General Ed
Somewhere,#2UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 14, 2009
And the product you are purchasing comes with a mark-up that rivals the merchandise at any jewelry or furniture store. I'm nearing the end my first--and last--quarter as an adjunct general ed service provider at ITT. I have honestly enjoyed so many of the student-customers I've worked with these past three months, which is precisely why I won't be back next quarter. It's not the education that's "watered-down" at ITT; the content of the general education courses I'm teaching are consistent with what is taught at the community college level. What's really watered down is the student-customer success rate. For example: I have a young man in one of my classes who has attended 4 out of 9 class sessions. (Well, 3.5 actually. He left at the break during one class and never came back.) Although he's received participation points for the time he DID show up (I gave him credit for blinking), he has not turned in one single homework or in-class writing assignment. His grade is a 5.4% F. I have been strongly encouraged by a corporate manager (a.k.a. an associate dean) to "work with" this student-customer in terms of getting him on track to pass the class. A class that ends in two weeks. (The student-customer himself, after receiving notice of his failing grade, was told by the corporate manager that he would "be okay" as long as he started attending the class. Attendance is pushed hard at ITT because attendance rates effect the amount of federal aid money the institute is eligible to siphon off.) Have I been told outright to pass this student-customer? No. That would be...unethical. But the young man has already failed this particular course once. And if he fails it again, he will most likely drop out of our for-profit institute. Taking his full $40,000 associate's degree tuition nut with him. (An $80,000 nut potentially--if he were to decide to go on to pursue a bachelor's degree.) This young man is an extreme example--but he is by no means an exception. I do have many sharp STUDENTS in my classes--women and men who are hungry for an education and work at an A+ level. (WHY they are not attending a community college, I don't know. I wonder how much self-doubt plays a role.) But it kills me to know their achievements will basically be canceled out and stigmatized by the customers who are waltzed through the institute for the sake of ITT/ESI investors. So: my best wishes to you, Scott. Reading your post, I have no doubt you'll succeed at FCC and, eventually, at Cal Poly. For anyone else checking out this site: if an EDUCATION is what you want, go to a community college. (Yes, you can.) If listing a degree on a resume is your main concern...all I can say is caveat emptor.