I guess, ultimately, all of us here that complain about Al Collins/Collins College, have no one to blame but ourselves.
We approached this institution as we would any other place of learning. We expected to get an education. We expected that the, "Admissions Representatives" (read: Salespeople), would actually have the course material, competent teachers and job placement assistance they claimed.
We believed the "facts" and figures they tossed out at us. We believed the salaries we could expect to make... The demand for qualified graphic designers.
We believed these things because traditional higher learning institutions are required to live up to their promises. Technical schools, unfortunately, are not.
I, like virtually everyone else here, has had awful experiences with Collins College. Unfortunately, my husband was also sold on what was to be an outstanding experience. We now have twice the loans to repay. And we have to start over.
I accept responsibility for putting my blind faith in Collins College. I accept being complacent when I would appear in class each evening, wondering if this instructor would quit or be fired, like the last one. Wondering if the student assistant would now become the instructor.
I accept that I did not do enough homework beforehand. I unquestionably believed the salesperson that told me I needed a two-year degree, then a four-year, rather than "wasting my money" on the certificate programs, which would have taught me the exact same things when all was said and done.
Because of the constant staff turnover and the outdated and frequently broken equipment, it became merely a quest to simply "graduate."
What a disappointment. To learn, nearing graduation, that if some company out there could overlook where my education came from and see the work I created, I'd have to take a substantial pay cut to get started in the industry.
What fool would do that? I was a fool for two years. I will, in many ways, be a fool for the six years I still have left to pay off my student loans.
Maybe, maybe, I can convince others not to be a fool.
Do your homework. There's no "quick moneymaker." They call them "get-rich-quick-schemes" for a reason. This attempt at "accelerated education" is nothing more than that.
Want your degree to MEANS something? Get it from an institution that MEANS something.
Jennie
Phoenix, Arizona
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