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

UMGC is absolutely terrible. I spoke with at least 5 different advisors over the course of my final five semsters and I always asked them what classes I needed to graduate. When I had finally got my 120 credits I wasn't able to graduate still because apparently, every single one of these advisors made an error when recommending me classes. I still needed to take an extra class to graduate They told me there is "good news" though because they were willing to offer me my last class free of charge due... Read More to their error. It's not really good news though because my plans have completely changed and even though this class is free, I will have to take off more time from work to complete it. In addition, I never should have been taking it in the first place I don't understand how MULTIPLE different advisors can make such a grave error. This is literally their JOB. Terrible University, please don't attend - Meyer, class of 2022

UMUC was great in a lot of respects, but it certainly had limitations. My degree was very project-oriented, which worked well for my learning style. But I took a handful of classes which were more reliant on readings for learning, and those were a lot tougher. I'm sure there are some people out there who can learn from a textbook, but I need either a lecture or a project. If you're close to a campus, the hybrid classes work very nicely, but are offered in the evening and tend to have a more middle-aged... Read More crowd. (That's probably a plus if you're doing classes on top of your full-time job, but if you're in the just-out-of-high-school age range and looking for a full-time University, this might be a turn off.) I will say, there were a number of people in my program who were very talented and applied themselves. There were also a handful of people who seemed entirely inept and I'm amazed they were allowed to continue and graduate. I feel like I did get a lot out of my degree, but I worry that its value is lower as a result of people using UMUC as a diploma farm. I don't know if that's fair of the entire school or just my program, but it was real. My major classes were largely creative, yet the grading systems were set up to reward participation and effort more than skill; at a certain point, is that what you want? (If the answer is yes, this is definitely the school for you!) One more thing that's worth noting: something like 90% of UMUC professors are adjuncts. This means that a lot of them are fantastic, and some of them are terrible. Might be worth a Google search before you register for a class.

After deciding to go back to college and change careers, I enrolled in Graphic Communications at UMUC. I earned my BA degree, graduating cum laude, in 2015. Most of the upper-level instructors were seasoned professionals who brought their unique knowledge to the course. As with brick and mortar classes, some were more talented than others. The better ones were well organized, gave assignments based on real-world scenarios and were readily available to answer my questions and give extra help when... Read More I needed it. I started the program overseas in the Asian division and transferred to the US for most of the 400 and some 300 levels courses. I do recall a terrible time with one graphic communication course. This was mostly due to the instructor, but it was also as if the curriculum jumped from beginning to advanced with no mid-level. I was lost from the start, so I dropped the course (along with over half the class) hoping to sign up with a different instructor the following term. His class was still the only one that I could get for 2 more terms, so I felt my only option was to take a different class and not get the advanced programming that I felt I needed. Apparently, the school noticed because they finally replaced him and he was only teaching beginning programming courses. Overall the graphic communications did teach me the basic and foundations of design. However, it wasnt up to par with an advanced industry. Most of the content, we were sent to watch the tutorial on other platforms, instead of actual teacher instruction. We were making designs for print when the industry was evolving into Facebook and other social media platforms. I was able to do the upper-division course while working for a marketing team. The best training I got was working in an office from a senior graphic designer, so Im grateful that I had the opportunity to get real-life training.

This school has the biggest issue with communication. Calls are not recorded and if you need to reference a previous issue make sure you record that call yourself or take notes. I was a part of the government shut down and faced many hardships there after. Not only did I sign up for the payment arrangement on this issue I even had to extend my request so I can finish my last two classes of my degree program since my grandmother passed the week before graduation and my son was sick in the hospital... Read More last month. I was open and transparent with the school on my concerns and called in many times awaiting guidance for my updated payment plan so I can pay for my last two classes and register for the fall. Today, I get an email saying that they are going to send my account to collections and that there is a 17% interest rate added to it! How is this even possible? Because they dont record phone calls and the rep- Paul Mitchell in collections had no care for my concern and was very dismissive. If someone is already on the process of attempting to resolve the account and the school still doesnt want to help with this issue, thats a sign to not even bother. The major disappointment also follows with the fact that I have documentation on this issue and they still did not want to assist with this matter. The school promotes higher learning but fail to educate their staff on interpersonal relationships, organization and communication. Its sad that it promotes higher education but faults you when you cant even afford tuition due to the hardships you have faced and openly discussed with them. Im two classes shy of a degree and have been prevented from even registering for classes because of the lack of interfaith and communication. It makes no sense on how people with high school diplomas and lack of training have authority over something as sensitive as an educational account for higher learning. DO NOT GO HERE!

