Complaint Review: ITT Technical Institute

I have been working at ITT Tech for over a year now and I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of double checking my supervisors do to make sure that ITT Tech representatives are stating true and researched facts. For example; When I had to create my own report with estimated salaries in different types of careers to tell prospective students, the DIRECTOR of my school checked and rechecked the salaries to make sure they coincided with the Department of Labor and Statistics. We are also very closely watched to make sure that prospective students are given the most accurate information possible for recruitment. It is also a fact that ITT Tech is a private FOR PROFIT college (which they will gladly say at any recruitment interview) which means that they are in business to make a profit and they are selling a product. I used to watch the ITT Tech commercials and think "yea right," but I found out myself that many students graduate to become successful. The problem is that many people come to ITT Tech (and other colleges) thinking that all they need is a degree and nothing else. In evey field, it is necessary to get JOB experience and the "piece of paper" to get you in the door. I know plenty of graduates from state colleges with Bachelor's that work their way up just to gain experience. You have to think about it this way: if you are lucky enough to spend 6 years (yes that is the average now) to get a bachelor's at a public university, without having a full time job, living at home or your parents paying for everything (cuz we all know a part time job basically will pay for food, cell phone bill and car payment)going to school from 10-4 mon thru thursday, you will get out, have to get experience and then make an average of about 29000 a year (in the beginning) OR you can go a college like ITT for two years, three nights a week for about 3 hours, work full time during the day to gain valuable job experience, get done faster and you will make about 20000 on average(in the beginning). YES you will have more student loans to pay back but you will be done 4 years sooner and have 4 years to start working full time. ITT Tech is not for every student and if you have the opportunity to spend 4-6 years full time in school, paid, research it and maybe that is for you. Most people however have to work full time and can only go to school at night. EVERYBODY complaining needs to realize that there is good and bad at every single school. Maybe they should try to go to a state college and see if they can swing it. I have experience at both types of colleges and have come to realize that most employers want the "piece of paper" and that you gain valuable experience on the job. Unless you are going to school to be a doctor or lawyer, how much is your time worth to you just to get that piece of paper? I am not pushing ITT here, I just want to state facts for people who might not know.

Now I'm not whinning, I'm stateing a fact. The NIIT books are not worth the paper they are printed on. I have been reading computer and technical books for the last 20 years. With a field that moves this fast, some errors are going to slip by the editors in the rush to publication. But I can can find more errors in a single chapter of an NIIT book than I can in any full McGraw-Hill, or similar reputable publisher's work. The following is my own quote from another posting on this site regarding ITT's choice of textbooks:

"Several of the instructors I have had were ready to throw them out the window. Now I'm not talking about just Joe Blow instructor. My calculus instructor had a PhD in mathematics from the University of Texas and was a retired professor from that same college. He thought the book was garbage. My Java instructor taught there at night, but during the day he was a Java developer for none other than Sun Microsystems. He did not approve of the books either. My C++ instructor was a veteran C++ programmer working for the state and teaching at night. Let me say that the C++ books were perhaps the worst ones of all. Neither the class or the instructor cared to spend entire lab classes debugging code from the the book just to get it to compile."

I believe those instructors were very qualified to make judgements about the books. In fact, our calculus instructor said that he had never seen a math book that did not have the author's name on it. Publishing such a work in the field of mathematics is something that authors take great pride in and it adds to their credentials. Strangely though, the NIIT calc book has no names in it. None of the other NIIT books do either.

I was going go through and make detailed error lists for the books I have, but I have not the time for such an undertaking. The calc book contains errors in the text, graphs, and equations. The programming books contain errors in the code, that if copied perfectly from the book, will prevent them being compiled. Not too mention the horrible code formatting that they use.

At the current rate of about 35k to get a two year degree there, I would think they could afford decent educational materials. Apparently NIIT offered a all bundled up curriculum and ITT headquarters bought it up without any kind of technical review. They outsourced the textbook writting to India to maximize profits at the expense of the student's education. Every quarter we complain on the student surveys, but that is as far as it goes. We never hear a word back on the issue.

The thought of a law suit has crossed my mind. I belive that ITT is being negligent in their duty to provide a decent education and reaping profits at the expense of the students. If anyone is starting a class action suit I will gladly join in. Untill ITT starts taking education seriously, like they used to a decade and a half ago when I received my first degree, I can not recommend that anyone attend that school.

