APU helped me to finally finish my bachelors degree after 18 years of on and off college. The professors and staff are very kind and passionate about what they do and offer flexibility to accommodate the real world, working adult. Classes are filled with working humans, active military, and traditional college students and offer a great variety of world perspective and culture. Very proud to be an APU alumni. read more

American Public University System - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Charles Town, West Virginia

College was not my thing, so I joined the Army at 18. When I arrived at my first unit, I was encouraged by my NCO to start college. I attended multiple colleges (Central Texas College and Pierce College), and it was confusing to decide what to pursue. When I moved to Hawaii, my NCO recommended checking out AMU/APUS. When I inquired, the lady I spoke with was very helpful. I went to my college advisor, and he helped me decide to pursue an Associate's in General Studies. After completing my AA, it gave me the idea on what to major in so I started my BA in Transportation and Logistics Management. After completing my BA, I began my MA in Supply Chain Management. Overall, I completed my AA, BA, and MA from this university. I had no issues with the school, and all of my professors were always willing to help and mentor me. I highly recommend this university for new Soldiers trying to figure out the balance between college and military life. read more

Earning my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice through American Public University was honestly one of the best decisions I've made for my career. The program was super flexible, which was huge for me while balancing work and life, but it never felt watered down. The coursework was challenging, relevant, and actually connected to real-world criminal justice work instead of just textbook theory. My professors were legit -- knowledgeable, responsive, and actually invested in seeing their students grow. Anytime I needed help or clarification on an assignment, they had my back. The support teams (advising, financial aid, tech help) were also fast and friendly every step of the way. What I appreciated most was how organized everything was. The online platform made classes feel smooth and manageable, and I never felt lost or overwhelmed navigating weekly assignments or long-term projects. APU gave me the structure I needed, the flexibility I depended on, and the confidence to level up professionally. If you're considering a degree in Criminal Justice -- especially if you're working full-time -- I can't recommend this university enough. read more

Filled out the applications followed through on all the documents, paid for 3 classes, EXPELLED for not having a High school transcript in 5 business days, no warning, no ability to work out that the high school is closed, and the transcript has to be MAILED! Treat the student or parent like shit. Would not recommend read more

They advertise that they accept transfer credits but they did not. This feels like false advertising.

I had a great experience with APU. The work is legitimate and like any other college, if you don't do the work, then you don't get a decent grade. Like any other college there are good and not so great professors. After starting college 23 years ago and life getting in the way, I was finally able to complete my BA in history with APU. The tuition was reasonable and I was able to get financial aid loans to cover it just like any other university would. They are accredited and found the student support staff to be helpful. All in all, I think it's a good higher education institute for a reasonable price and depending on the type of education you are looking for. It's not like Harvard or Yale, but I was certainly challenged and made to work for my degree. read more

THEY SELL YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES! I took 2 classes with them 17 years ago and quickly realized it was a bizarre mockery of a college. They misspelled my very common name in a weird way and wouldn't correct the error (Let's say my name is Mary, they spelled it Matfy). Imagine my surprise when I started getting flooded with junk mail addressed to the same misspelled name and years later my personal information popped up online under the same misspelled name. Nobody has ever misspelled my name in that manner, so it was a clear give away that it was, in fact AMU/APU that sold my personal information. Also a few funnies I remember from my classes - One professor was lowering my grades for "incorrect spelling" of irregular verbs. She thought that irregular verbs had to be spelled with -ed and -t ending was just a "slang version" I used because I was too lazy to type -ed. Professor teaching ancient history spent the entire semester talking and giving assignments on Barack Obama, racism in America and left vs right. To this day I fail to understand what his fascination with politics had to do with ANCIENT history. So taking classes at AMU is like playing pretend. No actual learning is taking place, just random people talking about their interests and grading you on how well you can relate. Staff used to be tasked with posting fake positive reviews and reporting negative ones, so for the longest time you couldn't even find actual opinions on the school. All fake reviews will contain "brick and mortar" word combination. That was their selling point when not too many actual schools offered online classes. These days every school in the US offers online classes. You can attend a great, reputable public college online and get a degree that will count. read more

