Incoherent Mutterings

Man oh man have a got a doozy for y’all.

With every passing semester, I have become increasingly disillusioned with my grad school experience. From the shitty selection of classes for the remote campus folk to the difficulty in actually getting the classes I need to the absolutely shit-ass parking situation that NO ONE seemed to think about before opening up another goddamn school. Wednesday, however, was IT. I mean, the ultimate in “wow, this department really does not give two shits about us.”

To remain in the CS grad program, you must take two tests during your first semester. One is a communications test (write an essay, prove you can communicate in English very much good) and a programming skills test. This test is on paper and the language is C++. Woe unto you if you are steeped in Java or any other language not C++. Me? I suck at it. I was never formally taught it, so my brain defaults to C. I failed the test. I felt like a goddamned moron. If you fail this test, you have to burn 3 credit hours (and about $1k) to take a programming remedial course. The course itself is fine. I guess. It’s a crash course in C++, perfect for someone who needs to brush up on skills, horrible for anyone who has no idea how programming works. So here I sat in that class with about 15 other people. 15. When I took the test there were about 30 people. Wow, I thought, we’re all morons! OH NO NO NO. I found out Wednesday that the fail rate is 50%. 50% of students who take this test fail it (or if you’re a glass-is-half-full kinda person, 50% pass it). You know who’s in that 50%? Not just “never touched code in my life” people, but people like my classmate who CODES IN C++ FOR A GODDAMN LIVING. Wouldn’t that mean that there’s a problem with the test? According to my Wednesday professor? Hell yes. According to the rest of the department? Oh no! It’s actually good that students fail that test! Yeah, so they have to spend more money to take the required remedial class that counts toward your GPA but not towards your credit hours for graduation. I almost cannot think of a more blatant money grab than this heap of horseshit. Okay fine, so you fail this test and take the class. Is it ever taught in Round Rock? Nope. The guy who teaches it will NEVER come to Round Rock. Ever. This is what my prof is saying, point blank. She recommended that people email the department and say “hey we want the class taught in Round Rock” and if they get 10 (maybe 5) or more, they will honor that request. I laughed. Out loud. She claimed that the department really does care about the remote students. I laughed again and said quite plainly “It sure doesn’t feel like it.” And then I told her how I had in fact emailed the department about the weak class selection, the fact that required classes are being offered with ridiculous timing (once every 2 years in Round Rock? Really?), and the lack of talks/symposiums/etc for us remote folks. What have I gotten back? Absolutely nothing. No “we’re looking into it”, no “thank you for your concern”, not even a “hey, we got your email”. Disillusioned and pretty pissed? Yeah. You might say that.

I like my Wednesday night professor. She;s nice, she gives a shit, she’s one of two that seem to. The other? Also female and getting shit on by the department as far as I can tell. Well, you tell me, what do you call it when you take a damn fine professor and instead of having her teach something she knows cold and is considered the best in that subject, you have her teach something like Ethics (sophomore level class, no less), leaving her subject to be taught by someone who doesn’t have a clue. Never taught it, barely knows the subject and subsequently fucks it up for everyone? Exactly.

So, no, this is not about begging for professor’s time or being their slaves (not for me, anyway. I’m not doing a research track). It’s about them seriously not giving a shit and trying to grab whatever cash they can.