Hindsight 20/20: A Retrospective on Southwestern College

Hindsight 20/20: A Retrospective on Southwestern College

This post is meant to be a searchable archive.

It was in the year of 2005 when I learned that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement adopted standards for postsecondary education. The standards spelled out that for a degree to be recognized it had to be regionally accredited (RA) and even went as far as to spell out the 6 regional accrediting agencies one by one. I had just completed my Associate of Science in Criminal Justice from Ashworth College which is DETC (Distance Education and Training Counsel) (NA) accredited and was currently enrolled in the Kaplan University’s sister school the College for Professional Studies also DETC. I was notified that the College for Professional Studies was going to close their doors and roll everything into Kaplan University, but not carry over the students however Kaplan would accept the transfer credits. I also began to discover that more and more law enforcement agencies were adopting the conveniently wrapped educational standards as provided by the Commission.

This left me, a Texas Law Enforcement Officer, between a rock and a hard place. First of all, it was clear that I needed to gain a regionally accredited degree, but it was also clear that Kaplan University’s outrageous tuition rate was far beyond a meager public servant’s salary. It also was clear that not just anyone would accept my Associates Degree because it is DETC accredited. Oh sure, University of Phoenix, Kaplan University and a handful of other very expensive schools would, but the reasonably priced schools did not seem to be an option. I heard “no”, “sorry” and “who is DETC?” over and over again.

Finally I received some advice from members of this board specifically Mr. Gregg DesElms, about a school called Southwestern College located in Winfield, Kansas (see www.sckans.edu ). So I called the school and asked them if they accept an Associates Degree from a DETC accredited school, she politely said “no” and I hung up. I got the feeling that I should try again and did so, again I was told “no we only accept regionally accredited degrees” and I began to doubt my good friend Mr. DesElms, however he insisted that they did so I decided to change tactics and just ask them to look up the school. The first person I spoke to said “I’m sure we will accept it” but I wanted a firm “yes” or “no” before kicking in the application fee money and asked her if she could look up the school. She did and I waited as she flipped through the book and she said “oh here it is, Ashworth College, yep, they’re accredited”. I was stymied; I couldn’t believe that I had been told “no” so many times by this same school. I learned that how you ask is easily just as important as what you ask.

She explained that they used a book put out by the Dept. of Education which listed schools accredited by agencies they (the DOE) recognize. I couldn’t believe it, from the way she explained things, it would appear that for a school NOT to accept a DETC degree would take more effort on their part to differentiate between accrediting agencies within the Dept. of Education’s guide. Either way I didn’t wait, I asked her if I could go ahead and apply right then and there. I did and before long I was enrolled in their online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice program. I had 45 long credit hours in front of me and I was about to use the Blackboard format of learning which to be quite honest, scared the hell out of me. All of my work to this point had been either classroom or correspondence. I didn’t know if I was in over my head or what.

The first class I took was called Entrance Seminar and was a familiarization course. I have to say that this course was indeed essential to my success at Southwestern College, without it I would have been lost. The course was taught by a very friendly person who showed a tremendous amount of patience for what we would soon discover were stupid questions. After this course I began by taking one course at a time in 6 week formats which was high paced but I found myself with free time for things like television and my wife. I knew that that was too much free time so I doubled my load and completed 6 hours every 6 weeks. I would wake up, do homework while sucking down coffee, go to work, go home, do homework before bed, kiss the wife and sleep; this went on 5 days a week and I would take one of my two off days to catch up what I missed that week and have it in before midnight Saturday or Sunday.

It was stressful and hectic and honestly I don’t recommend anyone who isn’t a masochist to do this as I started to fray after about 10 months of this, which not to brag but I’m more motivated and driven than most people I know. The courses were thorough and accelerated. There were a ton of papers to write and when I first started it would take me about 6 days of solid work to complete a research paper of about 3 to 5 pages. By the time I was completing my last few courses I could bang out a research paper 4 hours before my due time, which again I do not recommend as your score will suffer.

After being enrolled for a time I received a big official looking envelope from the Dean’s Office. I opened it and had a certificate declaring that I had made the Dean’s List. I was shocked; I had never considered myself Dean’s List material. In fact when I was a senior in High School I remember meeting with the High School counselor (you know, the ones who predict your future) about going to college. I remember saying “I’m thinking about going to college” to which she looked at me shocked then giggled a little looking down at my transcript while tapping them into place in a somewhat officious fashion and said “have you ever thought about learning a trade and going right into the workforce?” See, I was pegged for a vocational program where kids who have poor grades go just so they can receive credit for working a part time job. This allows the school to pass the buck and give me a diploma without the bother of an education. Yet here I was 9 years later learning at a real college with a real campus with a real Dean’s List and I was on it. I am here to tell you folks, this shot through my system like a bolt of lightening and I never half-assed an assignment again.

I completed my degree program and became an official graduate in December of 2006. One fine morning within the last month or so I had just awakened to my dogs going ape when the door bell rings. I rush downstairs to see the FedEx guy about to leave. I sign for a padded envelope and wonder “what the heck is this?” It turned out to be my Southwestern College diploma, but what’s more is it said I had graduated with honors “Magna Cum Laude”. I was so thrilled I called my wife at work, my dad, brothers, everyone. Here I was 10 years after being told by a professional that I was not college material, holding my diploma, with honors, it was one of the proudest moments in my life, and all before I had even put on a pair of pants.

