Odessa College — Attraction in Odessa

Please read this before you sign-up at OC or send your child there…

Once upon a time, in the not-so-magical land of Academia, in a town where the scent of crude oil fills your nostrils on the chilly fall mornings, there was a public junior college that was as lost as a freshman on the first day of classes. This college, let's call it Odessa College or OC for short (no relation to Odessa College in Odessa, Ukraine). They decided it was time to use their status as trusted educators to increase their enrollment numbers a bit but only in a perfectly legal way and where the recourse for the students that would become victims of their ruse would have little recourse, it would be their word against the schools.

Enter Mr. Charlies Quintela, a program director with a penchant for deflecting responsibility as if it were a dodgeball. He was the maestro of misinformation, the sultan of spin, and the king of "not my problem." When OC allowed him to lead the charge on a new program that would allow students to obtain the course credits and requirements to qualify to take the state required test and become Early Childhood Educators (Teachers), he told them he would only do it if they completely removed their oversight from his program. Not wanting to take responsibility if things didn’t work out…they quickly met his demands and anticipated a happy board once the enrollment numbers came in. Although he would need to get the program accredited, he didn’t want to lift a finger until he had some students interested. He set his eyes on a group of full-time working adults that already worked in the classrooms as aides and assistants, knowing they would love to see a bump in their paychecks plus if they worked hard enough, this group could even finish a semester early, this is what he would tell them at least.

The first order of business was to revamp the curriculum. So, Mr. Quintela, in his infinite wisdom, promised courses so useful that they would make it to the state test with the knowledge to pass it on the first attempt. There was just one tiny, insignificant detail he forgot to mention – accreditation, well, to be fair, he did mention it “OC plans to have this program fully accredited prior to your completion of it”. Accreditation was easy, just a few checkboxes, a quick audit, and boom, here is your accreditation for the program you are directing…the problem was that “Telly”, Mr. Quintela’s nickname, possibly an alter ego but too early to tell, Telly didn’t check any of the required boxes to achieve the accreditation, it just slipped his mind…even though it was the only job he had, he got real busy with “stuff”.

For a year, Telly wove a tapestry of tales, never mentioning that the accreditation had failed, he failed, the school failed, But as the end of the year approached, the truth unraveled.

The bombshell dropped. There would be no accreditation. The credits were as valuable as Monopoly money at a mortgage meeting. When confronted by the understandably upset, irate, and deflated students, Mr. Quintela responded with the grace of a gazelle on roller skates. "Well, you knew we weren't accredited," he said, with the air of someone explaining why water is wet. As if these full-time contributors to society just randomly decided to miss out on time with their family, their home life, and even push aside their own well-being to take on a hefty college course load just for the heck of it. Are you kidding me? Do you think the public will not be able to put this story together? Get outta here with that nonsense Telly. Figure out how you are going to make it right with these students, be an accountable adult that is employed by the local college.

The students have been left in limbo. They have done everything right, except for trusting OC and Mr. Quintela. They were ready to take the state licensing test, but without accreditation it will not happen.

If you ever meet a Mr. Quintela, remember – if his mouth is open, he is likely fabricating every word of the story he is telling. He is a stain on this school and...

Hi there, please read this short story before you give any of your time, money, or energy to this institution.

It is my hope that you can avoid the absolute devastation that this place has caused to an entire group of students with no path forward other than to start completely over. Get comfy.

In the world of academia, trust is a currency as valuable as knowledge itself. Students invest their time, money, and dreams into institutions with the expectation of a return that will launch their careers and shape their futures. What happens when an institution fails to uphold its end of the arrangement? This tale of the local college's new Childhood Education Program serves as a cautionary fable, a stark reminder of the devastation that ensues when incompetence and irresponsibility take the helm without the appropriate oversight or checks and balances in place.

Once upon a very recent time, a Childhood Education Program Director, let's call them Charlie…no, no Charles…Charles Quintela…what a pleasant name for our story. Charles was appointed with the task directing a new program that the college was offering for Early Childhood Teaching Assistants that had a desire to become a state licensed Childhood Educator or teacher and would also obtain a Bachelors in Childhood Education. These students, who were also contributing members of society with full-time jobs, children, and a household to take care of while going to school decided to be the pioneers of this promising new program, one that glittered with the allure of accreditation and the golden ticket to a state teaching test. The narrative sold to them was one of certainty and success, a "sure thing," as the director so confidently proclaimed.

