I am in my last term at PPC and I am being forced to extend my graduation date out 3 more terms, due to the lack of my credits transfering from a community college as promised. I have taken the compass test and miss the placement by one point and I feel like I can take the class that is required TO FINISH MY LAST TERM. I am currently an online student and this is the first time they have offered online classes and let me tell you that I wouldn't recommend this program to anybody. The reason I am so upset with this is because I have taken a much higher math class at a community college and passed with an A and none of my credits transferred as promised. When this is brought to the attention of the admissions office and/or the program director they simply say there is nothing they can do about it. My whole experience with this school is just plain awful, from the teaching ( a PD having a fellow student place bandaids on her nipples during an EKG practice), to the lack of care that these teachers show. I feel like they truly don't take consideration on the students behalf and are simply teaching for the pay check. A fellow student was also being forced into this math class that she didn't feel she needed and was exempt from it, meaning she didn't have to take it, because she told her admissions person that she wasn't going to. I feel like withdrawing and starting over at a school who is more student friendly and not in it for a paycheck. This school doesn't trult prepare you for a career in the medical feild and will pretty much push anybody through the program just to have a statistic, there is no help getting an externship and not much follow through for a promising career. If you're looking to become an MA and want a great education I would look else where for an education!
I am doing this because I feel like it is a duty to provide information to prospective students to help inform them to make the right decisions when choosing education. After reading of similar experiences with other 'post secondary education schools', and my own experience I felt like it is only right to share this information to everyone. First, and foremost I want to clarify and stipulate that my program director at Pioneer Pacific College, we will call him Dan for privacy reasons is a great man and really is knowledgeable in the field of IT. Lets begin with the situation. Everyone at some point in their lives comes to a crossroads where they have to decide what they want to do and how to get it done. Unfortunately for me, it was the wrong road journied at the crossroads. Fall of 1999, I attended a Community College here in Eugene, Oregon and graduated on time with an Associates transfer degree in Computer Science. Now I learned a lot from this Community College and I really thought that I would some day become a savvy computer programmer. My GPA was decent, I did really well in my math and CS classes and so I thought I was on my way. I then transferred (A REAL SCHOOL!) and finished one year with a good GPA. But, I was 22 at the time, married, one child and my family could not live with the financial burden. So I dropped out (Biggest mistake of my life to date). Knowing that I needed to finish school, because I did want to have a job in the computer industry and I have been in school since 1999 and it was now 2003. I needed to get my degree. I started checking out colleges that offered a night program and what do you know I found Pioneer Pacific College, a Post Secondary college that offers an IT program called "Computer Networking Technology". I contacted the school asking for information about the program. Within 1 day a woman named Heather contacted me to come in and have a tour of the school and get introduce me to the program. I agreed and went in to check it out. The greeting and talking with Heather sounded good, she showed me this book of post graduate success (I laugh when I think about it now) while she was preparing paper work. She told me about all this stuff about getting a degree is important and it's a gateway to the job market ... (That is true in some aspect, but not a degree from PPC). So I went home, talked to my wife about it and decided that I could get another AAS degree in less than 2 years and be done with school. Thinking that with 2 AAS degrees I would have no problem getting a decent job. So I signed up and took the placement exam. And oh my god what a joke it was, I felt like I was taking a high school SAT test (not making fun of you high schoolers, but I felt insulted). So I missed like 3 questions overall out of the Math, Reading, and English sections. I should of followed my gut right there, because I knew that the test I just passed was a complete joke to be admitted to college. I also tested out of numerous classes that were for people that to be honest are not exactly up to par with others. Enter the first semester of classes. I got these classes that sounded pretty good. Lets look at them shall we? Microsoft Office I Computer Systems I & II (that's right, no prerequisites here!) Command Prompt Intro to the Internet (are you kidding me) Now, lets be honest. Does anyone need an Intro to the Internet class? So first day of classes we got our books, and boy when I say these books are outdated I mean they were outdated. I didn't understand why the book for Computer Systems I/II was supposed to teach us and prepare us for A+ certification was published in 2000? So the books were the first joke of this school, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The teachers there are a complete joke. When I say complete joke I mean complete joke just like that. Except for Dan, the other teachers in the CNT program in my opinion were and are not qualified professionals to teach these classes. Midway through the first semester we had not learned anything except for how to surf the Internet. And what really erked me, and I mean really pissed me off was that all the tests/exams we took were OPEN BOOK! Yes, that's right, Open Book exams. I have never in my whole life, even in High School was allowed to take an open book exam. Now, one of the first classes I took at PPC was Command Prompt and the teacher who I will call David, did offer a test that was closed book, but guess what? Nothing on the test was covered or taught in class! Now myself I have been working with computers since I was 14 and I have been around since the Windows 3.x days so the command prompt stuff was easy for me and I knew every answer, not because of the teaching, but of my own experience. So people got on his case for making the test too hard and from that point forward, yes that's right all the exams were OPEN