***Expect many billing issues if you ever leave the school prior to graduation, either temporarily or permanently. There have been many cases where the student is still billed, even though all administrators have advised everything has been completed and 'zero-ed' out, and the only way they find out is because collections is now calling, or they contacted the school on a completely separate matter (like requesting a transcript) and been denied due to a billing checkstop (and no record of a paper bill can be provided).SUNY UB operates more as a business than a school- every decision/update/etc seems more to do with making money than improving curriculum or the quality of education, and is especially catered to out-of-state students. For example:
Making money--a lot of classes use "textbooks" that were written by the instructor and published privately so the students have no choice but to buy at the campus bookstore cost and there is a new version it seems every year (limits opportunity to buy 2nd hand, etc). The majority of my classes don't even use the textbook, and those that do use it extremely limited.
Also the mandatory activity fee is a significant % of the total cost and I have received very minimum benefit from this--I would much rather have itemized and optional costs. The only thing I used was the printer, and even this had hours of turn-around and I ended up buying a print card for the business school instead of having to walk to the library- which brings me to the point that the activity fee isn't even all inclusive. Student clubs are extremely easy to set up but existing clubs are generally elitist and exclusive.
Overall, I have liked my professors, but I did not like being taught by grad students and there were a lot to whom English was a second language. Professors were generally understanding and accessible, but of course there are exceptions. Administrators, however, are extremely inaccessible, incompetent, unhelpful, and extremely overpaid.
Catered to out-of-state students: My original gen-ed English class was mostly foreign students who knew very limited spoken English, so I was transferred to the "advanced English class".
The majority of my business school classes were video recorded. This was extremely helpful for me because a lot of those classes offered an online option that I utilized while working fulltime. However, the school also had a partnership of sorts with a school in Singapore, Australia and these students were able to access the online courses to get the same degree that I had. To my knowledge, I as a student, received absolutely no benefit from this partnership, but the school was able to charge the Singapore students enrollment in these classes at an out-of-state cost. Another business decision that in no way is to the benefit of those actually attending the school, and even with these lucrative partnerships, my cost of tuition is constantly going up.Activities fees, which are considerable but not optional, go towards benefits such as a bussing system that shuttles between the two campuses and also to specific locations around town. I, as an in-state student with a car, do not use the bus nor do I have any need for the bus. These busses are very good for students who dorm, but I shouldn't have to subsidize this very costly expense. Two options--include the bus system in the cost of room and board since these are going to be the majority of the students using it, or make it an optional cost. Also, the city of Buffalo has a bus system that follows the UB's route almost exactly, so why can't it be a student responsibility to take care of their own transportation like I have with by having a vehicle? I live along the UB route between campuses, and no matter what time of day it is, I see at least one bus going my same direction, and one going the other direction. There is a bus every 7 minutes, I believe, (this may be a little later at night, but still) an extremely unnecessary frequency.
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