However, as the plot thickened, it became apparent that the story would not have a fairytale ending. The accreditation, the very cornerstone of this educational edifice, crumbled before it was even laid. The director, our dear Charles, who should have been the captain steering the ship to safe harbor, was instead the iceberg that sank it. With a year's worth of knowledge that the accreditation was a no-show, the revelation was withheld until the eleventh hour, leaving the students stranded in the open sea of uncertainty.

The aftermath was a scene of academic carnage. Students, once buoyant with hope, were now submerged in a sea of devastation, hurt, and sadness. The path forward to eligibility for the state test was obscured by the fog of betrayal. The institution and the director, rather than sounding the alarm, chose the path of silence and deflection, perhaps hoping the waves of discontent would quietly erode away.

The silence from the college and the program director has been deafening, a symphony of avoidance and denial. The students, who placed their trust in the institution, have been left to navigate the wreckage alone. The institution's attempt to sweep the debacle under the proverbial rug is not just a stain on its reputation but a disservice to the very essence of education.

This saga of the local 2 college is not just a Google review; it's a lamentation for what could have been and a ridiculing of the outrageous series of missteps by those in charge. It's a reminder that when institutions falter, it's the dreams and aspirations of real people who are left hanging in the balance. And for those at the helm, let this be a lesson: the trust of your students is not a commodity to be gambled away on the roulette wheel of incompetence, step up and be accountable for the program you are directing and find a way for this group to not have to throw away a year of hard work, time, energy, and money…I know that our local college can find a way for these local members of our society and students to become eligible to take the teaching test they were promised that this program would allow. Maybe our Charles thinks it is okay to blame these students for his incompetence, but the institution should not allow this ”program director” to ruin its reputation as a trustworthy institution of...

Odessa College before its recent change was a steal when it came to education, and I found the experience to be enjoyable, loved being able to directly interact with the teachers there, getting the help I needed. But as of late, the experience has been ruined by the college's new "GOTTA GO FAST" 8 week program. It sounds ideal being able to cover more classes in less time, but this sadly has had its PAINFULLY obvious drawbacks.

Lets start with signing up. The staff were not use to the sudden time shift and having to process students twice (one for each half semester), this has greatly deteriorated the quality of their work. When I was signing up for my 4th semester there, the atmosphere had completely changed. Before they would take their time doing their best to make sure your classes weren't going to conflict with other things and were understanding of your situation, but when I signed up this semester it felt like they were trying to rush you out the door when you were registering. This was the first time they messed up my schedule, and I ultimately had to correct a majority of what they did, a great waste time for both sides.

Now for the teaching, some courses had little trouble readjusting, however this isn't true for a lot of the courses. How would you like to sit for about nearly 6 hours listening to history lectures? Or trying to complete essays in less time? How about finals near the beginning of October? With the new program, what it ultimately does is just squishes the classes down and forces it to fit within an 8 week period. Not really ideal, as the personal experience is removed and students are basically being shoved in and out of classes like if it were some type of processing factory. This college has failed to see that there is a limit to the human attention span and by simply trying to push-out more graduates/ transferees at a faster pace they are deteriorating the quality of their product, that product being YOU. This has the potential to create a shaky foundation when it comes to transferring or applying for your career. Sure you might have the credits, but when facilities see the students coming out from OC are in less-than-ideal condition, they will think that you really haven't learned anything and might force you to retake the course(s) you already went through. A great waste of your time, energy and money.

TL;DR: This college was once ideal, before the new 8-week semester program was applied to nearly all classes on campus and online. This program is horrendous to both staff and students, as stress has deteriorated the quality of service and the long lecture hours slowly ruins your chances for retaining whatever you learned during that sitting (lectures can be as long as 6 hours). On top of that, finals occur twice, one near the beginning of October and another near the beginning of December for each half semester.

At one point I would have recommended this school due to my positive experience there. But with the current state the college is in, I would not recommend it unless you are good at cramming, jobless and are good at...