It is important to disclose that this review is regarding Online classes only, as my disability and commute distance make attending in person very difficult. To get started, the online courses I've taken for Stark State are conspicuously lacking in depth and actual instruction. Despite all the online technology that can be utilized these days, there are very few options within the classes other than going over PowerPoint slides or clicking on a link to a website. I personally have zero issues with... Read More PowerPoint slides, but when they are the core method to instruct students, it is not acceptable to have these slides lacking important medical definitions, slides with placeholder pictures, and slides that have a 50/50 chance of actually playing an embedded video. It’s like these slides were not completed for the class (or they are meant for an in-person class where the instructor can fill in the blanks). On top of that, the structure of Online Exams and instruction is terrible. Yes, it is absolutely important for the student to work hard to try and pass the class, but there were several instances of questions that were not covered in the material, yet were a question on the exam, or cases where questions on an exam were then covered in a future week of class! I even went back to review why I missed some questions, and they were simply not in the slides or the book. Also, unlike a paper exam where the material can be gone over and missed questions reviewed, there is no option to review online exam material. You have to hope you remember what questions were incorrect and go off memory, making any future attempt less likely to succeed. While I’d also agree that it is necessary to keep a check on online cheating, Stark State really seems to have cheaters living rent-free in its board members heads. From having to SMS Text every single time logging in to check out new material (checking your phone every log-in adds up to a lot of wasted time after a few months) to having Respondus Monitor (anti-cheat webcam software that gives rural internet users a headache...it doesn’t even have a dark mode for sensitive eyes...also, you'd better hope that the webcam you need to buy will be compatible), as well as changing what is and is not acceptable a few weeks into class, the inconsistency of these online classes are based on the whims of what the instructor deems appropriate, and that’s bad news if the instructor does not understand or doesn’t care that online teaching needs to hit different beats than an in-person class. For example, the instructor offered extra credit, but the students had to attend the campus to be able to qualify for that extra credit. In an ONLINE class. If you didn’t/couldn’t show up, then that was tough luck for you. That is not fair for the students, nor is it acceptable to not provide online alternatives. I suppose the motivation to write this review came from the fact that I frequently emailed the last instructor on my concerns regarding the online system. The responses were professional and friendly, which I appreciate, but my concerns were deflected and dismissed at every turn. Responses such as, “Well, everyone thinks online classes are going to be easy until they take them!” and “Well, you just need to find a way to get it done.” This tactic of the instructor arguing against straw-men (I never assumed the online class would be easy, I just wanted to understand why such needless roadblocks were necessary, especially for a student with a disability) leaves a sour taste. I expect better for as much as a college education costs, and if this is the result of genuine attempts to highlight problems from the student perspective, I don’t have any trust or loyalty for the college as a result. In conclusion, while there are positives to be found (the instructors seem like nice people, trapped in a lousy system themselves), and remember that attending in-person may be a totally different story than what I experienced, my current opinion is that this Stark State does not care enough about students but rather the money they can get out of them while doing as little work as possible. And hey, if the poor quality of teaching means the students fail, they can always pay for the class again, right? You will undoubtedly be forced to teach yourself, and genuine concerns for how the classes are taught are almost certainly going to be dismissed because, after all, that would require more effort on Stark State’s part. This college's online system makes it not worth attending unless you have no other options.
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