Mayville state university recently started a fully online program to earn a bachelors of science in Mathematics.
I am interested in this program but after talking with a coordinator over email, it seems too good to be true. I’ll start with the positives then the red flags.
Positives:
Niche and other site reviews are mostly about the campus food not being too great and bad weather so it doesn’t seem like there is any financial aid difficulty or scam school like devry or Ashford.
real school, real campus, real regional accreditation.
Red flags:
Their out of state tuition is lower than my instate tuition
The degree requirements for the BS in MATHEMATICS are only a few math classes above differential equations, the rest are ‘history of math’, ‘math comprehensive exam’ and other stuff. I’ve never seen a BS in math require this low of math.
I took several advanced math classes as well as already have an undergrad degree in a science. They offer to look at my degree and said they will most likely accept all my credits so that all I will need is just the core requirements and pre reqs. Which basically means I’ll only need 9 or 10 classes to get a SECOND BACHELORS DEGREE.
Their acceptance for the program is basically anyone with above a 3.0 undergrad (for graduates)
Can anyone help me out here, is this real or am I missing something?
Mayville State in North Dakota is a genuine state university with regional accreditation, formerly specialized as a teacher training college. Tuition may be cheap because online education does not have as much marginal cost per student as in person education.
However, its math department’s offerings are limited, with no courses in real or complex analysis, and the usual upper level abstract algebra and linear algebra courses combined into one course. Other typical upper level math courses not offered include numerical analysis, logic, set theory, geometry or topology other than for K-12 math teachers, partial differential equations. The offerings look like those most relevant for someone wanting to be a K-12 math teacher, as opposed to preparing for PhD study in math or other career directions that math majors often aim for. http://mayvillestate.smartcatalogiq.com/2018-2020/2018-2020-Academic-Catalog/Course-Descriptions/MATH-Mathematics
I don’t hold North Dakota accreditation to particularly high esteem though. The nearby Dickinson University got audited years back and they found out that the university gave over 800 degrees to Chinese students, most didn’t even attend the school, mainly for visas. The dean of education at that school shot himself that same day.
I guess it’s legitimate but with admission criteria like this, and the fact that I need literally a handful of classes for a Bachelors degree is hard to believe… the university advertises on google, and has recruitment staff, to me it’s sketchy. What are your thoughts people?
What is your reason for wanting a (second) bachelor’s degree in math? If it is to prepare for K-12 teaching, it may be adequate, but check your state or region’s teacher credentialing requirements. If it is for some other purpose, the limited course offerings make it unlikely to be suitable.
If this is your perception, what matter if it’s accredited or not? Do you just want to have another degree on your resume, or do you actually want to learn something? If the former then it sounds adequate for purpose. If the latter, clearly you need to find somewhere else you’ll feel is more challenging and substantive.
Some other primarily online programs such as University of Maryland University College and Penn State World Campus will accept up to 90 semester hours of credit toward a bachelor degree program, so the possibility that Mayville might require only 9 or 10 courses is not hideously out of line. That would be about 30 or so credits. If you like what Mayville has to offer you, go ahead and enroll. You don’t have to complete the whole program if you decide you hate it after one or two classes!
And yes, Mayville is indeed a real university. I’ve driven through the campus and have a good friend who is on the staff there now. It is located about halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks, so the winter weather is cold. If you would choose to visit, summer is better.