UMUC has got to be the worse school I've ever attended. I went to two colleges previously and left due to family health issues. After joining the military I figured online schooling would be the better option which it definitely has been regarding time. The instructors have been tolerable and the work at least enjoyable. HOWEVER THE FINANCIAL AID DEPARTMENT IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. During the summer semester I must've placed over twelve calls regarding my EARNED scholarships before I finally received... Read More the following answer "There is a scholarship blackout. We are revamping our scholarships." My immediate answer was so no one thought to tell the students with an email or phone call? On top of that, by the time they awarded the scholarships, after their intitial representatives swore it would be 7-10 days out before classes started, if you were on a payment plan you only were allowed 2 payment cycles to pay almost 1K. So students paid for their lack of communication and ability to actually award the scholarships. Not just that but before removing their scholarships off the site, you could qualify for them such as the President's scholarship (I qualified for) and be told you dont qualify. The President's scholarship as listed on their site requires you actually making the president's list with a 3.5 GPA or higher, yet they award based on shady practices.FINALLY today was the last straw for me. I received an email stating they never received my TA payment for the spring semester of 2019....IT IS NOW THE FALL OF 2019. So they waited for me to be two semesters away from graduating to bill me for another 750 on top of the 950 i'm paying for the last payment for my summer semester on A PAYMENT THAT HAPPENED IN MARCH! Once again, they are trying to make students PAY for their mistakes. I am looking at my TA payment right here in my hand and the class has been paid for so I'm gearing up to fight UMUC because it is RIDICULOUS. GET IT TOGETHER UMUC! This college has been a NIGHTMARE. Avoid this SCHOOL, go to Devry or Phoenix. You will regret it.

I have been taking online classes since 2010 after 2 years at community college & 1 failed semester of traditional college. I found the transfer process to be easy enough & almost all credits were accepted. I have really only communicated with my advisor via email, but she has offered to call me. Fairly good communication, maybe not the fastest responses. I applied for graduation for next year & that process has gone well so far. My only issue with UMUC online is the consistency of the courses &... Read More professors. Do yourself a favor & use "ratemyprofessor.com" before you register! I've had 300-level courses with TONS of work & reading with little help or feedback from the professor. Then other 300-level courses with little or no workload & very involved professors. Had a very arrogant professor who expected "graduate level work" & graded very harshly. Had a few that gave me A+ grades when I literally did half the work. A few grade solely on the length of your essays, not the content. Withdrew from one class because the professor literally made no sense with any of the assignments or grades. Plan on doing EVERY assignment & discussion post. I pretty much have to wait until Sunday to do all my work & it works for me. No all-nighters & I really don't study because there are no tests. I think as long as you try, you can succeed. Just look through your course page before the class starts so you can drop if it seems way too much. You can always try another professor.

I started at UMUC in 2009 when the courses were the traditional 16 week semesters, however I had to take a year off from 2010-2011 (due to a move) during this time they converted over to 8-week courses. I much prefer the 8-week schedule as it allowed me to take more classes each semester without them overlapping unless I wanted it that way. I have been very happy with my experience at UMUC. I started out at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro many years ago and in comparing the two schools,... Read More they are not much different other than the fact that one is tailored to meet the needs of online students and the other is a traditional school. The curriculums were similar and most of my credits transferred in, just a few that didn't make the cut because of grades or the time gap. Both schools had professors I loved and hated and classes that were easy and hard. I worked my butt off for my degree and my grades reflected it as I graduated cum laude. Most of my professors were helpful but there were a few who were not. I liked the smaller classes compared to some of the bigger classes I attended at UNCG. My online classes were never more than 30 people, if that. When I went to UNCG, I had classes with 100+ people in them and professors who didn't care. I also had students who were idiots just like at UMUC. With any school and any degree, you get what you put into it. There may be professors and other students you don't like, but that is the same in life. If you feel there is a problem, there is always someone in the school to help. Any of my issues (which were minor) were resolved through my advisor. All in all, I am very happy with UMUC experience and I would definitely recommend this school to anyone who has a busy schedule but wants to complete their degree.