Kudos for St. Petersburg College

Lest you think that all I do is complain about things, I thought I’d blog about how impressed I’ve been with the great people at St. Petersburg College in Florida.  I enrolled at SPC a few months ago, because I wanted to take the classes which comprise their ”Veterinary Hospital Management” certificate program.  The classes are all offered via the Internet, and with a certificate of completion, I might actually be eligible to work as an office manager in a vet’s office.  I know my physical limitations may mean I’m not the world’s strongest or energetic vet tech, so I’m trying to ensure I’ve got other skills to make myself employable.

Before I enrolled in the program, I emailed the program head to ask some questions.  The woman in charge is a veterinarian, and she was so nice and enthused and excited for me to enroll.  I emailed her again a few days ago, to tell her I’d enrolled but wouldn’t be able to register for classes until January (I missed the fall deadline), and she claimed to remember me, and told me to try to register in November, and said she looked forward to having me in her classes.  She signed her emails with just her first name, not even “Dr. So-and-So”.  I’ve also emailed with two advisers in the Registrar’s office, and they were making jokes in their emails, saying encouraging things, etc.  When I’ve emailed anyone at SPC with questions, my emails are answered within 24 hours.

So, contrast the above with how I’ve been treated by Penn Foster.  The head of the PF vet tech program doesn’t even write in complete sentences, let alone use a polite salutation or act encouraging.  I’ve always felt like I’m receiving some sort of lecture from her, and she’s never, ever said anything to suggest that she cares whether I’m enrolled or not.  When I write to student advisers at PF, it can take a week or more to get a reply, and there’s no way to have a conversational “give and take” because it’s just a bunch of generic people on the other end.  When I was finishing the exams for my Vet Assistant certificate and had a question about one of the answers, it was over one month before anyone wrote back to me.  When I’ve phoned PF, I’ve been left on hold for as long as 45 minutes waiting to speak to someone to simply make a payment.

St. Petersburg College is one of a handful of schools with a fully-accredited veterinary technician program you can complete via the Internet.  The only reason I chose PF instead of SPC for enrollment was because the SPC program requires that you work at a vet’s office at least part-time while you study.  When I first started going to school I didn’t have my green card, so there was no way I could have a job.  The SPC program is also substantially more expensive, because they’re a regular community college with multiple campuses in Florida, so I have to pay non-resident tuition.  PF has no “campus”, so the costs are lower.  Nevertheless, I’m gradually realizing that you get what you pay for.  The Penn Foster program will eventually grant me my Associate’s Degree, and I’ll be eligible to be a licensed vet tech, but the school really feels like a diploma mill where you’re nothing more than a number.  When I’ve asked for help I’ve either been kept waiting for weeks or insulted for asking, so it’s certainly not a positive learning environment.  If you want to study vet tech via distance education, and you’re able to work and perhaps have student loans to help with tuition, please don’t just run to Penn Foster because it’s so cheap and convenient.  Yes, they accept practically everyone, and enrolling just requires sending them a check (I had to send SPC all my official transcripts), but I can definitely say that I’m not having much fun.

I’ll be taking one class at SPC this semester, but it won’t be related to vet tech.  I’m hoping to get into either an Intro to Business class, or Macroeconomics, or a computer programming class.  I’ll know more in the next day or two, and within a couple of months I’ll be able to write more about my experience as an SPC student.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 09/13 at 02:30 AM

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  1. Oooh THANK YOU!  I’m not ready to go back to school yet, but I’m saving this for the future smile

    My daughter is contemplating being a vet--I have joked that I’ll get a vet tech degree so I can work with her wink

    Posted by Angel  on  09/13  at  12:46 PM
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