This is J again, its been a while since Ive stopped by to look at this board. Looks like Im not the only one to have grevious problems with this school. As far as the lawsuit goes, Ive decided not to go through with it. Not because I dont think that we would win, because I believe that it would be a sure victory. It is mostly because there was a lack of support from fellow classmates who werent willing to put out a little extra effort to reclaim those lost months.

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I just dont feel that it is necessary for me seek compensation for their lies, ive got better things to do with my time, such as teach myself multimedia...

Sean and mike, I know how frustrating it is to go through what you are going through. My only advice is to rely on yourself as your greatest resource. Go out there and teach yourself everything you can. Blow those idiots at ITT away. Then at least you will feel better having accomplished it on your own.

matt, I certainly dont feel that you had been slamming me. In fact, I think that your response was at least the most thought out and well articulated ive seen on this board. Too many people get on this board just to vent steam and cant produce a single coherent point. I suppose from your point of view, all of the points you made are certainly valid, its just that things might be a little different in the situation that me and my class face. I suppose you would really have to see us work hard in class to realize that we arent the naive fools we seem to be in print.

although im not quite sure what you mean about the hard drives... im graduating, and I still havent gotten a drive...

anyways, I am graduating in less than a month (a quarter early, I just wanna get outta there). I have found that while ITT is not a resource at all, if you have good classmates, it can be a great forum for improving yourself and your techniques. I am currently working on my capstone project, and have already torn to shreds the last of the NIIT books that I will ever possess. I have found the career services department useless, as all they have furnished me with is listings from hotjobs and other useless websites (much like the person above). However, I have found a great contact at a great company, and I hope to have a great job (under my own steam) shortly after graduation.

[Before I start this keep in mind the only reason you're paying to go to ITT is becuase you don't have the money to buy all the programs used in the Multimedia field. You are basically paying 30+ thousand to rent their copies of the programs. ITT is a video store for Programs, that's how you have to look at it, cuz it's the truth]

I am currently a student at ITT in the Multimedia course. I've had to deal with all of ITT's crap (just as you explained it, if not worse). This is why I feel I am qualified to say this, you guys are niave fools! How do you expect to get "every aspect" of a Multimedia education in 2 years...impossible. I personally don't know how you (this being clever little J from Cali) can even pass any classes at all! Have you ever heard of CAPITOLIZATION!!! YOu're supposed to be in college right? At least try to present yourself like it.

They'll let about any clown into ITT, becuase they are a business, they only want your money. I had all the same problems you were speaking of earlier, and on top of all the stuff you wrote, they had just started the Multimedia program in Colorado and had NO IDEA what they were doing, so for us it was exceptionally bad. Like one of my teachers said, you will only learn if you want to, and only if you put out a decent effort. Maybe it's just me, but to put in a decent effort, you have to think, and obviously you weren't thinking when you didn't back up all your information before it was lost from your hard-drive, becuase every moron knows that if you have something important, back it up. I was stupid enough to let that happen to me, but you know what it's never happened since, and it's that same in the real world. Things happen, ALWAYS have a back-up, or it's your fault and I would only laugh at you. Another thing about the MM drives, they do give you a drive, I got mine in my 6th quarter and had to use in consecutive classes so I never could use it strictly for Multimedia purposes...get over it.

You are smart in one way, that is complaining about it to the highest authority, squeaky wheel gets the oil. But you are pretty ignorant for thinking that the dean would tell corporate himself. Yeah, let me tell my boss I don't know how to run my own school...sounds like a plan. C'mon, you should know better.

