VERY LONG RANT - not cat related - sorry

in article , JoJo at
wrote on 6/15/04 8:39 PM:

I just need to rant to anyone who will listen. I am 37 years old and a few
years ago decided it was time to go to college and get that oh-so important
piece of paper called a degree. I start off "easy" - two year community
college, get my associates in three years (keep in mind work full time). I
took three courses a semester and had time to use facilities, breath, maybe
read a little something enjoyable.

Well "half" a degree isn't good enough, we know in order to go anywhere we
need the BS degree - the one I fondly call the bullsh*t degree. I tried
Penn State - too much for traditional students as half the courses I needed
were offered during the day - did I mention I work? Full time? So after a
semester there and some course that tells me Barbie was/is a pop icon (I'm
still scratching my head what the hell Barbie has to do w/business degree)
we move on. Ok, fine we need to find a college that will work with adults.

Enter University of Phoenix. Classes are five weeks long, no more than 10
hours of homework, built for working adults, team work as well so work is
"split". Sounds good to me, where do I sign?

Problem one - one five weeks into the next no breaks.

Problem two - I have yet to have less than 10 hours of homework, and I'm
almost finished....what happened to working adults? That does not include
time to READ - which I can't find the time to do (did I mention I work for a
living???)

Problem three - learning teams - the worst concept to ever come to life. In
theory it sounds good, in reality - oh boy. I didn't know colleges
permitted illiterate (or borderline illiterate) into school - guess I was
wrong. No writing, math or reading tests are required - should have heard
warning bells, but didn't. So here I am in a team of four - two of us
having the ability to write fairly well. Maybe punctuation or grammer is
off a bit, but for most part legible. Then there are the others. One tries
to impress by using large words, so by the time he gets thru constructing a
sentence, the meaning is gone. But his stuff is fairly understandable. The
last team member - how in the hell this woman got out of high school blows
my mind. She cannot even put a simple sentence together, I had no clue what
her point was, nothing made sense. So it is up to me to put paper together
and clean up this mess of a paper so my grade is not affected by the poor
work of others. Those two finally quit, got another one - woman of God
don't ya know. Three issues with this one - of course she can't write,
second she sends me religious emails which I find presumptious of her - I
don't send her things that would cause her hair to curl, so don't send me
religious emails. And lastly and most important, she does not like
cats!!!!!! Now I realize that most colleges probably have their share of
illiterates, but they are responsible for their own grade, in a team, their
poor work reflects on the entire team.

As time has gone on I have gotten more verbal in my complaints to employees
of UOP. Starting a new class this week, guy eats/sleeps/breaths UOP - well
boy did I get off on the wrong foot. Explained problems with first
assignment, course is waste of my time (intro to computers and info systems,
been thru this at two other colleges but they say I have to take it as it is
different - just like the algebra class at Penn State was different than the
one at my community college (same thing). He tells me I should find a
college that is willing to cater to my whims - of course that just ticks me
off even more - so I sent him a sarcastically polite email about what is
wrong w/UOP and my very valid reasons why. And do I need to point out that
I am a PAYING customer, therefore the customer is "always" right - he is my
employee, I am not some meek little high school student forced to sit there
and take whatever they dish out. I am empowered now being the "adult"
(haha) that I am.

So I'm crabby today, not only do the staff and teachers not give two hoots
about me, but I just spent FIVE hours doing the TEAM assignment - this does
NOT include the FOUR hours I spent on my own paper over the weekend. Plus I
have work, you know stuff I am paid to do, up to my eyeballs. I no longer
have time to relax let alone read. If dust were a commodity I'd be rich -
who has the time to clean?

So I am a little stressed at the moment and just needed to go on one heck of
a rant.

So my overall question(s)
1. Why in the hell am I doing this?????
2. What exactly is the degree in? I'm beginning to think insanity,
although they tell me it's bachelors in business management
3. From insanity, exactly how far away is one from blithering idiot?
(at least I'll be a blithering idiot with a degree and house full of cats).

So please, forgive my long-winded rant. I needed an outlet and decided this
was as good as any. Plus I have something else on my agenda - if anyone
even entertains the idea of going to UOP - DON'T DO IT! I don't even have a
family (real - meaning kids), I have no clue how others can do it. I would
really like to start my own newsgroup on the pitfalls of UOP.

Thank you for listening. I'm going to settle my fur back down now.

