Hello, Dean? You're a stupid-head!!!!
Homer, is that you?
aaaaaah!
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I have access to a lot of rage, it would seem.
I think my head caught on fire when I got a call today saying the my little ones hadn't remembered to bake off the pate last night. I had considered leaving a note for them, detailing times and temperatures, but decided to give them some credit and not. They told me they would do it and I believed them. Then the phone call today. The only reason that I didnt' descend into a slew of profanity is that one of my neighbours was in the elevator with me and his 7 year old was pushing all the buttons. Cute, kid. Thanks.
Then I realise that George Brown has now screwed me out of two certificates that I have paid to earn and that they're not actually offering in completion. Or the website misrepresented the course and I had to drop out. I work full time. I have a hard job. I'm actually going the extra fucking mile and trying to fit school in too. And they are dicking me around.
So in a fit a spite I started drafting a letter to the dean.
Dear Sir,
I am a student of culinary arts at George Brown College. Until recently I had planned on continuing to expand my knowledge and exposure to the Hospitality industry by remaining a student at the college. Several complications and problems with administration in the continuing education office have made me reconsider this plan.
1.) Last year I attended the Apprentice cook's training program under Chef Hoyer. I was a dilligent and commited student and maintained a straight A average. When I tried to register for the second year of this program I was informed that it was not being offered this year. This left me with an incomplete certificate through no fault of my own. If I were to take the individual classes without being a part of the Ministry-sponsored program it would cost almost $4000 instead of the $650 I spent on the first year of the program. My classmates last year were all like myself - working 5 days a week and attending classes 2 days a week. We are not a demographic has has an excess of time or money to waste. I find it irresponsible and unfair to the students of this program to offer an incomplete program, accepting the investment of the students' time and money and not allowing them to complete the program.
2.) In an effort to continue my education despite this roadblock, I decided to attempt the Food and Media certificate while I waited for my second year of Apprentice training to be offered. This began with the Food Styling Seminar that cost me $1,600. The course description on the website clearly states that this tuition includes the cost of food used in class. It neglects to mention the need to spend additional money throughout the week-long seminar buying product to use in our daily assignments. The website states "You must shop for your own assignments and be prepared to spend additional out-of-class time on your projects". This is a severe understatement. The requirements of this class were such that we were had to spend most of every evening working on additional projects, five or more hours a day, to complete the shopping and prep for our next day's assignment. This was an excellent course and I am grateful to have taken it. Delores Custer is a fantastic teacher. The failing was in the information provided to the student. I had taken the week of the seminar off work but was needed to spend some time throughout the week maintaining my responsibilities at my restaurant. I was given no reason to doubt that I would be available to put in some hours at work during the week of this course. My work suffered because the requirements of the course were not made clear.
3.) I registered and paid for the Creative Plate Presentation course that is a part of the Food and Media certificate. I was informed a week before it started that it was not actually going to be offered. The next time it is offered there is a conflict between it and another course required for this certificate. I am now left with two certificate programs that I have invested time and a great deal of money in, with no possibilty of completing either of them within the time frame that I reasonably expected.
4.) As a prerequisite to the Photography of Food course that I require to complete my Food and Media certificate, I was required to take either Photography I or Digital Photography I. I elected to take the Digital Photography course. In our first class it came to my attention that not only was I required to have had previous experience in Adobe Photoshop, but that in order to complete the class, students were required to have access to a Digital SLR camera by the third week. Neither of these points were covered in the course description on the website. No arrangements have been made through the college to assist students that a.) cannot afford a camera costing $1000 b.) do not have access to such a device. As was the case with the Food Styling course, as a web-registered student I recieved no further information about the course or the requirements for student enrolled in it. In this case the course was so badly misrepresented on the website that I was forced to withdraw. I do not have the funds, nor the connections necessary to secure myself a Digital SLR camera. I do not have the experience in Adobe Photoshop that the course requires and I would not have registered in the first place had I known. It was an insulting waste of my time and money. I have withdrawn for the course as of this afternoon and am not sure at this point if I will be recieving a full refund.
I am extremely frustrated and extremely dissapointed in the continuing education office and the administrators of George Brown College's website. I was lead to reasonably believe that in two years I could complete my apprentice cook's training and was dissapointed. In an effort to continue my education during the minimum one year hiatus of this course, I was reasonably expecting to be able to earn my Food and Media certificate. Both of these certificates will remain out of my reach for an indefinite period because of the George Brown College website's misrepresentation of it's courses and because of badly orchestrated administration. My workplace has made allowances for my school schedule and given me access to resources that have allowed me to excel in my first year of Apprentice training. My management's expectation is to recieve a return on that investment in the form of my continuously increasing skills and experience as I learn from the instructors at George Brown. I am furious that these events have led me to misguide my bosses as to the skills and experience I would be able to offer my workplace.
I have spent thousands of dollars and invested countless hours in George Brown's programs. I have upheld my responsibilities as a student and feel very strongly that George Brown College has not upheld the responsibilities inherint in an educational institution. I would like these issues to be addressed. I would like the website to be reconsidered with regards to the information needed by students to make informed choices about their courses. I would very much like to be able to complete the requirements for the two certificates I have been unable to finish. I had planned on taking the Red-Seal Readiness course as an added learning tool before attempting my Red Seal. I have since reconsidered.
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Anyone who's ever lodged a formal complaint to any sort of educational institution - I'd be grateful for your input. It needs some tweaking, for sure, I'm thinking of getting my lawyer cousin to read it over for me and put it in legalese. These are the points I want to address and I'll be refining the language as I go.
In unrelated news, there was an article in the Star today that quoted the Simpsons. It was an article on headphones. Congratulations to Homer and his family for infiltrating all of our subconscious minds!