I don't mean to be bashing on you like I am becuase I was in your shoes until about quater 6. Before then, I cursed the school, spit on the walls and pissed on the floor (I'm not joking, I was THAT infuriated by it), then I realized that I was being a completely niave fool. I came into ITT with unrealisticly high expectations that no college or private business for that matter could meet. I thought I would know all these programs and be an expert. Hah They only teach you the absolute basics, anything else you want to know, you do on your own time. Also, our teachers we had didn't know anything about Multimedia, they were Networking Instructors who were told that they would teach this class or they would pack up their desk, so what do you think they're going to do? The unfortunate fact is, that ESPECIALLY in these times every business has to cut corners and do everything they can to save money just to survive in this market. That means keeping that old Director version 8.5 when when not only is 10 out, but MX is out as well. That means not hiring a great new instructor to teach Photoshop but throwing an almost computer illiterate Math Teacher in fill a time slot. It also means they will do anything they can to throw as much general information at you, not just to rip you off, but mostly so they boast to investors and possible student about all the great things they cover (which to you means going into every dimension of the program to the Nth degree) just to get more money, the bottom line. Who cares about you or me for that matter, NO ONE. That's why you better have the initiative to do something, anything on your own. This, my friend (who has a real problem with capitolization) is the real world. I don't mean to burst your bubble, but every business that is still in business is only in business becuase they can rip off wide-eyed open-minded people like yourself. It's alright, you'll get through it little J.

Now I've got to say I'm sorry, becuase it does feel like I've been laying into you pretty bad. But unfortunately the real world does not give a d**n, so you have to do everything on your own. Which is why I am very happy to see you're trying to do something about it, but DEAR GOD don't try taking this to court, that will only be a very embarrassing and very costly loss. Yes that is a LOSS. There's no way you can win, ITT can play it off the counselors weren't informed as to the actual workings of the school and so they interpreted improper information in a certain way in which they should have. Then you might get a court order that they have to change recruiting practices, but that wouldn't help at all. And I mean this in the fact that even though I only have an Associates that will now cost me 500 dollars a month for the next 10 years (I'm really pissed about that) but I am truly glad I went here. Their cheap pathetic attempt at a school is still above and beyond what you would get at a traditional college. Trust me, my buddy is doing that back home, after hearing his stories I am truly glad I went here.

Anyways, I trailed off on that last paragraph, I've got a lot to say with not a lot of space to talk. So what I was going to say was basically you have to do everything on your own time, on your own dime. That means (in my case) STEAL THE d**n PROGRAMS! That's how I feel I got my money's worth out of ITT (that and I know how to snag free drinks from the vending machine) I own, illegally, most every program I need to use. I'm breaking the law, but I am only using it for educational purposes, so I could plead that in court and get off with it no problem. The reason I don't have a problem with this is becuase no idiot is going to go out and buy a 500 Adobe program unless they know how to use it thoroughly, that's why they have 30 day trials, but unless you do nothing else for that month (and buy a book on it) you still aren't going to know enough to want to buy the program. Me stealing it is basically a down payment on the program. I mean this by the fact that I know I cannot use the programs I have for business purposes, which is the ultimate goal. So eventually I will have to buy the latest up-to-date version of any, and probably all, of the programs, and then pay for the updates and service that goes with it. So Adobe and Macromedia and Discreet will all get their money eventually, but the fact is I'm student right now, that means I'm broke. So if I have to theive a copy of a program to get me into a field where I'll eventually be forced to buy the program anyways...so be it, everyone's happy in the end, I have my smarts, they've got their money. Ok, so I kinda went off on another tangent there (I do that) but what I was trying to get at is if you need one of the programs used at school e-mail me, we'll figure something out. Hit me up at BrandxXx@hotmail.com. I've got to help out my fellow MM student, that's why I do kind of feel sorry about bashin you earlier, but dude the world's hard...I learned that the hard way, and obviously you still need to learn this otherwise I wouldn't even be posting here.