BOOK! Of course everyone in the classes got A's, and everyone thought they were learning stuff, but in reality we were being taken for a ride by another half ass institution claiming to offer education. I knew after the first semester that I had made a mistake, but I decided to stick with it, because I had no other choice to finish a degree and get it over with and my wife was getting annoyed that I have been in school for so many years since we've been married. Second semester came and I was getting new classes with another new teacher (dear God), but I was optimistic that my second semester wouldn't be like my first. Boy was I mistaken! Enter the teacher KJ. Now, KJ is a nice person, but is an absolute joke of a teacher. So now there are 3 teachers that were supposedly the experts in our department (Dan, David, and KJ). Now KJ, was supposedly the 'Windows Expert', that in itself was laughable because he didn't teach a damn thing except give a lecture for about 10 minutes and then sit down and check his email all class. In the meantime students were just coming to class, surfing the Internet and getting A's on every paper because everything was open book. During the third semester I was so irritated that I finally approaced Dan the program director to file a formal complaint about the teachers in the school. I told him that I did not think that David or KJ were qualified to be teachers (I had not had Dan as a teacher at this point yet), and that I wanted to see some changes or I would file a complaint with the Dean of the college. I swear to God when I tell you that Dan told me and I quote "Most people are here to just get a piece of paper." Now that quote in itself was amazing, but Dan is a reputable teacher who was the only one besides one other guy named Jake (who taught the no brainer classes) that actually tried to teach an undisciplined structured curriculum that knew what he was talking about and did try to help the students. So Dan assured me he would talk to them and it would change, but it didn't. The term where I was supposed to learn how to use Windows 2000 server and prepare the class for MCP exam 70-215 was a big joke. The Visual Basic class was even worse. There was no instruction at all, just the book and freelance. Now, here is the thing, and I am completely serious when I say this: I could do all of this work in my sleep! The math at this school is a complete joke. I know some of you have difficulties with math, but I made it through Calculus and Data Structures for Computer programming at the University and this stuff was on an 8th grade level .. I'm not even joking it was adding and subtracting fractions. It got so bad that I finally just started studying on my own. Buying my own books because the ones at school were outdated and useless. The classes turned into a video game LAN party almost every night etc. One of the most embarrasing things to the school is the class called TCP/IP where the teacher assigned 5 chapters for the whole term in a 16 Chapter book!!! I didn't bother even reading the 5 chapters because there was no instruction in class and I found studying for my Network+ certification covered everything well enough. And I was right because for the final exam, all the students had their books open, but I finished in about 10 minutes without even looking in the book because I knew all the stuff front to back from my OWN studying. It just got worse and worse and I just gave up on the school. I studied for my certifications and I am proud to say that I obtained 3 certifications no thanks to PPC while I wasted my time there. I obtained A+, Network+ and MCP status. The thing that really has me annoyed is that how this school cannot feel guilty handing out degrees to people who did not deserve them is beyond me. I can almost guarantee that if I had to test the graduates of PPC in the CNT program on standard PC and Network questions that 9 out of 10 of them would fail it and I leave 1 out because there may be someone like me in the class that had the initiative to learn on their own. People have told me wife that they won't hire people with degrees from there because they don't know anything .. granted they were referring to the Medical Assisting program, but it's the same thing. One program is just like all the others. I feel like I know nothing more than what I studied on my own from that school. I feel really cheated and so should others. It's a real shame that this is allowed to happen under the guise of education ... a real shame. If any would be PPC lawyer wants to sue me for libel go ahead and lets do it, because I have lots of witnesses who dropped out of the school because of this BS that can say otherwise. If any willing attorney considers bringing legal action on PPC you have my complete cooperation and attention to help out. Eugene, Oregon
Pioneer Pacific College Reviews
I am in my last term at PPC and I am being forced to extend my graduation date out 3 more terms, due to the lack of my credits transfering from a community college as promised. I have taken the compass test and miss the placement by one point and I feel like I can take the class that is required TO FINISH MY LAST TERM. I am currently an online student and this is the first time they have offered online classes and let me tell you that I wouldn't recommend this program to anybody. The reason I am so upset with this is because I have taken a much higher math class at a community college and passed with an A and none of my credits transferred as promised. When this is brought to the attention of the admissions office and/or the program director they simply say there is nothing they can do about it. My whole experience with this school is just plain awful, from the teaching ( a PD having a fellow student place bandaids on her nipples during an EKG practice), to the lack of care that these teachers show. I feel like they truly don't take consideration on the students behalf and are simply teaching for the pay check. A fellow student was also being forced into this math class that she didn't feel she needed and was exempt from it, meaning she didn't have to take it, because she told her admissions person that she wasn't going to. I feel like withdrawing and starting over at a school who is more student friendly and not in it for a paycheck. This school doesn't trult prepare you for a career in the medical feild and will pretty much push anybody through the program just to have a statistic, there is no help getting an externship and not much follow through for a promising career. If you're looking to become an MA and want a great education I would look else where for an education!
