A List of My BSN School Frustrations (because a reader asked)
A reader who teaches online classes left a comment that I now cannot find (I tried!), asking if I could share exactly what has been so frustrating for me at my BSN school. She's wanting to know so that she can give her students a less aggravating experience.
So, for her and for anyone else interested, here is what is making me want to tear my hair out.
(This is going to be an uncharacteristically rant-y post, so stop now if that's not your thing.)
There are always errors in the syllabus/learning management system/course materials
Every freaking class I have taken at this school has had multiple typos or just plain wrong information.
For instance, in one spot it might say that the assignment requires two cited resources, and then elsewhere it says you need five.
Due dates are left from other semesters (a December due date in a summer class, for example).
The submission instructions will say to submit a draft, but in another spot in Blackboard, it says you are just supposed to submit a final paper, not a draft.
This drives me crazy. I want to follow the instructions, but when the instructions are all over the place and they contradict each other, I don't even know what I am supposed to be doing. I have wasted so much time searching for information and emailing professors to try to get answers.
Also, if students are expected to submit error-free work, the professors should deliver an error-free course.
Course materials are hopelessly out of date
One of my classes had a link (broken, of course) that said it had been added in 2007. My friends, that is 19 years ago. College materials should be updated MORE OFTEN THAN EVERY NINETEEN YEARS.
As a reminder, here is what Zoe looked like in 2007. That was a long time ago. 😉
Very often, the syllabi I get are five to ten years old. Really? You had nothing new to add in a decade?
One class had us design a group project using a Microsoft product called Sway that has a one-star rating, and that basically nobody uses (as far as I can tell from my searches on the topic). It's a terrible, clunky, non-user-friendly product, and I have no idea why in the world a college would use that instead of PowerPoint.
Course instructors seem never to have looked at their online course
For instance, in each class, there is a Q&A board where we are supposed to leave course questions, and the professor is supposed to reply within 24 hours.
In my first several classes, I tried that, and it was just crickets. So then I learned to email the professor at the start of the course to ask if they use the Q&A board. One time I did that, and the professor said, "There is no Q&A board."
So I sent her a screenshot because there most certainly was a Q&A board. Sigh.
I'm not a college professor, but I know there's a way to look at a student view of Blackboard, and I wish my professors would do that.
Some professors grade slowly in accelerated classes
In a semester-long class, I understand that speedy grading is not such a high priority.
But in an eight-week class, it is! How can I incorporate feedback when grading is a week or two behind?
And when there's a project that is due in parts (outline, then draft), the delay in grading is even worse. How can you write a draft if the professor hasn't even approved your outline?
Links for purchases are wrong
This is a school issue, not a professor issue, but I accidentally bought the wrong book for my last class because no one had added the right link.
And when I bought my background check, there was an old link for 2023/2024 (not labeled as such; it just said "Fall"), so I paid $120 to get into the wrong background check cohort and now my dates are all wrong.
Whyyyy is that link even there? It seems like they should be updated every single year.
Almost no one seems to be trying to stop AI use
I saw rampant AI use in the discussion boards at this school, and with the exception of one professor, no one seemed to be trying to stop it. In fact, I am 99% sure one of my professors was using AI to respond to our discussion posts.
When I have to read AI slop discussion posts and then produce some sort of response, I want to bang my head against a wall. And the same goes for the bland AI responses people leave on my posts. There's a pile of words there, but they are basically meaningless, and I'm supposed to produce a sensible response.
It also makes me feel frustrated at the injustice; it is unfair that people who use AI are getting through the classes just as well as those of us who do not use AI.
Feedback is generic
As I mentioned, one professor seemed to be using AI to give responses to our work. Either that, or she is extremely bland, and I don't think that's it, because she sounds way different in her emails.
In another class, the professor was leaving exactly the same feedback on everyone's work, and I know this because I talked to other classmates. The corrections she was telling me to make made absolutely no sense; it was like she was giving generic corrections and they quite obviously did not apply to my work. I emailed to ask for clarification on this, and she didn't get back to me until after the due date, at which point I had just submitted my paper as-is.
