Lamar University

After looking at the cost to obtain a Principal Certification, I made the decision to attend Lamar University. I was familiar with the online format so I felt comfortable with my decision. The use of TK20 however was not something I cared for as it was extremely confusing. My experience has caused me heartbreak, stress, and money I am still trying to recover from. The classes were going well and I was passing all of them with As and Bs. For being a single mother, full time teacher, Speech and Debate... Read More coach, and waitress, I was happy with the grades. At the point of one course, I had to find a mentor. At my title 1 school with very weak Admin, this was not an easy task. To my shegrin, I chose the best AP we had and was distraught with the awful process he was trying to teach me. I knew it was wrong and wanted to get out of that school ASAP and shared this experience with the professor at that time. He encouraged me to stick with the program and keep my chin up. I received a B in that class but because of the component of having to meet with a field supervisor 3 times, I ended up receiving an F. The meetings were via Skype where they just chatted with me and a few students for about an hour. It was not very useful and I only completed 2 of the 3 since I was disheartened by my own situation. When I contacted the school, I was told I could take the class again which I did. Perturbed that I received an F for a miniscule part of the curriculum previously, I received the same B in the same class and completed the 3 field visits(online Skype chats that were not helpful). I passed the principal certification exam and was denied my verification because even though I took the same class, they still counted that F. I was denied because I had a 2.8 GPA and the requirement is a 3.0. In tears I called them to try to see what I could do. In the meanwhile, I got out of the school I was at and was awarded a position opening a brand new school. Lamars Dr. Cummings said I could take another class but had to reapply and submit video evidence of me teaching. I let them know I could not do it in the fall because I did not even have any students yet and was helping open a brand new school. I was informed that was alright. When I went to register in the Spring for that one class, Dr.Cummings informed me it was too late, the board decided I would not be allowed back in the program. Needless to say, I am disappointed in myself and them. I have made some national achievements at this school I helped open and am working with another University(a top 50 University in country)to obtain this Certification along with pursuing a Docotorate. I should have done better research on Lamar and not simply look at cost. You get what you pay for and I paid for it dearly. I waited so long to write this because I had contemplated and saved for a lawyer and was gathering as much evidence I could to request a meeting with the Dean and the board. However, while that was happening, I was taking hold of leadership opportunities that made so many in the education world in Texas realize what a Leader I am. This was a blessing in disguise because Inwould have had a sub par University name on my CV and now I am so close to having a Doctarate from one of the most reputable Universities in Texas. Thank you Lamar for seeing me as a dollar sign and not the hard working teacher, mother, and educational leader that I am.

The program was fine for getting my Masters however one VERY important thing to note is that I missed one 5 week course in the winter of 2016 due to illness and it set back my graduation date by an ENTIRE YEAR. For some reason, even though the classes are online and all the materials are available upfront- they only offer the courses in a certain rotation. I didnt realize this when I applied and certainly would have powered thru if I knew. So now I have to wait until Spring of 2019 to take my last... Read More two classes. Very frustrating (and costing me a full year of the pay raise that comes with the degree).

I suggest those looking for a school to attend to go elsewhere. This school makes promises to get students to enroll, once they do those promises are broken. Prior to enrolling, I specifically asked about the residency (two, week long sessions) and was assured that notice of residency would be given in plenty of time to make arrangements and a block of rooms in the dorms were reserved for the online students. These rooms would be shared with another student of the same sex. Upon finishing my fourth... Read More class (requirement for residency) I found out that students have to book a hotel room (the school reserves some, but the rate is $100+ per night) and notice is not given. It is up to the student to search for the information on the school's website. The instructors and IA's refuse to give any assistance to the students. The only communication is email and professors and IA's take an excessive amount of time to respond (days - week), if they respond at all. According to one professor, they do write their own syllabus or choose the required texts. They wait for the syllabus and text information to be released by the school, upon start of the class. If you let either the professor or the IA know of a mistake in their writing, they begin deducting points from assignments but will not tell you what "mistake" was made. If you call the school to get information, you might as well be talking to a brick wall. The employees will transfer you without consent, talk over you, and refuse to listen. This is after waiting on hold for an excessive amount of time. There is zero learning done at this school. It is up to the student to self-teach, of which I am fine with, but why am I paying over $800 per class to teach myself? The professors and IA's expect the students to know everything, if I knew everything I wouldn't be attending school. The school is nothing but a diploma mill that should lose accreditation and be investigated for fraud. The employees you talk to when gathering information will make promises and tell you what sounds good to get you to enroll. This school wants nothing but your money. Avoid enrolling, don't waste your time.

