SUNY Empire State University

Between unrealistic expectations in their history courses, having an “mentor” who hasn’t reached out to me in 5 months, being ignored by my student coordinator when I told her I was depressed and struggling with my mental health. All my professors were great, but some give a ridiculously large amount of work for an online SUNY. I don’t know if they are trying to prove something since they’re online and no one outside of the Saratoga Springs area knows what Empire is. But this college made me hate... Read More History, a topic I used to love. Also, be prepared for 4 credit courses only. There’s absolutely no reason for 4 credit courses. They claim they’re “adult student friendly” but they’re not. What should be a 2 credit course, is a 4 credit degree planning class that you have to take. I’d be fine with 2 but 4 is obscene. I’m back in school for an AA, General Studies degree. 4 credits to pick out classes for 4 semesters is ridiculous. I feel completely abandoned by my mentor, I feel like I wasted my time despite getting nearly a 4.0, and I would never recommend someone to Empire unless they want to do the work Harvard expects but with a hardly known college and no benefits. The only reason I gave a 3 star is the professors. 90% are wonderful but the other 10% make it hard.

If you are looking for an university that is not student-centered, has no care of providing adequate resources with a student with disabilities, this is the university for you! The Student Affairs division is second to none. There is no meeting with the provost or dean of students within you major. You get stuck at the level of Director of Student Life. I will not name the individual, but she is hostile, passive aggressive, and screaming matches over MS Teams and phone have to occur in order to meet... Read More a middle ground. I ultimately decided to leave the university due to the negative affect it had on my mental health. Most of the professors are great and understanding. The issue really is with the Student Affairs Division as a whole. From Student Accounts, to the Office of Disability Services, to Student Success. All the individuals I "worked" with did not provide me with any assistance based on my clear and thorough evaluations and diagnosis. I wish that no student experiences the treatment I did at SUNY Empire State College.

I was in my mid-30's and wanted to make a career change, but needed to finish my bachelor's degree to do so. I did extensive research into online degree programs because I was going to have to work full time while taking classes and didn't have a schedule that allowed me to attend evening classes at a brick-and-mortar school. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the SUNY system not only offered online degrees, but also offered a degree specifically in my field of interest, not just in "General... Read More Studies" or some other generic subject. With my veteran's tuition discount, ESC was cheaper than in-state tuition at my local state university, and their generous and flexible credit acceptance policy meant that credits from previous college courses, the military, and even work/life experience would help me graduate sooner at ESC than anywhere else, and I was able to go from having an AA to a bachelor's in just 4 semesters of part-time study. I graduated summa cum laude with my bachelor's in 2021 and had several job offers before my last semester was over. I now have an exciting and fulfilling new career with a great salary and benefits. I have been accepted to some of the most prestigious graduate programs in my field of study and will be starting my master's degree in Spring 2022. ESC is for adult learners who know how to manage their time and meet deadlines. Having a great mentor is key, and I appreciate mine for all the time and effort she put into my education. You will get out of ESC what you put into it.

I got a degree in Science, Mathematics and Technology with a concentration in Mathematics. In the 1.5 semesters of math classes I took from this school online, I can only remember 1 teacher providing a half dozen lectures - 1. Most often, the book was the only resource given. On top of that, written communication from the "instructors" was poor far too often. Responses are usually days later so you better hope there isn't any miscommunication because that deadline on your work isn't budging. I say... Read More this as someone getting a Masters of Teaching at a different institution now: If you want to have anything resembling a healthy learning environment, go elsewhere. You will pay the same rate for UAlbany brick and mortar classes but the only thing you can count on is the book and yourself, and sometimes the book is bad. I had one of my tutors, provided by Empire State Tutoring services no less, risk punishment to herself in order to recommend to me a better text than the one we were expected to learn from because she felt it was absurd, as the book was not meant for the level it was being used. I had one class where the ONLY interaction I received from the instructor the entire class was 1 paragraph of feedback on my final project and the final grade since nothing was graded until the end of the semester. Much of my learning was done by patching together resources I found for free, provided by other schools, and even watching random youtube videos. That said, I did get my piece of paper and I am progressing in my career. I give none of the credit to the school or my instructors - none.

SUNY Empire was my first complete online school, for half of my Bachelors and my Masters. I had a great experience while going here, to the point when I continue to look for online schools, I use Empire's standards. I was searching for online schools to get my Master's and almost all want Live classes. If I'm busy with working and family, and unable to attend school physically, obviously Live classes would be just as inconvenient. Online is SUPPOSED to be convenient and helpful with managing your... Read More life and going to school and Empire absolutely nails that. I truly struggled with finding school that works like Empire because it was amazing. Therefore, I ended up going back to Empire for my Master's degree. What I hate, they have VERY LIMITED Master's program. It's ridiculous! I would get a double Master's and Doctorate if they would provide! Also their Master's does not really match their Bachelor's program, which they have a large and great selection from on that part. I've only had maybe 3 teacher's that were horrible from the time there. My advisor was great also but when she left, her replacement was terrible, no contact from her. Luckily this was towards the last 3 months before I graduated. Also great curriculum!!

Like any school there are good and bad professors. I made the most of it and had some good learning experiences. I utilized the disability services office due to a cognitive ability impairing condition and was supposed to be allowed additional time to post assignments, I had one professor who did not follow these instructions and it was impacting my grade. I spoke with my very unsympathetic and rather mean "mentor" who said I could drop the class. I did, and apparently it did not go through and I... Read More ended up with a bill that has doubled in size. I am a disabled person who does not have the funds to pay for classes that I did not take, especially classes that are in violation of the schools own disability services policy, so now in order to finish a degree I will essentially be paying for the same class three times.

Some instructors slow to post grades, and feedback. Constant outtages, and technology issues. I was going off to grad school, and was on a time constraint- was told by Empire administration to request grades early so that I would not be dropped, some of them refused saying they felt that they were doing me a favor. Meanwhile I was constantly bombarded by emails threatening to drop me from my graduate program. I experienced a number of personal/ professional setbacks while attending ESC, and the term... Read More was the longest I had ever experienced. I got good grades, but if I had to do it again, I would not! Grading is uneven. Instructors grade when they feel like it. Instructors may not respond to your email. Some fees go up each term.