Empire State College, State University of New York

I'm a Bachelor of Science student in Community & Human Services. I'm a month from graduation. My overall experience has been wonderful. My mentor was helpful the whole time and the instructors strive to help the students succeed. There were a couple of instructors (out of many) that were a bit critical and rude, but not in my particular program. They were in a couple of electives I took. Outside of that, the experience has been awesome! I will say that online schooling requires a solid commitment and self discipline in order to make it. Some of the coursework is very heavy and rigorous and even a bit too much at times but most instructors know that some students are working adults, parents and have busy lives. I would recommend Empire to perspective students.

I'm enrolled for the Spring 2012 Semester and every single aspect of ESC I've been a part of so far has been wonderful. I really think the people with the horrible reviews must fall into these categorizes: 1. Looking for hand holding (either they've been out of school too long and are just uncomfortable or are right out of high school and have no idea what they are doing.) 2. Professionals going back to school and are so /so/ so full of hubris they trash the school when it's not exactly how they want it - when they want it. Everything they say is very clear - very true. I received my mentor assignment 2 weeks after I completed my orientation TO THE DAY. They said it would take between 2 and 3 weeks. I had called to ask for the process was going because I really wanted to register for classes with my first pick professors and bam - my mentor was assigned. HOWEVER - they didn't send my info in the mail or an email yet - I TOOK CONTROL and looked to see if the process was completed by going into my account information. All it takes is a little time and dedication and the school is FANTASTIC. I don't work for them - feel free to email me any questions - this is my email for the school. Brandi.CDL.ESC@gmail.com