The one thing I really learned about ITT is that it stands for It Takes Time. Which the honest truth, it takes all your personal time to make anything I would feel acceptable to show a possible employer (becuase you obviously know how pathetic the projects they have you make are) and I feel that my time is worth more that the 30 G's I paid for a cheap piece of paper that will still only get me into an internship, not a job...which means you still have to bust your @$$ just to get into a temp job that'll only pay 9 bux an hour untill you prove to them what you can do. This world and industry are a ...well lets just call them a pain in the neck for the sake of censorship. If you have the passion to even THINK about taking ITT to court then I know you'll prove to any employer that you're the man and that's why I'd be willing to hook you up with the programs you need and others. Becuase it's the people like you that'll start with nothing but in 5-7 years you will be making upwards of 70 G's. That's why I'm even thinking of going back to hell (ITT) for my bachelors, just to push off my loan payments becuase I'd be back in school. Granted, it'll be another 500 a month on top of my current 5, but when you're making something in the area of 5 to 6 thousand a month, that's an expense I think I'd be able to take care of. Just some mind candy. I'll probably never see this board again (just kinda stumbled here while I'm stumblin) so hit my e-mail if you want to get in contact, I'd be happy to help you out with anything you might need, whether it be programs, advice on classes or anything in general. Just make sure to write something about ITT in the title line or even in all Caps (I know how you don't like caps though..heheh :) [I'm kiddin, calm down] because I get a lot of junk mail. So anyways, I hope you start to see things differently and accept the crap that ITT's dishin, becuase it's a lot better then anything I've seen out there. And only once I accepted the school for what it was did I actually start making products that I am proud of, so even if you have to lie to yourself about ITT's quality and whatnot, for me it's worth it becuase now that I almost am starting to care about ITT I'm making some of the best work I've ever thought possible. I hope this helped, and good luck on keeping your sanity until graduation, I barely made it (I graduate this Friday May 28th) See ya.

Are any of you with the negative comments about ITT planning to attend a regular college or university? How does the old saying go "You get what you pay for". If so, please keep in mind that you will have similar experiences there with old/used books and technology. I would definitely say technology will be of paramount concern at some institutes. I've definitely had my fair share of let downs at universities that I have attended in past. Getting used books that are barely legible was "NOT" my idea of getting a good education.



So whatever your impending plans are remember that not only ITT has a flaws, but many other colleges have the same flaws and often worse.



Another note regarding ITT. Because it's accredited by the National accrediting society, I believe they should own some fault in the matter as well, in allowing ITT to continue to operate under an accredited status.

You are right on the money I am currently in my 5th quarter at ITT Tech at the Torrance, CA location and let me say, what a bunch of rip-offs. Every reason you stated is on our entire classes list of problems-along with some instructors.



To further the NIIT argument, they are still charging the $100 to $225 hardcover price for these books. My NIIT Physics book was labeled as a "Physics Pack", a useless paperback piece of garbage that tore the first time I put it in my backpack, I was still charged $225 for it though... The divide and conquer method you mentioned is also prevalent in our school(interrogation indeed!). Please contact me via Email if you want 10 more students currently attending to bolster your lawsuit.



Another interesting point:

They will let ANYONE pass their entrance exam just to get their funding. Then frustrate the student so badly that I've seen over half my class drop out. Could this be an advanced ITT shady tactic simply to get $15 thousand dollars from EVERY person who comes through and then drops. They don't care if you leave at all, just as long as they have been paid. Our campus seems to function identically to yours, so if you want to combine efforts for a lawsuit, drop me a line....

To start off with, in reguards to the response of the ITT Tech employee Wendy...they have you "programmed" like every other ITT Tech employee. Do you realize how ridiculous your response was?



The counselors at ITT are just like used car sales people. You are fed a bunch of crap just to get you enrolled in the schools.



I was told that they offer job placement assistance. After visiting the career center, I was handed a packet of job listings that was taken from Hotjobs.com. This was the extent of job placement.



The books were full of errors and misprints and false information. Many times in class, we along with our instructors, spent time trying to figure out the errors.



I have a learning disability due to a genetic disease. I explained this to the counselor during my first visit. I was told that ITT offers tutoring services for students with special needs.



The first quarter was no problem as the first math course was so elementry, Problem Solving I think was the name.



The second quarter, I was in trouble, I needed help, and was told by my instructors that they tried to find a student tutor, but because ITT does not pay them, they are hard to find. I went to the counselor and requested tutoring, never happened.



Same problem in the GUI classes, I needed help, and there was no one. Matter of fact, on my GUI final, which we never received back, there were at least 10 questions that was never covered in class.



These same problems happened during the third quarter, still no tutoring. I went to the dean to complain that the Algebra class was moving way to fast for most of the students.



After complainging to the dean, and getting no where with that, I ended up having to drop out close to the end of my 3rd quarter.



So Wendy, let me stress to you, many students are mislead about ITT. Having a learning disability, I found out that they are special measures that should have been taken for me. All my instructors, my counselor, and the dean knew of my problem. They did nothing.



Now, 9 months and 10 thousand dollars of student LOANS later, here I am no better off than I was a year ago, all due to empty promises.



