OT Is Independence University legit?

TSasha Smith

I got in the mail today info about Independce University.  I was wondering if they were legit for graphic arts?  Not sure I can do classes on line even if they were legit.

FSMCDesigns

A quick google search shows they are with quite a few reviews on the school and it's studies

TSasha Smith

My Google fu is not that great, so thanks!

Richard Haseltine

If the information was unsolicited I would regard it as dubious, even if the place is OK the amiling may be fraudsters spoofing them.

nicstt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_University

https://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/schools-business-and-vocational/independence-university-in-salt-lake-city-ut-22004452

It looks genuine, the University, but no telling if the email was.

I'm not seeing a large number of reviews, so would be cautious about it. Many traditional Universities and Colleges also offer online courses; I know the Open University in the UK has a great rep and only does online/correspondence courses.

Richard Haseltine

nicstt said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_University

https://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/schools-business-and-vocational/independence-university-in-salt-lake-city-ut-22004452

It looks genuine, the University, but no telling if the email was.

I'm not seeing a large number of reviews, so would be cautious about it. Many traditional Universities and Colleges also offer online courses; I know the Open University in the UK has a great rep and only does online/correspondence courses.

When the OU started the lectures were broadcast (on the BBC) at times when there was no real programming - and this was of course before any kind of generally available VCR, so people had to watch them as they were shown.

nonesuch00

If you want a degree for employability reasons you should try to find a community college or university in your area and attend classes directly as the success rate and costs of those environments are lower. And being as it's unlikely they will have 3D modeling classes or 2D graphics drawing classes that will lead to any sort of degree those are things you'll need to study on your own to supplement your primary degree in another subject - arts, mathematics, computer science, and so on. E.G., programming was not taught as part of my degrees in math or computer science but something we had to teach ourselves to do the homework. The profressor would not teach or help us with programs and writing programs or pseudo-code was not part of our exams. Expect that with any graphics art classes you take - you won't have a tutor standing over your shoulder. 

For something like arts if you live in an urban area often the local urban government or local county government will offer adult education classes for a nominal fee.

Otherwise, organize your thoughts about what your goals are and search YouTube for graphic arts tutorials that meet your goals. If it is to be a 3D animator I'd recommend you visit CGCookie and joing & download their tutorials. If you want to produce professional 2D illustrations then searching YouTube for drawing and caricaturing in Photoshop / Gimp / Krita / Sketchbook and so on will teach you a lot with many tutorial to choose from.

nicstt

Richard Haseltine said:

nicstt said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_University

https://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/schools-business-and-vocational/independence-university-in-salt-lake-city-ut-22004452

It looks genuine, the University, but no telling if the email was.

I'm not seeing a large number of reviews, so would be cautious about it. Many traditional Universities and Colleges also offer online courses; I know the Open University in the UK has a great rep and only does online/correspondence courses.

When the OU started the lectures were broadcast (on the BBC) at times when there was no real programming - and this was of course before any kind of generally available VCR, so people had to watch them as they were shown.

Yeh, they were broadcast at weird times - well early.

3Ddreamer

I watched a few at those weird times before I went off and did my degree with the OU :-) By the end they were sending the programmes on DVD. Sadly they don't do much in the way of graphics courses, or I'd go back for round two ;-)

Szark

nonesuch00 said:

If you want a degree for employability reasons you should try to find a community college or university in your area and attend classes directly as the success rate and costs of those environments are lower. And being as it's unlikely they will have 3D modeling classes or 2D graphics drawing classes that will lead to any sort of degree those are things you'll need to study on your own to supplement your primary degree in another subject - arts, mathematics, computer science, and so on. E.G., programming was not taught as part of my degrees in math or computer science but something we had to teach ourselves to do the homework. The profressor would not teach or help us with programs and writing programs or pseudo-code was not part of our exams. Expect that with any graphics art classes you take - you won't have a tutor standing over your shoulder. 

For something like arts if you live in an urban area often the local urban government or local county government will offer adult education classes for a nominal fee.

Otherwise, organize your thoughts about what your goals are and search YouTube for graphic arts tutorials that meet your goals. If it is to be a 3D animator I'd recommend you visit CGCookie and joing & download their tutorials. If you want to produce professional 2D illustrations then searching YouTube for drawing and caricaturing in Photoshop / Gimp / Krita / Sketchbook and so on will teach you a lot with many tutorial to choose from.

Oh man last year I rang my local newly set up big uni, new bulding and more courses, regarding their 3D modelling course using Maya. Perfect I thought just to be told that in the 3 years they have had the course listed I was the person to show interest. So that put a stop the that. I would have to travel some to get that education. But yeah I do agree with you but not everyone has those resourses on thier door step.