I am doing this because I feel like it is a duty to provide information to prospective students to help inform them to make the right decisions when choosing education. After reading of similar experiences with other 'post secondary education schools', and my own experience I felt like it is only right to share this information to everyone. First, and foremost I want to clarify and stipulate that my program director at Pioneer Pacific College, we will call him Dan for privacy reasons is a great man and really is knowledgeable in the field of IT. Lets begin with the situation. Everyone at some point in their lives comes to a crossroads where they have to decide what they want to do and how to get it done. Unfortunately for me, it was the wrong road journied at the crossroads. Fall of 1999, I attended a Community College here in Eugene, Oregon and graduated on time with an Associates transfer degree in Computer Science. Now I learned a lot from this Community College and I really thought that I would some day become a savvy computer programmer. My GPA was decent, I did really well in my math and CS classes and so I thought I was on my way. I then transferred (A REAL SCHOOL!) and finished one year with a good GPA. But, I was 22 at the time, married, one child and my family could not live with the financial burden. So I dropped out (Biggest mistake of my life to date). Knowing that I needed to finish school, because I did want to have a job in the computer industry and I have been in school since 1999 and it was now 2003. I needed to get my degree. I started checking out colleges that offered a night program and what do you know I found Pioneer Pacific College, a Post Secondary college that offers an IT program called "Computer Networking Technology". I contacted the school asking for information about the program. Within 1 day a woman named Heather contacted me to come in and have a tour of the school and get introduce me to the program. I agreed and went in to check it out. The greeting and talking with Heather sounded good, she showed me this book of post graduate success (I laugh when I think about it now) while she was preparing paper work. She told me about all this stuff about getting a degree is important and it's a gateway to the job market ... (That is true in some aspect, but not a degree from PPC). So I went home, talked to my wife about it and decided that I could get another AAS degree in less than 2 years and be done with school. Thinking that with 2 AAS degrees I would have no problem getting a decent job. So I signed up and took the placement exam. And oh my god what a joke it was, I felt like I was taking a high school SAT test (not making fun of you high schoolers, but I felt insulted). So I missed like 3 questions overall out of the Math, Reading, and English sections. I should of followed my gut right there, because I knew that the test I just passed was a complete joke to be admitted to college. I also tested out of numerous classes that were for people that to be honest are not exactly up to par with others. Enter the first semester of classes. I got these classes that sounded pretty good. Lets look at them shall we? Microsoft Office I Computer Systems I & II (that's right, no prerequisites here!) Command Prompt Intro to the Internet (are you kidding me) Now, lets be honest. Does anyone need an Intro to the Internet class? So first day of classes we got our books, and boy when I say these books are outdated I mean they were outdated. I didn't understand why the book for Computer Systems I/II was supposed to teach us and prepare us for A+ certification was published in 2000? So the books were the first joke of this school, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The teachers there are a complete joke. When I say complete joke I mean complete joke just like that. Except for Dan, the other teachers in the CNT program in my opinion were and are not qualified professionals to teach these classes. Midway through the first semester we had not learned anything except for how to surf the Internet. And what really erked me, and I mean really pissed me off was that all the tests/exams we took were OPEN BOOK! Yes, that's right, Open Book exams. I have never in my whole life, even in High School was allowed to take an open book exam. Now, one of the first classes I took at PPC was Command Prompt and the teacher who I will call David, did offer a test that was closed book, but guess what? Nothing on the test was covered or taught in class! Now myself I have been working with computers since I was 14 and I have been around since the Windows 3.x days so the command prompt stuff was easy for me and I knew every answer, not because of the teaching, but of my own experience. So people got on his case for making the test too hard and from that point forward, yes that's right all the