This online university is a scam. They give you assignments that tell you to input a prompt into an AI generator, and when you do they come back later and tell you that you failed Academic intent and that FSA is being pulled from you. All of this being done seven weeks into an eight week course. Then when you call they tell you it can't be appealed, even after you explain that the actual assignment was to use AI and work off of that. This is how they end up making you pay out of pocket. This "University" is a flat out scam. read more

Online learning allowed me to pursue school full time while working for time. They offer a good discount for military/veterans which helped me afford to get my master's in business read more

Complete waste of time and money, school is all about getting your tuition check. APU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission which has been under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education for its lack of oversight on for-profit universities, which is what American Public University is. As a graduate of APU I would assess it as a degree mill that is accredited by an agency that was close to losing its ability to accredit universities based on my previous sentence. The university's academic advising is haphazard, IT support is incompetent to even manage the university's website, and the professors could care less. The classes were generic even at the graduate level with the syllabus and announcements by professor xxx because the professors were too lazy to update with their name. I had professors that were completely lost on what was going on in the class. The university will always look for an angle to get more money out of you, hence the haphazard comment on academic advising. Horrible university. There are so many better universities to graduate from. read more

filled out application, spoke to someone once. tried to chat and call but received no help. my chat required me to sit on hold for over an hour and when i stepped away for 3 minutes (actually 3 minutes, not exaggerating) to use the restroom and get water. They quicky disconnected me. i think my chat attendee was ( savannah C). school can be already be stressful and me attempting to start a future with this university has only added to that. at this point i recommend using a different source for advanced education! read more

I had experienced brick and mortar college and university classes prior to coming to APUS. I learned more and had a better experience doing so when I completed my degrees at APUS. read more

Overall, the courses are fine and the material is geared towards online learning, which is great. I've enjoyed learning through AMU, but I cannot recommend them for a few reasons, that I'll get into. AMU has very little in the way of support, there are plenty of universities that provide regular check ins throughout the semesters. I have NEVER once been reached out to, to see how things are going, or to make a plan for future courses, or given advice on what course to take next. You are assigned a counselor when you start taking courses with AMU, but good luck hearing from your counselor. I've called the number provided and have never once talked with MY counselor. I have had COUNTLESS issues with their finance team, here are some examples: They refused to send a copy of my semester plans to the VA because my start date for the course was too far out, even though it was within the semester period. This caused the VA to pay at BAH benefits less than full time status. They have denied third party scholarships twice in the past. They've messed up billing with TA when I was active duty. The most recent thing, and the worst of all, so far. Is that they accidentally sent out student loans, when they clearly should not have. Then they realized their mistake and blamed me, stating that I was not allowed to sign up for more classes until my student profile was paid off, to the tune of $5,000, up front. FOR THEIR MISTAKE. Now I'm jumping through hoops and spending all day on the phone fixing it, and they STILL don't have the decency to fix it themselves, when I've submitted the exact documents they requested, which means I won't be able to attend the next semester, the VA won't be paying me BAH and I'm set back months. I currently have around 102 credits towards a 120 credit degree, and believe me, when I graduate, I am DONE. With AMU. The only reason why I'll be finishing out with AMU, is because I can't transfer so many credits to another university. read more

Deeming someone a "dismissed student" after providing everything that was asked is crazy to me. They are homophobic and do not care about anyone unique situation. If you do not give them information exactly how they want/ believe it should be your not getting in. Dont get pulled in with the quick start dates, etc. read more

A pathetic excuse for a university. Not on eprofessor, advisor, or department chair could communicate better than a brick. It is impossible to ask simple question relating to science or the classroom without the professor giving unrelated answers. The classes are pointless as there is no depth. I would learn more going back to the times of Newton to learn about science and physics. My advisor was useless as she could nit help me with my professor accusing me of things that would end my educational career. No response ever. Same with the student support and IT department. I have not had a working email in over 2 or 3 months despite following instructions. It took a week just to get a response from a general email to get another email of someone who refuses to respond. I will never be convinced a single one of these people actually know science, and some of them are heading into the medical field? We are f*****. I hope my future graduate program accepts these classes. Never in the 4 universities and 3 degrees I have accepted have I been treated with such disrespect and disregard for my education. read more

