Capella University is one of the largest online colleges in the United States. Based out of Minnesota, it offers 114 undergraduate and graduate degrees, plus over 1000 courses that lead to certificates and diplomas. Students come from all 50 states and 55 countries around the world, with over 28,000 enrolled at any given time. About 46 percent are graduate students pursuing master degrees, 36 percent are enrolled in PhD programs and only 18 percent pursuing bachelors and associate degrees. Over 1,000 professors based in nine different countries are available to guide classes, grade projects and offer backing to those pursuing a degree.
Capella University was born in 1991 under the direction of Stephen Shank, CEO of toy company Tonka, who named the school Graduate School of America. His main goal was to reach those who couldn't attend traditional classes or felt overwhelmed by the pressures imposed by brick-and-mortar universities. It wasn't until 1997 that the school received regional accreditation and until the year 2000 that bachelors were first offered. Capella is accredited by several organizations, including the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the Project Management Institute Global Accreditation Center for Project Management.
Capella offers degrees in seven major areas: business management, health care, education, human capital management, information technology, mental health and public safety. There are numerous specializations within each field. For example, students in the public safety field can choose to work on degrees in criminal justice, emergency management, public safety leadership, information assurance and security or general human resources. While all programs are taught completely online, there are residency requirements for students enrolled in certain PhD programs. Graduates from the clinical psychology degree will need to complete a year of residency before receiving their degrees, while other programs require a 15-day residency (split into three five-day periods on consecutive years).
The average credit for a Capella course costs $310, with a Bachelor requiring 180 credits for graduation. Up to 80 percent of students in any given year receive some sort of financial aid to complete their education, including federal aid, non-federal student loans, grants and scholarships. There are also many ways for students to reduce the overall cost for a program, such as transferring credits in, applying for veterans benefit programs, using employer reimbursement and corporate alliance programs and looking into US Armed Forces Education discounts. Books are not included in the tuition.
Learning at Capella is done through a series of different methods, including courserooms, a system of software called Blackboard Learning (which allows for organization of classes and study material) and direct interaction with teachers. The coursework includes orientations, weekly syllabus, assignments and space to chat with other students as a way of exchanging ideas and asking for help. Classes are interactive, something that many online universities seem to be missing (many are programs where you study on your own and only contact professors when a question or problem arises). Written feedback is regular via email and chats. Courses do start at specific times throughout the year, usually every 10 weeks.