Lamar University is located in Beaumont, Texas which is a small town so if you come from a big city it will be a different experience for you. It's a pretty average sized school but it's growing every year. On campus experience was great when I first moved in but after a while dorms started to get crowded and I ended up moving off campus. The class ratios are great and mostly 20-1 student to teacher ratio which gives you opportunity to get to know your professor and classmates. School spirit isn't... Read More that crazy like at bigger schools and campus is not in such a great neighborhood so campus safety could be sketchy sometimes. But my overall experience was great because I learned so much in my classes and I got to know my professors and I also worked in campus as a student assistant so that made my college experience a bit more worth while.

The master's program for speech-language pathology at Lamar University is a great program to pursue this field of study. The graduate program offers quality education from knowledgeable professors. The faculty, consisting of experienced licensed speech-language pathologists, also allows for guided clinical training and adequate resources necessary for clinical practice. With the small student to faculty ratio, there are opportunities to build relationships with future colleagues, actively participate... Read More in lectures, and receive more individualized feedback to ensure understanding of material. The program helps its students reach their potential as future speech-language pathologists.

I studied Communication Corporate while at Lamar University. Coming to this department as a psychology major, I found it a lot more applicable to all jobs on a corporate level. We were taught how to communicate on a business level as well as a interpersonal level that I found very valuable because it taught me how to approach people and situations so that I could effectively convey the correct message in the correct manner. Aside from the communication, the corporate aspect taught us much about advertising,... Read More marketing, media, and public relations.

I am currently enrolled in MS in Civil Engineering program at Lamar University. I will be graduating at 2018. Lamar university is at located Beaumont, Texas, which is a small town. Living expenses is low here. Also, Lamar University provides Out-of-State Waiver to international students. Therefore, overall cost of attendance is pretty affordable. Lamar University offers a General Civil Engineering degree. Various courses such as structural, geotech, water resources, transportation and environmental... Read More engineering courses are offered by the department. Here, you can take any courses in streams that mentioned above and graduate. You can also choose just one stream and graduate if you want specialization in one field. So, the course is pretty flexible.

I am currently attending Lamar online after attending the college and I really really love it. The professors are very dedicated to helping you and answering questions. You get their phone number to call if you can't reach them by email. Financial Aid is available to those who qualify. The school makes it really easy to submit your documents...I applied using my cell phone and google drive because I was very determine to return to school. Sometimes you end up with some of the same professors for... Read More different classes within your major which is something that I love. You can take classes at whatever rate you find best unless your on finan. aid in which you have to take a set amount of hours (no less than 12 for FT students). The courses are broken into 2 8 week sessions per semester or 15 weeks. For example for 8 weeks you'll take two classes and the next 8 weeks you'll take another 2 classes for a total of a 12 hr semester. I would recommend to anyone whether you live in Texas or Montana.

Lamar has an excellent English faculty and I believe I got a great education there. I will say that the math faculty is hardcore, and if you're not a math person it can be hard to keep up. I was briefly an English with Teaching Certification major, but reverted to plain English after attempting a class called Math for Elementary School Teachers, which was far harder than college algebra. The teacher was unhelpful and elitist, treating me like a moron for having trouble with the problems. SO. All... Read More that said, the English and history faculty are great, I enjoyed my science class there, and I took statistics through the psychology department (NOT the math dept) and enjoyed that teacher as well. There are a lot of great things about Lamar and I'm happy I went there.