The University of Portland

Date: Feb 22 2012
Major: Civil Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
This institution has gone down hill dramatically since I joined as a freshman in 2008. All of the values of teaching, faith and service it seems have fallen by the wayside. Everything is about revenue for them. I am a returning fifth year AFROTC cadet and I personally feel unaccepted and just another pay check for them.

Bon Apetite is the catering company that cooks our horrible food. They charge a horrendous start up fee to use "points" that equate to less than 65 cents of a dollar (its like going to a foreign country). They also charge you packout fees of $25 if you want to have raw ingredients to cook at home. They are also now charging students for to-go boxes (a very important item for students that have class schedules that overlap regular eating patterns - cadets, athletes, nutrition conscious, etc.). The food is promoted as farm fresh, sustainable and healthy. Honestly it tastes like crap, often is undercooked and uses premade components (egg beaters, sysco food products, etc.) and mostly consists of carbohydrates and lacks healthy fats and protein (you'd save a lot more money buying a loaf of bread at safeway).

Resident's Life has found ways to make living meager as well. For example, students who have been at the university for a long time cannot keep their rooms for the next year. They also don't maintain the facilities when asked. Currently my laundry closet is in danger of an explosive fire due to a clogged lint ventilation system.

Student Accounts knows that ROTC scholarships take awhile to process in that all other schools start later than we do. They still insist on charging us $75 dollar late fees daily until we pay up.

Academically this school does fairly well. All of the professors are very accessible outside of lecture and more than happy to help you out. However most times I feel that a lot of what we do has very little carry over into an actual profession/job. Moreover, a lot of the skills/information we do need simply isn't taught. Although that can be said about all colleges in the United States.

All in all, I don't feel like a well respected and valued member of the University of Portland Community. Instead I feel cheated, used and ignored.