I will walk the commencement ceremony in May with my entire family watching. This time I’ll wear pants.

What I learned at Southwestern College:

1.) That hard work pays off eventually.
2.) That anyone can be a success with hard work.
3.) That the “professionals” are people and as such, cannot predict the future, that part is up to you.
4.) How to write a really good research paper. I must have done a thousand of them.
5.) That school pride is really being proud of yourself and what you are a part of.
6.) School is not about a piece of paper or a credential; it is about discovering who you are and what you are capable of.
7.) A lot of leadership stuff, their program had as much about learning about being a leader and looking at your own life and character as they did about Criminal Justice. So even though I have a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice it could have just as easily have been a Bachelor of Science in “FriendorFoe” (not my real name BTW) with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and Management/Leadership. I really learned a lot about myself.


What I gained from Southwestern College:

1.) Confidence.
2.) Pride.
3.) A top notch education and the knowing that I have been tested and have excelled.
4.) A Bachelors degree that I never knew I could do from a school I’ve never heard of but wouldn’t part with for all the Tea in Tibet.

The not so great things about Southwestern College:

1.) I can honestly say that I do not have one single complaint other than being told I didn’t qualify to enroll in the beginning. But honestly this is forgivable. I have been “in the know” regarding accreditation for about 4 years now and even I have a hard time explaining it and making it make sense at times. I have never attended a single school so helpful, so friendly and so willing to talk to you in my life. And I’ve attended 5 different colleges, each with their faults, but I can’t find faults at Southwestern, it’s a truly special place.

 

The great things about Southwestern College:

1.) Friendly people, easy to talk to, patient and helpful.
2.) The school really has a unique culture far more remarkable than most. For instance, they are the Southwestern College Moundbuilders because of a ceremony that they have every year where they “build the mound” at the school. See their website for more info on that, it’s really cool. Another is the Southwestern College Jinx and “Jinx the Cat” which is their basketball team mascot regarding the College’s being a Jinx to another much larger athletic program. I honestly couldn’t even begin to explain or make this stuff up. You really should read this stuff yourself; Southwestern College has been recognized as having some of the more “unique” traditions among Colleges and Universities. Does this affect you the online student? No, not really but it does explain a lot about the caliber of people you will be working with and their pride in their organization and THAT pays.
3.) A pretty thorough online library database if you use that kind of stuff. Personally I prefer public libraries.
4.) The diploma really looks first rate, a small matter I know but after the disappointment of the Ashworth College diploma, it kind of makes me feel better.

The particulars of Southwestern College:

1.) Expect a lot of research papers. Literally hundreds both MLA and APA format. Learn how to write them, love them and do a lot of them. Don’t be intimidated however; I didn’t know the first thing about a research paper going in. I used Research Papers for Dummies, etc. before their program. I recommend getting the MLA Guide to Research Papers; it will help quite a bit. I know if I had read that I would have to do a lot of papers before applying to the school I might not have applied, but don’t let this intimidate you, it’s doable, really.
2.) I had a few multiple choice and true/false exams, but not many. Most tests were final papers and essays.
3.) There were generally two to three discussion questions to answer a week and one paper due per week per course.
4.) The reading assignments could take up a lot of time, so I learned to use the teachers outline and lecture paper as a roadmap to the text, it’ll save a lot of time and like in my case, may save your marriage. ;-p.
5.) There were no streaming videos or video lectures, everything was text based.
6.) Expect a LOT of introspection, if you don’t like talking about yourself, your values or how you form opinions, then steer clear of this school or you will find yourself in the third layer of self examination hell.
7.) Expect to be challenged by other students regarding your work and opinions. In some classes this was a requirement of the program to sharpen your analytical skills and teach you how to debate and support your opinions. If you blurt out the first feeble thought in your head and hope it sounds good, you may be eaten alive publicly. Not that they are harsh or mean, but they will see through BS, I’m talking about the other students here. The teachers won’t publicly flog your work, but they won’t give you a pass for a half-assed effort either.
8.) The final research project is a bear, but doable. If you have gotten that far then trust me, you’ve learned the skills you need to complete that course and what’s more, it will make graduate school all the more doable. I think that was the intention. Either way, you should take this class by itself, which I believe is a requirement anyways. Mine was a 35 to 45 page research paper but the program had taught me what I needed to get it done. Is it a big bear? Yeah, but they gave me a big stick to beat it with.

 

Another outstanding post! The post is a great review of your experience at Southwestern. Most of all, it is well-written and easy to read, which means you actually learned something in English Composition class.

 

This review and the one on Ashworth are great. You should be proud of your accomplishments.

Keep us posted on your St. Josephs MBA program.

PS...The drive to Winfield, Kansas from the Fort Worth area is a nice one.....if you can stand the time driving through Oklahoma

 

That's OK, we feel the same way about the drive south across the Red River.

 

Yet another great retrospective post!

 

I knew Southwestern was a respected school, but I didn't know they were this highly regarded (US News & World Report rankings).

It's interesting to find that a school like this will accept Ashworth College credits. I guess if an Ashworth grad is having trouble finding a school that will accept them, they can turn to a good school like SWC.

I see that SWC is raising their tuition, however. I hate when that happens, lol. But am I reading this right... SWC's classes are only 6 weeks long? I imagine that there is a lot of material crammed in, with classes being so short.

 

Dude, as exceptional as this posting was, after reading the above sentence the rest of the post somehow became a blurry memory.....

(Good job)

Dave