Capella University is a small for-profit university in Minneapolis. The school offers degrees at all levels: bachelor’s, master’s, and PhDs. It also offers a very interesting option called FlexPath, which lets you create a customized path to a degree letting you pick variables like time and costs.
It is a mostly online university, and it offers programs in business, health sciences, information technology, nursing, psychology, public administration, social work & human services.
Editor’s note: not all degrees are available at all levels. For example, there are no courses in public administration for a bachelor’s degree.
In this article, we are going to analyze Capella University. We are going to tell you if it’s a legit university. How do employers see a degree from Capella University? How about the coursework? Are the teachers prepared?
Keep reading to find out.
Is Capella University Legit?
In short: yes. Getting a degree from Capella University will give you a huge career boost. You’ll get real education recognized by employers and the government alike.
Let’s see more in depth why Capella is legit.
Accreditation
Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which is a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Regional accreditation is considered better than national accreditation, mostly because the education tends to be of higher quality. Regional accreditation also makes the programs eligible for tuition reimbursem*nt plans, and makes most credits easily transferable between schools/courses.
Plus, a school without accreditation is not really a school. The first thing you should check before enrolling into any institution that calls itself a university is if they are accredited.
Universities without accreditation aren’t considered real schools by the government, nor by employers.
Capella also has many other professional accreditations. Its courses earned several awards throughout the year. You can read more about them here.
The University’s Ranking
Being a private for-profit school, it’s hard to find rankings for this university. In fact, they are completely non-existent. That’s pretty weird if you ask me.
Anyway, the lack of ranking doesn’t mean the university is bad. It usually means it doesn’t disclose enough data for the rankers to evaluate it objectively.
The only way to know if Capella is a good school is by reading its reviews on various sites.
As usual, reviews are a bit of a mixed bag. That’s good, it means they are real. Some people loved their experience at Capella university, others found it dreadful.
A strong vision of what you want to achieve in life is crucial to figure out if a university is for you.
The Coursework and the Teachers
The courses taught at Capella are of very high-quality. Many people report they’ve received excellent education.
Even negative reviews are more focused on the administrative part. Nobody seems to be complaining about the learning itself. Sure, some professors are jerks, but that is the reality of human life. Some people exist just to make others miserable.
If you are looking for great education, then Capella University is for you. You must be ready to complete the course work though, as it’s challenging. You will study and learn a lot here. That’s a given.
For a college that lets you learn at your own pace online, it is by far one of the best when it comes to providing good education. You can’t go wrong with Capella University.
Getting Accepted into Capella
Capella is online focused, and it’s a for-profit college. As you can expect from this introduction, the acceptance rate is 100%.
High acceptance rates are a bit worrisome. They usually mean the university is more after the students’ money than providing outstanding education. According to a good portion of the school’s reviews, that is the case for Capella too.
There is a worrying trend of people complaining they got tricked into paying more through questionable actions and mistakes by the school. That’s a red flag for me. I don’t know if I’d consider going to a university where so many people had that kind of issues.
As for every school with a high acceptance rate, the graduation rate is abysmal. 11.7%. It’s common when you consider that high acceptance rate means there’s no screening. Anyone can enroll, even people who don’t really care or aren’t willing to put in the effort to graduate.
The School’s Reputation
Capella is an outlier in the world of online education. While some employers still follow the stigma against online universities, Capella is one of the most respected online universities in the United States.
There is no reason to believe Capella isn’t reputable, since it’s regionally accredited. Most people who graduate from Capella get a job quickly, and they are happy with the education they got.
The biggest issues for its reputation are all the negative reviews claiming the school tries hard to siphon as many money from its students as possible.
Will I Get a Job after Graduating from Capella University?
Most likely yes. It is a regionally accredited school after all. Plus, the education it offers is of very high quality.
Being an online university, you’ll find employers who think you basically bought your degree. This sentiment is slowly going away, but it’s been a belief commonly held in the job world. Online degrees are getting more accepted now, but it’s still going to take a while before everyone believes in them.
If you find an employer who doesn’t respect your degree, don’t waste your time with them. Move on and go somewhere you will be appreciated for the hard work you put into bettering yourself.
Conclusions
Capella University is a for-profit university focusing on teaching online classes. The education’s quality is very high, and the school is overall reputable. It’s regionally accredited and has won many awards for the courses it offers.
Before enrolling in it, I advise looking more into the tuition problem. Many students report the school trying to milk them for more money. Tuition is already quite expensive, being a private for-profit school, so do your due diligence.
Last, don’t think that just because it’s a for-profit school you can coast along and get your degree. There is a reason Capella’s graduation rate is so low. It’s a challenging school. You need to put in the work to succeed. Things won’t get handed to you just because you are paying a pretty penny.
What are you waiting for? Check out Capella’s offering today, and pursue higher education today!
Also Read:Online University Scams: How Do You Know if an Online Course Is Legit?
