California Coast University Reviews

"CCU is by far the best education I acquired. They are also military friendly which is a huge plus if you are Active Duty or work as a Federal Gov't employees trying to pursue higher education degrees while working full time and have families, as well as other obligations in our busy schedules. As many other reviews already provided some overview the CCU courses are self-paced and corresponded with sufficient support with curriculums. CCU libraries are also helpful for a great rent a book program with minimal cost as Amazon and other online stores any brand new College level textbook are very expensive unless you plan to keep them for a long term. You have to be very disciplined and study in order to pass exams after you submit your APA format essays. Professors provided feedback and additional resources which I definitely benefited. This is not an easy online school and requires efforts and determination to pass each courses to earn your credits. Exams are also proctored and well organized by CCU to maintain integrity and quality of the education. Overall, I am extremely grateful and appreciative of this school because it helped me personally and professionaly grow in my careers in Gov't jobs. Degrees also helped me get promoted to a higher leadership positions over the past years. While I fully finished my entire degrees through a job tuition-assistance programs, I am very confident to say that CCU is much more affordable compared to other Brick and Mortar institutions. Good luck with your endeavor in pursuing your educational goals!Read Less"

"TLDR; *Seems* shady, but actually accepted by other schools and state/federal entities. I have mixed feelings. The school *does* seem shady from the web site design and marketing. However, they are accredited. I can tell you that multiple states do accept these credits towards psych licensure. Yes, you do have to pay to retake classes/exams if you fail. That is every school, including brick/mortar. So study. I never failed a test there though. When I attended in 2007, you had to have finals proctored by someone local (employer, religious official, local teacher, etc) and have this person sign off that they had done so. It is not the most rigorous curriculum, but it does satisfy requirements for transferring credits to other schools and state / federal acceptance of degree.Read Less"

"Overall great school, staff and faculty always available to help out. Very understanding programs for those who work full time and are looking to get more schooling under their belt. They understand that when you work 40+ hours a week and are a parent the flexibility that they offer is so important."

"I had an overall great experience at California Coast. I get that there are places that might not readily accept CCU credits while there are many more that will.The whole national versus regional accreditation seems to depend on where you live. My state licensing board had no problem with my credits from CCU. The acceptance for DEAC seems to be growing as online education becomes more commonplace. My education at CCU overall was excellent. The choice of texts were top notch.. My other graduate degree is from Johns Hopkins and I worked equally hard for both degrees. I liked the consistent course format of four unit exams with essays and one final for each course. It worked well for me. I loved the self paced format. I despise the weekly online post requirements of schools like APUS (where I took some courses for a state license requirement), that seem to serve no useful purpose other than to check a meaningless box and suck up a lot of time. I write so much for my job that I would rather take have taken exams that have had to write novels for school. My only real complaint about the coursework at CCU is that there was no personal feedback on the unit essays. The essays were graded according to a rubric, but there never were any comments that might have helped me do a better job. At some point I decided to put more effort into exam prep and minimal effort into the essays which worked out fine. My MS in Psychology from CCU allowed me to make a later in life career change without taking a big hit in pay. It paid for itself almost immediately. Isn't that what it is all about? The staff is friendly and helpful. For someone like me who has blocks of time available at some times during the year and then not at other times the self paced format is ideal. I wasn't offered any kind of financial aid help or scholarship information. As far as I can ascertain there isn't any kind of financial help. While the payments are low and interest free, it is a bit of a lost leader. You cannot pay $125. or $150. a month (the typical payment plans offered) and pay off your program obligation by the time you finish your degree. At some point you have to come up with a chunk of cash. It is very nice that you can keep taking classes without having to come up with the money to pay for each class as you are ready to take them.Read Less"

"I received my master of science in psychology from California Coast University in 2007 a partner that degree with a practicum from ncu. That practicum along with my Master's Degree along with specials of studies and CEUs in addiction studies allowed me to test for and Achieve certification as a master's-level substance abuse counselor in Missouri with reciprocity to all 50 states the degree has given me stability in my career for the rest of my life. I studied hard learned a tremendous amount and was able to take that knowledge in my experience and turn it into state certification to practice as a substance abuse counselor. I am also qualified to pursue a doctorate in Psychology and I'm making a decision on where to pursue that now. I highly recommend California Coast University and their Graduate Studies for your consideration as a professional in this fast-paced changing economy.Read Less"

"Due to my schedule, California Coast University was the only way I was able to complete my degree. I am currently working in the field of mental health and couldn't be happier with the education I received and being able to do it at my own pace was paramount to my being able to succeed. Thanks to all of the people at the institution I am now where I needed to be all along."