Webster University

Date: Sep 24 2006
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
I have been a full-time student off and on in the last ten years. I took a few breaks in between due to financial and medical reasons. I never lived on campus so it's probably not fair for me to judge the social life on campus, but as a commuting student, I did not make friends at all. Most students like me really don't have the time to socialize with others on campus. In that respect, school is treated like a work schedule almost—in the sense that we clock in and clock out. We don't stick around on campus because most of us just got off work, or we are going to work afterwards. As for the instructors, I felt some of them, particularly adjunct faculty were not qualified enough to teach. Sure, they can bring real world experience to the table, but many of them are not formally trained in teaching. This can be a huge disadvantage for the student, especially if several of their classes are being taught by these kind of instructors. The full-time faculty who hold at least a Master's degree or beyond, proved to be mostly professional, accessible, down-to-earth, and resourceful. On thate note, my English Dept. advisor is not only knowledgeable, but she delivers the material in a way that makes learning enjoyable. It also helps that she is always accessible (i.e., typically responds to my e-mails within a few hours, sometimes in less time), understanding (i.e., she won't punish you for being late or absent unless it's excessive), and respectful (i.e., she doesn't pry into your personal life or make judgments about you—at least not to your face), and she is a warm, friendly person. Most of the students in the English Dept. seem to be somewhat stand-off-ish, but in my experience, that probably applies across the board since a lot of students commute. As a Freshman, I connected with a few students in my classes, but I never made any real friends. On my first return back, I actually made more friends and hung out with one other student. But this time around, I have not made any friends at all with the exception of talking to a few people in my classes. Overall, I think Webster U. is a decent school, esp. for its central, safe location, laid back atmosphere (not stuffy at all), and flexible class times tailored to meet the needs of students who work full-time. Some disadvantages may be that it's not challenging enough, too many inaccessible, untrained adjunct faculty teaching courses (particularly during the evenings), the lack of parking on campus (somewhat solved by the garage parking), and not much of a social life. Also, Webster U. should really update the building which houses the English Department. If you compare the Pearson House with say, the Sverdrup Building, there is no comparison. Even the building across from the English Dept. where all the legal studies classes are taught, looks ten times better than the Pearson House.