ITT Tech says cutting edge technology..lie.

ITT Tech says cutting edge materials...lie.

ITT Tech says student tutoring.........lie.

ITT Tech says job placement............lie.



I am now in the process of sueing ITT Tech for not following Gov't standards for disabilities.

Also, I am going to fight to make ITT give testing before enrollment in Math and English, to let students know what level they are at.



Just a note to future students and current students. I heard that the FBI is investigating ITT schools in Houston. Research that on the web.

The above statement makes many assumptions. The above speaker makes the assumption that I am an uneducated buyer, and that all of the complaints about ITT come from ignorants who assume that all of their education should come from the classroom. While I cant speak for the other two complaints, I can assure you that I am not as ignorant as you would like to think.



I never made the asssumption that the entirety of my education should come from a single source. I have pursued other certifications. I have put out my hard earned cash to learn subjects I otherwise should have learned at this school. I have put out the extra time and effort to teach myself the programs that ITT was too incompetent to teach. Believe me, I am far from the ignorant whiner that you so quickly accused me of being.



I also dont expect ITT to place me into an excellent job right out of the doors. I didnt even expect that when I signed on. However, I did expect that they would at least give me at least some of the skills needed in today's job market. I plan on working hard once I am out of this place and getting the job I want under my own steam. I dont feel I should rely on anyone else to land a job that I should earn for myself in the first place. While I may use career services as a resource, I was never under the illusion that using just ITT I could "step out the door and make over 50,000 dollars / year".



-- Like I mentioned earlier, I have spent the time and money to purchase other books so I could fill in the huge gaps that IT has left. However, I believe that if I am paying 30 grand, I should at least receive books that are in some way useful, helpful, resourceful, or that might serve any other purpose other than a firestarter. All of my NIIT(ITT) books have ended up in shreds in my trashcan. Totally and utterly useless.



--I have also spent my hard earned cash to purchase a thumb drive. However, even though it is a relatively high capacity thumb drive, it is not nearly enough to hold the large video files that I desperately need. The only solution is a portable hard drive which is what they SPECIFICALLY PROMISED all of us. Lies. All lies.



--And I didnt say that I thought some of the software is old. I said that all of the software is very old. Some of it is ancient. We arent learning any of the skills that we need to succeed in any job market, let alone todays competitve market.



Its not that I "just dont want to pay back my student loans", I would be very happy to pay back my student loans, I just want my money's worth. I haved talked to the administration about changes that would help us get a decent education before its too late, but they dont care. All that matters to them is their profits.



And Im still trying to figure out this contradiction...



"I didn't see anything in their reports that claims a criminal act, or even an immoral one. (Salesman lie everywhere at every educational institute I have ever worked at -(FOUR)) "



wouldnt lying be immoral? and havent you ever heard of any such thing as truth in advertising? Yeah, its the law. When I signed on the dotted line, it was under certain conditions. Such conditions as the hard drives they promised us and the up to date curriculum they promised us.



Still arent convinced theyre lying to us? Check this out...



http://www.startribune.com/stories/671/4629243.html



http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=PR&Date=20040227&ID=3440539&Symbol=US:ESI



Those lies that they sold the shareholders about graduation percentages, attendance, job placement, and credit transfers, are the same exact lies they sold us to coerce us into signing that contract. I do believe that that is fraud. There isnt any room for speculation here.



In short, I think you are the one in need of a reality check. And although I appreciate your position as the Devil's Advocate, there really isnt any amount of sugar coating that can hide ITT's terrible lies. Im am not your average ignorant consumer that is content to stand there while being robbed, nor am I content with simply whining, nor am I going to be bothered by your inconsistent arguments. I am taking action to ensure that I get my money's worth, or I will take my money elsewhere. I gave them many a chance. I will not be lied to, and I will not be trampled upon.

The above statement makes many assumptions. The above speaker makes the assumption that I am an uneducated buyer, and that all of the complaints about ITT come from ignorants who assume that all of their education should come from the classroom. While I cant speak for the other two complaints, I can assure you that I am not as ignorant as you would like to think.



I never made the asssumption that the entirety of my education should come from a single source. I have pursued other certifications. I have put out my hard earned cash to learn subjects I otherwise should have learned at this school. I have put out the extra time and effort to teach myself the programs that ITT was too incompetent to teach. Believe me, I am far from the ignorant whiner that you so quickly accused me of being.



