I am currently enrolled under the BS Animation program. This curriculum is quite frankly a joke. It seems that every term brings some new issue to battle.
A few of my favorite moments and issues with Westwood are as follows:
1) Taking a multimedia video/audio course, and being told we would only need a web cam for the assignment. Once classes started, the web cam quickly turned into a digital camera.By week three we were told that we needed a digital camcorder for shooting live footage for our films. Please keep in mind that these courses are supposed to be 9 weeks in duration, but are actually more around 8 when you consider the first week starts late, and the final projects are always due before the end of week 9.
2) Two terms after that incident the school attempts to register me into a digital production techniques for screen course. After reading the syllabus the first day, I was on the phone with my advisor getting transferred out of it. The previous course was a level 200, while this one was a level 300. The problem was that this latest course should have been a pre-req to the other one. We were going to learn the very basics of video production and editing. This comes after we've already shot and edited a short film.
3) And then to top off this fubar of events, I just had a level 400 course for video production that was identical to the level 200 I completed 3 terms ago. I could have literally turned in my assignment from that class and taken the term off. It was a different instructor, and different students. No one would have been the wiser, but I took took the time to create a new short for practice.
4) Another favorite of mine is not being asked which courses I would like to take each term. The school automatically registers you without consideration. This wouldn't be too bad if the school knew what they were doing. I, however, was just registered for an elective course that is specific to graphic design, when there are others I would have preferred to take geared towards computer animation. I mean seriously, why take something in my related field when I can take something else? That makes perfect sense.
5) Public Speaking as a required course. I have no problems with required courses, and I'm sure public speaking will help me in the future, but to require this online simply does not make sense. We were required to locate 5 people willing to give up their time to sit and listen to our speeches while we recorded them. I can understand my time being taken by the school, but don't demand that others give up their time for my classes, and then mark me down if 5 people are unavailable. It can't be expected that we have a captive audience as students would taking this course on-campus.
6) After numerous phone calls and emails to both my advisor and the director of the art department, I was told that I am too concerned about my grades. If grades are unimportant, and we're just supposed to have fun as the courses always say at the beginning in the syllabus, then do away with the normal grading system and move to a pass/fail system. You either understand the information and have demonstrated that you can use it in an assignment, or you don't. But don't tell me after racking up an ungodly amount in student loans that I am too concerned with my grades. This same mentality has been shown by numerous instructors as well. We are not to care about the grades that they feel are a necessity to hand out.
7) Missing grades and incorrect test results are another favorite. I have never had to spend so much time having to review my own grades and tests to make sure everything has been done, and done correctly. This is the instructor's job to verify the grades are in place, and the answers (automated online) are correct. The online test always have incorrect answers programmed for some of the questions. These types of bugs should have been worked out before the tests were ever allowed to go online for students. Some of the instructors are obviously only "teaching" for the paycheck. Online students are lucky if an instructor displays true interest in the progress and success of the student.
Those are just a few examples. I thought I would cover some specifics that I have experienced while attending. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one having a horrible experience with Westwood, however, I wish there was something we could all do about this. There are so many of us. I even went as far as emailing the news station in Texas to ask about updates to their 2005 story on the corruption of Westwood.
If anyone else does have information on Westwood, I would like to hear it. It is too late for me to drop. I have 2 terms left, and at this point, with all the money and time I've spent, I feel I need to get something out of it. The sad part is that I know I will be graduating with far less knowledge in animation than other students from better schools. Where will that place me when it comes time to look for a job?
0 comments