Cleveland State University

I'm Michael Okuto, a 2007 IT graduate from Cleveland State. I have to say that when I started out, I didn't quite know what I was signing up for, but in retrospect, the program suited me well at that stage of my life. The school had a chill, suburban vibe and the classes were small so you could get to know the people around you. I can still name a couple of my teachers - one dude, I think it was Professor Daniels, really focused on the labs and would have us dissecting computers and building little... Read More networks rather than just studying theories. It really helped me, someone who likes to get their hands dirty and learn that way, not just from a bunch of PowerPoint presentations.
The best part was that the curriculum built up from basic concepts to more complex problems. I wasn't a tech expert going in, but the way they built on the knowledge, starting from the ground up and then progressing to troubleshooting exercises really worked for me. We focused heavily on hardware and software problems you'd encounter in the real world, rather than textbook theory. Almost two decades later, I still find myself approaching problems in the same way I learned in the lab. It's weird because the tools and operating systems that we used in those labs are all out of date, but the idea of taking a logical approach to solving a problem and quickly learning to use new systems is something I learned more from than anything else.
In retrospect, I got more than a degree from Cleveland State. It taught me a little self-esteem and some hands-on skills that enabled me to walk right into a job. It was also pretty easy to juggle the classes with living off campus as well - you weren't forced to be there, but if you were and you did the work, it was all there for you. It wasn't a glamorous program and I won't deny that there were some classes I didn't love, but the experience was solid and I can't recommend it highly enough if you want to learn IT in a way that's going to be useful to your career, rather than just for earning a passing grade

I went to CSU for the purpose of getting a BSN and their program left very little to be desired up to the point where I dropped out midway through because there was only so much nonsense that one could take in. The nursing department is unprofessional and disorganized. The leadership in charge often contradict themselves and they cannot communicate effectively with other faculty and the students. Majority of the lectures were taught by those who have a masters which reflects in the content quality... Read More and teaching. I was expecting an in depth focus on subjects like Pathophysiology and Pharmacology but I was let down by the lack of depth in the material. Professors do not provide guidance nor do they advocate for their students and I have witnessed a few straight up told their students that they were not intelligent enough for nursing school when they were struggling and gave other students certain advantages, creating a toxic learning environment both in lecture and in clinical. Some professors will literally determine your grade based on if they like you or not, creating unfair and toxic bias. Overall I would not recommend CSU's nursing program for people looking to a nursing career. Those who say that CSU's nursing program is good most likely went to their program before COVID and the buyout happened. I understand that they are stretched thin in staff and resources but the issues that are going on with the should not interfere with student's learning and completion in the program.

I attended a community college prior to Cleveland State and found that this social work program was lacking material. While I felt as thought I had a leg up, I ultimately found that it was a disorganized program with professors who lacked material. There were good professors but they were often looked at as “difficult” because of the amount of content they covered. Some professors would sit in class and read the text book to you after asking you to read the chapter for homework. It was not at all... Read More what I had anticipated. And the program & department will not have your back. Keep your head down, speak when spoken to, and don’t ask too many questions. It comes off as challenging to the professor.

Pretty decent school in all aspects except Computer Science program. Every class I took here outside of the EECS umbrella was average to great, and almost every EECS class I took was just downright horrible. Everything from the professors to the administrative staff felt like it was phoned in. Professors don't care enough to communicate with their students, make their own material, or make sure their content even makes sense. You will regularly get contradictory instructions from both administration... Read More and your professors. You could get a better educational experience by downloading and reading the slides from Purdue for each class (which is what many professors here use as their entire lecture content, by the way). Older professors generally seem disinterested in making sure they're teaching anything at all, and I experienced on more than one occasion a professor openly questioning the point of the class in the class itself. Dehumanizing experience that will kill your enthusiasm for the field. On the other hand, I have never had better classes than those from the Math department here, and the other fields I took electives in showed NONE of the laziness that permeates the CS department. It's truly confusing. Hoping that the CS department fixes itself quickly. It's practically a scam in its current state.

CSU was worse than the military as far as administrative bs goes. Unfortunately I have a much lower opinion of the university considering I worked for 8-9 years, half of which was in the Air Force, after I left high school. I see more of what happens behind closed doors these days. If I had to bs an estimate, I'd tell you about 60% of the professors are par, meaning you can pass the class if you give half a hoot about passing. I had only 4 professors in my time there who were excellent teachers,... Read More and two of them were grad students, and another was under 35. Most older professors are absolutely incompetant, with the exception of a few foriegn professors. The IS program there is absolutely abysmal. I don't recommend going to CSU unless you are getting a degree in the arts, engineering, or law. The business school is littered with incompetant staff and the university makes no effort in staffing itself. I 100% would not have gone to school there if it wasn't being paid for by my service benefits. If you aren't on a full ride, don't waste your time.

