see most of you guys who responding to my comments are still not understanding my main point, i dont know how much clearer i have to make it. ok obviously i was not dissing the students in the program and i understand that they go through alot to do the program and get in. but you guys are not understanding that if creighton is mass producing pharmacist through both online and distance for cheaper. this will eventually spread on and like i said making the pharmacy profession less credible if it is producing so many pharmacist --- eventually leading to a higher than equilibrium rate in the profession. all you guys who keep stating im a troll, you guys are just narrow minded *****s...take the time and actually read what i wrote and consider what i am saying. anyone can call another person a troll and believe they know what they are talking about, but you guys still havent been able to give me an educated response. and i dont know what facts i said were wrong please specify i would like to respond...
They can't "double" the amount of tuition they make by having half as many people in the distance class. If you assume that the money they make from distance tuition is 100% profit, then at most, they have a 150% increase. (110 campus vs 55 distance)
I'm not sure how they make the pharmacy profession any less credible based on the current class size - campus plus distance together is still less than 200 students (165 for our class actually) - that is in line or less than several other schools (I think I saw U of FL accepts 300 for their entering class). Combine that with the average statistics of the entering class, and I would think if anything it makes their program just as credible (if not moreso) than many others.
Again, as DrugDoc mentioned, the amount of infrastructure and continuing IT support (as well as administrative support) necessary to keep the distance folks up and running is quite extensive. The tuition scale used to be different for the two programs (before I started) and I don't know all the history, but they have made a conscious effort to align them. This brings me back to point #1 - the amount of tuition from a distance student is not 100% profit due to a different mix of costs that it takes to keep the program running.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding the point about half the resources - no, distance students don't use as many campus resources, but the number of faculty are the same. And as already mentioned, there are additional resources the distance students must use that the campus students don't have to depend on as much.
There seems to be an undertone that the administration of Creighton's pharmacy school woke up one morning and decided to start on online program to make more money. I'm pretty sure that isn't exactly how it went down - as other posters have mentioned, part of the motivation was to help fill a shortage of pharmacists in rural areas - and since you've visited Nebraska, you know that other than Omaha, it is a pretty rural state.
There are some students in my class who are met with skepticism and I can understand that to a certain degree. However, I live in the the midwest and many people around here know of Creighton and know someone who went to school there. The hospital pharmacy where I did a site visit actually employs 2 grads from the distance pathway and the director couldn't say enough great things about them. The way I see it is that online education has been growing in popularity for several years - Creighton was just ahead of the curve.
Something obviously happened during your visit that made you angry or upset about the school - I'm sorry to hear that because I think it is great (yes, my opinion is biased). I hope you find a school that is suitable for your needs.
And to all those still waiting to hear from Creighton - good luck!