I have three degrees, and work as a financial controller running companies for a living. I did not initially obtain an MBA because this was not initially required in my field, but now is standard. I was told that the Empire MBA would allow me to sit for the CPA exam. Oddly, the MBA program contains virtually no accounting courses. Upon entering into a self study program for the CPA exam, I quickly found I was in over my head, despite 20 years of experience. I was forced to simultaneously take every accounting course available at the undergrad and grad level (not already taken) in order to prepare for the exam that my MBA was supposed to prepare me for. Fortunately, I was able to IDA out of half of the MBA program by taking independent life assessment tests. This is a plus, and offered to this extent by no other educational institution to this degree to my knowledge. Also, this is the cheapest MBA program in the entire world, and for some god forsaken reason, is certified as a qualifying SUNY degree. On your resume, due to obvious reasons, if you have read other comments up here, do not state Empire College. State SUNY. Otherwise, they may laugh you right out of the interview if they have any knowledge of Empire whatsoever. Now to the real story. The teachers are lifetime students with no real life work experience. I have only had one so far that speaks "native" English. They do not respond to inquiries, have canned tests that are often provided from the textbook companies, and often do not even correspond to the text, and do not teach. Don't even expect instruction. There is absolutely none. Further, they have no clue about costs. I have had courses that are over $500.00 for books, parts of which aren't even covered for testing purposes despite the purchase of 2 to 3 books per course. The work load goes way beyond what they tell you, so it is very easy to get in over your head. I have started a course with 15 other students, and been the only one left standing. I am disabled, and had more time than the average, but was often sitting there on oxygen struggling to complete a project with no response from the professor on major aspects of the project. If I had been working in my executive job, I would have lost a fortune in failed classes. The requirements aren't grueling in a good way, but all about excessive project requirements. Not to blow my own horn, but many of my instructors understand the subject matter less than I do, because I work in it every day. Also, the college will not respond to complaints. I have had many. Someone in registration actually enrolled me in courses without my permission or knowledge (for which I already had IDA credits and thus didn't have to take), and then immediately put me into collection to pay thousands of dollars. Being disabled, I just about had a heart attack. It took several weeks to straighten itself out, and I was sick with worry. No apologies. No penalty for this person (who broke the law by accessing my account and creating an illegal registration without my knowledge). The residencies cost hundreds of dollars and are nothing more than a way to bring money into Saratoga Springs. Further, the group assignments (which are required in many courses) are hell. If I wanted to be at the whim of someone else's non-existent availability schedule, I wouldn't have signed up for an online course. I was forced to work with students who literally would not perform their part of the assignment, jeopardizing my straight A GPA. Unacceptable. I had one instructor who got surgery and simply didn't respond to anyone for the 1st month and a half. I had another who posted an entire curriculum (from her hospital bed) using the prior semester's criteria, and then changed it six weeks into the program (when I, as a disabled person, had already completed the work ahead of time). Further, the quality of this program is so questionable. The course selection is outdated, and half of the textbooks you are forced to buy are authored by the head of the Empire MBA program, Mr. Belasen. Convenient. Expensive. Unable to be resold to anyone else at any other college because only used at Empire. Wasted money. I have had multiple courses where I was the only one who passed. Many students, who didn't have lifetime experience, were lost. They couldn't communicate with the professor, the project requirements were poorly communicated, and many of the projects far exceeded the course "teachings" (which mean, reading the book). I put together an exhaustive production schedule and capitalization program for a particular assignment in order to determine payback time on a piece of equipment based on maximization of plant utilization, and the instructor didn't understand it. Literally, at least 60 hours of work for one assignment (which went way beyond the course), and the woman didn't understand it. I literally walked her through the entire process with flowcharts and arrows, and she was lost. She even graded me down because she said I hadn't fulfilled the terms of the assignment (which was a Harvard case study that clearly asked for a utilization breakdown and a breakeven point for capitalization purposes based on multiple pieces of equipment and a specified long term volume). This was for a health care finance course that provided no insruction in costing whatsoever, with no costing courses required as a prerequisite. This instructor required one project (Harvard) per week. Unbelievable. I have not learned anything from this program. I could have taught myself this information and saved myself $20,000.00 dollars. Further, you go through a mentor who is supposed to be sure to check out your course selections to be sure you won't be overburdened with work. What's the expression? Watch the hole, see the wood chuck. They have no clue. You could seriously wind up with 60 hours of work for one class. I'm not kidding. So, use the student network to find out about each and every course and each and every instructor. It will save you time and aggravation, believe me. I couldn't afford a more expensive MBA, and frankly think the MBA is just another way to get people's money. Inquiring minds don't need to go to school, they need to read industry periodicals and constantly educate themselves. However, if you must get an MBA (and can't buy one out of a cereal box), then you might as well go here. But, be advised, their rates went up excessively during the program, and they are completely impossible to deal with. And, if you are disabled, don't expect any courtesies at all whatsoever. You won't get any, and probably not even get a response for the inquiry.

This school is terrible, as is the faculty and staff. And before I'm completely discredited, I have a 4.0 gpa here. I have heard several potential employers -- administrators in public school districts -- talking about how they would, and I quote, "Never hire someone from SUNY Empire." Stupid me, I thought all teacher prep programs were relatively the same, and respected as such. Not the case -- if you are considering going here for education, STEER CLEAR! They are not respected; what's more, they require that you, the student, find a job before they will even certify you. Any public school administrator will tell you, as I've now learned, they will NEVER grant you an interview unless your teach account says "certified," which is IMPOSSIBLE in there trans B certification process. If someone tells you, "Don't worry about it -- you'll be fine," they are LYING. In this job market, ESC's dime-a-dozen degrees mean nothing. Especially their education degrees and their pathetic certification process.