exams were OPEN BOOK! Of course everyone in the classes got A's, and everyone thought they were learning stuff, but in reality we were being taken for a ride by another half ass institution claiming to offer education. I knew after the first semester that I had made a mistake, but I decided to stick with it, because I had no other choice to finish a degree and get it over with and my wife was getting annoyed that I have been in school for so many years since we've been married. Second semester came and I was getting new classes with another new teacher (dear God), but I was optimistic that my second semester wouldn't be like my first. Boy was I mistaken! Enter the teacher KJ. Now, KJ is a nice person, but is an absolute joke of a teacher. So now there are 3 teachers that were supposedly the experts in our department (Dan, David, and KJ). Now KJ, was supposedly the 'Windows Expert', that in itself was laughable because he didn't teach a damn thing except give a lecture for about 10 minutes and then sit down and check his email all class. In the meantime students were just coming to class, surfing the Internet and getting A's on every paper because everything was open book. During the third semester I was so irritated that I finally approaced Dan the program director to file a formal complaint about the teachers in the school. I told him that I did not think that David or KJ were qualified to be teachers (I had not had Dan as a teacher at this point yet), and that I wanted to see some changes or I would file a complaint with the Dean of the college. I swear to God when I tell you that Dan told me and I quote "Most people are here to just get a piece of paper." Now that quote in itself was amazing, but Dan is a reputable teacher who was the only one besides one other guy named Jake (who taught the no brainer classes) that actually tried to teach an undisciplined structured curriculum that knew what he was talking about and did try to help the students. So Dan assured me he would talk to them and it would change, but it didn't. The term where I was supposed to learn how to use Windows 2000 server and prepare the class for MCP exam 70-215 was a big joke. The Visual Basic class was even worse. There was no instruction at all, just the book and freelance. Now, here is the thing, and I am completely serious when I say this: I could do all of this work in my sleep! The math at this school is a complete joke. I know some of you have difficulties with math, but I made it through Calculus and Data Structures for Computer programming at the University and this stuff was on an 8th grade level .. I'm not even joking it was adding and subtracting fractions. It got so bad that I finally just started studying on my own. Buying my own books because the ones at school were outdated and useless. The classes turned into a video game LAN party almost every night etc. One of the most embarrasing things to the school is the class called TCP/IP where the teacher assigned 5 chapters for the whole term in a 16 Chapter book!!! I didn't bother even reading the 5 chapters because there was no instruction in class and I found studying for my Network+ certification covered everything well enough. And I was right because for the final exam, all the students had their books open, but I finished in about 10 minutes without even looking in the book because I knew all the stuff front to back from my OWN studying. It just got worse and worse and I just gave up on the school. I studied for my certifications and I am proud to say that I obtained 3 certifications no thanks to PPC while I wasted my time there. I obtained A+, Network+ and MCP status. The thing that really has me annoyed is that how this school cannot feel guilty handing out degrees to people who did not deserve them is beyond me. I can almost guarantee that if I had to test the graduates of PPC in the CNT program on standard PC and Network questions that 9 out of 10 of them would fail it and I leave 1 out because there may be someone like me in the class that had the initiative to learn on their own. People have told me wife that they won't hire people with degrees from there because they don't know anything .. granted they were referring to the Medical Assisting program, but it's the same thing. One program is just like all the others. I feel like I know nothing more than what I studied on my own from that school. I feel really cheated and so should others. It's a real shame that this is allowed to happen under the guise of education ... a real shame. If any would be PPC lawyer wants to sue me for libel go ahead and lets do it, because I have lots of witnesses who dropped out of the school because of this BS that can say otherwise. If any willing attorney considers bringing legal action on PPC you have my complete cooperation and attention to help out. Eugene, Oregon