I work hard on my submissions, and it is frustrating to realize the professor has possibly not even taken the time to read what I wrote. It is also very frustrating to get no email response until after a due date, especially when I am always working ahead. It's not like I'm ever emailing last-minute.
I AM trying to give feedback
I have filled out student feedback forms in every single class, delineating my concerns. And of course, the professors themselves have heard from me plenty of times because I have needed clarification plenty of times. So, I'm doing my best to make my voice heard.
Still, this seems to be an institutional problem, and I'm not sure my feedback is going to change anything. But at least I tried, and at least I am almost done.
I will never, ever, ever take another class at this school, and I have advised other nurses on my floor against it. I've also let the continuing education director at my hospital know about my experience so that she can help other students avoid taking this path. This whole process has been unecessarily difficult, and I don't wish it on anyone else!
Annnnnd that's the end of my ranting. If you made it this far, well, now you know why my BSN attitude is terrible. 😉
I am way past the age and desire of taking any kind of classes, but boy, I am glad in my day all classes were in person. Online classes just seem like a place you have to teach yourself, and a breeding ground for cheaters.
I am so grateful my RN school was all in-person. I much prefer that format for learning, and I think it requires more of both the professors and the students.
Amen!
There must be some mistake in saying 2007 was nineteen years ago 😉 How cute was Zoe?!
Seriously though, I'm sorry you're dealing with all this. It sounds so frustrating. I hate AI and spend more time at my job than I would prefer trying to dissuade people from automatically using it. There's a TV series I like called Hacks which had an amazing episode on the pitfalls and dangers of AI.
I turn off as many AI options as I can. Found out my company is tracking who uses Co-Pilot. It is my goal to *never* use it. Of course too many at mgr/VP level use it in meetings all the time. I try to limit what I say/type in chat.
It really irks me that my company expects me to "train" AI with no additional compensation. It will be decades before it could ever do my job and I have no intention of helping it.
I must admit that I get a great sense of satisfaction when I Chrome search and AI says it has no suggestions. I have noticed the disclaimer that "AI might not always be right" (paraphrasing).
Unfortunately, this is the sort of “stuff” that happens when an accrediting body (Joint Commission) who inspects hospitals says “___% of your staff should have BSNs ” and the hospital says to a school “ we need our staff to have degrees” and the schools says “great! We’ll provide the classes.”
Everyone is just scratching each others backs and the student who just wants to do their job well and provide good care to their patients gets caught in the crosshairs. The hospital gets their %, the school gets their students (often without proving themselves/trying) and the accrediting folk say “yah hospital you get your certificate because you met our mandate.” Seemingly, those three entities get a bit of $ and are all happy with the system—the student less so because they did all the work.
It’s a bit of a racket that the student must just tread water through.
I’m so sorry you are experiencing this, glad you are sharing and helping everyone to see how it really is. 😳😩
Oh my I totally agree with that first paragraph. It is such a racket. Don't forget to include the book companies that change one or two paragraphs to print the "next" edition and students cannot use others' books to save money. Arggg.
I usually bought "outdated" editions of textbooks or borrowed them from the library when I was in college in the late '70s and early '80s. That "new edition" baloney has been around for a long time.
Your frustrations and feedback are super valid! Disappointing that this experience counts as "education." Sounds like the school and professors appreciate the money but not actual teaching or learning. I love how you illustrated your point with that cute little Zoe pic. Totally! Geesh!!
Oh my goodness! That all sounds absolutely terrible. I am frustrated with you now! I would be upset by every one of these issues too!!
Kristen, whew, that's a lot of things that this college is getting wrong. Shame on it for continuing the insanity you've been experiencing. Glad you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Once a friend of mine was taking classes at a community college. She needed to go to a particular office so was directed there. It was a storage closet! It was one of several aggravating things she experienced while trying get her degree. Hopefully this college has improved in providing correct info to its students.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
I work in higher ed and the AI response thing in discussion posts… there is a whole racket right now for identity theft to get someone’s financial aid. They use a bot to do the bare minimum until the aid is dispersed and then are gone. If these answers are persisting through the whole semester I assume they are real and people thinking it helps them balance their already stressed out life. It’s a shame and frustrating.
