Johnson State College

Date: Feb 14 2019
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
If you are at all Conservative minded or Libertarian, this University should be avoided. You won't fit in, will feel uncomfortable in class, and will basically just have to keep your mouth shut to "fit in"

Although I am not a Trump support, I do get tired of hearing anti trump rants by the Professors when it does not pertain to the course work. Case in point, my Japanese History course only talked about how mad Trump was the entire class. The only educational value I received was from the books we were assigned to read, which I could have read on my own time.

I took a civil war and reconstruction class with the same professor (Because it was an easy A) and all we talked about was Kneeling for the national anthem, and once again Donald Trump. During the course of this class, I mentioned I was pro-gun, at which point the professor told the class to be careful because I was a potential school shooter. It was humiliating. When I complained about the course and the Professors comments, I was told he was tenured so there wasn't much that could be done.

Education wise the school was a joke. Most classes are super easy, and not at all challenging. I found CCV (Where I received my Associates Degree)to be a much more challenging school, and better education for my buck. Upper-level courses at Johnson State are on par with Gen Ed lower level courses at Community College.

I think it is important to note that I did have a few outstanding Professors. Shaw, Cline, and Bou Nacklie did challenge me consistently and their courses were not political soapboxes. I actually took another semester after completing my BA requirements just to take a few courses these Professors offered.

It should also be mentioned that the merger between Johnson and Lyndon as "NVU" seems like a last-ditch effort to boost enrollment, and I have seen absolutely NOTHING good from the merger except for problems.

I should also mention that pretty much every building at the campus has issues. It's not uncommon to see buckets and trash cans in every building catching rainwater from leaks. There are also broken elevators and a variety of other structural issues.

I have maintained a good grade point average at Johnson, mainly because the courses are super easy, and a minimum amount of work is required to graduate. This isn't just the ranting of a disgruntled "bad" student. I made Deans list almost every semester until I started doing enough just to get by. Even then I still maintained a solid B average. One semester I did not make Deans list due to a professor entering a grade wrong in the system. Although I received a B+ it was marked as a C. I asked the professor to change this, and it's not surprising that it's still a C on my transcript. Honestly, I didn't continue to try to get it changed, because it wasn't that important to me.

The College also promotes its Professors largely based on student evaluations. (You know, the evaluations most students don't take the time to fill out unless they have a complaint) This means that promotion isn't based on actual teaching merit, but on the fact that teachers often offer their students an incentive to leave them a review.

There are probably a lot of other issues with this school I am failing to mention.

The Veteran resources are good, and as a military Vet I felt there was a lot available to me, and registration, GI bill issues, etc were quickly taken care of.

Ultimately I feel that I simply "bought a degree" at Johnson State/NVU. I would not recommend this school if you actually value an Education, but it is a good choice if you just want a BA and don't want to really work for it.