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I am a long-time (thirty-plus years) healthcare professional who currently still works at the bedside doing bedside care and diagnostic testing in a federal medical facility. I desired to pursue a master's degree outside my current profession. However, I wanted there to be some relationship in a broader sense in terms of safety, mass casualty events, hazmat concerns, public administrations, etc. These types of events are unfortunately becoming more prevalent everywhere! It is essential that the program... Read More would allow me to maintain my full-time employment, especially during COVID. I do not have a job where I can call off and stay at home. I also work predominantly off-tours, every weekend, extended night shifts, and an occasional emergency call-in. Additionally, I have an elder parent in a bordering state that I frequently travel home to check in on. In other words, nuances that make a traditional brick-and-mortar institution frown upon those of us who have the desire to further our education but need a pathway forward. WE ARE GOOD EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS when allowed to forge ahead! I embarked on a somewhat unfamiliar major, but after reading about it, I wanted in! MS Emergency Services Management was perfect for me. I learned something new, so it kept me engaged, and the field is an eye-opener to some of the thought processes behind the realm of terrorism and homeland security. I should mention that Columbia Southern University has these courses and related degrees for those who wish to take their knowledge in that direction. My journey was extremely positive. Coming home to an empty house in the prime of the COVID pandemic after wearing a sweat-filled mask and other gear was a depressing gut punch physically and psychologically. There were times when I could not come home for days/nights, let alone visit family members...especially an elder parent. Going to school online at a positive institution that encouraged me in my demise saved my sanity!!! Starting off is always a bit scary, and technology was unkind to me initially! Expect this when you haven't been in school for decades! Yes, several decades! This institution works with the willing! HAVE YOUR CRY and GET BACK UP! Let yourself being PISSED OFF MOTIVATE YOU, and by golly get the HECK back up, and CRUSH IT! This institution is not for everyone but does fill an enormous void for working professionals, single parents, hard-working two-parent households, deployed men or women, someone who perhaps is homebound for any number of reasons, and for the person who cannot even get home!!! Let THAT sink in! I am proud of my accomplishments at this institution. At some point, I plan to pursue another degree. It may or may not be at this institution, but it will not be because I did not achieve what I set out to do at Columbia Southern University. This place is WONDERFUL, and I want everyone to know this. It's also affordable...say what? say what! Say What! I am an Army of one, with my financial and motivational support system comprised of what I see when I look in the mirror. I know I am not the only one in this boat. I am over the moon that I kept at it and got my degree. YOU can too, and I sincerely wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Find an institution that will work with you in your circumstance and one that will not leave you with insurmountable debt, regret, depression, and wanting to meet your professor in the parking lot!!! Look how much my writing has improved since going back to school?!?! Shut my mouth!!! Yes, I did that! Good Luck, BYE :)

Professors give no legitimate feedback. They use cut and paste responses. "Good job (student's name). Keep working hard." Professors add nothing to the pre-made courses - no video lectures, no supplemental material, nothing. It makes one wonder why they work in education since they have no knowledge to share. They are merely paper graders. "Professors" will nitpick you over APA and the appearance of your assignments rather than on the content. Many of the pre-made study guides were filled with errors... Read More and broken links to articles and videos they wanted you to view. When you contact the student resolution office, they play the game of "you didn't complete the complaint form" even though you wrote a lengthy explanation of your complaint via email. They will "conduct and investigation into your complaint" but not address any of your concerns. The professors are always "within the grading rubric", even though they don't actually read your assignments because it's a rubber stamp process, so making a complaint is pointless. Your complaints get escalated to a different person, but it's always the same generic response you receive. Administration has no genuine interest in student's concerns OR improving their program. Their goal is increasing enrollment only. This "college" was a disappointment. It is nothing more than a correspondence school, not a university. The tuition is low for a reason....very little human labor involved. You're paying for automated feedback and responses. The assignments are cookie cutter - meaning they are the same for each course. An essay, an article review, a powerpoint, and research project. Nothing original or unique...nothing to stimulate the student's interest in going deeper or allowing their creative juices to flow. Very boring courses and you come out feeling like you've learned nothing. It's probably better to go to the library and read books on the topics because you don't get much from the courses and there's no interaction with the professors to stimulate learning or discussions. This "university" does the bare minimums to get by.

I have earned 3 degrees from CSU. My scholastic exposure to a higher education of my field from professionals in their field was phenomenal. It was hard work and the professors expected the hard work to come from me. While the expectations were high, so was the encouragement and ability to contact my professor with any questions I may have had. My experience was better than I anticipated. I would recommend this college to everyone. When it came to using the advisory staff for starting college and... Read More advancing through the degrees, I found them extremely helpful and always courteous where I found some colleges with a take it or leave it attitude. Everyone is friendly and helpful.