Strayer's Information Systems Program

I am not 100% sure on my end goal. My ideas are working in Information Security or maybe even becoming a CIO. Next year I will have my Bachelor's in IS from Strayer University. I was just wondering if I should keep going for another 1.5-2 years and get a Master's, or is this school just not worth it?

So far I have an A.S. in IT from a community college. I have my Network+ and A+. And now I am working in my second Help Desk position. I know I am on the right track with experience and certs...I am just not sure about the degree from Strayer.

Any advice?

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aspiringsoul

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It will most likely take you years upon years of experience before being qualified to land a CIO position.

Strayer is a FOR-PROFIT college. As a graduate of a for-profit college myself, I would strongly advise you to attend a NON-PROFIT school instead. You will save money, and you will most likely have a better experience. If you're interested in Information Security, I would consider Dakota State University and Western Governors University's online programs.

Please see the attached PDF document in regard to the HELP committee's investigation of Strayer. One thing that you will notice is that the outcomes of students who attended Strayer were better than the outcomes of other for-profit school students, but I would still strongly advised you to consider Non-profit alternatives.

You may also be interested in what you find here

Some high points:

Nearly all for-profit education companies derive the majority of reveneues from Federal Financial aid programs. Between 2001 and 2010, the share of title IV Federal Financial aid funds flowing to for-profit colleges increased from 12.2 to 24.8 percent and from $5.4 to $32.2 billion. Together, the 30 companies the comittee examined derived 79 percent of revenues form title IV Federal financial aid programs in 2010, up from 69 percent in 2006.

The percentage of revenue Strayer allocates to profit exceeds the for-profit sector average by a considerable margin. In fiscal year 2009, Strayer devoted 33.7 percent of revenues to profit, whereas on average the 30 for-profit schools examined allocated 19.4 percent to profit. Strayer also devoted 18.2 percent of revenue, or $93.3 million, to marketing and recruiting.

In 2009, Strayer devoted a total of $265.6 million to marketing, recruiting, and profit. The amount of profit Strayer generated also rose rapidly, more than doubling from $98 million in 2006 to $216 million in 2010.

In 2009, Strayer CEO Robert S. Silberman received $41.5 million in compenstation, the highest compensation received by any industry executive that year. It is 58 times as much as the compensation of the President of the University of Virginia, who received $703,648 in total for compensation for 2009-10.

Compared to public colleges offering the same programs, the price of tuition is more expensive
at Strayer. A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration costs $72,800 at Strayer University,2693
while a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration costs $51,912 at the University of Virginia.2694
Similarly, an Associate’s degree in Business Management cost $36,500 at Strayer,2695 but $9,587 at
Northern Virginia Community College

Outcomes
While aggressive recruiting and high cost programs might be less problematic if students were
receiving promised educational outcomes, committee staff analysis showed that tremendous numbers of
students are leaving for-profit colleges without a degree. Because 98 percent of students who enroll in a
2-year degree program at a for-profit college, and 96 percent who enroll in a 4-year degree program,
take out loans, hundreds of thousands of students are leaving for-profit colleges with debt but no
diploma or degree each year.

Retention Rates
Information Strayer provided to the committee indicates that of the 41,230 students who enrolled
at Strayer in 2008-9, 32.2 percent, or 13,258 students, withdrew by mid-2010. These students withdrew
in a median of 6 months.2700 An analysis of these metrics indicates that while some people who enroll at
Strayer are not achieving their educational and career goals, overall, the company is doing a much better
job of serving students than most of the companies examined.
Strayer’s withdrawal rate is significantly lower than the overall withdrawal rate of 54.4 percent,
and is significantly lower when compared to other large publicly traded, for-profit education companies.
With just 34 percent of Bachelor’s degree students withdrawing in the period analyzed, Strayer has the
lowest withdrawal rate of any 4-year program examined. However, like other companies examined by
the committee, Strayer has a much higher withdrawal rate in the Associate program, fully 14 percent
higher than in the Bachelor’s degree program.

Strayer spent $1,329 per student on instruction in 2009, compared to $2,448 per student on
marketing and $4,520 per student on profit.2713 The amount that publicly traded, for-profit companies
spend on instruction ranges from $892 to $3,969 per student per year. In contrast, public and non-profit
4-year colleges and universities generally spend a higher amount per student on instruction. By
comparison, on a per student basis, the University of Virginia spent $14,567 per student, Northern
Virginia Community College spent $3,850 per student and Liberty University spent $1,957 per
student.2714
A large portion of the faculty at many for-profit colleges is composed of part-time and adjunct
faculty. While a large number of part-time and adjunct faculty is an important factor in a low-cost
education delivery model, it also raises questions regarding the academic independence they are able to
exercise to balance the colleges’ business interests. Among the 30 schools examined by the committee,
80 percent of the faculty is part-time.2715 Strayer is one such company with 83 percent of its faculty
employed part-time.2716 In 2010, the company employed 423 full-time and 2,048 part-time faculty

While for-profit education companies employed large numbers of recruiters to enroll new
students, the companies had far less staff to provide tutoring, remedial services or career counseling and
placement. In 2010, with 60,711 students, Strayer employed 393 recruiters, 165 career services
employees, and 485 student services employees.2718 Strayer employs far fewer recruiters than some
similarly sized companies, and has more student services representatives than recruiters and more career
counselors per student than most other companies examined which may play a significant role in the
success of its students. Each career counselor was responsible for 368 students and each student
services staffer was responsible for 125 students. Meanwhile, the company employed one recruiter for
every 154 students.