Are you at a for profit school? Also sounds like your instructors are getting paid pennyies and not motivated. Ugh! I adjuncted and got paid $3000 for an entire semester. It wasn’t worth my time and I stopped.
And to echo a post above - the % cycle about having the BSN when an RN is sufficient fuels these types of programs. Leave those who actually want the BSN to get the real education they are seeking and leave the rest alone!
I'm curious how you chose this school? It does sound terrible! And I'm astonished that such a poor school retains it's accreditation.
Well, they came and did a presentation at my community college, and I (wrongly) assumed that meant it would be a decent experience.
Now I'm warning everyone, though!
Do schools that offer BSN programs need accreditation?
I'm so sorry you are dealing with these frustrations, Kristen. I would feel the same way with all of those issues!
As you know, I'm in the midst of online grad classes, and while there have been some occasional frustrations along the way, nothing to the degree of what you're describing! I've been very grateful for the flexibility that the online format has provided. I can listen to lectures at any time of day that works for me, I can speed them up, and replay them if needed. On the whole, it has been a positive experience so far, with professors engaging mostly via email and hosting virtual office hours. Sorry again that your BSN journey has been so frustrating!!
I cannot abide typos and incorrect dates and misspellings and any other nonsense like that in a professional capacity of any kind! Instantly I discount the person behind the email/site/published work as incapable. Its one of my biggest pet peeves!
I can forgive the occasional typo or mistake, but what I can't stand is people using AI to do the work for them and/or to give feedback.
I totally get this. My son is in his first semester of community college and he has had the same experience. Assignment instructions that are super vague, late grading, zero feedback. Some assignments are graded just for completion, so without feedback, he isn’t even sure if he completed them correctly. It definitely affects your confidence and ability to complete assignments!
Does this college offer in person classes or only online classes? It sounds like the professors just don't invest in the online portion (some items might be the same but many of your complaints seem like things that are more tied to the online version).
This is truly ridiculous!! Typical, straight through BSN programs usually have more non nursing classes (to fulfill college requirements, like history, philosophy, sociology, etc- not just science or medicine). It’s like they ran out of real things to teach you, and they thought up impractical things to fill up the last 2 years??
As a graduate school professor that teaches online and hybrid courses, I would be mortified if any one of these were brought to my attention! If a student has to ask me a question about what's on Canvas, I take it that they aren't the only one and I've not designed the course well. I update my syllabus and online components every semester. The readings are updated every year (that's what summers are for!). I don't assign textbooks (in my field the information changes too quickly for textbooks to be relevant to my course) so I link to readings from our subscription databases.
That all sounds miserable! But you are tough and will get through it, I know that. My DS#2 has just come up against the hard reality that is nursing school after getting his first exam grades back...one exam was, he says, 50 questions but only 25 points and he was just one point shy of passing it. Now he can pull up his grade if he does better on future quizzes and exams, as it's early in the semester, but after talking to him it's clear that he's struggling with the TYPES of questions they're now asking. We were used to having to recall factual information about physiology and pharmacology, for example, but now he's being asked to do more critical thinking and NCLEX type questions. So he's going to have to practice more in that regard. I think he's taking it a little more seriously now. He is frustrated that they want him in person for particular lectures that he feels "could have been online", but then the one class is meeting only every other week so he won't get feedback (knowing what questions he got wrong) on this recent exam until a week from Monday!
We're also frustrated that the college switched from an easier E-Learn platform to Canvas, which everyone hates. And sometimes it fails to grade automatically so the professors have to go in and grade it by hand, which delays feedback. ugh.
I am a professional tutor at a community college in the Midwest. Almost everything you were saying is absolutely valid and something I see from semester to semester. Professors recycle the same syllabus and the same assignments year after year. Totally fine! But at least update pertinent information such as if your office moved and update links accordingly. Very frustrating for both me and the student as we’re trying to navigate the assignment. The lack of grading in a timely fashion is also a huge problem. My students are often four weeks behind in seeing their grades. I am currently getting my masters degree in English so I can teach at the same community college and now I know exactly what not to do when it comes to these certain aspects of course management! Just so you know you are not alone…
Teacher of thirty years piping in…
Wrong due dates and typos are pure unprofessionalism. Links that are outdated and nineteen years old are pure craziness.
