American Public University System

+Overall very satisfied with instructors and flexibility - Very DISSATISFIED with Diploma which indicates a single degree, and DOES NOT indicate TWO degrees or even a DUAL degree. - Tried to remedy the situation through phone calls and emails to APUS...after 6 months, still no response. - I continue to receive high volume of sales spam from APUS and affiliated businesses. RECOMMENDATION: Find an honest program. I cannot recommend a school that markets DUAL degrees, charges for two degrees, and only... Read More awards ONE.

Hello everyone I just started APU (online) august 2, 2021 so I’m very new to this college. I’m getting my bachelors degree in astronomy so far everything been good so I can’t really give a full opinion. The only thing I did notice is that professors does take weeks to respond to students but when we submit our work they give us a failing grade I will say I understand professors are busy but us students do need help understanding the instructions because most assignments it’s almost paragraphs full... Read More of instructions and it’s easy to get lost. If you have any questions comment below and I will gladly respond.

Reading other reviews and I never realized how hard I really did work at my degree. I always thought that maybe it was too easy but everyone talks how rigorous it was at APUS. Maybe I am just giving myself the short end of the stick and I deserve the degree I did work hard to get. I enjoyed the online platform. I never had trouble in my classes and when I discovered a student was copying my work along with others’ the professor addressed it immediately to try and get it to stop. I was able to attend... Read More APUS through a marriage, divorce, and two pregnancies and newborns, and also working. I even moved twice during attendance. Life gets busy and may upset plans, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of getting a degree. When I graduated I told myself I wouldn’t do any more. Well, here I am enrolling in APUS again for a graduate degree six years later.

An undergraduate degree is the bare minimum in today's marketplace. Even store managers in retail and restaurants have four year degrees these days. I came to APUS for an MA but discovered that my undergraduate was from a now-defunct college which was not nationally or regionally accredited. That meant that I had to transfer my accredited AA credits over and redo my junior and senior years. I managed a full-time course load with a full-time job. I periodically thought about quitting or slowing down... Read More but I stayed motivated and it paid off. I now have a regionally accredited undergraduate degree and have enrolled in a graduate program at APUS. I had a good classroom experience. Most students were there to do the bare minimum to pass. But I was able to connect with others like me who wanted to do a good job and get an A. That requires work but it can be done. Many of my instructors had a PhD and almost all had been teaching in online and traditional universities for many years. You have to teach yourself but all the resources are provided to you in the classroom. All books are included so you can save quite a bit at APUS. The tuition is more affordable than other popular online universities. The school is regionally accredited by HLC so you can use your degree to get a job that requires one (corporate, commissioned officer, federal agent, state game warden, etc.). I had a very positive experience and I hope that others can enroll, do the work, get their degree, and move on with the rest of their lives. Good luck!

There doesn't seem to be anywhere I can find a place on their website to make a suggestion and there is no contact email available. The thing I struggle most with this school is how they have their due dates set up. Class weeks start on Mondays and end on Sundays at 11:55 pm. Our discussion post over our weekly material is due by Thursday. That means we have only four workdays to read all of our material. It would be much more beneficial to all of us I believe if we were given the opportunity to... Read More have the whole week to go to read through our reading material. For example week one we have an introduction discussion and maybe a small read with our reading assignment for the next weeks discussion. Week 2 On Monday we post our discussion over what we were supposed to read. I believe most of us go to online college because we have pre existing obligations, such as work or child care. It is a little ridiculous that week are expected to read eight chapters in four days. As it is when I get home I can not spend any time with my child because I am having to rush read the assignment. I strongly urge this school to re-evaluate the procedure. This school also offers no scholorships or grants or at least that is what the fincail aid office told me.

Condescending “teachers” that seem to have little to no idea on how to accomplish or explain tasks outside of what is written in the text. Terrible online class set-up and when you have problems or find glaring errors in a quiz or test they complain that they did not author the course so not their fault. One course instructor had to pull two quizzes due to incomplete or incorrect answers to the problems then took three weeks to fix all the problems, quizzes still had errors. Eight week classes do... Read More not allow time for huge mistakes like this, was expected to finish 3 quizzes and the final exam in the last week, all assignments still had errors. Complaints were brought to the Academic Appeal office which took 48 days to deal with the problems though it was supposed to be addressed within 30 days. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR GI BILL, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT GETTING PAID AND NOT THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION.

