Online Degrees Available at ASU
American Sentinel University appears in our ranking of the Top 30 Most Affordable Master’s in Nursing Education Degrees Online.
Graduate degrees available online at American Sentinel University include a Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration in Healthcare or a Master of Science in Business Intelligence. The university shares that it routinely updates its degree programs to keep them market-relevant and to ensure students will enter the workforce with valuable and up-to-date knowledge. Students who choose the Master of Science in Nursing degree will be able to choose from seven specializations including Infection Prevention & Control, Nursing Education, Nursing Management & Organizational Leadership, Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Informatics, or Case Management. Like all other programs at the university, each of these graduate-level nursing degrees is available 100 percent online.
Another online graduate degree program students may choose to earn is the Master of Business Administration in Healthcare. The program is designed to provide students with relevant coursework in business and how it relates to the healthcare industry. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree prior to applying to the program. To receive an MBA in Health Care, students will need to complete 12 courses at a rate of $530 per credit hour. Students are also eligible to transfer courses from other programs attended. The program also accepts life experience in lieu of actual credits taken at other universities. Some of the classes students will take include Risk Management for Healthcare Organizations, Healthcare Information Resources Management, and Performance Improvement in Healthcare.
A final graduate degree option at the university is the master’s degree in business intelligence. This program helps students understand the business side of the healthcare industry so that students can make intelligent business decisions while managing healthcare environments, as well as understand how intelligence and analytics can benefit healthcare delivery and the efficacy of the organization. Students will take classes like Balanced Scorecards & Performance Dashboards, Business Intelligence & Analytics Systems, and Data Analytics.
About American Sentinel University
American Sentinel University is headquartered in Denver, Colorado and offers distance-learning opportunities to students who wish to earn degrees in healthcare. The school is a for-profit entity that was created after the merger between the American Graduate School of Management and the American College of Computer & Information Science. The main offerings from the university are in the area of nursing, and the school also offers programs in information systems management, as well as other areas of healthcare like infection prevention and control. As the school is an online entity, there are no sports teams at the university since all students are in distance learning programs.
The university counts more than 5,900 alumni as of 2018 and has more than 180 full-time and adjunct faculty members. More than 70 percent of the instructors at the university hold doctoral degrees. The university offers students the opportunity to reduce their tuition costs through educational partnerships with various companies that can also result in accelerated admissions processes and tuition deferment options. The university also boasts membership with several military groups including the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support, the Community College of the Air Force, and the Council of College and Military Educators. The university’s primary focus is on offering non-traditional students like working adults and members of the military ample learning options that mimic a traditional college environment.
American Sentinel University Accreditation Details
American Sentinel University’s national accreditation organization is the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education of Washington, D.C. has also accredited the nursing degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Doctor of Nursing Practice program has also obtained accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing for its tracks in Professional Leadership, Informatics Leadership, and Executive Leadership. The university is also a member of many groups and associations including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which is a student-led group, the Society for Clinical Research Associates, and the American Nursing Informatics Association.
American Sentinel University Application Requirements
American Sentinel University requires different application materials for each level of application, therefore application documents for a certificate program will differ from those at the doctoral level. Applying to any of the graduate-level programs at American Sentinel University requires a completed application, a current resume or list of professional accomplishments, and a detailed essay that shares with the school the student’s academic background, skills, and experience, as well as the student’s future career goals and why the student believes a program a the university would be a good fit for the student’s career objectives. Students applying to the university must hold a valid registered nurse license and must also submit official transcripts from all colleges attended.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition at American Sentinel University varies for each program, and the university suggests that its tuition is often lower than comparable schools that also offer distance learning degrees in nursing and healthcare. For students in the RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, tuition per credit hour is $410, and the total number of required credits in the program is 60. The total amount of tuition in the program will vary from $12,300 to $24,600, based on the number of transfer credits a student brings to the university. The cost for master’s degree programs at the university is $530 per credit hour, and students must take a total of 36 credits to graduate. The overall tuition cost varies between $9,540 and $19,080 and is also based on the number of credits a student transfers. Students in certificate programs will pay $530 per credit and students in doctoral programs will pay $730 per credit.
Financial aid options at American Sentinel University include payment plans with zero interest, employer reimbursement plans, federal student aid, and reductions in tuition based on military benefits. Students must contact the financial aid office at the university to determine whether they are eligible for federal student aid, as well as to discuss the total amount of tuition a student can expect to pay for their degree program. To qualify for federal student aid, students must have a high school diploma, be a resident or citizen of the United States, and enroll in an eligible program. Students must also not be in default on any previous student loans, as well as have a valid Social Security number of they’re a U.S. citizen.
Students interested in any of the degree programs at American Sentinel University are invited to contact the school for additional information.