I am so sorry.
Interestingly, my daughter in high school is taking some dual credit courses, and she has many of these same complaints. It's very haphazard and arbitrary, and it's not making a first-time college class experience very good.
I am so sorry this has been your experience although this sadly makes me feel better. My daughter is struggling with the exact same issues as she working on her masters here in NY. It’s so frustrating and such an awful experience. I can’t understand why this seems to be the norm. Several other friends are in similar masters programs at different universities and are having the same experience. 😢
That is a whole long list and as you point out, there is something institutionally wrong.
Why not show some pride in doing your work well? Who wants to have their name connected to that institution?
This is just shocking incompetence, and more than that, utter disregard for the student and for the teacher/student contract. Evidently, the "teachers" are allowed to do a very bad job, just as long as they're using (or mis-using?) technology. There is no oversight? Apparently not.
I went to college in the seventies. There was no technology. Thank God. I didn't know how lucky I was.
Beth W., I too went to college in the 1970s, when none of this BS (and I don't mean Bachelor of Science!) existed. And what with Kristen's post and the various comments, plus the articles I'm reading about AI to prepare for next week's JASNA committee meeting, I feel the way my mother did when my brother and I were trying to explain cell phones to her in the nursing home during her final year: "Stop the world, I want to get off!"
I have gone to grad school myself, twice, and I have worked at the college level and also at K-12. So this education post is very near and dear to my heart and passion…First, good for you for all the proactive things you have been doing, and all the feedback that you have been giving your professors. All of that is very very good. However, yes, I agree that it seems to be an institutional problem… Or the Dean is just not aware of this. So my next step would be to go to the Dean of that department. Give all of this feedback… Maybe print out this blog that you just wrote, I love all the examples and how specific it is, and shows your frustration and trying to do the right thing. I still don’t know if that will change anything, but that would be the person to go to next after the professor. And yes, smart move not to go back to this institution in the future and yes, so glad that you told everyone in your program and the education person within your hospital… That is all within your control and are awesome proactive things that you are doing!! So my hats off to you. I’m just so sorry that you have to go through this. Most of my grad school classes were in-person, but I have to say the ones that were online, I experienced things very similar to what you are talking about. One professor in particular was extremely terrible with not providing timely feedback or feedback at all or returning emails and then expecting us to be able to go to the moon and back without any guidance, and our grades were lowered if we didn’t do exactly what she wanted, when we didn’t really even know what she wanted!! I feel your frustration. Regarding AI… It is completely useless and should never be a part of education, my stance on that is becoming stronger and stronger by the day. I see what this does to students and educators, it’s just not helpful, and it is actually harmful. (I do think there might be a time and place for AI, such as compiling research data… But they’re always has to be a human component that actually has a brain to evaluate things!!) …anyway, I know your post was a “rant”, but I think my response turned into a rant also, ha! But that’s OK because things need to get talked about when things are not not right, harming education, and any other topic.
Kristin, I am so sorry this is your experience. The post is painful to me to read as a retired teacher. Unfortunately, is exactly why I hated online learning during COVID and the resulting impact it has on education today.
NEITHER TEACHERS OR STUDENTS HAVE ANY REAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
STUDENTS ONLINE:
I never knew which student was doing any work nor was I able to accurately assess what they had learned. As a teacher, if I can't gain this data, I cannot monitor and adjust.
Some Reasons:
Students were texting each other answers while we were in Zoom classes.
Parents were doing student work.
Students were Playing Fortnite.
Testing was impossible ( in the high school technology realm)
Breakout rooms meant to encourage dialogue were silent.
TEACHER:
laziness and apathy foster by flawed checks and balances.
I was a master teacher for years. The weakest teachers almost inevitably quit because "they would be more fulfilled at the secondary level." This is code for "I really want to do is lecture while my students are forced to listen to the sage on the the stage."