I also dont expect ITT to place me into an excellent job right out of the doors. I didnt even expect that when I signed on. However, I did expect that they would at least give me at least some of the skills needed in today's job market. I plan on working hard once I am out of this place and getting the job I want under my own steam. I dont feel I should rely on anyone else to land a job that I should earn for myself in the first place. While I may use career services as a resource, I was never under the illusion that using just ITT I could "step out the door and make over 50,000 dollars / year".



-- Like I mentioned earlier, I have spent the time and money to purchase other books so I could fill in the huge gaps that IT has left. However, I believe that if I am paying 30 grand, I should at least receive books that are in some way useful, helpful, resourceful, or that might serve any other purpose other than a firestarter. All of my NIIT(ITT) books have ended up in shreds in my trashcan. Totally and utterly useless.



--I have also spent my hard earned cash to purchase a thumb drive. However, even though it is a relatively high capacity thumb drive, it is not nearly enough to hold the large video files that I desperately need. The only solution is a portable hard drive which is what they SPECIFICALLY PROMISED all of us. Lies. All lies.



--And I didnt say that I thought some of the software is old. I said that all of the software is very old. Some of it is ancient. We arent learning any of the skills that we need to succeed in any job market, let alone todays competitve market.



Its not that I "just dont want to pay back my student loans", I would be very happy to pay back my student loans, I just want my money's worth. I haved talked to the administration about changes that would help us get a decent education before its too late, but they dont care. All that matters to them is their profits.



And Im still trying to figure out this contradiction...



"I didn't see anything in their reports that claims a criminal act, or even an immoral one. (Salesman lie everywhere at every educational institute I have ever worked at -(FOUR)) "



wouldnt lying be immoral? and havent you ever heard of any such thing as truth in advertising? Yeah, its the law. When I signed on the dotted line, it was under certain conditions. Such conditions as the hard drives they promised us and the up to date curriculum they promised us.



Still arent convinced theyre lying to us? Check this out...



http://www.startribune.com/stories/671/4629243.html



http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=PR&Date=20040227&ID=3440539&Symbol=US:ESI



Those lies that they sold the shareholders about graduation percentages, attendance, job placement, and credit transfers, are the same exact lies they sold us to coerce us into signing that contract. I do believe that that is fraud. There isnt any room for speculation here.



In short, I think you are the one in need of a reality check. And although I appreciate your position as the Devil's Advocate, there really isnt any amount of sugar coating that can hide ITT's terrible lies. Im am not your average ignorant consumer that is content to stand there while being robbed, nor am I content with simply whining, nor am I going to be bothered by your inconsistent arguments. I am taking action to ensure that I get my money's worth, or I will take my money elsewhere. I gave them many a chance. I will not be lied to, and I will not be trampled upon.

The above statement makes many assumptions. The above speaker makes the assumption that I am an uneducated buyer, and that all of the complaints about ITT come from ignorants who assume that all of their education should come from the classroom. While I cant speak for the other two complaints, I can assure you that I am not as ignorant as you would like to think.



I never made the asssumption that the entirety of my education should come from a single source. I have pursued other certifications. I have put out my hard earned cash to learn subjects I otherwise should have learned at this school. I have put out the extra time and effort to teach myself the programs that ITT was too incompetent to teach. Believe me, I am far from the ignorant whiner that you so quickly accused me of being.



I also dont expect ITT to place me into an excellent job right out of the doors. I didnt even expect that when I signed on. However, I did expect that they would at least give me at least some of the skills needed in today's job market. I plan on working hard once I am out of this place and getting the job I want under my own steam. I dont feel I should rely on anyone else to land a job that I should earn for myself in the first place. While I may use career services as a resource, I was never under the illusion that using just ITT I could "step out the door and make over 50,000 dollars / year".



-- Like I mentioned earlier, I have spent the time and money to purchase other books so I could fill in the huge gaps that IT has left. However, I believe that if I am paying 30 grand, I should at least receive books that are in some way useful, helpful, resourceful, or that might serve any other purpose other than a firestarter. All of my NIIT(ITT) books have ended up in shreds in my trashcan. Totally and utterly useless.