Sorry to hear your experience. I teach online for a university (not UOP) and
overall the students really like it. Yes, there are those that get in that
are deficient in the grammar/writing department, but they usually get weeded
out quickly. From what I see, teachers are much more willing to work with
you than this person you speak of. I do have students that think certain
classes are useless (including mine, as it is the arts) but in general, by
the end of class I have far more people say "I was wrong". Now, our classes
are 8 weeks long (I do not see *how* a 5 week long class could possibly have
as little work as they claim, but if it truly is more than 10 hours, which
is what they advertise, I would consult with the academic advisory board.
They need to either remove that from their advertising, or change the class
requirements.) so perhaps that makes a difference. However, it is an
intensive way to get a degree because they are condensced classes. It is
very hard because like you there are few breaks. You go from one semester
right into the next except for twice a year where there is a week break. I
don't have team assignments myself and have *never* been a fan of that, so I
can't speak to that end. There really are a ton of online universities out
there, so you might find one that is better suited. As for the student who
sends you unsolicited mail, I would ask them to stop. I know that that
doesn't always work, but you can try. I am sorry that this is not fitting in
for you. Purrs that you find a solution to your woes.

in article , JoJo at
wrote on 6/15/04 8:39 PM:

I just need to rant to anyone who will listen. I am 37 years old and a few
years ago decided it was time to go to college and get that oh-so important
piece of paper called a degree. I start off "easy" - two year community
college, get my associates in three years (keep in mind work full time). I
took three courses a semester and had time to use facilities, breath, maybe
read a little something enjoyable.

Well "half" a degree isn't good enough, we know in order to go anywhere we
need the BS degree - the one I fondly call the bullsh*t degree. I tried
Penn State - too much for traditional students as half the courses I needed
were offered during the day - did I mention I work? Full time? So after a
semester there and some course that tells me Barbie was/is a pop icon (I'm
still scratching my head what the hell Barbie has to do w/business degree)
we move on. Ok, fine we need to find a college that will work with adults.

Enter University of Phoenix. Classes are five weeks long, no more than 10
hours of homework, built for working adults, team work as well so work is
"split". Sounds good to me, where do I sign?

Problem one - one five weeks into the next no breaks.

Problem two - I have yet to have less than 10 hours of homework, and I'm
almost finished....what happened to working adults? That does not include
time to READ - which I can't find the time to do (did I mention I work for a
living???)

Problem three - learning teams - the worst concept to ever come to life. In
theory it sounds good, in reality - oh boy. I didn't know colleges
permitted illiterate (or borderline illiterate) into school - guess I was
wrong. No writing, math or reading tests are required - should have heard
warning bells, but didn't. So here I am in a team of four - two of us
having the ability to write fairly well. Maybe punctuation or grammer is
off a bit, but for most part legible. Then there are the others. One tries
to impress by using large words, so by the time he gets thru constructing a
sentence, the meaning is gone. But his stuff is fairly understandable. The
last team member - how in the hell this woman got out of high school blows
my mind. She cannot even put a simple sentence together, I had no clue what
her point was, nothing made sense. So it is up to me to put paper together
and clean up this mess of a paper so my grade is not affected by the poor
work of others. Those two finally quit, got another one - woman of God
don't ya know. Three issues with this one - of course she can't write,
second she sends me religious emails which I find presumptious of her - I
don't send her things that would cause her hair to curl, so don't send me
religious emails. And lastly and most important, she does not like
cats!!!!!! Now I realize that most colleges probably have their share of
illiterates, but they are responsible for their own grade, in a team, their
poor work reflects on the entire team.

As time has gone on I have gotten more verbal in my complaints to employees
of UOP. Starting a new class this week, guy eats/sleeps/breaths UOP - well
boy did I get off on the wrong foot. Explained problems with first
assignment, course is waste of my time (intro to computers and info systems,
been thru this at two other colleges but they say I have to take it as it is
different - just like the algebra class at Penn State was different than the
one at my community college (same thing). He tells me I should find a
college that is willing to cater to my whims - of course that just ticks me
off even more - so I sent him a sarcastically polite email about what is
wrong w/UOP and my very valid reasons why. And do I need to point out that
I am a PAYING customer, therefore the customer is "always" right - he is my
employee, I am not some meek little high school student forced to sit there
and take whatever they dish out. I am empowered now being the "adult"
(haha) that I am.

So I'm crabby today, not only do the staff and teachers not give two hoots
about me, but I just spent FIVE hours doing the TEAM assignment - this does
NOT include the FOUR hours I spent on my own paper over the weekend. Plus I
have work, you know stuff I am paid to do, up to my eyeballs. I no longer
have time to relax let alone read. If dust were a commodity I'd be rich -
who has the time to clean?

So I am a little stressed at the moment and just needed to go on one heck of
a rant.

So my overall question(s)
1. Why in the hell am I doing this?????
2. What exactly is the degree in? I'm beginning to think insanity,
although they tell me it's bachelors in business management
3. From insanity, exactly how far away is one from blithering idiot?
(at least I'll be a blithering idiot with a degree and house full of cats).

