I attended AIU for my BA degree and planning on returning for my Masters. I loved it. I was attending a typical university but after calculating my classes I would still be in school for 6 years for a BA because some semesters a certain class isnt available. But with AIU I was able to complete my BA in 14 months. I am in my 20's and I work fulltime 40 or more a week, so AIU was happy with my decision to attend AIU.

I am working at a major school now and one of the reason I got the job was the manager in HR attended AIU as well and we bonded as fellow alumni. I am going for my masters starting January and hope to further my career.

You have to attended the school before you make judgement. I read all these negative blogs before I attended but I wanted to judge the school on my own. Now I have a great job and the other bloggers are unemployeed and degree-less still bashing AIU. Losers!

AIU IS THE BEST!

AIU is a great school for students who are mature and have discipline. If you are the typical Gen X/Y slacker, this school is not for you. Yes the University is expensive but they provide concierge service. Everything is done for you administratively and all books & software are included in the tuition. Frankly, as I read some of these negative reviews the common theme is the whiner "they didn't do everything for me and I actually was expected to put forth effort" routine. If you can't do the required work without having a professor hold your hand, AIU is not for you. I completed my undergraduate at a traditional school. The university expects graduate students to be self motivated and if you are you will succeed, if not you will fail. I would venture that anyone who can not do well at AIU will likely not do well elsewhere... or in life.

This school is for busy people who have careers, but little time to attend a traditional university. I would not recommend this school for those just out of high school. It is fully accredited. I have been attending AIU Online for the past 6 months, and I am very satisfied. I am a husband and a father of 2, and also a business professional. This school has a curriculum tailored to people like me. I have also been able to apply what I have learned into my work.

DO NOT ATTEND A.I.U
Their classes are a joke.They are based on a 9 credit hour criteria.
There classes are only 5 weeks long and have group projects.
In these projects most are slackers, and is very difficult to find anyone with any initiative.
When you take the lead, be prepared to do all the work, while others do nothing and get recognition on these projects. I attended for 3 semesters and ran up a $12,000 bill.
On top of that there collections department are hassling me for $487.00 balance owed.
I told them at the begining that all of it must be financed through student loans.They by no means were not transparent. I am know going to Devry. I think their degree will mean something.
I can not se how you can truly learn in order to get a great job.Their concentrations are only three classes. Most classes are easily passed. IT IS a great rip off ****. As for those bragging about their Batchelors and Masters degrees, I can not even begin to compare their knowledge with those that have put more effort because of the more stringent demand of those institutions that have very rigorous and and detailed curriculums.
I cannot understand how these accreditation boards lend themselves out to accredit such mediocracy. I think that a degree from this institution is not looked well at by employers. I also pretty much think that American Intercontinental University does not teach what employers are looking for and that what A.I.U brags about is just way to making exorbitant profits without truly giving anything of real value in return.

Please email me at richardcorrales109@fanbox.com

I'm an MBA graduate of AIU Online, I completed my degree in May of 2009. Overall I've had nothing but great experiences with AIU Online. People if you are interested in attending an online school please do not listen to internet reviews. The reason I say this is that the internet is full of people bashing online schools, including AIU Online, University of Pheonix, Devry, Kaplan, etc. AIU Online is a fully accredited school. AIU Online was accredited by SACS but they are now accredited by NCA which accredits almost every major (legitimate) University in the midwest. I live in Illinois so NCA accredits every state school including Northwestern. I see reviews all over saying AIU Online was about to lose to their accreditation a couple years ago. They would have lost their accreditation if they didn't take action but let me tell you, this is the exact reason why University's are accredited! Accrediting bodies will review the University every several years. When they see a University is lacking in something or needs to develop something they will put them on a probationary or warning status for a certain period of time. This is good! Many schools have been placed on probation. AIU made some great changes to their University during the probationary period as SACS gave them great recommendations. In the end they came off probation for a reason and they exited as a better University than when they entered, this is the purpose of probation! Overall don't listen to the negative hype no matter what online school you choose. The problem with online education is that there are a few students who should not be in the program as they should not have even finished high school. These students struggle greatly in these programs and usually end up dropping out of failing out. Then they get upset and write negative information online. Let me tell you that online education is not for everyone, it isn't. Some have to try it out first in order to realize that. However if it wasn't for AIU Online I would not have my MBA. I'm an adult who works 40-50 hours per week. My schedule is not very flexible so it's diffucult to attend a local campus. I learned a great deal of information with my MBA in HR Management. I have yet to find an employer who did not recgonize my degree. Online education is becoming increasingly more popular amongst employers but it is still very new. As of matter of fact many employers like graduates from online schools because it shows that you are probably more "computer" savy. In this day in age if you don't acceptable computer skills, forget it! AIU Online's staff is friendly and their instructors have experience in the fields they teach. Sure you'll have your bad instructor here and there, but that's with any school. I attended a state school for my undergrad and I had my fair share of bad instructors. For some reason people think online Universities will be different. Overall I would recommend this school to anyone. However like I said in the beginning of my post, don't listen to me since this is an internet review. Make the decision yourself! Compare different online Universities. Take a look at their virtual campuses, these vary greatly from one school to the next (this is the reason I chose AIU Online over any other school), are books and software included in tuition costs?, do they have around the clock support?, how long will it take you to finish your degree?, are they accredited?, these are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself when you take look at online colleges. Honestly tuition should be the last thing you look at. Please do not chose a University based on tuition alone! Don't cut yourself short. Many online colleges I research where not very upfront about tuition, they'd give you on number then once you enrolled you found out their were many hidden costs. I hope this review was helpful!