--I have also spent my hard earned cash to purchase a thumb drive. However, even though it is a relatively high capacity thumb drive, it is not nearly enough to hold the large video files that I desperately need. The only solution is a portable hard drive which is what they SPECIFICALLY PROMISED all of us. Lies. All lies.



--And I didnt say that I thought some of the software is old. I said that all of the software is very old. Some of it is ancient. We arent learning any of the skills that we need to succeed in any job market, let alone todays competitve market.



Its not that I "just dont want to pay back my student loans", I would be very happy to pay back my student loans, I just want my money's worth. I haved talked to the administration about changes that would help us get a decent education before its too late, but they dont care. All that matters to them is their profits.



And Im still trying to figure out this contradiction...



"I didn't see anything in their reports that claims a criminal act, or even an immoral one. (Salesman lie everywhere at every educational institute I have ever worked at -(FOUR)) "



wouldnt lying be immoral? and havent you ever heard of any such thing as truth in advertising? Yeah, its the law. When I signed on the dotted line, it was under certain conditions. Such conditions as the hard drives they promised us and the up to date curriculum they promised us.



Still arent convinced theyre lying to us? Check this out...



http://www.startribune.com/stories/671/4629243.html



http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=PR&Date=20040227&ID=3440539&Symbol=US:ESI



Those lies that they sold the shareholders about graduation percentages, attendance, job placement, and credit transfers, are the same exact lies they sold us to coerce us into signing that contract. I do believe that that is fraud. There isnt any room for speculation here.



In short, I think you are the one in need of a reality check. And although I appreciate your position as the Devil's Advocate, there really isnt any amount of sugar coating that can hide ITT's terrible lies. Im am not your average ignorant consumer that is content to stand there while being robbed, nor am I content with simply whining, nor am I going to be bothered by your inconsistent arguments. I am taking action to ensure that I get my money's worth, or I will take my money elsewhere. I gave them many a chance. I will not be lied to, and I will not be trampled upon.

I have read all three reports discussing the quality of education at a branch of ITT-Technical Institutes. In all three stories, I am amazed at a common thread: all three individuals did not do enough research BEFORE they began their education.



All three did seem to be under the disillusion that ITT would provide them with every little piece of information that they might need so that they can step out the door and make over 50,000 dollars / year. NO 2 YEAR COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY CAN PROMISE THAT EITHER!



I did not hear of one (out of the three) individuals pursuing more studies on their own time in Microsoft, Novell, Cisco, ORACLE, Dreamweaver, FrontPage, Illustrator etc OUTSIDE the classroom. In other words, they seem to have presumed that ITT would provide 100% of their education.



As an educator, I cannot stress enough that it is the responsibility of the student to go out of their way to continue their education beyond the basic curriculum and that the classroom is just a spring board to give them a jumpstart.



Two out of the three individuals began or completed their education right at the cusp of the technology internet crash. I myself began a Masters in Information Technology in 2000 and completed it after the crash in late 2001. I too was disillusioned at the job market when I graduated and wanted to become a junior programmer. The IT market is to blame!



The difference is that I didn't look for my current college to blame. Technology is an ever dynamic changing field and you are NEVER DONE WITH TRAINING.

--If you don't like the book provided, buy a better one at Barnes and Nobles and study on your own. Don't blame the faculty if you chose not to pursue a Microsoft or Adobe or Sun certification on your own time!



--If you don't like the tests, bite the bullet, ALL COURSES EVERYWHERE HAVE QUIZZES AND TESTS

--If you don't want people to mess with your files - save to a flash pen drive or zip drive and carry them with you!



--Tuition is ALWAYS cheaper at state schools - if you wanted that lifestyle, you would have applied there directly. You chose this institue because it has flexible schedules.



--You think the software is an older version? So what! Are you curious about Windows 2003 and the school is running Windows NT or Windows XP - experiment yourself on your own machine or on a spare machine.



All three individuals seemed to have more of an issue with general college procedures. I didn't hear one case that had a specific issue other than "I didn't like the teacher" or "I didn't like the book" - that happens everywhere@!



In conclusion, these three folks need to take a reality check... I didn't see anything in their reports that claims a criminal act, or even an immoral one. (Salesman lie everywhere at every educational institute I have ever worked at -(FOUR)) These guys just don't want to pay back the student loans.