Conclusion
Students attending Strayer have significantly better rates of retention than other companies of
comparable size. While Strayer allocates an extremely high portion of revenue to profit, and a relatively
small amount to per student instruction, the students that it enrolls appear to be faring much better than
at many companies the committee examined. Strayer has grown rapidly in recent years, crossing the
$100 million mark for Pell grant dollars received in 2010, but has done so in a steady and even manner
that appears to be representative of the general operational approach of the company. Strayer appears to have better controls on recruiting practices and a more robust set of student services than many other
companies, particularly publicly traded companies, the committee examined. The company has also
earned the confidence of a number of employers that provide tuition assistance for their employees to
attend the school. This in turn helps the company to be better positioned with regard to regulatory
compliance than many other publicly traded companies. As a result, students attending Strayer-owned
colleges appear to be faring much better than at many companies examined and the company had the
lowest withdrawal rate for Bachelor’s students of any company examined. In view of these above
average outcomes, the company’s overall lack of cooperation with the committee was surprising.

Strayer.pdf

aspiringsoul

tmurphy3100,

I think that you're on the right track. Just keep working toward more education and certifications, then you will be very competitive in the job market. Just keep in mind that even with a Master's degree, it will probably take you years of experience in order to obtain a Management position. You might want to get some work experience outside of help desk before going for the Masters. See if you can find a company that offers tuition reimbursement before going for the Master's program.

If you're interested in servers, then I would recommend looking at the MCSA: Server 2012 and VCP5-DCV certifications. If you're interested in Routers and Switches, then consider the CCNA: R&S certification.

One reason that many of us like WGU is because it allows you to kill two birds with one stone by earning certifications while earning a Bachelor degree. The MSISA program at WGU requires that you earn the CEH and CHFI certifications before you can graduate from the program.

Please if you have any questions, let me know.

zxbane

I actually attended Strayer myself and graduted with a B.S. in IT and now their MBA program. With that said, I HIGHLY recommend attending a different school for your M.S. degree, for many of the reasons aspiring soul cited above. I would looking into Dakota State or Capitol College among some others that are mentioned here frequently. I personally wouldn't recommend WGU myself but that is just because I feel like people seem to be graduating from their program at a rapid pace and not learning a ton along the way. If you want the degree for a check box then sure, otherwise I would look into some of the other reputable Master degree programs mentioned on the forums.

aspiringsoul

zxbane,

I certainly understand your concern, but most of the students take well over a year to graduate (I think the average is 3 terms which is 1 1/2 years).

Very few are able to complete it in one term. Those who are able typically have a relaxed work schedule (or no employment at all) and are able to put in a significant amount of hours per week.

I think if the CEH and CHFI are on your list of certifications that you want to earn, then it's definitely worth considering.

I can understand how some employers might think the school is a diploma mill when a student is able to earn a Masters degree in under 6 months, especially 7 weeks!

That's actually somewhat commendable though in my opinion...

From a cost/accreditation perspective, I would consider DSU or WGU programs in Information Assurance and Information Security and Assurance, respectively.

You recommended Capitol College, which is a good college as well!

I think between those three, the OP has a good list to select a school that fits his needs.

tmurphy3100

aspiringsoul wrote: »

tmurphy3100,

I think that you're on the right track. Just keep working toward more education and certifications, then you will be very competitive in the job market. Just keep in mind that even with a Master's degree, it will probably take you years of experience in order to obtain a Management position. You might want to get some work experience outside of help desk before going for the Masters. See if you can find a company that offers tuition reimbursement before going for the Master's program.

If you're interested in servers, then I would recommend looking at the MCSA: Server 2012 and VCP5-DCV certifications. If you're interested in Routers and Switches, then consider the CCNA: R&S certification.

One reason that many of us like WGU is because it allows you to kill two birds with one stone by earning certifications while earning a Bachelor degree. The MSISA program at WGU requires that you earn the CEH and CHFI certifications before you can graduate from the program.

Please if you have any questions, let me know.

Thank you for your feedback. I will be graduating Strayer next April, I am taking 3 more classes at community college to help save money. I have looked into WGU and regret not reading these forums before I started Strayer. Just a few questions, do you think it will be hard transferring my BS to WGU, and also I am in Philadelphia, PA, not sure if I have to be located near a campus or not.

I am also looking into the other two school mentioned. A fourth option would even be Penn State World Campus.

aspiringsoul

Please take a look here

WGU does not have a "campus"

It is an online only school available for any person living in the United States that meets the admissions requirements.

You should not have any trouble meeting the requirements once you earn your bachelor degree. Although having a CCNA would definitely help...

[h=3]WGU Admission Process[/h]To be admitted into this online IT degree program, you must:

Apply for admission.
Possess a bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited institution.
Demonstrate IT security experience through at least one of the following three methods:
- Have earned a bachelor’s degree in IT security or IT networking that covers at least two CISSP CBK domains. (You can find the domains listed here.)
- Hold a CISSP, CCIE, CCNP, CCNA, or GCWN certification that was earned within the last five years.
- Submit a resume for review showing recent significant IT security experience, of at least three years, which demonstrates at least two CISSP CBK domains.

reubs6

I'm attending Strayer myself for the same thing as you. I'm a little earlier in the process, I stacked my program so I'll have my Associates in about 9 months, then I'm proceeding to my Bachelor's. I'm not going for my masters, my aspirations aren't as high as yours. I'm also in my second help desk position. I think many feel the more schooling the better, but it all depends on what you want to do. Maybe start looking into getting your Sec+ and your CISSP as well for now. I think a lot depends on the company doing the hiring, some care about which school its from, some just want to see that you've earned it. It depends on the hiring manager/HR in my opinion.

SaSkiller

reubs6 wrote: »

Maybe start looking into getting your Sec+ and your CISSP as well for now.

I die inside everytime I hear that.