oooOOh, judging by the ads, they must suck. Both the uni and grads. I've had this opinion since the early nineties and NOTHING but a better ad campaign wil shake it. ;)

You see this AskMe thread? Not much good was said.

oh shoot, you made me go there.I shouldn't have.

I hired a good one back in 1999 for software sales support.

I know a few decent DeVry people. It's a starter degree in many cases. It's not a good direction if you want to work with the latest and greatest technology, but if you want a good steady job with something proven and heavily installed, it can be the doorway to a long and happy career.

It isn't an MCS. It isn't an MBA with a tech minor. It isn't an MCSE. It's somewhere in the middle of all of those.

Why have I never heard of this institution before three days ago, and now it keeps popping up everywhere?

I work in the for-profit education industry (not DeVry, but we do have a lot of transfers from them). Keep in mind that for-profit means that the corporation is beholden to its shareholders. It doesn't have society's best interests in mind, or even its customers' (students) best interests. They have to maintain some minimum academic standards in order to remain accredited, but their primary goal is to get students in the door and keep them there, whether or not they are prepared, whether or not they are learning anything. I'm not saying there aren't good people at these places; there are some really bright and caring people. However, they're often hamstrung by the corporation, whose primary concern has to be whether or not they are making money, and that doesn't necessarily align with the student's best interest. I think you'd be better served at a community college or other nonprofit university.

It's a vocational school, but they market it like it's a real college to people who don't know any better. If you can get past that, it seems like it can work well for some folks--not, perhaps, the kinds of people who would otherwise go to a more traditional institution, but probably the kinds of people who might otherwise join the military or become an apprentice of some kind.

I've got a cousin who went there, and both he and his family were thrilled. But this kid, well, let's just say that it's a pleasant surprise that he's holding down a job.

And I once hired a guy who went there. He had some kind of networking diploma, though it didn't seem to help him get IT jobs (his experience was that most required either certifications or a work history, and his rather outspoken feeling was that he'd been hoodwinked and sold a fake degree), and I hired him to shelve books for six bucks an hour. He's gotten promoted a few times since then, and he's now second-in-command in the interlibrary loan department.

(If you'd like to draw conclusions about the relative life-changing powers of DeVry versus the public library, well, please feel free.)

And, on preview, seconding what desjardins said about profit motives and community colleges.

Thanks all.

My son, the one that dropped out of college, is looking into an online program at DeVry. I think he's capable of more, but he's got some spots on his record and getting some decent grades, somewhere, anywhere, might help him get back on his feet academically. I guess the "for profit" thing is a concern.

Someone were I work just completed an electrical engineering technology degree there, and my workplace (which happens to be a pretty big corporation) has said they'll be moving him from a technician to an engineering position based on is previous experience and his DeVry degree. I talked to him about it, and he had mixed things to say about the school, some of which makes sense based on the for profit standing of the school.

Again, thanks for the responses.