Augustana University — Attraction in Sioux Falls Township

I have been wanting to write this for a long time. I attended here way back in 2000 - 2001 and to be honest it was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. I could literally fill an entire blog but I will be as brief as I can. This place was a nightmare; unhelpful, rude and sometimes hostile professors, inept support staff, an administration that was corrupt and unwilling to address issues or concerns, a student body that was anti-social and intolerant, and to be honest an overall culture resembling a cult. The way they treated people here was terrible and this school has some gall advertising itself to be progressive and tolerant. I saw how you talked down to minorities and you still treat them badly even to this day despite your token minorities on your campus.

Your school betrayed my trust in higher education (and people in general) and it took me years to recover from that. How ironic that I was able to finish part of my education at another school (one that you depicted as a joke when the joke was on you) and was able to move beyond what you as a school tried to pull over me. I didn't even get the worst of what you did to others but that doesn't justify you as an institution of higher learning to jerk around your fellow human being. I hope you really do believe in God or whatever it is you claim to believe in because if the rest of the world saw the stuff you pulled on people Augustana would be the butt of everyone's jokes far more than the for-profit schools are. It's not like faith means anything to you since you haven't cleaned up your act from what I've seen. You are a poster child for everything that is wrong with Sioux Falls not to mention higher education.

Don't even think that your recent makeover will fool everyone. Having LGBT people and racial/religious minorities running around on campus doesn't even make you close to any respectable school; it's an obvious PR stunt of yours that is tired and cliche. You don't care about minorities; I heard the junk your staff and students said about them almost 16 years ago so don't play dumb with the rest of society. Also, you charge people out the wazoo for everything you can; your tuition prices are bad enough (a small fortune even in 2000) but your bookstore/parking/nonsense fees are almost as much as Ivy League but nowhere near the prestige. As far as the actual classes were half of those might as well have been comedy acts from Saturday Night Live. Some of your professors should have been FIRED for their actions or inactions. I guess the money was all you cared about.

Be assured that I won't recommend anyone to your school and I hope that the tuition money you did get from me was well worth it. With all of the scrutiny towards colleges nowadays you better have a very good cover story when the rest of the world finds out about your games. Serves you right for it!

By the way, you might want to deal with that liquor problem you have on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I know liquor flows freely on most campuses but you might as well have your own liquor store right next to the bookstore judging by the number of empty bottles I saw lying around when I attended your school and...

My alma mater. Augustana is experiencing a rapid growth spurt. A few construction and landscaping personnel are finishing up, most equipment and workers have likely moved on to their next job, though there are still a few things being buttoned up. This is all a part of Augie's grand plan to get to division 1. It has added updates to atvleast 1 dorm and it has just built a new one. The new hockey rink is going up on 33rd Street and Grange Ave, across from the Elmen HiPo Center. They moved the Heritage Park church, one room school house, writing cabin and more. For some unknown reason they eliminated centuries old trees unnecessarily ( there is no possible way they needed to--they just didn't have to). They added a stupid pond next to 33rd St. on the main campus. Brand new sidewalks encircle the campus and there is a new parade ground for the band to practice on that the few landscapers left are rolling out turf on. I think it was May 12th, 2022, when Sioux Falls had straight lines winds that devastated the trees in the town, and Augie was hit hard. All those downed limbs have been removed long ago and they have planted a whole bunch of baby trees all around. There is a newly remodeled parking lot on the north side (next to 28th St). Augie is actually starting to look like a...

You cannot reach a single staff member from the Office of Registrar--one of the most important offices at any university. This increases the amount of barriers that students face when navigating college. (one less resource, which should be one of the most important.)

Additionally, this university lacks opportunity for personal and professional growth. It is an extremely small school, which limits the amount of social support or social connections that a student receives. Additionally, being such a small school also means limited opportunities to "get your foot in the door." How are you supposed to make professional networking connections when you're learning under the same five professors for four years? It just doesn't happen.

Lastly, the students at AU are extremely entitled--coming from wealthy families who lack lived experience with financial challenges. This causes many students to feel stigmatized, isolated, and depressed. At the same time, AU offers very few and very limited mental health services. If you or someone you know is low-income, this probably isn't the school for you. Limited access to beneficial resources and limited willingness to help underserved communities.

I transferred to the University of Minnesota and have never felt so loved and appreciated in my...