I just finished my first semester at APU and it's been going great! I like the online classes and how flexible they are. I think that how much you like the style of content will depend on your learning style. I appreciate being able to go mostly at my own pace. I was able to transfer in 60 "non-traditional" credits so I was half done before I even started. Classes (and semesters) start every month, and you don't have to take breaks so I'll be done with my degree in about 15 months total. If it works with your learning style I highly recommend APU! read more

i think this school was such an amazing college and i learned so much although it was a online school! i was able to challenge myself and get so much done! i started this program when i was a stay at home mother with little babies and im ending this journey with my kids being 4 and 3 and this school was super flexible with my time and even when i went on reserve trips they were always helpful and allowed me to extend my deadlines for things like that. so happy i came here ! read more

This university does nothing to help veterans who had to have a leave of absence due to military duties. My husband submitted 12 various documents as to why he wasn't able to continue courses during deployment and kept receiving push from the staff. They were asking for more and more documents. Disheartening for someone who's trying to get their life back on track after the military. Pass on this school it's all a money grab. read more

The absolute WORST school. Please avoid at all cost, they are NOT military friendly, the "professors" do not respond and you don't learn anything. They never respond to emails and the academic advisors are even less helpful. They give you a bunch of papers and discussions but don't teach you anything, there aren't video lectures or anything helpful to actually teach you. It is not worth attending this so called university. read more

If you are looking for a school that cares about its students that wants to help them grow, learn and better themselves. Please for the love of god do not pick this school! You will receive no help, understanding or education. This University is a joke beyond words. I lost my job, a family member and was homeless. I failed a class because of that. This was the time COVID 19 was really bad. My mental and physical Heath was beyond poor. After I failed said class the school drop another one of my classes saying because I failed the other one my Financial aid couldn't cover it. So I had to pay $380 to the school but here's the kicker I can't get financial aid for my classes because my gpa is low because I fail a class and was kicked out of the other. I submitted countless documents and contact information of why i failed to get a sap extension. No only did not get it but they also lied to me saying if I paid back my $380 I could get back in to school and classes. This school doesn't not care for you. Found a another school and let this rot to the ground! read more

I'm just enrolling in classes for my graduate degree. Unfortunately, it is NOT $0 out of pocket for military graduate students using TA!!! You have to pay $85 out of pocket per class for their "Technology Fee". This is really poorly informed to students when enrolling. That's a LOT when it's not expected. Don't be blind-sighted like I was. You will be paying around $850 out of pocket. Be aware when selecting universities. It's super unfair but they're very dismissive if you ask about it and just say "it's new, it is what it is." read more

APU is part of the American Public University System (APUS), which actually started as American Military University in the 1990s. As an alum, I recommend APUS as an affordable option for quality post secondary education. ++ Pre admission transcript evaluation is available for free, and it's fast and convenient. Classes start every month, giving you extra flexibility. Financial aid, advising, and other student support services are available on the phone and through email, and the speed of responses and the quality and reliability of assistance are overall outstanding. Tuition is $270 per credit hour for non-military students, and even less for military students. There are many, diverse service opportunities for students and alumnus, including clubs and societies. Graduation is held once a year in Maryland, and the school puts much effort into the planning to make it an enjoyable event for graduates. read more

