American Sentinel College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Post University

I personally like the school. The classes are 8 weeks long and you get to determine when you want to turn the assignments in. They are implementing new requirements for the courses, such as weekly participation in class discussions. I have never had an issue with the staff and when I have had a question, it has always been answered in a timely fashion. The only cons I have found is that they don't accept federal aid and some of their credits won't transfer to other schools. Other than that, it is... Read More a great school for someone who is working or has children!

I am a current Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) student with American Sentinel University (ASU).

ASU has a MSN program with four concentrations (education, informatics, case management, and organizational leadership). The school is currently seeking CCNE accreditation and once this is achieved. ASU MSN graduates will be able to gain admission to Post-MSN Nurse Practitioner (NP)/Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) program or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

Most USA undergraduate of graduate... Read More nursing programs, require students to have graduated from National League of Nursing (NLN)or CCNE approved school in order to gain admission and of course an active RN license.

American Sentinel University is currently a CCNE applicant and the school has already hosted their CCNE site visit. My opinion is that the school has a solid nursing program with plenty of nursing faculty members with regionally accredited (MSNs, DNPs, and PhDs) degrees.

I have had no troubling contacting my nursing advisor or instructor (normally 48 hours or less). Some instructors answer fast and some answer, not so fast.

I plan to graduate from ASU MSN program in April or May 2010, then I plan to complete a post-MSN Nurse Practitioner or post-MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist certificate program in advanced psychiatric nursing. I work for the government and the ASU MSN program suits me just fine for my goals and future career opportunities.

I have nothing, but good things to say about American Sentinel University. The classes are well structured, the tuition is reasonable, and their are four MSN program concentrations.

The ultimate choice is yours to apply or not.

Regards,

J., RN, MBA, LNC American Sentinel University MSN graduate student.

ASU has a solid and traditional curriculum and I was initially impressed with the serious academic qualities. I dislike some high-profile schools that have lots of easy classes. ASU has a good mix.

Tuition is reasonable. (College texts are always expensive.) Most of the faculty and staff are open and helpful. A fair number of instructors are adjuncts and these are hit and miss. There is a strong tendency for ASU to keep the good ones. I have had far far more good professors than bad, but a few were... Read More bad.

Distance learning, especially asynchronous learning like at ASU, is not for everyone. You can't raise your hand and get an answer on the spot. You have to send an email and wait. Most responses are prompt, but not always. There is a lot of reading and you really have to do it. There is almost no option to coast, guess or otherwise get an easy A. Honestly, this environment is hard on some people and they don't like the way it feels. In my long experience these are the people who develop negative opinions. People are human! Every student who I have heard express a negative opinion also had some bad grades. These are certainly smart people who just didn't feel smart in a certain situation.

I am also an ASU mentor. There are 3-4 Computer Sciences classes that are well-known for hard exams. I have had students come to me after getting a D or an F on the first test. Some buckled down and succeeded. Others blamed the professor or the text or the school. That's easier than admitting the material was hard and they blew it.

So I've really enjoyed being a student at ASU except for a few things that really irked me over the years. Presently, I

You will always hear mixed reviews about DE schools and I think I can tell you why. Normally, to be successful in DE you must be disciplined, motivated, hard working, and willing to sacrifice a lot of free time with friends and family. You MUST be ALL of those things, otherwise your DE experience will be a bad one.

I thought ASU was a great school. The materials were 90% sufficient and the instructors were normally responsive and helpful. As with any human endeavor, there are always exceptions to... Read More the rule. I would recommend the school to anyone.

Hopefully this is not too vague, but I can not really stress enough the importance of being the four things I mentioned above. If any do not apply to you, do not expect ASU to be the right mold for you.

I am a current student of ASU and did not have any bad experience with them. I always also got quick response from staff and faculty members. Faculty members are also well qualified.

This is an online university and we (students) have to study by our own anyway. The advantage of online university is you can choose you own time and place to study. Text books are good. Tests and assignments are relevant too. Most of the courses have proctored final exams, which gave me a feeling of going to a real school... Read More They offer plenty of courses every month. Each course is either 8 weeks or 12 weeks long. Students can go on their own pace. We can also finish the course before the scheduled date and start a new course.

The only thing I missed was class/group discussion. There is a forum where students can go and post discussions, but everybody is does not work at the same pace so discussions are not worth.

ASU really worked for me since I am working and mom of two boys.

I chose Ashford because it began primarily as a brick and mortar school. The tuition is relatively inexpensive. The enrollment specialist were very nice, however, they disappeared once I paid. The financial aid is outsourced to a foreign country. You have a financial advisor who works for the school, but all they do is collect the Financial Aid information and cannot offer you anymore help then paperwork collection and approximate dates.

The classes go through blackboard, like most online schools,... Read More and thus far I like the "educational environment". The fact that Ashford has gone under numerous names in the past makes it hard to fill out online forms that ask for you college, because Ashford is never listed.

The educational faculty is very helpful and are mostly experts in that field. The book store is a third party and is very shady. I try to buy my books elsewhere, but sometimes I run into courses that requires a Ashford collaborated text.

Their admission policy is very lax. This leads to a lot of individuals being in a class that do not belong. I am sure that they are weeded out as the courses progress. I was a horrible under grad student, but I now receive a 4.0. So I will say that Ashford does give opportunities to those who may not have taken work serious during their undergrad work.

They are accredited, which is very important, but I am not sure I would choose them if I had it to do over again. It is not a bad school, but there are still a lot of areas that need to be ironed out. Relatively speaking, it is a very young online school. I would not recommend against Ashford. Education is ultimately the most important thing, and Ashford does offer a decent one. However, the other areas may turn off some individuals.