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My Fair Assessment of My Learning Experience as a Graduate Student at CSU Global

As a self-directed, autodidactic learner, I found CSU Global’s learning platform well-suited to my needs. The format required me to carefully review assignments to complete projects and critical thinking exercises effectively. Most professors maintained high academic standards, provided valuable feedback, and expected graduate-level quality work. To meet these expectations, I had to manage my time efficiently, ensuring... Read More that I produced high-quality submissions on schedule.

My major was Analytics, a subset of Data Science, which involved extensive modeling, data mining, applied statistical methods, and the development of predictive models to demonstrate various functions and results. I graduated about five years ago and greatly value the experience. However, due to the program’s rigor and intensity, I would not choose to go through it again.

My only disappointment was with one specialization course related to financial crimes and fraud investigation. The professor in this course imposed unnecessary restrictions on the use of certain credible sources—despite frequently citing and paraphrasing from them herself during class discussions. This inconsistency was frustrating, and many of my fellow students found it unreasonable. As a graduate student accustomed to the rigor of the scientific method, I prioritized using credible, peer-reviewed sources. However, fraud investigation within criminal justice sometimes necessitates different types of information compared to traditional data science. For this reason, I referenced reputable government and criminal justice websites—some of which the professor herself used—yet she was overly strict in discouraging their use without providing a valid explanation.

By imposing arbitrary restrictions, she introduced artificial difficulty into the course, making it unnecessarily challenging in ways unrelated to the actual subject matter. Academic rigor should stem from engaging with complex content, not from prohibiting the use of widely accepted, credible sources.

Aside from this one specialization course, my overall learning experience at CSU Global was both challenging and highly rewarding.

I would soon be completing the MS degree in data analytics. And my experience here is so far good. Though it is not an in-person encounter, the interactive lectures and discussions give kind of a similar experience even when it is a fast-paced course(in my opinion). The study material is updated regularly and is almost always supplemented with LinkedIn videos for easy understanding. The reading material, interactive lectures, and videos hold the key to completing the assignments and completing education... Read More at CSU-Global. Professors always respond to your questions and try to guide /answer your queries in the best possible manner. One drawback is that the knowledge gained here is basic to intermediate compared to industry preparation standards for full-fledged data science job. But it is enough to give you a new career perspective and give a high-level overview of the field. Also, one other thing to consider is that you are mainly on your own to move forward with your course and understand the material (which is not very tough). However, information about the concepts is easily available online if not understood through the course material. And professors are flexible to set up zoom calls to explain the concepts and clear doubts. Good luck!!

I am wrapping up the last of 2 prerequisites for the Master's in Data Analytics program. I decided to "attend" CSU Global because they had a delayed payment through my employer. I am now working with my employer to transfer my enrollment to another academic institution because I no longer believe there is any value in a degree from CSU Global. CSU Global uses a standard template for each class. They assign a PhD advisor who grades your assignments and takes questions. They don't necessarily answer... Read More your questions, but they will reply. The first prerequisite had assignments and references 2-3 software versions old. The instructor was active on the discussions but many times it wasn't relevant to the original post. In one case my response had an entire paragraph on information security to which he replied, "You may want to consider information security in you response." I managed to earn a 99.82 with just checking the blocks. The textbook contained so many technical and grammatical errors that it was nearly impossible to complete the reading, even had it been relevant to the class. The current course I'm taking, the professor stated that the "rubric was just a place holder from when they set up the class." He then used that rubic to score the assignments with no rhyme or reason.You'd think it was a technical writing class because you will probably lose more points on APA formatting than the actual content of you submission. Meanwhile, the assignments and other content fail to follow APA formatting, use complete sentences, and have grammatical errors. In one case, I lost points for not citing any references in an assignment that said, "using excel, complete the flowing tasks." excel file." Keeping all that in mind, if you just want a resume bump, by all means attend this "academic institution." While you're at it drop another $50 on one of many websites that have solutions to the entire curriculum because it never changes. I don't write this because I believe CSU Global is too easy or the format is inappropriate. The problem is there is no effort on their part to actually add value to the courses. Every session seems to be taught by someone different calling into question their actual qualifications or the standard the University sets.

I'm not entirely sure what's behind some of the negative reviews on here, but perhaps some people have unreasonable expectations or a misunderstanding of what education is. I've been to in person universities and now CSU Global, and there are good professors and bad professors in each. When you have a bad professor, you muddle through without crying about it. Most of my profs have been reasonably good. With the online format, "reasonably good" means acceptable. You are not going to get an in-person... Read More lecture nor a qa session from this format; It is a curated and (usually) updated set of slides with linked supplemental material. The lecture material itself is pretty lame, but I typically found that to be true for traditional in person classes as well. The value of this program is in the assembled materials and assignments from the combination of courses that meet the program objectives. The combination of program materials will prepare you for a new career perspective. Like any university program, you are not going to be fully trained to jump into the workforce and start kicking butt. You will end up with a high-level overview of the entire field with a focus on research skills (this is an academic degree). Based on that overview, you will need to build your personal skillsets and take on a professional internship if you don't already have a job in your field, just like in the traditional university format. If you are expecting a professor to walk you through a book chapter by chapter the way they frequently do for in-person university courses, it doesn't happen here. Completing the assigned reading holds the key to education at CSU Global. If you have ever been serious about attending a university at any level, the same is true. If you are not reading, you are not learning. You are largely on your own to get through and understand the material. I can't speak for the undergrad program, but from beginning to end of a masters program, I will have written about 90 4-15 page research papers and projects, longer for capstones. If you hate writing, hate doing research, and think that writing 90 research papers on focused topics won't give you any value, then you should pass on this. If you write 90 pieces of trash, then you probably won't get much out of it, since the professors won't hold your hand through that. But if you write 90 best effort research papers, you may learn more than you probably ever did in an in person course. Its entirely up to you. If you are looking for prestige, I hear Stanford is pretty good.

I am a current student at CSU Global in the Data Analytics Masters program. I am attending the program based on its extraordinarily affordable tuition rates and its accreditation which will no doubt advance my career. However after taking 6 courses so far, and receiving an A in all classes so far, I can tell that this degree will not be as helpful as I hoped. Some of the professors beat around the topics in such a degree that I can't help imagine they care too much about the topic and the students... Read More taking the course. In my current course, for example, I am in week 4 of 8 (as each class is taken in 8 week periods) and we are still having assignments that entail just downloading analytical applications and using surface layer options. I was expecting a bit more of a challenge that would make me feel comfortable seeking higher paying jobs after I completed the degree, but I am starting to realize it is just a very low starting step.