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| - I am so very disappointed in my dear alma mater. When I was a student, I bled maroon and gold. I loved the campus and connected personally with many professors who were very willing to help me with my post-graduation goals. I felt like my education was adequate (graduated summa cum laude), though it was clear that one could easily breeze by and still graduate if they desired. I had a mostly good experience as an undergraduate, and this is in comparison to two other universities that I had attended previously.
After graduation, I moved to the east coast. I made the mistake once of proudly declaring my alma mater in front of a group of peers, to which they replied, "Isn't that a party school?" I was crushed to learn that others did not seem to take ASU (and therefore my degree) very seriously. Thankfully, I attended a respectable east coast university when I earned my graduate degree.
Unfortunately, ASU is incredibly profit driven for a state school. It has come to my attention that within the last 5 years, full time in-state tuition has risen from $3,500 per semester to over $5,000. These prices are near those of the University of Phoenix (notoriously expensive and lacking in educational value). Additionally, it has been my observation that ASU continues to follow the UoP business model by hiring masses of contract-only, adjunct instructors rather than full-time lecturers or tenure track professors. This saves the school money and "McDonaldizes" educational delivery. Many of their programs are now online - so many, in fact, that some people actually think ASU is an online institution. They have cut traditional university studies (upon which the American university was founded) such as their Ph.D. in sociology, yet retain many vocational/technical programs. A friend of mine told me that Michael Crow has even cut the student counseling center. It's heart breaking. :-(
Like I said, I am saddened. I once loved my school but it seems that many things have changed since I was a student.
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