So far my experience has been horrible and I have not begun classes. I requested my official transcripts over and expected to get transfer credit to cover many classes because I have a MA and BA degree already. Then I read no their website that they don't allow college courses to be used if they are over ten years old except for electives. First snafu. Second snafu is that you cannot reach people or departments directly they have one number to call. So for an online university, they don't have sufficient staff?! Third snafu, I have funds from volunteering that are coming to the university for payment of courses. I tried to verify if they have them so I can register. No way to do this online. Financial office cannot verify either. Apparently only one person can!! They could not transfer me to that person or provide any direct contact. I was told to email that person via financial aid office. So I did, that person got back to me in an email and failed to answer as to whether the funds are in and merely told me how I could use these funds to register. Great...getting no where. Emailing people in registration, financial aid, advisors is a frustrating experience and the answers are never there and more follow up. Right now I am on hold and have been on the phone an HOUR and have talked to three people trying to still find out if the funds are in! At this point, I really just want to drop the whole thing but getting my funds transferred out would probably be a nightmare.on read more

Some professors have been awesome, but I cannot overlook the bad professors I have had. The administration is basically useless. The complaint line takes days to respond back and does nothing to help you. My mental health has been quite affected by the bad experiences. Much of the curriculum is seriously out of date, what an absolute joke. I have learned very little of what I can actually use in the working world. And for the love of god, avoid taking ENTD268 and ENTD278, they are the worst courses I have ever taken. read more

I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Homeland Security from "American Military University" (A.K.A. "American Public University System" and various other shady names). As a military veteran, this school was strongly recommended to me by other vets and the on-base education centers. They structure their prices so that your Post 9/11 GI-Bill covers all expenses and you can take classes very easily. The only other good thing I can say about them is that my degree plan was awesome and incredibly flexible. Most other universities TELL you EXACTLY which classes you need to take to graduate. AMU was drastically more flexible and open-ended on this, giving you a large list of classes you can take which will apply toward your degree and allowing you to choose which ones you personally feel would be most educational for you and/or useful for your career goals. As such, I was able to take a very diverse array of classes for my "Homeland Security" degree, including criminal justice, intelligence analysis and public policy classes. Everything else about this school was absolute HELL on earth. Their professors are awful and the administrators are worse. Every employee you encounter is out to screw you over in some horrific way, and they often succeed. One of the many departments that screwed me was the transfer credit department. I have a large amount of college credit for training courses I completed through FEMA. At the time, I was also an employee of FEMA and I knew exactly how much credit the courses were worth. AMU concocted some absurd lies about needing to convert "clock hours" to "credit hours" in order to slash my credit in half. I forwarded them incontrovertible evidence from FEMA that their courses are already evaluated in credit hours, so no "conversion" is necessary. They simply refused to respond to me any further after that. I had a problem with one professor who didn't like my political opinion and refused to grade any of my assignments until I agreed to change my opinion to conform to his. I cited the requirement from the university handbook stating the professors have seven days to grade an assignment after it has been submitted by the student. He retaliated by having some faceless administrator named Frank Turner send me a blatantly libelous "warning letter" with a bunch of false accusations. I had conclusive evidence that Mr. Turner's accusations were false and engaged in the school's "appeals process" to get his libelous warning revoked. It took MONTHS of fighting them, but a senior executive at the school finally admitted that both the professor and Turner had lied their asses off and revoked the letter. No punishment for either Turner or the professor, of course. If you are a student here, use "RateMyProfessor.com" to check EVERY professor before you sign up for their class. If they have crappy ratings, don't take their class. And if the professor gives you even the tiniest amount of trouble during the first week of class, drop the class ASAP so you don't miss the drop date and demand a FULL refund of your money. Or better yet, just don't waste your money at this school in the first place. Plenty of other schools have good benefits for military vets and will treat you with more respect as well. read more

Don't go here. I use to believe the hype. In fact, I was a University Ambassador and convinced, no tricked many into thinking what a good school this was and to go there. Fact is, it is a joke. Professors 'mail in' classes and there were times I legitimately did poorly on an assignment or problem and was still given an 'A'. You'll notice whenever questions are asked on Yahoo and/or Facebook the flood of positive things people say. Its because Ambassador's are notified when questions like this are posted and told/begged to go and support the school. Almost 2 years after getting my MBA I'm still trying to get a related job and employers constantly question the validity of the degree. I was told, "career services will help you". Yeah right. After a couple emails they cut off communication and have ignored me. People often talk about regrets in life, for me it was going here and subsequently tricking people into going to this school. It makes me sick to my stomach, to know how many lives I have may have ruined. read more

