University of Texas at Arlington Online RN-BSN Program

goingCOASTAL · Jun 3, 2012

I graduated last year, so I'll attempt to answer most of these for you.

Pros and Cons of UTA RN-BSN

Pros:

1) It's still relatively cheap, although the price does increase every year. If you skip a session, your next class will be at the market rate. In my progress, it stayed the same because I never skipped a term.

2) I could do the clinicals in my workplace.

3) You get the same degree that the campus-based students that UTA students get when they graduate (and you can go graduate with them if you so choose).

Cons:

1) There's really no interaction with the online professors. They create the syllabus and the rubric, and record the lectures, but your interaction is with a third-party course instructor (or coach) who is not an employee of UTA. They're all nurses, but they work for Academic Partnerships - and some of them are very nice and accommodating, and some of them treat their sections like tiny fiefdoms.

2) It's not the cheapest anymore. It was when I started, but if I were to start now, WGU would be cheaper.

3) The online resources on the main school website (like MyMav) can be confusing, especially at first. The website has had a couple of do-overs, but it's not very organic, and is very much the product of a heavily bureaucratic traditional university.

Other advice ... don't be in a hurry. I started off taking one class at a time, and liked it so much, that's about all I did. I know of one student right now who's doubling up and is having a very difficult time. Taking one class at a time earned me all A's except one B - but it's your choice. If your career track requires emergency action - take two at once, otherwise, don't risk it. And if you do, don't take their stats, college algebra, or research class with anything else (or together).

Some of the classes were hard, but I was surprised that many were relatively easy. I am a nurse who had 14 years under my belt at the time of enrollment, and you'd be surprised how much you know because of your experience. If I had it to do over again, I would probably have still chosen UTA back in 2009, but know that I've done the research ... if I had to take it over again today, I would probably go to WGU, which is cheaper and competency based (which means you can go through the material you already know MUCH quicker).

I was considering them again for my MSN ... but, I've recently decided to go with WGU for the reasons I've mentioned. I want good value for my dollar, and after carefully researching them, they seem to have that hands down.

2boys1nurse · Jun 6, 2012

I graduated last year, so I'll attempt to answer most of these for you.
Pros and Cons of UTA RN-BSN
Pros:
1) It's still relatively cheap, although the price does increase every year. If you skip a session, your next class will be at the market rate. In my progress, it stayed the same because I never skipped a term.
2) I could do the clinicals in my workplace.
3) You get the same degree that the campus-based students that UTA students get when they graduate (and you can go graduate with them if you so choose).
Cons:
1) There's really no interaction with the online professors. They create the syllabus and the rubric, and record the lectures, but your interaction is with a third-party course instructor (or coach) who is not an employee of UTA. They're all nurses, but they work for Academic Partnerships - and some of them are very nice and accommodating, and some of them treat their sections like tiny fiefdoms.
2) It's not the cheapest anymore. It was when I started, but if I were to start now, WGU would be cheaper.
3) The online resources on the main school website (like MyMav) can be confusing, especially at first. The website has had a couple of do-overs, but it's not very organic, and is very much the product of a heavily bureaucratic traditional university.
Other advice ... don't be in a hurry. I started off taking one class at a time, and liked it so much, that's about all I did. I know of one student right now who's doubling up and is having a very difficult time. Taking one class at a time earned me all A's except one B - but it's your choice. If your career track requires emergency action - take two at once, otherwise, don't risk it. And if you do, don't take their stats, college algebra, or research class with anything else (or together).
Some of the classes were hard, but I was surprised that many were relatively easy. I am a nurse who had 14 years under my belt at the time of enrollment, and you'd be surprised how much you know because of your experience. If I had it to do over again, I would probably have still chosen UTA back in 2009, but know that I've done the research ... if I had to take it over again today, I would probably go to WGU, which is cheaper and competency based (which means you can go through the material you already know MUCH quicker).
I was considering them again for my MSN ... but, I've recently decided to go with WGU for the reasons I've mentioned. I want good value for my dollar, and after carefully researching them, they seem to have that hands down.

Thank you for your honest opinion. I greatly appreciate it. I spoke with a 3rd party person (Coach) this past Friday. He explained to me that I would be his first line of communication should I encounter any issues with school work in lieu of the instructor. This definitely did not only sound right, but was a red flag to not consider this school for a BSN. I know all schools need $, but this individually was really trying to manipulate me into starting their program immediately. I have been looking into Boise State Univ and Univ of Wyoming after reading positive feedback on this website. Thank you again for the feedback and congrats on pursuing your MSN.