I graduated from American Intercontinental University in 12/2008 with Associate's Degree in Business Administration majoring in Medical Coding/Billing. It seems from my experience, the school has more cons than pros.

Good:

(1) The convenience: you can learn anytime, anywhere.
(2) I like a challenge, most of the curriculum is challenging just not in what I'm majoring in! The majority of my classes were for business; I worked very hard to receive high grades for these classes.
(3) Most of my professors were professionals of related fields in the classes they were teaching.
(4) They're accredited, so they say.

Now here comes the bad...
(1) As mentioned before the curriculum, I believe the college does not offer a good amount of classes for what the student is majoring in. Three classes for medical coding and billing with just a general background of each, no actual real life practice of these processes. This field has a lot to do with medical terminology, physiology, and anatomy as well. Does AIU have classes for this? NO! It's ridiculous, after graduation I wanted take a national certification test (for better chances of landing a job) and I had teach myself this to prepare! Unfortunately I failed my test and did not get a job just because I do not have a certification. As prospective medical coder/biller, I believe AIU did not prepare me much for entering this workforce. Going to this school is a mistake, I'll have to live with and another debt to pay off! What I need to do now is buy more books, study more, and pass that exam. Not giving up... Hopefully in six months to a year, I'll be where I need to be.

(2) I read in another review some of the officials lie to you. SO TRUE, when I was deciding to go to this school I asked the admissions advisor about their accreditation (I was planning to further my education at another college in the future). Guess what? I applied to some dinky local allied health school just to take a medical terminology class, the academic advisor over there recommended I take a whole program because they did not accept my credits from AIU because of the insufficient curriculum. No way, another $6,000 for the program!

(3) One last comment, do not expect the careers department to help you much out either! No externships (well, you look up hospitals in the students' areas and help get them externships through there, duh...) and not enough help or resources finding jobs. Yes, I know you need to write a resume and cover letter to get a job interview! I have excellent writing and researching skills; this how I succeeded in this school and do not need them calling me for the tenth time just to see if I wrote a cover letter and resume. That's all these career advisors do.

I could mention others, but I think you get my point right?

Simply, DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!

I got my Associates of Business Administration through AIU in 2006. I attended because I was trying to get hired as a police officer in the pacific northwest, and many departments required an associates degree or higher to apply. Here are the good and the bad as I experienced it.

The Good...
-Convenience. I was living on the big island of Hawaii, working full time, and there was simply no physical way possible that I could have attended UH Hilo or one of the community college campuses.... to far away.
-Format. The classes were laid out in a (for the most part) logical order. I.E., I was not studying business management prior to basic fundamentals of business etc...
-Technology. The campus interface was user friendly and intuitive.