AVOID AT ALL COST! I decided to try this college because online is convenient and it was regionally accredited. I took a few classes and I was satisfied until it came to a challenging class. I emailed the professor, student services, and my advisor. I was directed back to my professor. DO YOU THINK HE EVER EMAILED ME BACK? NO!!! I had zero support from an education I was paying so much on. Long story short..... I LEFT! A few month later, I contacted the registrar office for a copy of my official transcript. They said they could NOT release it because I had a balance due but they did give me an option to order a unofficial copy. I went online and ordered it. The system also gave me an option to order another transcript titled CCAF. I don't know if the system was down this day, but there was no description below the title. I just saw the title and the cost which was official @ $10.00 vs the unofficial @ $5.00. I placed the order and received my unofficial hours later. Afterwards I received confirmation emails. The official transcript was sent to a military college. WHO AUTHORIZED THIS?? Registrar office said apparently, I did and they don't issue refunds in a very snobby (I'm TRYING TO PROVE A POINT and I'M THE AUTHORITY FIGURE) type tone. Ugh, it completely disgusted me. I advised her that my personal information is on that document and I do not feel comfortable knowing that it has gone to a place I don't know.... Her reaction...... Tough TIT! She was a complete B-Word and has completed setting the tone of the relationship between me and the college. I think she was a transcript specialist in the registrar office. FYI - No refund could be issued! read more

I have been given misleading information from the start. This school does not get back to you and is very unprofessional. I was told I would receive a textbook due to a disability from my military service. Its week 4 and still no book. They also were misleading about tuition assistance. They were completely useless with technical support. read more

This "School" is a joke. Online Classes are convenient for time management... but the support you get from any department/teacher is laughable. You also don't get any course syllabus-schedules before the first day of the course, but work is due pretty much immediately. You have no opportunity to read materials or time to adequately prepare for the first assignments since they do not publicize course assignment-due-dates or even required reading before your first day in the course. They should publish course assignment scheduled (maybe not in-depth paper topics, grading matrices, etc --- but at least "Week 1: read XYZ, forum post on ABC due by 123, XXpg Paper due on 987", etc etc. Beyond that, they don't even allow real-time payment online for accounts/courses. If you sign up for a class and want to pay in full --- THEY DON'T HAVE AN ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM FOR IMMEDIATE PAYMENTS. I don't understand how in 2020 you can venmo friends money immeidately, but an online school won't let you make a payment to your account without SOMEONE ELSE having to process it 2-4 days later. read more

Did my bachelors at APU and had an avg experience, mostly just taught myself with little direct instruction from the instructors. Stayed at APU for my masters since I was familiar with the format. Horrible experience! Had some personal emergencies pop up with a 2-month premature baby arrival, wife needing surgery that took her off her feet for a month, and my live in 70-yr mom had two heart surgeries. This all happened within a 30 day span. I appealed to the instructors, but they just kept marking my stuff late without any regard to my new time limitations. I had to do an official extension and even a special extension, with one special extension being denied. When I got some of the assignments in before the extension deadlines, the instructors refused to even grade them saying that they needed them on certain dates within the extension window. Screwed up my GPA & had to pay back my job for 1 course. I'm transferring to another college and I'm done with merciless robots as teachers. read more

American Public University is a great school, regionally accredited, so your credits will transfer to traditional brick and mortar schools. I earned many of my credits at a California State University, but due to work and family obligations, I transferred to APU to complete my bachelor's degree in accounting. I am currently enrolled in the MBA program. The online experience does require students to be self-motivated, but the caliber of teachers has been exceptional for the most part. Many of my professors have doctorate degrees and are engaged and helpful. There have been 1 or 2 I felt were not as attentive as they should be, but this is comparable to a traditional university. I have had no trouble with the acceptance of my degree by my employer, but I have received a snide comment or two from a coworker, who by the way does not have a degree. It is my opinion that the quality of online degrees from accredited institutions should be considered equal to degrees obtained from state university systems, it is the quality of education that I would equate it to. read more