I was meandering away in life, trying to figure out what to do, when one day I dallied around on the computer and entered some information for a degree. This college popped up with some fancy pictures of military people in uniform doing cool stuff like space program. I was like, totally not fascinated, and just sort of forgot about them. Then they emailed me and said, "Congratulations! You've been accepted....and yada yada." I was still not hooked. I filled out a few easy forms, requested my high... Read More school transcript and a few college credits, and BOOM, they wanted me to sign up for classes. Being the kind of leaf that will generally fall where the wind lands, I filled out my fafsa as quickly as possible and then tried a class. Then came the work. Let me tell you, they will take any bum off the street and give them a degree. But they have to earn it. And it wasn't easy. I got a Bachelors in Biology, and had to take some of the hardest courses of my life. It all seemed to revolve around math, which I hated, and yet excelled at it anyway. The teachers were very nice, and very good (except for one, my Philosophy of Science teacher who was a real prick and sent me unprofessional nasty emails. I withdrew from his class late and demanded my money back, and I got it.) Now when I say the teacher were good, what I mean is, they are educated, fair graders, will answer your letters, and will give you plenty of freedom to sink or swim. They won't hold your hand, won't lecture, and won't be mean to you. They expect you to follow the rules set, and if you do that, you'll be fine. They will usually give you second chances if you get the assignments wrong. The longer the courses went on, the more work was involved, and you had to cater to the individual opinions of what qualified as "good" for each teacher. Some were easier than others. Now as for the customer service, I expected nothing great, but they surpassed my expectations. Everytime I called, and I did call often, they picked up right away, was thorougly knowledgable (sp?) in their field, and didn't try to tell me something they didn't know. They had patience. They were smart. They didn't want to rush me off the phone because they were too busy. They wanted to make things right. Even during my fits, my complaints, my impatience, my polite days, they treated me the same. They helped me in every possible way they could. I got 3.76 GPA at the end. I was on the Dean's list twice. I somehow aced all my math classes, like calculus 2 and statistics. Believe me, I'm not sure I could really do that twice. I'd rather get hit by a train than go through physics again. Their used of technology is terrible. I had classes that didn't have the proper instructions for the map program GIS I was using in class. The textbook was completely unclear and confusing, so much so that many students complained. My physics box was missing items that was needed for the required experiments. Some experiments made absolutely no sense, and many students complained about this. Some tests that required a multiple choice answer had no multiple choice listed, and I had to be credited for my answers. The books are outdated at least 5 years. The library isn't as sophisticated as wikipedia or google, yet they won't let you reference wikipedia at all. Their plagarism makes no sense at times. They use turnitin, which isn't always very accurate, and if you manage to repeat like one sentence that was repeated somewhere else, that you never heard of, even a common one, they will write you up for plagarism (or the first time is a warning). The value was the best ever. They make the tuition fair and affordable to match reasonable living expenses while you are in school, so you don't have to work while getting a full time degree. The financial aid people are very good, and can tell you precisely when you will be credited, how much, and you will not have any hiccups. I have been to other schools. I know what they are like. Many schools hire students who have no real experience doing this. This school, AMU, only hires professionals. The teacher was a prick to me? I never saw his name listed again in any classes afterwards. The beauty of this school is that they lure you in with an easy cheap degree that you think anyone with a brain can get through. But it's just a way to give you a chance to fail at your own leisure. I chose at some point during my classes that I wanted to do well. I wouldn't settle for a B, much less a C. I ended up with almost all A's. Yes, this school is super easy to get in. It's actually not hard to get an A. At first the classes seemed ridiculously easy to pass, with easy assignments, forums, and some reading, and an exciting idea that you can get a degree. But try that for four years. It eventually becomes tedious, mind-numbingly boring, frustrating, and believe it or not, things in life can happen to you that you never expected, and yet you are expected to muddle through somehow. It's not that the classes are impossible to pass, but it's not easy to get an A in many of them. And during your four years, you will encounter unexpected stress. This is the true test of your tenacity. The true measure of who you really are. Will you sink or swim?

For the most part I enjoyed online learning and this Institution. I have recommended American Public University to others. Most of the teachers/professors were engaging and interactive. They gave valuable feedback on papers and within the forums. Some were willing to go out of their way to help increase understanding. The piece I had a difficult time was when students would not respond to forums until Saturday or Sunday not giving time for others to interact. They missed out on additional learning... Read More and interaction. I also felt that many of the core classes had much of the same content. I felt like I was writing the same paper many times over and trying not to plagiarize myself. There are many other critical content areas that should have been covered in these classes. All of this said, I for the most part enjoyed the courses.

I wish I would've known this college wasn't CACREAP accredited. The instructors were knowledgeable and courses were vigorous.. The program itself was great, just needs to be accredited.While enrolled, there were conversations about the college becoming accredited for counseling since there are were so many military students receiving degrees in psychology/counseling. I can't believe the information was false.All this hard work for this degree. Passing state testing, and no accreditation. Please choose... Read More another college that is accredited pertaining to Counseling or Psychology!

I attended APUS full time for four years to receive my bachelor's in psychology. The work was rigorous, and the assignments were time consuming but the objective was to learn and I exited with my degree confident in my knowledge. I met some amazing teachers attending APUS that changed my perspective, and although it gets difficult maintaining self discipline to turn assignments in on time and self-study, I do not regret my decision. It wasn't until I decided to pursue my Masters degree at a different... Read More college that I realized how hard APUS actually was, with the multi-assignments weekly per class, minimum word count mandatory discussions, weekly tests, etc which I am grateful for because now I feel like I have the study habits and confidence to get through any school or degree I choose.