So please, forgive my long-winded rant. I needed an outlet and decided this
was as good as any. Plus I have something else on my agenda - if anyone
even entertains the idea of going to UOP - DON'T DO IT! I don't even have a
family (real - meaning kids), I have no clue how others can do it. I would
really like to start my own newsgroup on the pitfalls of UOP.

Thank you for listening. I'm going to settle my fur back down now.

Sorry to hear your experience. I teach online for a university (not UOP) and
overall the students really like it. Yes, there are those that get in that
are deficient in the grammar/writing department, but they usually get weeded
out quickly. From what I see, teachers are much more willing to work with
you than this person you speak of. I do have students that think certain
classes are useless (including mine, as it is the arts) but in general, by
the end of class I have far more people say "I was wrong". Now, our classes
are 8 weeks long (I do not see *how* a 5 week long class could possibly have
as little work as they claim, but if it truly is more than 10 hours, which
is what they advertise, I would consult with the academic advisory board.
They need to either remove that from their advertising, or change the class
requirements.) so perhaps that makes a difference. However, it is an
intensive way to get a degree because they are condensced classes. It is
very hard because like you there are few breaks. You go from one semester
right into the next except for twice a year where there is a week break. I
don't have team assignments myself and have *never* been a fan of that, so I
can't speak to that end. There really are a ton of online universities out
there, so you might find one that is better suited. As for the student who
sends you unsolicited mail, I would ask them to stop. I know that that
doesn't always work, but you can try. I am sorry that this is not fitting in
for you. Purrs that you find a solution to your woes.

in article , JoJo at
wrote on 6/15/04 8:39 PM:

I just need to rant to anyone who will listen. I am 37 years old and a few
years ago decided it was time to go to college and get that oh-so important
piece of paper called a degree. I start off "easy" - two year community
college, get my associates in three years (keep in mind work full time). I
took three courses a semester and had time to use facilities, breath, maybe
read a little something enjoyable.

Well "half" a degree isn't good enough, we know in order to go anywhere we
need the BS degree - the one I fondly call the bullsh*t degree. I tried
Penn State - too much for traditional students as half the courses I needed
were offered during the day - did I mention I work? Full time? So after a
semester there and some course that tells me Barbie was/is a pop icon (I'm
still scratching my head what the hell Barbie has to do w/business degree)
we move on. Ok, fine we need to find a college that will work with adults.

Enter University of Phoenix. Classes are five weeks long, no more than 10
hours of homework, built for working adults, team work as well so work is
"split". Sounds good to me, where do I sign?

Problem one - one five weeks into the next no breaks.

Problem two - I have yet to have less than 10 hours of homework, and I'm
almost finished....what happened to working adults? That does not include
time to READ - which I can't find the time to do (did I mention I work for a
living???)

Problem three - learning teams - the worst concept to ever come to life. In
theory it sounds good, in reality - oh boy. I didn't know colleges
permitted illiterate (or borderline illiterate) into school - guess I was
wrong. No writing, math or reading tests are required - should have heard
warning bells, but didn't. So here I am in a team of four - two of us
having the ability to write fairly well. Maybe punctuation or grammer is
off a bit, but for most part legible. Then there are the others. One tries
to impress by using large words, so by the time he gets thru constructing a
sentence, the meaning is gone. But his stuff is fairly understandable. The
last team member - how in the hell this woman got out of high school blows
my mind. She cannot even put a simple sentence together, I had no clue what
her point was, nothing made sense. So it is up to me to put paper together
and clean up this mess of a paper so my grade is not affected by the poor
work of others. Those two finally quit, got another one - woman of God
don't ya know. Three issues with this one - of course she can't write,
second she sends me religious emails which I find presumptious of her - I
don't send her things that would cause her hair to curl, so don't send me
religious emails. And lastly and most important, she does not like
cats!!!!!! Now I realize that most colleges probably have their share of
illiterates, but they are responsible for their own grade, in a team, their
poor work reflects on the entire team.

As time has gone on I have gotten more verbal in my complaints to employees
of UOP. Starting a new class this week, guy eats/sleeps/breaths UOP - well
boy did I get off on the wrong foot. Explained problems with first
assignment, course is waste of my time (intro to computers and info systems,
been thru this at two other colleges but they say I have to take it as it is
different - just like the algebra class at Penn State was different than the
one at my community college (same thing). He tells me I should find a
college that is willing to cater to my whims - of course that just ticks me
off even more - so I sent him a sarcastically polite email about what is
wrong w/UOP and my very valid reasons why. And do I need to point out that
I am a PAYING customer, therefore the customer is "always" right - he is my
employee, I am not some meek little high school student forced to sit there
and take whatever they dish out. I am empowered now being the "adult"
(haha) that I am.