American Public University System (APUS) has two universities within it. American Military University, for those who served or are currently serving in the Military or other government sectors. American Public University is for those who don't fit that side. I don't think there's too much of a difference between them, other than the name which will show up on your diploma. (I stand corrected... your degree program determines which school you call under. 1/27/2014). The school is conducted completely online, which is a definite plus. They have people available by phone and email, should you need them. Their phone system generally doesn't let you hold for a department for more than 3-5 minutes before it switches you to a voicemail system. They do a pretty good job of calling you back the same day or the next day. Email responses are pretty quick, too. Every semester, you are given 10 hours of tutoring from smartthinking.com. I spent two years with this university and am graduating with them. Financial aid was not hard to deal with. If you got caught up in their virtual office or you want to speak with someone, they are there to help you. Sometimes they are quite busy so you have to leave a message and wait for them to call back. I've had very few problems with financial aid. After the first year/semester, it's easier because they pre-fill your information, so you just have to update it. The school also automatically sends out your books about a week or so before your classes start. I believe they are included with the tuition, but I'm not totally sure on that. Registering for classes was pretty intuitive. Sometimes they offer classes that you can't register for (despite being qualified for them) and the student services will help you around that obstacle. The layout of what you have done (with the school) and what you need to do makes planning a lot easier. You can see your progress, too, which is a nice touch. Your current GPA of completed classes is always available. They do not post the grades from your transferred credits. Classes are either 8 weeks or 16 weeks. They start at the beginning of every month. Some classes are only 8, while others have both time periods. The virtual classrooms themselves are relatively easy to navigate. They make it easy to find your syllabus, discussion areas, and upcoming assignments and exams. You can email your classmates as well as your instructor. Generally, all of the classes require you to post to the discussion boards. Some teachers expect you to be more involved than others. Given that a lot of students are in the military and are possibly deployed, teachers will work with their students on timelines for assignments. Now the professors themselves. This is where APUS loses a star. I have had a few fantastic professors who really care about what you are learning, and that you are troubling yourself to learn it. The majority of them seem to be okay if you turn in your work on time and put some effort into it. A lot of them are not nit-picky about things, although I wish they would have made more effort in showing me what I could have done to improve my work. I know I'm not perfect, but I will stagnate if I'm not getting any feedback other than "good job." Then there are the teachers who are all but absent from their classes. They are fewer and farther in-between, but they're there. They don't care if your work is turned in on time, or if it's shoddy. They may just have too much on their plate, but it really cheats out their students and the school. APUS works hard to fight against plagiarism. It's difficult as a student to see someone who is copying and pasting information from the internet and it seems like nothing is being done about it. The professor may or may not know, and obviously they can't tell you what disciplinary action is being taken against that student. The professors who care will be vigilant in making sure you are not plagiarizing, either on purpose or especially by accident. That's pretty important for real world application. In all, APUS wants you to succeed. They give you as many opportunities to do well as possible. If you have a concern, they will listen. They send out surveys at the end of each class so they can figure out how well the school is doing, how the professor was, and how the class was. I will recommend this university and their programs to family, friends, and anyone else who wants to go back to school. I will definitely consider applying for a graduate school program here. read more

When I first started at APUS everything was okay. However after taking six classes I have been informed that APUS does not have the CEPH accreditation for their Public Health Program. This is something they have known from the beginning however this information was never explained/presented to me. I was informed that the University was trying to achieve this accreditation however nothing is promised. Therefore I have contacted other schools, hoping to transfer, but no school will accepts these credits. Therefore I asked APUS for a refund and they have denied my request and stated this issue is my fault......students beware.....this school withheld information from me in order to obtain money, now I have to start all over and pay again. This is ridiculous!!! read more

