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Actually my sister in law(lives in Houston) got her in Bachelor's in Accounting from University of Phoenix last year. She was a stay at home mom with no experience and got a job easily working as an accountant at an major oil company. She started about 50K per year. FYI she is also working on her Masters at Sam Houston University. So NOI I don't think you're wasting you're time. Keep with it, you only have one more year to go! Good Luck
My company is paying tuition reimbursement. They only pay a percentage, roughly 25%, and do not mind if it is an online degree.
I agree with you, that would indicate that they would take the degree seriously, but it concerns me that your company won't pay for an online degree. If something happens at my company (even great companies are going under these days) I want to be hirable elsewhere.
Should I look into transferring to my local university? This would be difficult time-wise (I go online because I have a family and a full time job) and I might lose credits in the transfer.
NAU is known primarily for being a finanicial aid scam. They encourage their students to take out gobs of federal loans without much counseling on their repayment.
NAU was also widely known to be a diploma mill but recently got some sort of accreditation. If your company doesn't care than you are probably fine.
NAU is National American University. It's an online college similar to University of Phoenix.
The school is regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association. I'd continue with it if you have three years in. Regionally accredited is the key.
NAU was also widely known to be a diploma mill but recently got some sort of accreditation. If your company doesn't care than you are probably fine.
Unless the web site I read has the wrong information, NAU has a lot more than "some sort of accreditation." It's a regionally accredited school that has been around for 60 years. They have a real campus and cater to military folks. I think there was a scam university around with a similar name. Could that be what you are thinking of?
An accounting degree's value depends largely upon three things:
1. Does it get you the accreditation necessary to sit for the CPA exam?
2. Did you learn the profession well enough to pass the CPA exam?
3. Have the University's contacts given you access to interview with companies you may not have otherwise had a chance with?
If the answer to the above is no, you may want to consider working with another University. Hopefully many of your credits will transfer. However, a degree is still worth more than no degree. Additionally, if your company will use that degree to open a door for you to gain better experience, that will quickly surpass the influence of the degree itself.
The major thing in an accounting program is to be able to sit for the CPA exam - if your program doesn't qualify you to do so, it's absolutely worthless. PASSING the CPA exam is also very important (and difficult).
Also, to note is does this program have the proper accreditation to get you into a post-bacc accounting/master's in accounting/MBA program down the line if you decide to go that route? You probably don't have plans to go to Harvard or Wharton but if you want to go to a good program somewhere can this degree get you in the door or would you be forced to go to a lesser accredited/sketchy online program?
Some topics lend themselves to online learning and if you come out PREPARED for whatever it is you want to do that's teriffic. I do question why people pay so much money for an online degree if it's cheaper to go to campus though.
Some topics lend themselves to online learning and if you come out PREPARED for whatever it is you want to do that's teriffic. I do question why people pay so much money for an online degree if it's cheaper to go to campus though.
For any of the following:
1) The school in question has no standards for admission so the person doesn't have to take standardized tests/write essays or do any of that "hard" stuff to get in.
2) For undergrad: the person in question can't get into a 4 year college and thinks this is better than going to community college
3) They fall for the non-stop ads on tv, in newspapers, online etc and don't do any further research to find out that you can do an online degree from a reputed brick and mortar school often more cheaply
4) No other school will take this person due to GPA, prior degrees with sketchy accreditation, bad scores, criminal record, etc, etc.
5) Some people legitimately can't go to class on a regular basis due to work/family requirements and think these schools are the only way they can further their education
I would stick with the program if you are learning a great deal about your field. Employers just want to see a degree from an accredited college these days. I think you'll be fine.
Your degree certainly won't be as respected as one from another university, but you're mostly finished and since the company is reimbursing you, you may as well finish. Just be aware that compared to the rest of the accounting field, your credentials don't put you at the front of the pack. But it's probably better than the jobs you would get without a degree at all.
Once again I think it is important to distinguish between online and for-profit schools. There are many respected online degree programs--even some ivy league schools have them. For-profit schools are corporations whose sole purpose is to make money. They exist in both online and brick-and-mortar formats, and it is not the format that is the issue. The problem is that because their sole aim is profit, they have no incentive to impose admissions or grading standards. And therefore the degrees they award are virtually meaningless.
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The value of a degree