In a live classroom, effective teachers are artists constantly managing outrageously creative, innocent, intelligent miscreants while tending to quieter students with deficits and disabilities. When it works, a brilliant teaching day leaves a teacher exhausted. I loved it.
So, to anybody who thinks teachers will be replaced by computers, pray it isn't so. Teachers and kids need to be IN CLASS and ACCOUNTABLE for their own mental health and for the good of society. An effective public education is the foundation of any democracy.
OKAY, I am off my soapbox.
Mary Ann,
I am a retired teacher also. I am now tasked to supervise student math teachers spring semesters for a local college. Can I use your teacher description as part of our seminar discussions? You say it so eloquently. Thanks for a wonderful description of teaching!
Absolutely! I am married to a teacher, and he has shared very similar sentiments
Thank you for being a wonderful teacher!!
I would absolutely lose my mind! You are a saint!!!
It’s not Western Governors University, right?
What an appalling list of stupidity and carelessness. I hope you post your list as a review in a public forum (when you're done) as well. I understand the occasional typo but wrong dates?!? And the rest is even worse.
Oh man, that look on Zoe's face! And dirt, inside the house, in the registers! Will you share the story? Please? I bet it's a doozy.
If I remember right, she had somehow gotten ahold of a flower pot, and she dumped it all over the floor, and down the heating register. Ha. But she was so cute and happy about it, I grabbed my camera before cleaning it up.
I would immediately suspect that those teaching the courses are barely qualified to do so. Two of my former colleagues working at a state university were not professors but would get hired to teach various courses. It was a matter of "pull the old material out of a drawer" and present it to the students. This was pre-Covid, so not so much online learning and my colleagues were diligent, but they were paid only $1,500 for a semester while the university collected the same tuition as if the courses were taught by top-notch experts.
I did my BSN and MSN online at Indiana Wesleyan and I never had problems like this ( though it was before AI was a thing). What a nightmare.
Yikes! Your utter frustration is totally understandable. Is there someone above the professor level you could voice your concerns to?
How incredibly frustrating to have to waste your time on this. And after having such a good experience at your community college. I know as soon as I see typos and bad grammar in any writing, I lose confidence in the material being presented.
You will be SO glad to get this over with.
Sounds like a terrible BSN program. My husband has a BSN and it was nothing like that. So sorry you have to deal with all of that!
I worked as an adjunct professor in Finance for 10 years at a community college and reading all of the negative experiences with your classes has me so upset. None of these issues you are experiencing is in any way acceptable. In my experience if any of the professors at our school had been guilty of having all of these mistakes/misinformation, lack of communication with students in their class the department head would have discussed it with the professor and made sure it was resolved and didn't happen again in the future. I am frustrated for you that you have to deal with such blatant unprofessionalism of these professors. Also the department heads should be more active in making sure this doesn't happen. At the community college I was at, the student experience was very important and I would not have been asked back the following semester if I had all of these negative issues and made no effort to correct them. All of this to say I am sorry for your negative experience and the school should be ashamed that this is what they feel is acceptable for their students.
Holy CRAP, that's awful. My main complaint about my online BS degree was, "discussion boards exhist and I hate them." This is....laziness on the part of the school. I hope you name them once you're done and your degree is safely in your hands.
P.S. I have had multiple coworkers and friends go to nursing school and not one has ever had a positive experience - in person or online. I wonder if there's something systemic about nursing education that has made it like this 🤔🤔
I don't know, because my RN school experience was miles better than this. So practical and helpful, even though it was very hard and a lot of work.
This was also my daughter’s experience with her nursing education at the community college level. Very difficult but thorough. She likes her nursing job very much.
I want to say: I think a lot of the complaints stem from your institution's standards, but are not representative of all 4 year colleges. I know for a fact this is not the case for two of the University's in my state that offer online bridge programs. I went straight for my BSN and while some of the classes are fluff I had none of the technical issues you had. I understand this is a different path though. But knowing other people who did use the online bridge program, they did not have these frustrations. I got my degree many years ago. I wonder if so much of the automation has made things cumbersome to proof on the professor's side. Either way, giving a shout out to 4 year universities too - not all are created as bad as your experience and I'm SO SORRY you are dealing with this on top of everything else.