AMU is largely hit and miss... If you have an instructor who is teaching at a traditional school while teaching at AMU on the side, chances are you're going to get the short end of the stick when it comes to attention because they are more concerned with their work with "real" students. Check the instructor bios; if they only teach at AMU, that's a good indication you'll get the attention you deserve. Keep in mind that the curriculum is NOT set by the instructors, it is set by the school; thus, the curriculum you are required to complete is often out of synch with the text you are required to read. Occasionally I had to use online question/answer services to complete assignments because the information I needed was not in the text I was given. Then again, you should count yourself lucky to even get a textbook. In order to cut costs, AMU will often require students in the United States to use E-text; in other words, you have to read off the computer. Of course, it could be worse, and it is. In some classes you aren't given a text at all. Instead, you utilize materials online. While much of the materials used in this way are relevant to what you are studying, they are often excerpts from various textbooks and do not provide students an opportunity to develop continuity of the information they are learning. Online materials can be valuable, but they should be used in addition to a text, not instead of one. This would not be too bad if it were for an introductory 100 level class, but when I saw AMU doing this for complex 400 level classes, I decided it was time to go. Sure, AMU is accredited. Sure, you'll get a degree. But the EDUCATION you receive will be of extreme low quality. AMU can be useful. Take classes that are difficult for you here since you are not subject to proctored exams. Also, with 8 week semesters, this is a good school to use to get those pesky general education requirements out of the way quick, then jump back to a real school to finish the core requirements and actually learn something. Overall, the education to be had at AMU is of very low quality, and I could not in good conscious recommend them to anyone. read more

In the middle of obtaining an M.A. in Global History via their online learning environment. The good: APUS makes it very easy to apply and submit materials online. The approval process is very easy. The account page is very intuitive, and there is a link for just about everything. Also, the online "classroom" environment is very intuitive and has very few bugs (i.e. it doesn't crash and links are clearly labeled). Last, APUS is cheap and convenient. The bad: Books aren't finalized until the day classes start, which is annoying and unpractical. One professor has been very kind and helpful, but the rest have not. Assignment expectations are not clearly defined in the syllabus. The online "classroom" is very outdated - in the sense that the resources and materials were probably relevant at a much earlier date. For example, there are a lot of broken links, incorrect dates, missing information regarding assignment details, etc. There is also very little professor-student interaction. Sure, they are available and sometimes will respond to forums posts. However, I have yet to see a professor actually TEACH anything. There are no lectures; their point of view is never given prior to beginning a new weekly module; they do not provide insight regarding the subject. They are there to grade assignments and provide obligatory, forced and thoughtless feedback. That's it. Do not expect anything else. I've taken quite a few online classes from different institutions; each professor, at the very least, provided clear expectations, gave a weekly "lecture" of some sort, and personally reached out to their students. After six courses at APUS, it's clear that such expectations are much too high. I've had only one professor truly engage with students and provide meaningful instruction. Otherwise, I've had much better instruction from community colleges. APUS operates more like a corporation, not an educational institution. In the end, I suppose you get what you pay for. This is a for-profit, ultra cheap school. Profits are first, academics are second. The only reason one would become a student at APUS is for a degree, not an actual education. I would definitely not recommend this school to anyone. read more

