Bradley University

[JenMacBSN]

I'm desperate for some advice from my fellow professional nurses out there. I've found some complaints regarding Bradley University on this site. I was going to start the program next month but now I'm hesitant. The complaints are about Bradley outsourcing to other companies. Does anyone out there know anything about Bradley? Until now I've not found anything negative. I'm not crazy about marketing companies handling some aspects of the university. I'm in Maryland, so now I'm considering George Washington University, in DC. Their program starts in the fall.

[skigpc]

I have been attending Bradley University FNP certificate program as I already have my DNP in Leadership (this limited my school choices as not all schools provide the certificate program). I have not been happy with the program. I started over three years ago, have had to take 3 different semesters off due to not being able to find preceptors (now in the certificate program there are only 12 classes- 6 semesters). They do not help to find preceptors- it is all on your own. If you don't have one- you sit out the semester.

You teach yourself, through reading textbooks, poor Utube videos, and some articles. Oh, don't want to forget the worthless discussion boards that you have to post on. Your skills training is to watch a utube video on how to suture, record a video of yourself suturing a chicken leg. (I ended up taking an outside skill class to actually learn some skills). The only interaction from the instructors is grading of the papers, and while they have rubrics, it is still the instructors discression as to your grades. I am familiar with online programs, both my MSN and my DNP were online courses, and we actually had instructors that would teach (recorded videos, etc). You get nothing from the instructors at Bradley. And the sad part is I am sure many of the instructors want to actually teach.

I have a masters degree in education and have taught at the University level and voiced many concerns and suggestions for improvement, and have received poor to no responses. I agree with the post that speaks of being treated like you are at a lower level school. You will leave feeling totally unprepared for practice. They also ding you with fees for everything, so your total cost is much more than the tuition.

When choosing, consider what you want/need from a program, consider what type of learner you are, and how much you are willing to pay.  Look to see what others reviews of the program are before you make your choice. There are many different options out there.