::: bisonium.com :::

For you 24 fans, no this is not the CTU you are thinking of.  This is Colorado Technical University's online program.  I have been considering furthering my education and getting an advanced degree and found this program, which so far looks pretty decent.  All was going well on the phone interview until I asked the million dollar question: "Does your curriculum work on a Mac?"  All I heard was silence.  After consulting with the manager, the answer was NO.  You must use an IBM I was told.  Interesting.  I didn't realize IBM was an operating system.

So let me ask you this my blogsphere friends...don't you think that an online university should be able to not only be platform agnostic and work across the board on Mac, Linux and Windows, but also not be tied to one vendor and the limitations of proprietary software in an education environment?  Common sense would dictate that they use open source technologies and teach fundamental principals rather than specific vendor platforms (unless that is the course, like an MCSE certification or something).

This was quite an eye opener for me.  Could Microsoft have bought their way into the school by providing "incentives" to the school?  Or was it simply an oversight from an IT manager without the foresight to think that there might be some potential students out there that have not necessarily drank the Microsoft Kool-Aid, and actually own a Mac or Linux box?

If you have done the online university thing, what school did you use?  Anyone have a solid recommendation for an online school with a solid name and IT program?  Chime in via the comments link.