I have have taken courses in both brick and mortar institutions and online. Overall, I actually learned more in the online classes than I did in traditional classes, excluding courses that required hands on labs, such chemistry, etc. At APUS/AMU, with the exception of two classes, (sophomore level), all of my major instructors had doctoral degrees from accredited, well known institutions, were experienced professionals in their fields, and were always available and helpful. Just a word to the wise,... Read More any online degree is largely what you put into it. You must be self motivated, unafraid to engage with fellow classmates and professors, and take advantage of the materials that are provided. Sometimes it was very challenging to truly complete all of the readings, write two papers, in addition to quizzes every week and still go to work and run a household. Organization is key. All of my major classes were reading and writing intensive, with some being easier or more difficult than others. However, as you continue onto graduate studies or a doctoral, you will be glad that you are well versed in writing papers and have the ability to use APA citation with your eyes closed. In a sense, you are teaching yourself the material. There was one class where I felt the curriculum did not align well with our quizzes and midterm. It was brought to the attention of the instructor who immediately supplemented our material and addressed the issue right away. If you think you can squeak by with a degree and a high GPA, it is possible, just like any institution. However, I've seen several of my online classmates fail, underestimating the amount of time needed to study and submit work by the due dates. Paying attention to deadlines and the rubric are vital components of online education. Remember, you will most likely have to take a GRE and possibly submit some of your work to get into a good competitive grad program, you want to do your best! Hope this helps and Good luck!

I chose to attend American Public University because I graduated high-school two years early and this was an online program that I did not have to leave home for. Reflecting on my time at APUS after I graduated there were several things that I really liked, and I will list them below in no specific order. 1. The classes were usually only 8 weeks long. Some are 16 weeks, but they are generally more difficult classes as well, so having more time is nice. Having 8-week classes may seem like a lot, but... Read More one major bonus to them only being 8 weeks is you can take less classes at a time and still maintain the amount of credits you need for financial aid. 2. Almost all my professors were amazing. They were easy to get in contact with no matter where they were in the world or the time difference. They also understood that sometimes, life happens. This college is used by many working adults as well as military personnel, so the professor know how it is with working or deployments. 3. It is a work at your own pace program with deadlines. Let me explain, you have stuff that might be due Wednesday or Sunday (usually the two days), however you do not have a scheduled amount of time that you need to spend in classroom. So, if you do all of your work offline and then upload it, that is totally okay! It really gives you the freedom to keep your schedule that you are used to and work around it. 4. Overall, I really recommend this school to anyone who is looking for an online program.

So far, so good. I have really enjoyed the material and the effort the business teachers have put into their forums, the lessons and the assignments. The administration and financial aid have been easy to work with, pleasant and responsive. The price is very fair, around $880 a class, including an online university library, electronic text books, and help from instructors with fast response time. I learned about marketing, personal finance, accounting fundamentals, entrepreneurship and internet concepts... Read More and I am excited about graduating with a bachelor's in business in a few months. (Currently taking my 10th, 11th and 12th class with them in Marketing 201, Business 235 and Application Software 200.) I would recommend this university.

I graduated this past year from APUS with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Overall, I am satisfied with my education. I appreciated the flexibility and affordability. I found the people that worked at the campus that helped advise me and work through the financial aid process very helpful. I feel that I learned an an adequate amount in my content area, and was able to utilize it in a real life career. In this kind of learning environment, you have to be very driven and persistent, which I am,... Read More so this was not a problem for me. If things were not clear, I sought out further information from the instructor before the due date. If I had questions after an assignment, I reached out. There were some excellent instructors and some poor ones; most were average. Some just cut and copied replies to forums and didn’t personalize the course at all, while others got into in depth conversations with the students. Bottom line: I feel like you can learn here if you want to, and if you don’t want to, you can likely skate by. It’s a great opportunity for someone who cannot attend traditional university.

I wanted to like this university, I really did. But, I felt like I never learned anything. I put in the work, read the assignments and the minuscule lessons supposedly made by the instructors. I wrote and wrote and wrote my heart out. In the end, I learned very little. The instructors are kind, but don't offer much for instruction. Everything is student-led. The forums are a joke. The instructions for assignments are vague and even following the grading rubric does not guarantee a good grade. It's... Read More almost like the instructors want you to read their minds, given they aren't offering much in their "classrooms". The worst class I took was an anthropology course where the instructor provided links to information about "Indiana Jones" every week, and the lessons took me less than five minutes to read. What a joke that was. I didn't learn much in that course at all. I am transferring, but not a single course I have taken will transfer. I pretty much have to start over. At this point, I am certain I will learn more in a real university anyway. If all you're after is a piece of paper that says you earned a degree, then I guess it's not so bad. But, for people like me, really interested in learning, please go elsewhere.