I'm so sorry that it is so frustrating. I would tear my hair out too.And I get my hair done very often.
I was in Bellvue ER Sunday. They insist I go to a cardiologist. First appt. they could get me Dec.23. They do the EKG twice different techs. I saw my pcp Tues, took hubby's appt and he would take mine next week. My pcp is able to get a cardiologist appt across the street in ten minutes. I hate to be late, got lost cause the doc's assistant showed me the wrong photo. She also said there used to be a Starbuck's but it is no longer there. Guess what it is still there. So I was upset that I was late, Then the tech tells me I need an EKG. Told her I had two on Sunday. She said you need an ekg. I said why? Then she waltzes' out of the room saying she is not going to do it. WHOA.
But that was for the best. next tech was so nice. She said to take off my bra. I said but I didn't have to in the ER at Bellevue. She told me when you don't take off your bra the results are skewed. I worried for 3 days. It's not right, I called Bellview Patient Advocate but when Zozo was at Belleview P/A was not much help with the issues. First time for that. Westchester P/A helped when the hospital wouldn't let Noah see grandma cause he was too young. another story for another day. anyway sorry for your frustration. Happy Tuesday to all. Throwback photo of Zoe precious. So grateful I dodged another bullet.
Have never taken online classes and probably never will, but your frustration sounds SO legitimate!!
At least YOU take your learning seriously, and will be a better RN, BSN than those who are using AI and throwing spitballs at the requirements instead of figuring them out. Applause for Kristen!!!
I am truly sorry for your frustrations. Today you are one day closer to being done with this layered lasagna of redundant rat ©√^¶.
I loved my bsn degree, it was an accelerated program, loved my instructors. You are doing a great job getting a professional degree for pennies. When you weigh what my program cost from a private college, the scholarships, signing bonuses, you still come out ahead. This too shall pass and your reward will be more $$, the ability to specialize, if you want.
Thank you for the adorable Zoe pic, totally brightened my day!
As a college professor who works really hard to be student-centered, this hurts my heart so so much. Both for you and your fellow students ... and also for me, because I'm 99% sure that if your instructors are full-time, they are probably making more money than I am 🙄. Seriously though, if your hospital wants a great in-person nursing program to recommend (and we are working on an online RN to BSN completion option too), send them to Hood College over in Frederick! Oh, and yes, I teach with Blackboard and seeing the student view is very easy to do (honestly, a single click in and out) and something I try to check every week as I upload new materials! Sincerely, a professor who is very frustrated with so many things about higher ed these days ...
I am a tenured faculty member at a non-elite four-year public university. You are correct that this is absolutely horrible and should not be tolerated at all, much less be a systematic issue. It definitely sounds like a leadership/culture problem.
PLEASE send this blog post to your program!
Thank you for answering my question! (I sent an email, which is why you couldn't find it in the comments.
I have to teach an online class in the spring, but all good reminders for my current in-person classes as well.
And, I didn't proofread my comment, so there is a typo! ())
Wow! Talk about frustrating. I’m way past school age, but feel really bad that you have had to deal with such nonsense, and pay for it. I’ll be glad when are through and can enjoy working and not chasing every single teacher around for answers. My daughter has done many classes online, but I don’t believe she has ever had such a time with info. Those teachers have no business even teaching if they don’t care about their students. Good luck I your future and Lord bless you always. Love your blog and all the love you share with your readers.
Patricia
Kristen, I feel your pain. You went easy on them by not naming the school or the errant instructors. Unless you fear retaliation prior to your graduating, I would send a copy of this blog to the head of the nursing school, the college president, administrators, all members of the board of trustees, the state/national accreditation agencies. If the school is a state college/university, to the governor; if a religious affiliated school, then to the head of that denomination, bishop, state/regional director, etc. When they realize how many people read your blog, they will sit up and take notice! (If you think they'd retaliate, then wait until you get your diploma and license.) Also, I believe the Rate My Professor website still may be operating and if so, I strongly suggest you post the names of the instructors who have A.I.'d or delayed your feedback, used outdated material, confusing/contradictory instructions, and wrong links, etc., and say what they've done wrong. I believe RMP is anonymous and you write the critique. Yes, you need to help prevent others from going through this academic hell, and I hope you do!
