Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Executive Secretaries And Administrative Assistants
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Front Range Community College and Community College of Denver.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Community College of Denver and Arapahoe.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Arapahoe, Front Range Community College, and Community College of Denver.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Colorado Northwestern Community College and Arapahoe.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Colorado Northwestern Community College.
Excellence
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Colorado Northwestern Community College.
Spotlight Schools Search
Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Doctorate
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Diploma
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Colorado Technical University • Colorado Springs, CO
Studying Business (completion in 2008)
• 8/14/2011
"The online learning experience overall was positive. I feel there are many people who succeed due to increasing their value package through education. This did not seem to happen for me."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I think it actually depends on the company you are working for when you decide to pursue higher learning. Some companies will increase one's pay and/or position to reward the employee for going above and beyond through education, but others will not. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | My program was BSBA with an emphasis in project management. The school doesn't rank very highly among construction professionals. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The program seemed adequate, but due to being an online school, not all employers view it equally to a brick and mortar degree. Some employers feel that an online school is much too easy to be adequate for professionals. |
| Instruction | 8 | I feel the entire program was adequate, other than assistance with finding work following graduation. Many colleges do have a form of job placement, however this one did not. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Even though it is an online school, it required daily work. It is always difficult to devote a major part of your life while raising children and working full time. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | With an online school it seems to be all book learning due to the online learning environment. Adventures in business are not the same as with the medical field, which require clinicals. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | For an online school I feel the schedule was better than another online school I attended for an Associate's Degree. It was up to the individual to check in appropriately for course materials and meet the due dates. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | CTU offered a wealth of resources in order to complete tasks and coursework. Online libraries today are much better than physical libraries and instructors are available pretty much around the clock to help students. |
| Social Life | 5 | With an online school it is difficult to socialize unless one is adjusted to a chat environment. Just as with a brick and mortar school, by the time a student's work is done, there is not much time to socialize if you have family responsibilities. |
| Placement Services | 3 | Even though this area may have improved since 2008, it was quite lacking at that time. I do not recall any form of career placement at the time of graduating. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | I did not participate much in online school activities. As far as support for academics, it was fairly easy to find as the school offers 24-7 support. |
Pikes Peak Community College • Colorado Springs, CO
Studying Liberal Arts (completion in 2007)
• 10/28/2011
"Average community college. I got my degree and moved on to a 4 year institution."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would suggest doing a 60-60 credit transfer to a 4 year university because the cost is cheaper. I would not recommend them for people who don't know what they want to do when they graduate. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | I went into college not knowing what I wanted to do. A lot of people get an Associate's in Liberal Arts because they want to get finished up and move on to a bigger, better university. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The degree I received has not helped me to get any additional jobs. Employers don't care if you have an Associate's degree. |
| Instruction | 5 | The junior college that I went to was average. It was difficult to get career advising after you get your degree. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The degree that I got did not involve difficult courses. I wanted to finish up my degree quickly and move on to a 4 year university. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Liberal arts degrees tend to be more book learning rather than hands on. Hands on work tended to be in the science related courses (biology, chemistry, etc.). | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | There's flexible scheduling due to it being a community college. Night, weekend and online classes were available. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | I only used the library and computer labs. The library was mediocre with most of my book rentals being from other academic institutions instead of the one I attended. |
| Social Life | 1 | I went there for 6+ years and never knew the mascot. I also didn't know about any additional social clubs/events. |
| Placement Services | 1 | They never told me that they have a career development center and they may not. I was not offered any insight into what I can do after I got my degree. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I registered as an alumni and haven't heard anything from them in the 4+ years since I graduated from there. They don't have a career development center either which would help. |
Western State College Of Colorado • Gunnison, CO
Studying Business Administration (completion in 1998)
• 11/19/2011
"Looking back, I would have taken on the debt to attend a school that was rated higher. At the time, it was the best decision for me, as it was cheap and I was able to get a degree without acquiring any debt."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | From my experience, I found the education to be acceptable, but the information was old and idyllic. It would have been nice to graduate and have been up to date on technology and not to have to spend the next 4 years learning about the way a real business operates. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | This is not a college people choose for business administration anymore, as far as I know. I would not recommend it. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I found the information was two or three years out of date when I secured my first position after graduating, making me scramble to gather the most up-to-date information. The tenured educators who taught seemed to fall back on antiquated information frequently; they were not able to answer the challenging questions from students who were truly enthusiastic and inquisitive about the current emergent situations in the business world. |
| Instruction | 5 | Instructors were more occupied with their personal projects than with providing the education students came for, and they would fall back on prefabricated course schedules from years past. The information the instructors provided was often too out of date to be applicable in the current business markets; more work on their part to keep their classes current would have been most helpful. |
| How Difficult | 3 | Because the courses were based off of older and often antiquated business practices, there was very little challenge or opportunity for pushing the boundaries, other than hypothetical situations. Because the educators were teaching to the test, exceptional grades were the norm. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It seemed as if professors self-published and then made supplemental income by requiring that students purchase their texts for their courses. The entire experience was a litany of self-aggrandizement through text. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The courses were pretty inflexible, offering no online options, few evening options and no weekend options. Please consider that I attended college more than 10 years ago, so these options were not really the norm for small state colleges. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The facilities were constantly being improved and the library was excellent. Study groups were also easy to attend, but accessing time to professors was close to impossible. |
| Social Life | 4 | I never found a cohesive experience, but instead found fractious groups and very little cooperation when working for a common goal. The student government was a joke, and the athletic field, though varied and well funded, was always on the bottom tier. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I never received any assistance for job placement, nor did I receive an offer from the school to provide this service. Students were given a diploma, a pat on the back and sent on their way. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | I have only received petitions for money as an alumnus and never received any support in job searches. Because I paid my tuition in cash, I never had any experiences with assistance and follow-up with financial aid; however, I have acquaintances that had very poor experiences working with the financial aid department in financing and paying off their education. |
Mesa State • Grand Junction, CO
Studying Finance (completion in 2009)
• 11/30/2011
"Very satisfied. Worth every penny."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Maybe if they have a limited budget. Maybe if they live in Grand Junction. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | Does not have a reputation for being a business school. More of an education and engineering school. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I should have had more accounting classes. I think I need to take additional classes. |
| Instruction | 10 | Instruction was fine for the classes I had. Wish I would have had more accounting classes, though. |
| How Difficult | 4 | Could have been harder. More analytical and case study skills. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Hands-on learning was great. Plenty of experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Class availability is poor. Class options are limited. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Recently updated. Adequate facilities. |
| Social Life | 6 | Social life is great. Community was a great size. |
| Placement Services | 8 | The career center is helpful. Job placement is hard. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | No network events. Doesn't have an alumni program. |
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