winterbadger | AMU: withdrawal letter

I have become more and more disenchanted with AMU as time goes on, and my second attempt to take OC570 is the final straw. The professor doesn't know her own syllabus (assigned reading for one book included pages that don't exist in that volume), doesn't clearly communicate her goals with students (left assignments off the syllabus and the online assignment tracker), doesn't seem to understand or wish to use the instructional software properly (all assignment dates are given for August/September, even though the class is running in November/December, and the professor did not correct this after it was pointed out), and can't even confirm what students are active in the class (since the class assignments include responding to fellow classmate's postings, this is important, but persons not listed in the online student tracker as active are posting to the discussion boards, and some who are listed as active have never posted).

The student body is also a terrific disappointment. I have gone over the past few years from taking classes with fellow defense industry professionals whose standards of analysis and writing were high to people who, judging by my current class, are unable to write at an undergraduate level and who are in some cases unable to to more by way of "analysis" than copy sentences out of the assigned reading and rearrange the words. I do not derive benefit or insights from working with such students, and I question what they are doing taking part in a graduate-level course.

Add to that the fact that AMU seems to be unable to sustain a catalog of course offerings in my field and specialty that offer any sort of broad range of options, and I would have to say that I question whether I wish to continue my degree program. Tuition continues to increase, but I feel I am getting less and less for my investment.

regards,

Jan Spoor