Complaint Review: Collins College

Here's my story:

I attended Al Collins from 1994-1996. It was quite
possibly the most ridiculous scholastic experience I
have ever had. I saw teachers passing students who
never even showed up to class. I saw teachers and
students not only fraternizing but partying together.
One of the teachers who is an older man (and a great
artist as well) married one of his students (who was
nearly 30 years his junior...). I had teachers aids in
the computer *lab* who out and out told me that I
would have to "wait" to get help for simple newby
questions (such as pentooling, menu items/command
keys, etc) while they came on to the female students
right in front of me...

I was told by the typography teacher to hand render
fonts (...and the last time I ever had to do this
was....never. aHEM). I didn't necessarily mind this
and decided to just Zen through it. What I DID think
was an exercise in futility (and completely
ridiculous) was being told to go and see the movie
(yes, for a class assignment) "Seven" because "they
use that cool typewriter font in the credits" and that
"Brad Pitt was HOT!" (good show, Brad!)

ridiculous.

I was told, unequivocally, that no students work will
ever warrant a grade of 100% because that would equal
"perfection". Well...I suppose, subjectively, that this is true but, then what, exactly, would we call the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls or the Hanging Gardens? Or, our very existence for that matter.

I was made to purchase items for which I neither used
nor did I keep (eraser brushes for $20.00, pantone color swatch set for $175.00 and so on - these should have been common items for which there was 1-2 in each class) yet I was (like other person mentions in an above rebuttal) made to purchase my 'graduation'portfolio, computer supplies, etc. that were neithercovered nor mentioned.

I was told that I would be able to utilize several
pieces of equipment hands on (including photography
items, matrix editing suite, etc) and never saw any of
it. In fact, our final in our Video Presentation class
was to be edited.

I had teachers who didn't know how to work a digital
camera and other simple electronic peripherals. (not that this is necessarily a "job requirement" but geez...)
I was told in the second week, along with my entire starting class, that if we didn't get good grades that we would "only make five or six dollars an hour".
I was told in computer class that if we were not able to type 90 words per minute that we would "never be able to get a job in the graphics industry. Wow...I must've been skating by for all of these years.

Finally, since I was short on my student aid (by less
than $1,000) at the end of my tenure at AC I was told that I would not be able to graduate with my class and, ultimately, received my diploma in the mail (actually, it was sitting in my screen door half getting rained on when I got home from working overtime - no, REALLY!)
There are TONS of other things I drone on and on about but those were some of the highlights of my experience while attending Al Collins.

While in School:

I applied for a position at Apple Computers. I had put
on my resum that I was attending Al Collins and that
I was currently a student. Much to my surprise (at the
time) the guy interviewing me had nothing good to say
about Al Collins and told me how crappy of a school
it was, that it was a joke, etc. HUGE letdown.
Ironically, I ended up getting the job...why> I'll
tell you. Because of my personality...yes, personality
DOES go a long way. Too bad Al Collins doesn't go that
same distance sitting on your resum.

Just prior to Graduating and after School was done:

About 30 days prior to graduating I decided that I
would go and register with the a then local (24th
Street and Camelback in the Esplanade building) temp
service called Mac Temps (now Aquent). This was the
first "real" indicator of the Al Collins reputation (or lack thereof) from a major company. I explained to them that I was just about to finish my Associates of Arts Degree and that I would like to come in for the tests and to sign up. What I received next was a brutal piece of honesty (that I now have come to appreciate). The woman explained to me that she would set the appointment and that, typically, she doesn't do this with "students
who are just about to graduate" and then explained
"well, you see...there's this school here in town - Al
Collins...they (students) just keep on calling me and
wanting ridiculous jobs that pay way out of what they
are qualified to get paid...no experience, unrealistic, not competent in their computer and/or design skills." Imagine how disheartening this was to hear after working
so hard at my studies. To be quite honest I didn't even have the heart to tell her that this was, in fact, where I had been attending.

Since Then:

At EVERY single job I have ever applied for I have listened to ridicule and utter distaste for Collins College. I have since taken the reference
off of my resum. I put "College and Personal References Upon Request". It actually gets more (and more positive) results than having it there. Also, when meeting with other colleges (ASU, NAU and some others) and universities I was told the following about my Collins College credit hours transferring:

IF I decide to enter into the Art Program or something even remotely similar (design, etc) then the MAXIMUM amount of credit hours that they (any of the schools
that I spoke with) would even be ALLOWED to transfer would be 64. If I decided to work in any other field I would get Z-E-R-O credit hours.

I sincerely hope that prospective students are receiving this information readily from the student "counselors".

Lifetime Job Placement:
I, personally, have never even bothered with this silly claim. I did, however, have a friend who did. Here's what happened when he showed up:
The counselor broke out the Sunday newspaper classifieds. What a genius! I bet my friend NEVER could have thought of THAT! Right? Update: That same
friend now runs his own business and is doing quite well.

To sum it up:
I have been reading a lot of the complaints on this website about Al Collins/Collins College and I absolutely DO agree that your career, your life, your family - really ANYTHING that is important to you - requires time, effort and I have worked for many clients including Victoria's Secret, Fredericks of Hollywood, GAP, Patagonia, Paloma Picasso, Yamaha. I have worked for a major news publication in the IT, Design, Business, Purchasing, Project Management, Workflow Specialist and Analyst.

I have brought 4 major news publications up and running from the ground up and have managed 175 persons in several different cities.
I can not attribute really much of any of it to the education that I received at Al Collins.
I would gladly give up my degree if the school would see it clear to simply pay for the rest of what I owe in my ridiculously high student loans. Is there anyone
else out there who feels like this? Anyone interested in a class action lawsuit?

Any attorneys interested in a case like this? If so, please feel free to post a response in this site. I think that Al Collins/Collins College has been getting away with scholastic murder for way too long now. To any student even remotely considering going to this school PLEASE do your research and make an informed decision. Listen to me and the other students that have already attended and learn and benefit from our mistakes.
I mean - even look at the commercials that they have run over the years..."make a line, draw it fine" - ? "draw a letter, make it better" - ? and, my all-time favorite
(which, incidentally, is still running mostly late at night) that says, "not an artist? doesn't matter anymore..." I think that this tag line pretty much sums this school up.

Chris
Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.

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