Visual College of Art and Design (VCAD) - Vancouver — Local services in Vancouver

Type in “VCAD reviews” into Google and read the full truth there but beware of reputation bumping.

I enrolled in February 2020 for graphic design and the experience could have been better.

Back then we were able to have on-ground learning before moving online due to Covid-19. The rooms were small and a bit tight due to how the building was structured. Some of the computers in the lab and work room functioned well while others needed fixing. Some computers were slow to the point where I had to move to another computer, which is frustrating. I can't say how the computer's conditions are now because we moved on to using Microsoft Teams for classes.

Most instructors are great. Many were able to share a lot of their experience and knowledge with us. Trevor has deep knowledge of design history and provides helpful and honest feedback. I was amazed at just how much knowledge he was able to give without referencing much of the notes. Sadly, he left to look for work elsewhere.

The content itself is decent. We were able to learn about graphic design and receive feedback from our instructors. However, some content is found online through the Adobe website or online tutorials for free.

IT services are a very small group and may not be reachable sometimes. Be prepared to get technical if you need assistance with software related to the school.

Student Services is okay. When I started the program my emails and concerns were addressed well and quickly. Nowadays, with people switching in and out, my emails and concerns were not addressed as well as before. In fact, 5 staff members in total left during my time as a student unfortunately.

Finance was able to help with my student loans at the beginning, a long and tedious task. It seems like when I try to contact them deeper in my studies they are too busy for me, having to handle students from different programs. And when it was my turn, my wants and preferences seem to be disregarded, as if what they want from me is more important than what I want from myself. When I have a question about student loans they want me to apply for one, even though I didn't say I want to for the second half of my studies.

There is also a situation where I wanted to take a term off for a seasonal job. However, in VCAD’s mind a term break is withdrawal, and I have to meet with 3 people accompanied by a student service person at separate times to do so. I only met with 2 and they discouraged me from withdrawing. Instead they suggested I take 1 course, which I did because I was self-paying, but was told at the start of my journey the minimum is 2 without student loans and 3 with it.

The work dynamic can get intense. It's okay to experience stress and be a little overwhelmed but burnout is an issue. There was this one class where over half of my classmates could not hand in an assignment due that day. While you can drop courses remember 3 is the minimum if you are on student loans. It is so ironic that the more condensed the courses are, the longer you graduate and it doesn’t feel like a genuine learning environment.

There are no electives, internships and co-ops available here, at least in graphic design. I wish career-related topics can be taught like setting boundaries at work, practice interviews, how to effectively communicate with potential co-workers and employers, etc.

Finally, the portfolio show via Zoom went okay but many have technical issues or are not actually ready to present. We use Microsoft Teams for classes but use Zoom for the presentation that had students scrambling to know how to use it.

Overall, I expect better from VCAD spending over $30K, committing at least 2 years in study, and putting in a lot of energy and effort.

I wouldn’t recommend attending VCAD because it doesn’t feel student centered. However, if you really want to enroll you should be okay paying over $30K, go through intense work dynamics, not take electives, develop healthy boundaries and assertive communication, and be passionate about the...

I would say that the overall experience for me was rather okay. Not the greatest, but not the worst. To keep things brief, student services and admin were ridiculously frustrating and incompetent sometimes to contact; I went through 3 different student services coordinators and none of them told the students that they were leaving and to contact the new one, leaving me wondering why my emails weren’t being responded not knowing that the previous student services coordinator left.

Very little breaks for full-time students - a lot of my peers got burnt out and frustrated because of the inconsistent term breaks we were promised. Some instructors made me not regret going to this school, but otherwise most of my instructors were either outdated in how the industry works or straight up not helpful to me. I can’t say I didn’t learn anything, but that was because I learnt through most of my resources through YouTube along with many others in your Google reviews and my classmates as some instructors were just slogging on with the lesson while we can easily look for a solution and a full curriculum in an hour-long video and got more substance out of that. The computers were really mediocre and outdated too, because the campus (before it moved to the new location) looked rather unkempt and even a little claustrophobic to work in, which is why people opted to work online with better, beefier PCs.

How they handle the graduation aspect is clunky and inconsistent. I've had instructors and the career services department tell me that I was surely done school and I recently just got my diploma. I've completed the program, passed my classes, and all of the above, yet they still feel like they are forcing students (including myself) to attend the graduation show to get employers and be ahead of the competition but I don't think they realize that some students aren't willing to find employment right away and have their own plans. I would say that getting my diploma was the final step I went through to graduate, but I know for a fact that the grad show isn't mandatory to attend because the students would have also completed their program and received their diploma by now. The communication is ridiculously frustrating and I would be dumbfounded if it meant that not attending the grad show meant that I would have my diploma revoked or something of the sort, because I know I graduated and completed the program. I guess they want to get some sort of success story out of their students.

I would say more, but all of the “negative” reviews and criticisms on the VCAD page were pretty much hitting the nail on the head, but all were met with a rather automated “Hi _, we’re sorry to hear about your experience...” response that makes it seem ingenuine from the college, and I would imagine it would be the same if I were to say my feedback here and expand on it in the reviews where everyone who is debating on going to this school can see the truth.

edit: scratch that, they got their "hi _! we can't find your student profile..." automated response too ¯(ツ)/¯

edit 2: i admire the confidence to use my art for your disingenuous advertising (and putting my real name out there without my consent) despite the manager of the reviews ignoring that i was ever a part of...

About 4 months ago I was skimming through Facebook and I come upon and add and as I hovered over it. Just kind of reading and daydreaming about all the WHAT IFS as this advertisement payed was going back to school and I thought to myself. Wouldn't that be nice? Lol. At 35 two children and divorced. I really didn't think that possibility was out there or have The brain power and confidence and possibly do well ..(so I continues going down Facebook marketplace and decided that I would put that cause thought in the back of my head and forget about it but 15 minutes after I get off of that ad I get his phone call and this his wife because it's not like any other college in some ways. Yeah you by the bullet you're to finish your projects. You have to finish your assessments and attend live to lectures all from that day on has not left my side well figuratively she coached me mentally. I've never had anybody tell me how much I could do something emotionally. She even though she is in a completely different province, her accessibility and her way of putting you would ease is phenomenal. I mean she's one of a kind and has never met anybody more equipped and qualified for her career as I seen with Ashley The director of admissions you would think she admissions . I'm sure that's why she has the job, but if it wasn't for Ashley I don't think I don't think that I would ever have considered going back to school at 35 and here we are now. I am over a month into my course and I am still feeling like a monkey was haircut off but I have support and I mean not family support. I have these amazing teachers and faculty members who are there for you. 24 hours today. 7 days a week and they have made it a difference in my life and I hope they make a different theories. So if you're considering anything from graphic arts to my fashion market merchandising, which is what I'm doing to illustration. Anything that's art and designing or even designing homes? Who knows where these careers will take you, but they are definitely better than sitting on the couch and watching your life pass by. So my last words to you is take the first step and allow the admissions advisors to guide you and support you through the way first course this here in almost 20 yars. I have no no almost 15 years. I pass my first test. And yeah I'm pretty proud of myself so I just want to say a huge thank you to Ashley and the gang and everybody at VCAD who have been amazingly helpful. Computers have definitely changed since I was younger so the software is definitely getting to know. But if anybody is looking for like you know I guess push into the directive direction of going back to school. All you do hover over that little weak head app or on your Facebook link a link and I guarantee you Ashley will call you or one of the other advisors and they will walk you through everyday. They will make sure I put push you and push you and push you and and make sure your goals are the reachable. So I guess that's all I have to say and thank you. We have forgiving me the opportunity to become a lot more...