergraduate general education classes but as I progressed through the programs they were increasingly difficult. I would not plan on coasting by as with online courses, you will get out what you put in. Students come from all over; I've had military students, military spouses, civilians from all sorts of different career fields and the causal students. Professors have ranged from tenured PhDs to Professionals with real life experiences teaching (one International Relations professor worked for the State Department rebuilding the Iraqi Government). Overall, I am pleased with the development and skills I have learned and cannot wait to continue my education through AMU."

"I was completely satisfied with my experience with American Military University (part of the APUS), with exception of my final capstone thesis course. To start with, I point out that even brick & mortar schools now rely heavily on online courses, due to budget cuts. I have three college grad kids, all who attended major state universities, and all had to take up to 30% of their courses online. There was no other option, due to budget cuts. So, those shunning an online degree keep an open mind. Second, as with any school, you get out of it what you put in. AMU will not bottle feed you, but if you are a pro-active, engaged, and motivated participant student, you will do very well. All of the professors and instructors I had taught at other schools, many at big name universities (where the tuition was 2-5x as much). So, you are getting the same professors. You will also be doing A LOT of research and writing (especially at a grad level in an 8 week course). I attended undergrad brick and mortar schools, and found the online degree forum discussions were far more extensive and engaging than the physical classroom. There are sufficient tools to combat potential plagiarism, although a few cut and paste forums were obvious (and reported and dealt with). I had absolutely no problems with billing or handling my post-9/11 GI Bill payments. Books were sometimes an issue, but as I had two kids in college, I saw that is universal. Expect to utilize outside sources for grad texts. That said, three courses required no text books all the study material was research based or provided by the instructor. Several classes had lab exercises reinforcing concepts and theories and helping to break up the research paper drill. My ONLY complaint was the final thesis capstone course, due entirely to a bad luck draw of a horrible professor. Almost half the class nearly dropped the course, and all (including myself) started it with 4.0 GPAs. The first class grades were low Cs, ruing any hope of an A or final 4.0 from that point on. The prof was inconsistent, condescending, and retaliated against any student complaining or reporting her. It got so bad that the department chair had to become involved. I was ready to complete a second masters degree with AMU, but that final experience was so bad, I still cant bring myself to return. In fairness, the issue was the professor, although I believe the school could have intervened earlier to save many grades and motivate the students. Time may change my mind. Several cohorts who ended up in other capstone classes had no such problem, so I dont believe it was a school-wide issue. I question how this professor can still be employed (if she is) after so many bad student reviews. Finally, although this is a so-called for profit school (in reality, every school is), the tuition was very, very reasonable. Again, your value will be reflective of your effort."

"I am not sure if an undergrad degree would be the same, but I can tell you I had to work my butt off on the MPA program. You get what you give. I worked hard and my instructors made themselves available whenever I needed them. I found the program to be excellent. I attended a bricks and mortar school for undergrad so I can make a comparison. Well worth the money."

"Dear Future Students, DO NOT GO HERE PLEASE! I'm warning you. I was fine with the school up until I noticed something disturbing! About three classes from graduating I received an F, out of nowhere. Now to be honest, I do extraordinary in my career, but no one knows I have the Degree unless they ask. Why? Because there is a possibility that you will NEVER get hired and if you do its for a lesser position. Explore all other possibilities, like Arizona State, yes they are pricey but no one will ever argue with you about your degree and no I don't go there I just wish I did. Second, the Academic appeals people are cold, at least the ones I dealt with, rude and uncompromising! They don't even look at you're appeal other and see the over all picture of you as a valued student who is paying their bills "technically" they always side with the teachers who some students can do a better job of explain to me in like five than these instructors can explain a class and its goals. They don'e realize that the teachers who routinely give out Fs need to check their curriculum to see how did the student fail and is their something they can do better as well, like maybe explain your blackboard a little better, send out warning notes to students who might be slipping, I mean where is the real teaching at at this school? They hide behind a computer and their phones and may even be recycling teachers and using different names, I swear I took an instructor and the name sounded wierd,then the structure and wording of the class was the same as an instructor I took before, of course I can't prove it, just my suspicions. If you go here, take a woman's class. They are more sympathetic to you unless you are a total rude person yourself. Other than that, short answer, your money can be spent better somewhere else even if its for the connections and less rude staff who hope you fail probably so they can keep you in there longer and take your money. I'm serious they have no remorse. Just go somewhere else if you can. Cheaper does not always mean better. Their financial aide department to their credit is okay. So in my review I'll give them a 4 stars for sending back your balance to you but trust me when it comes to Fs it seems as if they have a treshhold where they stop students progress by giving them Fs right around close to graduation so they can pay to re-take the class and then pay more money, to me its not worth having a okay financial aid if you are going to be suspected of scamming, Their retention rate is off the charts. Yeah they are Regionally accredited but so are other online colleges that have more prominence and can do a resume just for the awesome person who is actually wanting and needing a job, who came very far in their educational goals. And remember last but not least, No matter what a teacher says to you, no matter how they try to take away your self esteem by failing you just because they see themselves (some not all) as the person to judge you as a person deserving an F, its not true. You did not FAIL, you are not an F, and F doesn't define you! and Kudos to you for having the balls to further your education and keep them in a job. So take that and brush it off your shoulder because deep down you know the Instructor who failed you they are Failures themselves and not likeable. If you stood in a room with them you will know that they are just miserable people themselves and see failures and flaws in everyone else. So lift your head up, fellow Adult Students with busy lives :)"