I'm writing this because it seems no one is brave enough to challenge this poor excuse for a school! I attended EPCC from 2004 trying to get into the nursing program there. I did not finish my degree, got a substandard education, and nearly had a nervous breakdown. They also ruined my financial aid eligibility. To this day I cannot enroll in another school because I am no longer able to get a Pell. Let me tell you why.
First of all, do not try to apply for the nursing program there. The school is spread out all over the city and the health occuptations is located downtown. There are no health occupations counselors at any of the other campuses. If you need help you have to drive all the way downtown just to talk to someone.
Second, at the time I tried to get in you had to take the HOBET. You have to go to the main campus. Valle Verde and register. You also had to register for the test and when I went there was no one there! I had to get a raincheck and hope someone would call back with the test date. Later, when they sent out the acceptance letters they were late. Weeks late. It's a system riddled with red tape and confusion. No one knows anything!
And it's only at the orientation for alternates and acceptees that you learn you have to finish ALL the required prerequisites to even be considered! Well, in addition to that the orientation was four hours of hell with stale cookies and punch served for a break. It was nothing but a video on how not to stick yourself with a needle and mostly on relaxation techniques.
The program is so demanding and so stressful they tell you to keep a planner to plan the first semester and you're not allowed to work. Also they informed us of Project Arriba. Pell runs out at 90 credit hrs doing all the prerequisites so you need help when you can't work to pay for all the books and stuff you need. Oh, but it has a waiting list to get in.
Also the nursing program chooses about 60-70 people and only HALF make it! Not even that. They don't even care about the alternates or others who were willing to put in the work. Last year about 26 graduated. If you miss the application for fall you have to wait for spring and vise versa. That said it could take up to five years for a two year program. Is it worth it? No. UTEP is no better.
Now to the good part. My education was mediocre at best. For the lab requirements the microscopes are out of date and slides are often dirty. Equipment is in short supply and we often had to share. Sound good? Books are changed right to the start of class and are either too expensive or not there. Cats for anatomy are RE-USED!!! One had worms. Poor thing.instructors are a joke. A fair majority know their stuff, but some are condescending and don't know anything about the subjects they teach.
One teacher in 2003 for a speech class had a fiance in the army. One day she didn't show up and later we learned she had hightailed it to Kentucky to be with him before he flew out to Iraq. Nice huh? She was often late and when she did show up was insulting to woman who spoke limited english. "I promised Rosa I'd go slow today." She also made a woman whose husband was there cry. She didn't say she was sorry. She relied heavily on email and when I had the nerve to miss a few classes because of an illness she agreed to give me an incomplete. Later, she gave me a D. It's forever on my transcript.
I should have gone to the dean but didn't want to seem vindicative. Another teacher was five months pregnant looking like she was about to deliver any day and for our art appreciation class made us summarize chapters of our book, and once put us in a circle to discuss the Vietnam war! When one girl asked if this was going to be on the test, she got angry. Our final was just a paper that I know she didn't read.
For my human development class the guy went on and on about his Ph. D. And his motorcycle. I didn't speak to him for the entire semester. He wasn't approachable and insulted several older students. One girl showed up stoned and disrupted the class. He didn't ask her to leave, just pleaded with her to stop it!
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. My friend also had the same problems and had to change her major! Other students have had similiar run ins with professors. Counselors try to be helpful but just say what you want to hear. Financial aid is like dealing with the mafia. You can't talk to them and made my dealings with the dept of education a regular trip thru hell. I decided I needed time off and withdrew in fall of I haven't been back since. I have no job skills to fall back on because all my work was prerequisites for nursing. I cannot go back to school because I can't get financial aid. I am living with my parents with no job and no money. Thanks EPCC for nothing!
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