Hudson Valley Community College

Date: Oct 19 2011
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
This is not the first time I've been in college or taken college classes, so I felt that I was prepared for whatever they had to throw at me. I'm enrolled in a certification program, and based on all of the previous experience I have had with these particular programs, I was expecting far more than I have received.

Some of the instructors are an absolute joke. You sit in class and wonder if they have current real life experience in the field. Some instructors hide behind PowerPoint presentation and do very little teaching. There is very little communication coming from the program coordinator, which is really unhelpful when you need to set up clinical and internship hours or know where you stand as far as finishing the program is concerned. It takes probably 15 emails and half a dozen phone calls to get anybody to help you get anything done.

Some of the faculty treat the students like 5-year-olds. Others expect us to be omnipotent.

As far as outside of my program, out of the countless times I've had to call financial aid, records, and admissions, only once did I ever speak to somebody who was friendly and helpful. Most of the people in those offices sound like you're interrupting their soap operas and would rather just get you off the phone than actually help you.

This is not to say that all of my experiences with HVCC have been negative. There are a handful of very caring and dedicated faculty who have been nothing short of wonderful. They want us to do well and succeed. But those are the minority rather than the majority.

If I had known when I enrolled in the program what I know now, I never would have done it through HVCC. I had heard such great things about the instructors and the material and how they were going to challenge us to be better. At this point, I'm just trying to complete what's required of me, pass the test, and get my certification card.