McGyver

I'm a bit critical of how many of the online "universities" operate. Some are decent, others borderline useless. Many tend to overinflated the consumer's expectations of what can be done with their degrees and credits and will often use dubious statistics to back their claims... Just like the bottle of "Raspberry Juice" is "100% Real Fruit"... Just not 100% real raspberry juice, but a mix of other cheaper juices... It's not really a lie or false advertising as long as you don't directly hide the fact that it's real "some kind of mix of fruit juice" and leave the consumer to figure out what the lable implies... The same kinda goes for accreditation... "Nationally Accedited" is the "100% Real Fruit Juice" of online university claims... Basically, in the U.S., that means it has met a certain level of standards set forth by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation... The CHEA is not a government organization nor is it affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education... For whatever it's worth, It's a self regulated industry board.   I'm a very cynical person, so whenever I hear anything is "self regulated" I tend to deduct trust points, but that's just me and not to say that the system does not work.... Anyway... National accreditation and regional accreditation can vary greatly and ultimately the mileage you get from your credits or diploma can vary hugely... Each state has different standards, and for example if the online university operates out of Florida, some of the credits may not transfer if you go to a local university in Wisconsin... 

Then there is what employers except or expect... And that all varies greatly... 

Regardless, don't just go by their literature or claims... Research them and look for reviews and (reasonable) complaints... BBB reviews are not always accurate either, so I wouldn't go by that.

I found this online, it's not a review, but just something to consider.... http://stevenshenagertruth.blogspot.com and there is this on what what "Accredited" means and how it's determined... https://www.universitylanguage.com/guides/checking-school-accreditation-and-finding-accredited-colleges-in-us/

There is this by the U.S. Department of Education as well... http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

If you requested the mailing/information, then that's one thing, but if it was just amongst the general mail like any other "junk mail", it in my opinion puts it with any other company that does broad mailings... They are just looking for customers.

Anyway, good luck and never give up on or be discouraged about furthering your education, if that is something you really want.

kaotkbliss

College, the big scam...

I ended up 27,000 USD in debt getting an Associates degree in IT

I did not learn a darn thing I didn't already know and I still can't get a job paying more than minimum wage because every Tom Dick and Harry has a degree now of some kind so most jobs won't even look at you unless you have a Masters >:(

I'm not adding another 30-40,000 on top of what I already owe to learn what I should have already learned getting my associates

Kendall Sears

[sorry for the formatting -- mobile]
The US Dept of Ed has NO Jurisdiction or accreditation powers. There is NO US Gov't accrediting for Education ANYWHERE. The US Gov't is forbidden by the 9th and 10th Amendments from getting involved. All accreditations are done via industry groups or State Agencies. Kendall

McGyver said:

I'm a bit critical of how many of the online "universities" operate. Some are decent, others borderline useless. Many tend to overinflated the consumer's expectations of what can be done with their degrees and credits and will often use dubious statistics to back their claims... Just like the bottle of "Raspberry Juice" is "100% Real Fruit"... Just not 100% real raspberry juice, but a mix of other cheaper juices... It's not really a lie or false advertising as long as you don't directly hide the fact that it's real "some kind of mix of fruit juice" and leave the consumer to figure out what the lable implies... The same kinda goes for accreditation... "Nationally Accedited" is the "100% Real Fruit Juice" of online university claims... Basically, in the U.S., that means it has met a certain level of standards set forth by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation... The CHEA is not a government organization nor is it affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education... For whatever it's worth, It's a self regulated industry board.   I'm a very cynical person, so whenever I hear anything is "self regulated" I tend to deduct trust points, but that's just me and not to say that the system does not work.... Anyway... National accreditation and regional accreditation can vary greatly and ultimately the mileage you get from your credits or diploma can vary hugely... Each state has different standards, and for example if the online university operates out of Florida, some of the credits may not transfer if you go to a local university in Wisconsin... 

Then there is what employers except or expect... And that all varies greatly... 

Regardless, don't just go by their literature or claims... Research them and look for reviews and (reasonable) complaints... BBB reviews are not always accurate either, so I wouldn't go by that.

I found this online, it's not a review, but just something to consider.... http://stevenshenagertruth.blogspot.com and there is this on what what "Accredited" means and how it's determined... https://www.universitylanguage.com/guides/checking-school-accreditation-and-finding-accredited-colleges-in-us/

There is this by the U.S. Department of Education as well... http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

If you requested the mailing/information, then that's one thing, but if it was just amongst the general mail like any other "junk mail", it in my opinion puts it with any other company that does broad mailings... They are just looking for customers.

Anyway, good luck and never give up on or be discouraged about furthering your education, if that is something you really want.