So I'm crabby today, not only do the staff and teachers not give two hoots
about me, but I just spent FIVE hours doing the TEAM assignment - this does
NOT include the FOUR hours I spent on my own paper over the weekend. Plus I
have work, you know stuff I am paid to do, up to my eyeballs. I no longer
have time to relax let alone read. If dust were a commodity I'd be rich -
who has the time to clean?

So I am a little stressed at the moment and just needed to go on one heck of
a rant.

So my overall question(s)
1. Why in the hell am I doing this?????
2. What exactly is the degree in? I'm beginning to think insanity,
although they tell me it's bachelors in business management
3. From insanity, exactly how far away is one from blithering idiot?
(at least I'll be a blithering idiot with a degree and house full of cats).

So please, forgive my long-winded rant. I needed an outlet and decided this
was as good as any. Plus I have something else on my agenda - if anyone
even entertains the idea of going to UOP - DON'T DO IT! I don't even have a
family (real - meaning kids), I have no clue how others can do it. I would
really like to start my own newsgroup on the pitfalls of UOP.

Thank you for listening. I'm going to settle my fur back down now.

Sorry to hear your experience. I teach online for a university (not UOP) and
overall the students really like it. Yes, there are those that get in that
are deficient in the grammar/writing department, but they usually get weeded
out quickly. From what I see, teachers are much more willing to work with
you than this person you speak of. I do have students that think certain
classes are useless (including mine, as it is the arts) but in general, by
the end of class I have far more people say "I was wrong". Now, our classes
are 8 weeks long (I do not see *how* a 5 week long class could possibly have
as little work as they claim, but if it truly is more than 10 hours, which
is what they advertise, I would consult with the academic advisory board.
They need to either remove that from their advertising, or change the class
requirements.) so perhaps that makes a difference. However, it is an
intensive way to get a degree because they are condensced classes. It is
very hard because like you there are few breaks. You go from one semester
right into the next except for twice a year where there is a week break. I
don't have team assignments myself and have *never* been a fan of that, so I
can't speak to that end. There really are a ton of online universities out
there, so you might find one that is better suited. As for the student who
sends you unsolicited mail, I would ask them to stop. I know that that
doesn't always work, but you can try. I am sorry that this is not fitting in
for you. Purrs that you find a solution to your woes.

jmcquown wrote:

Naturally when it comes to a work-related project, a manager will
be meeting with and request a status from everyone for their part
in the project, rather than just let it float until deadline and
not care who did what. This is because they have to give
'performance appraisals' in most companies. With instructors it
should be no less, after all, that's what a grade is.

Can't disagree with you there!

Joyce

jmcquown wrote:

Naturally when it comes to a work-related project, a manager will
be meeting with and request a status from everyone for their part
in the project, rather than just let it float until deadline and
not care who did what. This is because they have to give
'performance appraisals' in most companies. With instructors it
should be no less, after all, that's what a grade is.

Can't disagree with you there!

Joyce

jmcquown wrote:

Naturally when it comes to a work-related project, a manager will
be meeting with and request a status from everyone for their part
in the project, rather than just let it float until deadline and
not care who did what. This is because they have to give
'performance appraisals' in most companies. With instructors it
should be no less, after all, that's what a grade is.

Can't disagree with you there!

Joyce

Sorry to hear about your problems, I think it's very commendable that
you've gone back to school. Hang in there!

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

Sorry to hear about your problems, I think it's very commendable that
you've gone back to school. Hang in there!

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

Sorry to hear about your problems, I think it's very commendable that
you've gone back to school. Hang in there!

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:39:08 -0400, "JoJo"
yodeled:

I just need to rant to anyone who will listen. I am 37 years old and a few
years ago decided it was time to go to college and get that oh-so important
piece of paper called a degree. I start off "easy" - two year community
college, get my associates in three years (keep in mind work full time). I
took three courses a semester and had time to use facilities, breath, maybe
read a little something enjoyable.

(snip)

Dear Jo, Sorry about your frustrating experience. On the whole,
adults tend to do better in college than the usual youngsters (I
always loved having them in my classes) because they are strongly
motivated, and already have great work habits. It's unfortunately
true that many college kids are not well-prepared for both the kind of
work and the level of self-discipline and reponsibility that college
requires. They tend to view themselves as customers and consumers
who have paid for something, so they don't realize that they must put
some effort into what they are doing. They think all they have to do
is show up.

Unfortunately, many entire institutions have dumbed down to accomodate
such "customers." In those cases, the adults who ordinarily would have
done so well, suffer from the general dumbing down. They feel
impatient, patronized and treated like children, or idiots. My
mother had much the same experience when she returned for her master's
degree. At least her employers paid for it-- is there any chance of
your employers at least helping you out a little here?

Stinky sends purrs, and offers to throw up on any homework you might
need him too.


Theresa
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com
alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/