The Bad....
-Expensive. Oh my God!
-Grades. I am a highly motivated individual. I worked my ass off to EARN my grade, took the initiative to lead group projects, and always turned in top notch work to try and keep a perfect GPA. Imagine my dismay when I saw the "tag alongs" that always did the bare minimum, did not participate in group projects, and did horrible half assed work getting grades as good as mine, or only slightly less so. Also, MY grade on the group projects was somewhat dependent upon the participatory efforts of my group mates. You would not believe how many slugs enroll in online college because they think it will be easier. These slugs will feed off of you, the motivated; cruze along in your wake like some sort of parasite. Word of warning to the uninitiated. Your only choice is to takes the lead, do 99% of the work, and drag them along with you. Course Profs are indifferent to your complaints.
-Proffessors. Hit and miss with this one, some good and involved, some not so much. My business law prof. for example, seemed to not even look at the work being turned in, and assigned grades by pulling names out of a hat. I caught him giving "cut and paste" responses regarding assignments handed in when I compared notes with several other students. I confronted him about this and he got very defensive, and enied it. Which takes me to the next point....
-Support. As with the problem above, any time I contacted the support services with a problem they: 1. Took their sweet time getting back to me. 2. Didn't really DO anything.
-Acrediting problems. Not mentioned to me by their sales people, or anyone else. Discovered by me later. mentioned much on this site.
-Marketing. Oh yeah, I got the hard sell too. Not only that, but when I signed the papers and sat down to start learning, I THOUGHT I was majoring in and getting my degree in Criminal Justice! That's right, I HAVE my degree in Business Admin, but I asked the rep on the phone if I could get my AA in CRIMINAL JUSTICE! When I talked to my assigned councelor I was told I was a criminal justice major. Funny, none of my classes had anything to do with this. In fact, when I saw the curriculum and asked her about it I was informed that, yes my MAJOR was criminal justice and if I actually wanted the classes to obtain a DEGREE in criminal justice, I would just have to enroll in and pay for those once the AABA was completed. This, AFTER I had signed the financial obligation paperwork. This probably pissed me off the most. I was blatently lied to in this regard.
-Outside assumptions. During a preliminary background check with one of the PD's I applying to the subject of my degree came up. When the punk interviewing me asked about where I got my degree, I told him. This led to a series of highly condescending and acusatory questions regarding the accredation, authentication, and overall validity of my degree. I basically had to become one of AIU's sleazy sales people to convince him that I did, in fact, have a "real" degree.
-Cheap assed Honors cord. I laughed my ass off when I received it. It looks like something that should be attached to a curtain rod.

Summary

I don't know. It IS legit; the Southern association of colleges says so. It DID have it's good points, and ALL online university's are expensive as hell so it doesn't really stand out from any of the rest in that regard. Along those lines, all online schools have a long road ahead of them when it comes to overcoming preconceptions about non traditional learning methods, so I can't really blame them for ol' douchebags schizm against them. It did have a few redeeming qualities as well. Fact is, if they had taken THEMSELVES a little more seriously, did more to honor those that worked for it and less for the slackers, and didn't F-ing LIE to me, they would get about four stars. But in my book, the lieing is unforgiveable. Hope this helps.

AIU had one of the best programs that I could find when looking for an online MBA program. So, What hard sell is anyone referring to unless the University has drop its ethical profile. I enjoy the sessions and think that it was a program which I recommends constantly even today.

Councelor support was terrible: 4 different ones within 1 week. The professor could not speak clear english. Over charged for a class and they will not correct it.  My total experience with this school was terrible.

I suspect this site was created for some good reasons. In the computer age, we are in a fight for REAL DEGREE DIPLOMA vs FAKE DEGREE DIPLOMA. CAMPUS vs VIRTUAL SUCCESS. There is a bitter fight with scare tactics and propaganda to veer individuals away from certain schools of online learning. I think it is great that people have an area to vent, but the creator of this site and all of us should be careful not to conclude misleading information to individuals about AIU or any other school, unless we have concrete evidence at hand. I can understand someone being upset and reporting or telling others, but some people have had a great experience at AIU, UOP, and other institutions that have bad comments on the site. Each experience is different and my heart goes out to any misfortunes. I have a TRADITIONAL Bachelor of Science Degree and I'm strongly considering achieving my Master of Science online. To be factual, all higher learning advisors and administration usually have degrees in business, because all higher learning institutions are "for profit" and are ultimately "a business" just like any other business in the world. They are offering an education and marketable services, Right? When someone finds a free of tuition school, call me. I could really save on my Masters. There isn't a school diminished from flaw that cannot be placed on probation for the slightest unmet conditions. If a school meets the necessities of the US Department, then they are accredited and I doubt any employer would turn away a U S Department accredited degree. If so, they are idiots, because most employees don't have a traditionl or online degree for that matter. When it's all said and done our children in the future and mostly all schools(even highschool, and elementary) will be virtual in some regards in just a short time. Then what will empoyers, students, and other angered "for profit" schools in competition benefit from trying to put any degree or school in the "inadequate school pages of the worldwide web" Accelerated means just that, faster and more intense. I believe most any basic degree (not including any field of Doctorates, they need efficient practicum, etc.) can be earned in a year or two as long as you earn each degree in a respectable order and earn it through a high standard curriculum and educator. Most universities prolong education, not just for the assurance or sake of a student's adequate education, but for financial gain also. Anyone that has been through college can probably relate to what I'm saying. When I contacted AIU, the first thing they asked was did I have at least an Associates to apply, becasue at first they thought I wanted a Bachelors. Although I have a higher degree, it was already initialized if I didn't have an Associates I couldn't apply for a Bachelors. Now, I don't know about you, but most colleges online or traditional institutions don't do this. This could be a good or bad thing. Some will see it as holding a higher stander of entry into an educational institution and some will see it as bank robbery. Beware though, sometimes this is used in order to make more money from innocent first-time students that really desire a Bachelors Degree, but not yet have the Associate level completed. This could be an attempted tactic used in marketing to ultimately make more money overall from an individual student if they decide to continue their Bachelors after gaining their Associates through the same institution, because of strong encouragement through faculty and administration. Last but not least, here is a link to check out some REAL TRUTHS about US Department higher learning institutions. If you ever have a question about any school, investigate it here http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. Keep in mind that institutions aren't obligated to have a listing with the U S Department of Education, but it is wise to choose any school that is. This will help you to achieve more from future employers and educational opportunities. I apologize for any typographical errors. My time was very limited to make this post. I think this site has its purpose. It does encourage people to investigate universities before applying. Everyone keep sharing thoughts and using your own abilities and minds to select the right institution regarding your own individual preferences and expectations.