Let me preface this by saying that I had a 4.0 GPA at Empire State when I recently withdrew (more than halfway through my degree), because I think readers might tend to suspect that negative comments come from disgruntled underperformers. I personally know four other 3.5+ students - including the person who originally encouraged me to enroll at ESC - who have also withdrawn from the school within the last six months for the reasons I am about to describe. Unfortunately, when it comes to the quality of instructors and course experience, SUNY Empire State has become almost indistinguishable from the for-profit diploma mills new ESC enrollees are trying to avoid. For one thing, there was literally zero instructor participation in literally half of the courses I took, over two-thirds gave no meaningful feedback with graded assignments, and almost none ever posted to any group discussions regardless of how far afield they had gone. Some here have noted that the school is designed for adults and therefore apparently feel it's acceptable for students to virtually teach themselves while adsentee instructors silently babysit, but I strongly disagree. If just reading textbooks and articles and discussing them with classmates without any form of active guidance was sufficient to prepare a person for a career, there would be no need for a higher education system at all. Another big problem I found was that a large number of the instructors are increasingly part-time adjuncts from all over the country who teach at multiple online schools and have no particular ties or allegiance to SUNY. Many of these over-extended instructors run well behind on grading, aren't familiar with the often outdated lectures and resource links, and can take days to answer time-sensitive questions. I also found that multiple instructors who taught courses important to my major had little-to-no direct experience/education in the field! You may ask why, if my experience was so lousy, I stayed with ESC for so long. For one thing, I was concerned about losing the money and time spent on courses that might not transfer elsewhere, and I also figured that if a SUNY online school is this bad, no other online school would be any better. But finally, I got so fed up that I cut my losses and transferred to a brick-and-mortar university. It will take me considerably longer to get my degree, but at least I'll feel better about my preparedness when I graduate. After spending some time looking at my new program and talking with faculty at the new school, I've decided to re-take a few important courses that would have transferred because I'm not the least bit confident in the adequacy of the ESC versions. SUNY Empire State College may have once been a very good school, but times are changing fast. If you MUST attend an online school, ESC is a relatively inexpensive option and it does carry the SUNY name - just don't expect a SUNY-quality education.

I am graduating this June 2008 and I have to say that my experience at SUNY ESC has been an enjoyable one for the most part- aside from the writing three 15 page+ research papers, but hey, this is college and this is the kind of work that is expected of a senior getting their bachelor's degree. Like every college, there will of course be problems with professors, administration, and grading-this is to be expected, you just have to be assertive and take care of the problem. In fact, my fiance who hashis degree from Cornell University was not immune and hated most of his professors as they were not good teachers. Interestingly enough at ESC, I really haven't had that many problems. My financial aid, very suprisingly, has worked out perfectly. A side from one useless professor the rest were very helpful and knowledgeable. I know that ESC is known for online classes, but I haven't taken one online course so I cannot comment on this. I have takenclasses through independent study (highly reccommended, only if you are good at self-motivation) working closely with the professor, all my work is completed basically on my terms. Although you are provided with a "learning contract" aka syllabus, the "deadlines" are flexible to your schedule. The other type of class I have taken is the study group option-also highly recommended. The study group usually meets for 6 classes, for 2 hours typically every two weeks. The classes are small maybe 7-12 students. If you are taking classes in the Hudson Valley-Hartsdale location I recommend, Prof. Altman and Swartz (both are really great and and have alot experience in their field!!) Overall, I would highly recommend this college to anyone.

I have just completed my BS in Community and Human Services with SUNY/ESC. What the first reviewer left out was probably the most important factor pursing a degree in ESC; it is a State University of New York degree. Not as valuable as a SUNY Cornell degree, but valuable nonetheless. It is true, as in every college, you have some okay professors, some schmucks, or diamonds in the rough. One would be in criminal justice classes S. Raptis. I had this professor for two semesters, his knowledge, clarity, and truthfulness was genuine. There are some others to avoid, especially Prof. J. Putt in Urban Studies, he is as useful as nipples on a bull. My life credits brought me to 75 credits after completing the Educational Planning, no worries with that, if you have a decent mentor they will give you a template. Remember when you succeed, so does the mentor. I received federal and state grants rather easily. I suggest that you buy all of your required reading used - you will save hundreds of dollars. Some classes require literature from ESC, so you have no other choice on those. If you are an adult learner, and have accomplished a lot in your life vocationally, and the likes, I strongly suggest ESC over ANY online school. ESC degree does hold weight - I myself will be taking the LSATS in order to get into Northwestern School of Law that shows you the weight of ESC.