Is This Typical?

[Sankaku]

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My fiance is a student at a California DPT program and she has been really shocked by the lack of organization within the program. Her class schedule is changed on a weekly basis, with assignments routinely given via email the night before class. Her teachers rarely post material online which should be there according to the syllabus (and per assignments). Tests and projects take a month or more to be returned (and have been lost), and most of her professors take a long time to return emails (or just don't). One of her teachers was even pulled from his class for poor performance and then reinstated.

Her peers commiserate about the organization problems at the school, but we lack perspective on how bad or typical these things are since we don't know anyone in other programs. Is she just in a bad school, or is this what should be expected?

Thanks

 

[PT2014]

wow, what school?

 

[Sankaku]

wow, what school?

I don't want to disclose the name of the school, but word of advice: get some candid insight from current students before you choose which program you will go to.

 

[ClimberGrrrl]

No, not typical at all. What you described is not okay. The professors at my school have so much experience in teaching that they literally have their teaching methods down to a science. While there are occasional mishaps, such as when lecture notes are not posted online when our professor said they would be, this is certainly the exception and not the rule. Your fiance is paying these people a LOT of money and the way they are acting is not acceptable.

 

[PT2014]

I'll guess St. Augustine

 

[MinnDasota]

Definitely not typical. Most Cali schools have good reputations, so I am surprised by this. All programs have their problems, but this is not acceptable. Sounds like a new program, no?

 

[jbizzle]

Sankaku- you can't be serious. Are you for real? That sucks to hear that if it is.

PT2014- I haven't heard anything bad about USA (the campus here in Florida). But who knows maybe someone from USA-San Diego will chime in or if the OP will give a hint, maybe like the region of Cali the school is in.

 

[johncronejr]

If I were a student in that type of school, I would be raising hell. A DPT student is a "customer" paying top dollar for a product (education). Your fiancee needs to start talking to department heads. What I have found in life is that, oftentimes, the person you talk to will say they can't do anything about it. When that happens, you move up the chain of command. You will eventually talk to someone who CAN do something about it.

That said, I think it does a disservice to the rest of the SDN users to make such statements about a program and then refuse to name the program. Not only can it create anxiety about another users school choice, but it could land students in this horrible school you are talking about. I have always believed in being UPFRONT about what you complain about. Besides.....most on this board are using made-up names. Is there really a danger of some PT school sleuthing about and finding out who is behind the fictional name, let alone find the fiancee of someone with a fictional name?

 

[markelmarcel]

As others have said, definitely not typical. However, my question is-- how new is this program?

When I did my undergrad I was in the very first "cohort" to go through a newly restructured program. What I found in my 4 years were a lot of "fibs", "flubs" and "flunks". The program was rocky, at best. Did I get a good education? Yes, I think so. Was it smooth sailing? Not all the time.

If the program is fairly new, it is possible they are still working out kinks. However, if it's an established program, then I would agree that your fiance, and her classmates, need to stand up for themselves and their education. They are PAYING for a service and that service is not being met.

 

[TheOx777]

Hearing things like this make me "rage." Physical therapy is a field that can be one of the premiere health care avenues for movement dysfunction and disability. All too often, the general public use images/stories like OP's fiance's situation as an excuse to discredit the profession. I understand that all programs across every discipline have kinks to iron out. That said, if this new generation of DPTs are going to garner the respect of the public and other health care workers, it is imperative that issues like this be eradicated! Period!

I hope your fiance does speak up and serves an some sort of agent of change for that program. Simply unacceptable!👎

 

[truthseeker]

not typical.

Why wouldn't you share the name of the school? It would be a nice service for those who are accepted into two and choose the one you are describing.

 

[Sankaku]

not typical.

Why wouldn't you share the name of the school? It would be a nice service for those who are accepted into two and choose the one you are describing.

I am concerned about the possibility of backlash, and that is why I am hesitant to post the name of the school. However, everything I posted is accurate to her experience and I believe potential students have the right to hear negative opinions. The program is Western University of Health Sciences.

Let me buffer my negative comments a little, she does have some amazing professors and the program is intellectually rigorous and stimulating. The problem is that on top on the intellectual challenge is an organizational/structural challenge that she is constantly having to deal with, and that has been very frusturating.

 

[jbizzle]

The program is Western University of Health Sciences.

Wow, really? I think I have seen some people on here that attend Western.

 

[utahutesfan]

My cousin attended Western U and she said that was how the program was when she went there. She said that they would try to make things better and switch things up. She said she felt like a guinea pig because they were experimenting with her cohort although the program has been around for awhile if I remember right. This was pretty recent too because she applied in '09. Despite what she said, I ended up applying there just because she went there but I personally would not want to go to a program that is like that.