This school sucks for me so far and I’m only in my second year. One the professors are lazy, rude, and suck at lecturing, many of them don’t even try to make their classes enjoyable, and it really *really* affects the way students grades are in said classes, many of them are lazy and hate their jobs and only show up for a check. As a finance major I had to take several economic classes… and lemme tell you, that department is the worst and most incompetent out of the whole business college, their... Read More proxy have thick accents, they suck at lecturing and don’t even care if more than a quarter of their classes fail. Two the school has huge classes and I always ALWAYS see so many empty classrooms, why don’t they shrink the classes a little bit??? Three I want to take classes online because if a professor can’t teach students themselves then I’ll teach myself… buttttt there isn’t many options, and I’m sick of having to waste four hours of my day having to spend 1 hour at campus and spend 2 hours coming and going to that snot house. It is relatively cheap compared to many major universities in Ohio, but I think it’s still too pricey for the “education” I receive there. You’re better off getting an internship and getting some on-the-job training. I really regret putting off Tri-C for this dump, my friend used to go to CSU and transferred to Tri-C to finish off their four year and they say they like it better than CSU. Pluses are the “free” bus pass, the students are very introverted yet very sweet (people leave you alone here), the psychology, communications, STEM, and Engineering department are good for this school, the employees in the cafeteria and most places on campus are also very sweet (yet they don’t get paid much from the school). The diversity is plentiful too.

Returned for my second Master's degree for the sake of learning. It has been a nightmare. I've taught on the university level and I am in disbelief how poor the teaching quality is. I thought the first semester was a stroke of bad luck. Second semester entailed the same issue, poor teaching and horrible and confusing exams. Every class I have studied hard only to encounter poorly constructed exams. It is very discouraging. If I didn't have high self esteem, I would have quit. I attended the grad... Read More orientation where they said reach out for help when needed. I did to no avail. I have been on my own. There is one accounting tutor who is only available for a half day for the entire student body. I had to pay for private tutors and literally teach myself accounting 501. My econ teacher has no life whatsoever. Three hours of watching paint dry. Thank God for YouTube. Really considering finding another MBA.

It is difficult to find good things to say about Cleveland State. The neighborhood is unsafe, the campus life is almost nonexistent and the parking is a mess and WAY too expensive. With regard to the quality of the education, there are small pockets of greatness in some departments. For the most part, the professors do not care much about how much you learn or what your goals are in life. Many professors are nasty and difficult to talk to. You can tell that some faculty members don't even like students.... Read More It is a true shame that so much money was put into physical facilities without investing in better teaching and services for students. Until Cleveland State figures this out, it will remain an afterthought.

My biggest recommendation is to get as much experience in the field before committing completely to a program. I would interview professionals in the field weighing out the pros and cons and also asking for advice. If I would have followed my own advice I would not have gotten my general education degree, I would have went for intervention specialist. I also wish the program would offer more hands on training, more experiences working in a classroom instead of waiting until you are deep in the program.... Read More Maybe even working in a daycare would help get a little bit of experience.

Cleveland State University has an excellent Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The quality of education is excellent. I have learned very practical information from each class such as accounting, operations management, financial management, and innovation. What is very valuable about CSU program is that the school encourages entrepreneurship. At CSU, I participated in a entrepreneurship immersion weekend, called Startup Vikes, which helped to train students on how to conduct market... Read More research and how to outline a business plan in order to start a business. CSU is very affordable compared to other MBA programs. The school is very safe. I utilize the Campus Safety Escort service so I don't need to walk to my car at night after class. CSU hosts career fairs to help students get internships. The program is great.

I graduated from Cleveland State University in the fall semester of 2016. I loved basically all of my professors because they are so knowledgeable of their subjects and they are also very caring teachers. There is plenty of tutoring offered at Cleveland State as well, if ever you need help with your school work. Another great aspect of this school is that the student advisers there are wonderful if ever you need guidance or clarification about your major or class scheduling. The school is very diverse... Read More because it has students from all over the world go there and we all learn a little bit from each other. Plus, Cleveland State University always celebrates it's students by having games for students, or some other activity and free food. Cleveland State University is an all around great school.