Having taken graduate courses in a "brick-and-mortar", reputable school in California, I can bring a comparison to this university. I'll do it simply as a pro, con, then summary. PROS--It's all online, work at your own pace to meet deadlines. It is much cheaper than other schools. It is regionally accredited, which means that is the highest a university can achieve. Its credits do transfer. The classes (I was in the history program) were pretty good. The required readings were good selections, and I did learn a lot. Most of the professors are understanding, and realize they are dealing mostly with adults than teens, and it felt like I was treated as such. CONS--It's all online...meaning if you are somebody that needs a 2-4 hour lecture to learn, this is not for you. I don't need a lecture to learn. Professors are accessible via email, but I know for some people they prefer to talk in person. Also, sometimes emails aren't returned the same day. Whereas at a "brick-and-mortar" school you can speak with the professor after class, not so here. The biggest concern I had was that my Masters Degree would not be accepted for employment reasons, for salary points, etc. Yet, in my current employment, it was not an issue. Like I said above, the school is regionally accredited, which means on that level there is not any difference between APUS/AMU and Harvard....which leads me to my next point. Some believe online schools are basically "mills": APUS, Capella, Walden, Univ. of Phoenix etc. Moreover, people believe that the degrees from these schools will not be "seen" as highly regarded as a degree from Harvard, Columbia, Yale, etc. There may be some validity to these arguments, but that argument can apply to any school. For example, if I had a degree from California State University, Bakersfield and the person I was applying against had a degree from Harvard, the same argument would apply.....Harvard would be more highly regarded over APUS AND many other smaller, lesser known "brick-and-mortar" schools. Also, more and more "brick-and-mortar" schools are putting more classes and degree programs online. The stigma of earning a degree online is quickly falling by the wayside. Most big universities have a distance education program. Even the great USC has a 100% online M.Ed. program.....which costs much, much, more than the APUS M.Ed. All I can say is that the credits I earned at AMU/APUS have never been questioned by any employer I've worked with. (and believe me, given today's economy, they are certainly looking for ways to not have to pay people more money) Also, I learned... ****I was in the history program. I can't speak for fields that require professional licenses/certification. read more

***Update to previous review. *** I will start by say that this school is not perfect. However, this it provides a great alternative for adults that work full-time jobs or those who are active duty military. AMU accepted my Joint Services Transcript credits and applied them toward my elective requirements. They also accepted my military medical training credit hours for the medical related courses in the degree plan. This left me with only five general education courses. Six months later I graduated with an AAS in Health Sciences. My associates degree was a great stepping stone to getting my BS. I recommend AMU to active military members looking for an online education. However, I'd recommend a community college or another brick and mortar school to veterans with GI benefits. read more

this message was from my instructor gregory harms for acct105 . i submitted it and he accused me of plagerism giving me no chance to resubmit it like he clearly states i would have the chance to do so. he then proceeded to give me a zero and inform me he had turned me in to academics. the school did nothing about this. they would not even let me change instructors and this one clearly did not like me. at the time my sister had been in a fatal car accident and he was aware of this. i have never felt so awful until the way i was treated at apu. hi again cressie. as has been stated in many areas of the classroom, if the similarity index comes back too high, you need to contact me to reset the assignment so that you can submit a revised version. if it is still too high, then contact me again and we keep doing this until it gets down to an acceptable similarity index or we run out of time. that is why i encourage everyone to get it turned in a couple days before the due date so that if editing is needed, there is time to get in touch with me to get it reset and to do the editing before the sunday midnight deadline. dr. harms read more

So far so good. Getting my MSA here. School never did cold calling to me to sell me an education. My advisor responded ALL my questions within an hour or two! Professor responded my questions within 12 hrs. read more

I am 6 months away from graduating - receiving my Info sys. security degree. I can honestly say that the class is challenging but in a good way. They teach relevant stuff for real work. I already have real IT work experiences so the classes just enhances my fundamental knowledge about IT and teach me some more. The labs are very good as well. I am giving it a 4 or would give 4.5 star because in one of my elective class the teacher switched for some reason towards of the semester and kinda got my grades little messed up. I know it is online classes but it is not much difference from being in class (I was in community college sitting in class). The only difference is that it is online. Teachers give you real work to actually make you really think and research about the assignments. Many people say that the grading system is a joke because there is so much leeway but if you don't really put in your effort you would actually get a failing grade so make sure you do your work! Also having 2 "7 - 10" page paper in 8 weeks is tough, where as in real class environment you get one 10 page paper due in 16 weeks. Some classes want you to write 1 - 2 page paper every week so it is tough. Its not the different from real sitting in college environment. Over all the school is good, people who looks down on for profit colleges probably got fooled by ITT tech institute or something. read more