Computer Programming

A deeply disappointing experience. I feel like I’ve wasted years of my life on this program, and I wish I had spent my time more wisely. From the beginning, you're taught outdated material tools and technologies that have long been irrelevant to today’s job market. Nothing is aligned with current industry needs. Then? Then you find yourself under immense pressure, with endless and unrealistic workload expectations. Countless hours of work, and for what? And then? You face a number of extremely poor professors. Some of them are shockingly unqualified, clearly unfamiliar with what they’re teaching. So much time is wasted in lectures that offer no real value. And then? The biggest shock comes with the co-op term. That’s when you realize everything you studied is practically useless in the real world. You’re being taught tools from the 1990s yes, the 90s! The entire program is severely outdated. Out of nearly 100 students in our cohort, I know of only one who got a co-op. And he had prior programming experience before coming here. Without that? Good luck finding a job. And then? Don’t even try to complain. No one listens. Don’t bother asking for help. You won’t get it. Please don’t take this program. It’s a massive waste of time.

Algonquin college does not care about its students or its professors as far as I can tell. They seem to be hiring more and more contract profs instead of tenured ones. As a result, many students end up basically being forced to take night school, with classes scheduled from 4pm-10pm (which I'm guessing is because the profs all have day jobs). They will also have profs only teach half a semester of a course, and then someone new will take over, not knowing where the last prof left off. To be clear, the professors themselves are pretty good and do their best with what they're given. My complaints are entirely related to the administration and scheduling decisions. The college was also unhappy recently with the amount of students who chose not to attend classes in person following the pandemic. I learned from a student who is currently taking the same program I took, that the professors were told they had to deliver crucial information pertaining to assignments in person during each class, and not write it down or otherwise make the information available online. This is frankly ridiculous in a technical course such as programming, where "crucial information" is often related to complex syntax or logic that could easily be miscommunicated if it is only delivered verbally.