Beware of AIU!!!! When selecting a school to attend keep in mind two very important things. First, will my school be valued by employers and second, is the cost worth it (loans must be paid back and the interest is a killer). If you are thinking about attending AIU please visit aiutruth.com where you can learn the dark truth about his school.

I graduated from AIU this summer with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. I can say alot of good and bad things about this school, but I must be fair.

The education, frankly, is top-notch. The instructors are excellent, qualified individuals with alot to offer. The course material is relevant and the the program is intense. I had 9 years in the law enforcement field prior to starting at AIU, so i can tell you that the education they are providing is real-world and cutting edge. I have absolutely no complaints about the courses, the instructors, or the education I received.

Now, on the flip-side, AIU is on probation with SACS. This is a fact I wasn't aware of when I enrolled in 2005. I made the mistake of not doing much research before I applied. I believe AIU was placed on probation just prior to my enrollment. I can honestly say that the administration at AIU is less than desirable. This school is owned by a private corporation which is not in the business of providing education, they're in the business of generating profit.

My other complaint about the university, which comes right down to dollars, is that I had classes with alot of people that should not have been there. The admissions process is a joke, and there is almost no standard for admission. Show them the money and they'll show you the acceptance letter. Grade inflation is common and necessary to make sure that those who can't keep up with the program and submit sub-par assignments remain in the program and keep paying. It's frustrating to those who work hard.

As an example of how the administration works, it might take 3 days to get a call back from your advisor when you need help, but rest assured that if you're tuition payment is even 1 day late, you will get a call from the finance department. This is the sad truth behind what could be a great institution of higher learning.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from attending AIU as the education is excellent. The instructors, courses, and the virtual campus are all second to none. I am confident that the accreditation issue will be resolved and AIU will remain accredited in the future. Hopefully the issues that SACS has raised will correct some of the administrative shortcomings.

I graduated from AIU online with a BIT Programming. I decided to finish my education with a online school after 8 years of attending a State Uni. I had a serious problem with the state uni, I was never able to get into any of my classes, due to time constraints, I worked fulltime all the way through school, and because freshman had priority on all GE classes. What this equaled was 8 years of college, all GEs except math complete and my major classes were never scheduled so I could attend. I ended up taking 2 classes a semester because I due to the state colleges bureaucracy I was never able to find or enroll in classes that would work with a fulltime schedule. My biggest fear was that if I ever finished school I would never even use my degree, after all, at the time I was working in a retail store with several college grads doing the same thing as me.

I entered AIU with a beginners level in computers. I had worked with some programming but not much. The classes were laid out in a progressive manner, as with math you need to have a foundation before you can start building on it and AIU took this into account. My instructors were well versed in the subjects they taught and had just as many if not more office hours than, my State Uni, that they could be approached for help. Because it is an accelerated program the classes move fast and it is very easy to fall behind. If you are considering AIU you will need to be ready to apply yourself in order to get the work done, because no room for procrastinators here!

The course work was very challenging and I really walked away from this school with an education I can apply to my everyday life. I am even working a job now where I use skills that are directly related to my degree and lessons I learned at AIU. How many other people can say that as well?

When I was taking the initial steps for pursuing my M.Ed., I looked at several accredited online universities. I decided on AIU. It was a wise choice. The university's M.Ed. program is highly recommended by the U.S. Department of Education for its superb training in meeting the mandates of NCLB. The coursework was callenging and I learned a great deal. I would highly recommend AIU to anyone.

Please don't go here. They were or still is on probation. They are also too expensive and not very challenging. You only have to earn 3 credits in Math-Business Math. You want to be proud in the college you attend and AIU is not one. Save your money.