Pensacola State College

Date: May 12 2004
Major: Nursing (This Major's Salary over time)
I am a Pre=Nursing AA major and will finish up my AA this Summer and start the RN AS in August 04. There are pros and cons concerning PJC and I think I've experienced a little bit of it all! Registration has always been a very easy process for me, as I have always registered for classes from the comfort of my own home with web registration. I've never waited in a line for registration. The Veterans Affairs office, however, is on the worst of the cons list. I have had numerous problems with these people and the experience that I have had with them (specifically the Warrington campus) has almost been enough for me to look at other options. Not that there are many other options in this area! There was a period last year where I submitted my verification of enrollment to the VA office in June for fall semester, however, it was not submitted and come August, I rec'd a very small amount for the 5 remaining days of the Summer semester and didn't see any money until November!

Aside from the VA office, my experiences have not been extremely negative. I think PJC needs better organizational skills to say the least. Although I am entering the nursing program with high hopes, the system for admitting students is extremely flawed and a lot of times it seems as if there is not a soul in the place that knows what is going on. Organization seems to be a weak point for the school on a whole.

There are pros for choosing PJC. There are four campuses in different areas of Esacambia county that make it convenient for almost all students. Classes are usually offered at all times of the day and there are quite a few classes offered online. The online courses were wonderful and I had great instructor support. The TV/Video courses are greatly lacking in regards to instructor-student relations. This isn't always the case, but I did have one class that I had no interaction with the instructor at all except for the initial orientation and the emails with my grades. I feel that these classes need to offer reviews just so that the student will be more familiar with the instructor and make sure that he or she is on target with what he/she is studying.

I've had a wide range of instructors. Some of my instructors were both brilliant and superb instructors always willing to help you grasp whatever concept they were teaching, I have had instructors that were brilliant and did not want to take the time to explain something in more detail to a confused student and I have had instructors that I felt either had the personality or the intelligence of my big toe. Strangely, the adjunct professors have been the best instructors that I have come across in my two years at PJC. On a whole, I have not had a negative experience with instructors, though I do feel that many of them could be more accessible to students…by this I do not simply mean be in the office and available, I mean that they need to drop the condescending, superior attitude and realize that in order for them to succeed the students must also succeed. If you don't like your job, do us all a favor and go somewhere else.

As far as students, I have found that most students are approachable and are always willing to help each other out. I've made at least a few new friends each semester and it's because of these people that I've made it as far as I have. The student body that I have encountered range from 17-62.

There is not an abundance of activities offered for students, but there are some opportunities.

I have not been dissapointed with the academic aspect of school. I feel that the courses cover the material that we need to learn. The courses were mostly challenging, but not overly so and not extremely hard. I think that they are what would be expected at any junior college. I have contacted several universities and all of my general education classes are fully transferable. I would recommend PJC to a local student who has intentions to transfer to a 4 year University because there are many people at the school that will help you plan for a smooth transition.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend PJC to students that live outside the local area. I just can't see that it is worth moving for. The primary advantage is that the cost is low, the class size is small and there are people willing to help with the transition to University life.

Wherever you decide to go, don't expect others to make the experience worthwhile for you if you don't fully participate. My experience would have been a lot less enjoyable if I had not been pro-active in making sure that I was on the right track by meeting with my advisors and University advisors to verify transferbility.