I was wondering if anyone was looking at both of these universities for Business and what your thought was. My OOS son received admission to both places. Waiting on the UCF for merit information and will compare on that level but would like to know more about the business departments at each. Thanks!
I’ve already PMd you- but I will reply here and maybe others will chime in.
UCF College of Business decided last fall to move all of their foundation courses to an “adaptive learning” style. It consists of 6 meetings a semester- the first to go over the course and the remaining 5, group work sessions. They got rid of lectures- they already weren’t requiring the kids to show to lectures, just watch them online.
The truth is they don’t have the classroom space and they don’t want to hire professors.
I’m sure there are lots of kids who love that they never have to go to class. Whether or not they actually learn the material is really up to them. The Dean sent out a letter after there were many complaints basically blaming the kids for not engaging and taking active steps in their education. I say if you want kids to engage you need to get them out of their dorm rooms and give them a classroom with a teacher!
Only you know your son. Is he a read the book and learn kid, is he good with managing his time, would he be successful in this type of setup? Unless something changes, several of his courses will be “taught” in this manor.
My D18 had one class like this as part of her GEP- it was awful. Many kids were struggling to make the C required. She is thankful that the rest of her finance classes for her major are taught in her department and not through business. She gets lectures and a professor. I’m thankful, because I don’t want to pay to have my kid teach herself.
I can’t comment on the business programs, but I briefly attended ALA, and I currently live in Orlando. Please keep in mind that UCF is ginormous. When a work colleague (who is also a UCF grad) told me that the university doubled its size over the past decade, I thought that she was exaggerating. Nope.
That said, UCF is currently a hot (pardon the pun) school, not only for Floridians and southerners but also for New Englanders. The football team has been quite successful over the past five years, and that has also had an effect.
Of source, Alabama is no slouch in football, and its size, though large, is downright cozy in comparison to UCF. UCF has its charms (I live about a mile away), but UF and FSU remain top targets for many high-achieving in-state students, while Alabama and Auburn are the premier universities in AL.
Your son can do fine at either, but if it were up to me, I’d be heading to Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide!
Have them visit, listen and decide. My daughter loves UCF but I’ve heard great things about UA as well.
I have no comment on the business school item but UCF is a university on the rise and my niece loves it there. And I agree with the sentiment that UCF and Bama will feel very different. Alabama is: older, more traditional, more Southern, etc. and UCF is more modern and more diverse. Both are fine universities.