University of Maryland Global Campus Reviews of Bachelor's in Accounting

UMGC is terrible. They make students write the same papers every course. There's a Career Exploration assignment, which is basically an underhanded way of making students sign up for their worthless CareerQuest site. There's a research tracker, which they say is used in real life, but after working in accounting for several years I have yet to have a boss ask me for one. There's an Academic Honesty assignment, which is a perfunctory attempt by the university to scare you from plagiarizing. And for... Read More all of these assignments, you'll have to write a unique paper each course. That takes up a fourth of the semester you paid $1,000 for. The second quarter of the semester you'll be replying to discussion posts that have no real relevancy to the CPA exam. The last half of the semester is comprised of a poorly trained professional pretending to be a professor by demanding you jump through hoops, not as a means to an end, but as a means to themselves. Ultimately, you won't really learn much, but the school will get your tuition payment and you'll get to say you passed ACCT XXX. Yippee!

Since they dropped textbooks the quality of instructing went downhill. Reading articles from research journals and online sites is not substitute for actual learning. One professor barely gave feedback or instructions. I had to guess how to do my project for half my grade. It's just papers every week. Does not begin to compare to my brick and mortar school, or even the real learning that took place at the community college. The advisors are pretty worthless and they've changed my graduation requirements.... Read More The latest includes work experience courses I will never be able to satisfy in my current job and a course for non-majors in my major field? Honestly, it is not worth the hassle just for a piece of paper. If you want a real education, with support and true learning, go elsewhere.

I am a current student of UMUC with an anticipated graduation in May 2108 (two more months)! I chose UMUC for multiple reasons with some of them being that they are an online school which offers flexibility for my hectic schedule and they have eight week courses which means I can take twice as many classes in a given semester. Prior to begining my studies at UMUC, I took several online courses, as well as 7- and 8-week courses, so I was familiar with the condensed format. I can say that if you are... Read More not used to an online learning enviroment, prefer physical books or need face time with a professor, then UMUC might not be right for you. As with any college or university, there are always good professors as well as those who need training on how to talk to student and truly assist them when they are struggling, don't fully understand the context or have personal unforseen circumstances. The coursework was not difficult, other than the two tax classes and internal auditing; however, there is a LOT of reading and since the classes are only eight weeks long, it is easy to get behind if you do not keep up with the assignments. If you have an issue where you need to miss a week, talk to the professor as soon as you know aobut the problem, not after it is resolved. Life happens and most will give you an extension with a valid reason, which does not include needing to work more hours. It has not been easy and some of the professors were not the friendliest, but for the most part, they were very helpful, worked with me when I did not understand what they were trying to teach and more importantly they wanted to see me succeed. Please keep in mind that anyting worth having is worth working for and a degree must be EARNED. It will not be given to you regardless of the learning format. Happy Studying, Everyone!

I'm set to graduate from UMUC next year, 2018, and I cannot discourage people from going to this school enough. It has been a roller coaster ride through horrible instructors, confusing interfaces, and instructions that only lead to more questions. Every class seems to be worse than the last. In the beginning, it wasn't bad at all. In fact, I'd say my technical writing and anthropology courses were some of the best I've ever taken because I learned so much in them. But beginning with the calculus... Read More class, things started to turn very bad. The entire class was as you'd expect, solving problems based on formulas and theorems. The final was COMPLETELY different and half the problems were on general theory, not practice. My first Java class was what convinced me to change my major the first time. Not because it was hard but because the instructor assumed that everyone already had experience with coding beforehand. He never actually instructed us on how to do the projects before we had to turn them in for a grade. Thankfully there are online services that help with this issue. I came to the conclusion that if every class in the major was going to be like this, it was going to be an uphill battle. My next major didn't last long because of another instructor who graded all assignments, to include discussions, with a fine tooth comb. If I didn't answer the question as perfectly as she expected us to with a sufficient number of sources, we would end up with a C for that week or worse. The purpose of discussions is supposed to be to discuss, not to be perfectly right. That's what the quizzes are for. Her method of grading only stifles discussion and learning. Anyway, I made it through that class by just having my husband, who was very knowledgeable in the area, answer all the questions for me. I promptly changed my major again. The accounting major has been tolerable for the most part. A business administration minor is required, which is irritating. I've learned a ton by simply searching online for help. However, there have been a few instructors who clearly didn't know what they were doing. It made sense that there were only a few of us in their classes because they did their research beforehand. Other than that, every class has had its own unique issues that infuriate me even more. Come to find out from one instructor, UMUC only provides texts that are free. It doesn't matter if they are good quality or not. Personally, I'd rather purchase my own quality textbook and have the instructor teach from that. Currently I'm taking a course where the quizzes are procedural, the text is standard policy, the videos cover material that might be on the CPA exam, and the weekly discussions say to reference the reading in analysis. Nothing in this class is synced up to foster a learning environment or to prepare someone for how to do the job in real life. The other class I'm in is similar in that the answer to discussion questions aren't supported by the text. We are told to always use references but to only use references that are provided to us. This means we all have the same reference at the bottom of all our posts, which is incredibly redundant. When I got an answer wrong once, the instructor's explanation made no sense, which discouraged me from doing anymore discussions for the week. He has made it so needlessly complicated when all I want to do is learn. Unfortunately, in the BMGT courses, it seems learning will come at the expense of your grade. So in the end, I have realized that this degree is just a piece of paper. It'll get my foot in the door, but that's about it. I'd hoped to get an actual education for my money, but I didn't. I doubt you will either if you go to UMUC.

UMUC advertise themselves as the educational institute that caters to the working adult. I found this advertisement to be the most honest depiction of the services rendered. I have bought and or done many things because that is what I saw on television, and unfortunately that is where I found my college education as well, a television infomercial. I am now an accountant for the state i reside in and without the knowledge and tutelage of the my professors i know i would not be prepared for my position.... Read More When I was seeking my degree i befriended what i thought was a student adviser because no matter when i called she always had an answer, fortunately for me she was the Director of Student Advisers and I did not know because she never portrayed herself as anyone other than a caring person trying to resolve everyday working adult issues. UMUC is a great school and I would recommnnd it to every working adult who want to further their education.

I am a transfer student to this school and a resident of Maryland where I was born and raised. I recently moved back to Maryland in 2014; however, because I do not have a voters card or failed to change my driver's license from Washington, DC to Maryland when I moved I am being classified as an out-of-state student subject to higher tuition. I have appealed the decision twice and whomever responds to my appeal always uses the ID as their case; however, my argument is that I do not drive and did not... Read More need to change my ID and I have paid Maryland state taxes for 2 years as well as worked here. This is just a bad way to begin my bachelor's degree as a transfer student and I will be attending another school next semester. My advice to anyone attending this school, do so only as a last resort.