DeVry University Ohio

Date: Jun 03 2002
Major: Electrical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
These grades are not meant to hurt DeVry but possibly wake-up the Administration and serve as advice for prospective students of DeVry Columbus EET program. Two trimesters ago, DeVry Columbus Administration decided to displace Afternoon and Evening classes (for the Electronics Engineering Program) and move those students to the Morning schedule. There was little warning or regard for my job or lifestyle. I am still not able to take all the classes I should be able to because of conflicting schedules with the classes I am already in. DeVry already has a skeleton of a curriculum with few electives, so what am I to do? Pay tuition out of my pocket to go to an even less organized Community College? What's the point? There is an atmosphere of general disregard for the student body from SOME of the Faculty and Admin, but worst of all is the LOW quality of about half of my professors. I will admit I had some good teachers, but only a few of my teachers brought any enthusiasm or creativity to their classes. I'm an EET student and no one has even demonstrated electricity being generated by magnets or just real grass-roots theory. My Electronics classes, though I've done well, are extremely dense and poorly taught. The Chairperson for the EET program was one of my teachers and he could not relate basic theories like series and parallel circuits effectively to the class and thought it was the class' fault for getting poor grades…I received my first B in his class. There needs to be more in-class demonstrations of concepts not looking at a picture in a book (usually written by one of the DeVry professors) or on a chalk board, bring in the damn circuit or at least a simulation. DeVry prides itself on it's hands-on approach to learning, but the labs are poorly equipped and some of the software they use (CPLD software especially) is too expensive for me to obtain; though they do have an agreement with Microsoft but it's for Windows 2000…but its free. The labs are now overcrowded and noisy, I feel the classrooms should be setup as labs for Electronics classes. I own most of the equipment that DeVry uses in their lab (oscilloscope, function generator, DMM, LCR) which indicates the level of sophistication of their labs. Admittedly, I don't use the same brands of equipment as DeVry, but that's a matter of taste. Most of my lab-time is wasted helping others because the prof nor his FA are anywhere to be found. Let us work by ourselves, to some extent, but not if I still require training. The lab manuals for EET are poorly written, with FEW exceptions and usually are not read and understood by the professor before lab…class preparation?

I know it sounds like I'm disgruntled or angry, but I'm concerned. I read a review like the one I'm writing on another site before I enrolled at DeVry. It didn't turn me away, it just made me think. I probably did not make the best choice by going to DeVry, but in Central Ohio, there is not another BS ELECTRONIC Engineering Program available, or at least not known to me. I plan on getting my BSEET and then going for a BS in Computer Engineering at a more concerned school out-of-state. Not everything is bad about DeVry either, I was talking to a senior in Electrical Engineering from a local State college and he did not know even half of what I was talking about. He seemed bright enough, but at his school you had to go through all the non-degree related courses first. At DeVry, your first Trimester has usually two or three introductory electronics and digital systems courses. I learned a lot since I had enrolled at DeVry, but I'm not a typical student. I spend several hours researching the topics I'm presented in class to gain a better understanding of the material and its applications. Speaking of applications, I rarely saw a real-world application of what I was learning, but anyhow…their library is small but well-stocked with technology books; even some good, up-to-date ones!! The Library staff has always been extremely nice and helpful…I recommend studying in the Library when ever possible, plus they have trade magazines with examples of the circuits and devices you may learn in them.

Overall, I am displeased with DeVry, but that's life. I should have moved back to California. But that's life. If you really want to learn Electronics Engineering and have few choices, attend DeVry Columbus. If you want the best Electronics Education, go to MIT. I'm open to answering any questions, send me an email!