100%! Excellent advice! I hope she reports them.
Honestly, I'm glad you ranted. Because I never understood WHY you didn't like to learn new things. I'm a retired math professor and got my share of complaints. But those were mainly young students who didn't like to learn new things. And I knew you did.
But now I can see why. ALL of those things would drive me BATTY!!
I suspect (I don't know for sure) that almost all of your professors are adjuncts, who get paid SO LITTLE for teaching the class that they end up having to teach an ungodly number of classes just to pay their bills. And so they do not have time to go through each syllabus carefully, they don't check the links, they just don't have time to do all that they could do.... If it is a tenured professor that has a limited number of classes, then shame on them.
Oh yes, I do like to learn things! I loved my nursing school pre-reqs and my semesters of nursing school. They were hard, but they were jam packed full of important material. The hard work felt meaningful!
This is just hard work and frustration, and very little that is meaningful.
That's enough to make a preacher cuss!! Just one of those things alone would have sent me packing out the door. I commend you on your fortitude, perseverance, and commitment to reach your goal.
I don’t know anything about the reputation or quality of this university, but if I had to bet- it’s not impressive, based on your reviews
I'm in a PhD program right now and I am APPALLED at what you are going through. This is beyond unacceptable on so many levels! I am so sorry you are going through this. I would be tearing my hair out also.
That sounds awful! Seems like that school is a money grab and not actually providing any kind of education.
Hopefully May is here before you know it!
Do you have to stay with this school for the duration of the degree???? What a mess! ALL those things you mention are unprofessional and unacceptable!!!
Well, since I am so close to graduating, I don't think it makes sense to leave now. After this semester, I have only one class in the spring and then I am done. So, I'm going to stick it out.
While not a surprising blog post, now I will always be thinking if a nurse dealing w/me or family member is actually qualified. Most likely will be in the ER w/my aging parent. Upside is we have a family member who has a master's degree in nursing - actual intelligence era mind you. So I have a qualified resource.
I don't think that's the right takeaway here; I'm in an RN to BSN program, which has very little to do with actual patient care. I learned what I needed to be competent in patient care in RN school, after which I passed my NCLEX, which is the same NCLEX that four-year students take.
The RN to BSN classes are largely about topics such as research, management, informatics, and the like. These are not topics that would affect your loved one's direct patient care.
I’m a retired dean and supervised our Nursing BSN program well as others. The accrediting body for nursing programs is incredibly strict. The problems you outlined are inexcusable. Is your college a for-profit school using adjunct faculty? I understand if you don’t feel comfortable reporting these problems to the dean of the program but they need to be told directly. I’m so sorry you’re in this situation. It’s not normal.
These government employees are obviously just in it for the paycheck that rolls in every week. It’s pathetic what is going on in your classes.
Oh, these are not government employees and this is not a government funded college.
As someone who LOVES school I feel your frustrations and it makes me angry on your behalf at the professors who are putting in minimal effort! Even if it’s an institutional problem, teachers who take on the important role of educating others in their field should really care and make an effort. But in the end what matters is you’ll have your BSN, so keep going! You got this!
I have taught for a community college for many years. I've worked in many distance learning settings, the worst of them being fully online classes. I will say in your instructors' defense that the learning management systems are extremely convoluted on the instructor's end. They automatically default to the content that was in old classes, and it's a chore to update it. It's not impossible, though, and your instructors definitely should have eliminated a 19-year-old link. Rapid communication is absolutely essential, though, and there's really no excuse for the instructors not getting tests back in a timely manner and not returning an outline before the draft is due. Unfortunately far too many instructors prioritize their live classes and research duties over online classes. In addition to the feedback you've already offered, I'd suggest you visit with your advisor and perhaps also with the department head. They need to be aware of the problems you've experienced.
Yup. It should not take over a week to get a response to an email!