Got accepted- University of Alabama

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by NorCal, Aug 23, 2015.

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  1. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I've been away from the forums for a while, new baby and work at the hospital was keeping me pretty busy since we shut down our old hospital and moved into a new facility (Logistical nightmare, not fun, I don't recommend it). However, I'm going back to get my graduate certificate in Environmental Health & Safety from the University of Alabama.

    I don't start until Spring '16, but I'm looking forward to the experience.

    Roll Tide!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 23, 2015
    nomaduser likes this.
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Congratulations on your admission. I hope you'll keep us updated as you progress through your new program.
     
    nomaduser likes this.
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Congratulations, keep us updated on your thoughts of the program.
     
  4. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Thanks guys. I've been eyeing this program for about 3-4 years, so I'm glad I got in. UA utilizes Blackboard, which I have never used as all my other programs used Angel or Moodle.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 26, 2015
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Congratulations! I prefer Moodle to Blackboard, but not by a large margin, and you shouldn't have any trouble unless you use a Chromebook or certain Linux distributions. (I really do prefer Canvas, though.)
     
  6. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Congratulations on the acceptance and the new baby!!
     
  7. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Way to go! Black Board is not so difficult if you understand the other LMS programs.
     
  8. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    LMS programs? What does LMS stand for?
     
  9. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Learning Management System.
     
  10. GoodYellowDogs

    GoodYellowDogs New Member

    I've been eyeing that program too :) Any chance you work for Sutter?
     
  11. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I did once upon a time. . . .
     
  12. GoodYellowDogs

    GoodYellowDogs New Member

    I just wondered because we just closed Memorial and moved everyone to downtown. :)
     
  13. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Yeah with the earthquake retrofit legislation, a lot of older campuses are closing and opening new facilities. In many cases it cheaper to build new than it is to retrofit old.
     
  14. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I haven't updated this forum thus far, so here are some of my observations about the EHS program at UA:

    - Application process was pretty straight forward.
    - Online students are on a 16 week semester system (Kinda a bummer if your like me and prefer the quarter system to get done faster).
    - Coursework is completed via Blackboard.
    - Weekly assignments include; professor led (pre recorded) video lecture, weekly readings, and a short 2 page paper worth 5 points per week.
    - There is a discussion board, but beyond week one for introductions I haven't seen it used since.
    - Two hour midterm.
    - Two hour final.

    I decided going in to only take one class at a time. That was my choice based on current life circumstances and subsequent time restraints, but you can take as many classes per semester as you want to.

    The only bad things I've discovered about this program include the following:

    - Papers and assignments don't get graded very quickly. Some of my assignments/ papers were submitted 3-4 weeks ago and they still haven't been graded.
    - For military students, their VA certification process is also very slow. I've had to submit the same documents two and three times over. Seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. But in all honesty, that is SOP for veterans at most colleges.

    Sorry the delay in updating this thread, but I started a new job (relocated out of state), my daughter just turned 2, and we also have a new baby so I've busy, busy, busy.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 16, 2016
  15. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    Thanks for the update!

    It is a bummer to hear their VA certification process is slow.
     
  16. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    My professor finally graded EVERYTHING for the entire semester on the final week. I have to say it's an unnerving way to proceed through the entire semester not knowing where you stand.
     
  17. Michigan68

    Michigan68 Active Member

    Yikes !

    That must be against school policy. Whenever I was 2 weeks behind in grading, I was receiving emails from the Dean.

    Example; If you didn't receive feedback from Week 4, how could you improve on your Week 5+ assignments?


    Michael
     
    NorCal likes this.
  18. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Well I'm finally done! Graduated from the University of Alabama (UA) but I have to admit my experience is mixed. As it turns out UA discontinued their Environmental Safety and Health Management graduate program and those (like me) who had catalog rights were allowed to finish but the program offering but it was completely removed from their website (both online and B&M).

    So how did I learn this you ask? Well its a weird story . . .

    So I couldn't find the name and contact info for the program director on the UA website. I wanted to contact them as the semester ended and some of my work (months later) still had not been graded. So I pulled up an old sylibus and found his phone number (unbeknowing turned out to be his personal cell) and I left him a voicemail. A few days later he calls and proceeds to tell me how he was fired from UA, the program was discontinued, and he is now with a University in Washington state. He told me he and the other person running the EH&S program ay UA were removed because the college wanted them to pump out more graduates than they felt they could handle while still offering up a worthwhile education. He told the UA administration that he didn't want his program to become a diploma mill like (he listed several other colleges he considered diploma mills, but since I don't want to offend anyone I'll keep those names to myself). UA said they understood his concerns but ultimately let him go and closed down the program.

    Not the conversation I was expecting, but at least I'm done. All my assignments were finally graded and I graduated with 3.80 graduate GPA. Moving forward, my plan is to take the one class I have remaining to pick up a second undergraduate certificate from the University of Washington (one of those finish what you start sort of things) but I think I'm done after that.

    Sorry it took me so long to check back in. But we had another kid, moved again, and now I'm being promoted at work so another out-of-state move is inevitable. Because of all the life changes, I basically nickled and dimed this graduate certificate taking only one course per semester; which is why it took me two years to complete a graduate certificate and ultimately report back.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2018
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  19. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Better late than never. Congrats!
     
  20. cofflehack

    cofflehack Member

    Good luck on your studies!
     

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