First off, all colleges/universities will have their faults and students will always have their complaints. Having said that, while I attended West Suburban College of Nursing (WSCN) in Oak Park, IL, I experienced the following: a constant turn-over of faculty and administration, a lack of academic integrity towards grading and policies, faulty information and promises from faculty and administration, ill-prepared faculty in the classroom and clinical setting, unstructured classes/class work, and most importantly, a terrible retention rate of their students.
The specifics of each of the above occurrences are really not important for me to get into. However, I suggest that if you are considering WSCN that you ask questions regarding each of these issues during your visit/call. For example, ask how many professors they have gone through in the past two or three years. Also, ask about administration turn-over. As a student, you are constantly interacting with faculty and administration, so it is imperative that they be helpful and passionate toward students' and their needs. It would be best to talk to a current/graduated student "outside of the college" to get an honest perspective of the college. Since this is not always possible, just be sure to ask pertinent questions to the college officials, administration, and faculty when visiting/calling. Remember, talking to their "token student" at a campus visit will always produce a positive response. Every business will avoid their faults and portray a beautiful picture.
WSCN is a small school that consists of roughly 15-20 total administration/staff members and about 8-12 faculty members. Since I have attended WSCN, I have experienced a total turn-over of faculty. The WSCN administration has followed the same trend. A brief breakdown is: (about 10 professors in 2004 and about 5 more left in 2005, two assistants of student affairs, two registrars, three Deans, a few IT workers, and a few secretaries). All of this may seem unimportant until you try to pay your tuition, find files/records concerning you, send transcripts, etc. When your information has been through several different hands information gets mixed up, misplaced, and lost.
I do not say these things to deter you from WSCN. Just make sure you are aware of the facts before you decide to pay private tuition dollars ($18,100/year).
