Thoughts on University of Tennessee?

Tampa_Nights · Post by **Tampa_Nights** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:23 am

Sorry if this topic has been covered a thousand times...

Just wondering how many of you go to U of T, and what your thoughts are on the school. How do you feel about the programs, the professors, class size, tuition costs, entrance requirements, credit transfers, etc.

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:27 am

I just graduated from UT....and let me refer you to a phrase known by all students "the big orange screw"

I don't know how it compares to other colleges, probably the same, probably also depends on the department. I was an anthro major and that dept was awesome. I guess UT has its pros and cons. Parking being a major bitch. They don't treat their employees so wonderfully either...

Sir Diddimus · Post by **Sir Diddimus** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:07 pm

I'm a UT employee, and I'm treated just fine. Where else could I get to surf the internet all day and get paid.....

(I'm at work now)

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:37 pm

Heh, well I'm a UT employee and though I like where at UT I work and the people above me at the ARL, I do not like that I don't have any benefits or perks besides a weekly paycheck (I am grateful though to have a job period). But check out the United Campus workers page-

http://www.ucw-cwa.org/

shadow dancer · Post by **shadow dancer** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:41 pm

UT has its ups and downs just as any large university in my opinion. As Morgan said, everyone on campus knows "The Big Orange" screw and most have been experienced it at some point and time whether it be from there not being room enough for a class that a person needs to continue their program, getting their car ticketed for parking 5 minutes in a staff lot, being informed that their whole schedule has been lost, having an advisor tell them they didn't need a class when they did, etc.
On the other hand, a lot of UT's ups are around diversity. There is a wide variety of programs to choose from as well as courses to take.

I went through the engineering program and after getting through the freshman and sophomore years, it wasn't bad at all. My only complaints at that time were the lack of time that the professors devoted to their students. However, it wasn't necessarily the professor's fault. The university expected its professors in that program to bring in money from other research projects such as Department of Energy, Nasa, etc. They had limited time due to their own research that they were doing to keep UT happy and money coming into the university. Of course, the bright side to that was that the professors would employ students as research assistants to help with those projects, which was good for the student's bank account and for the resume. In addition, UT provided many opportunities for "real world" experience such as internships, co-op study programs, etc as well as on campus interaction with many companies on this side of the US.

My complaint with UT during my freshman and sophomore years was going through the "weed-out" phase. It seemed a lot of times that they weren't trying to teach the material, and those who got it did, and those who didn't found another major. Hearing professors actually admit to doing that was pretty disheartening, but it all comes down to that phrase of "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Those that made it through had some really interesting and beneficial courses during the last two years. I understood the purpose of "weeding" people out, but there were times that it seemed that it went a little too far.

I never lived on campus while I attended classes there, so I can't really say anything about accommodations.
As for price, it was worth it when I was there 5 years ago, but it was also about half the price it is now.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 5:17 pm

Living anywhere within a 5 mile radius of campus is a bad idea unless you're a frat boy or a sorostitute.

I've heard very good things about a couple of the programs - physics and english, mostly - and very bad things about most of the others. The jury is still out on the law program.

As for being a UT employee, I've heard very good things. IE "I sleep a couple hours a day on the clock and my boss doesn't care if I come in stoned".

mehem · Post by **mehem** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:19 pm

Hardcoregirl wrote:I just graduated from UT....and let me refer you to a phrase known by all students "the big orange screw"

that was one of the names for a production informercial some kids did when i was there,i did mine with a girl from thailand who couldn't speak a lick of english,it was about local news being boring,down right pigish,and contrived...... i'm now being punished for that(and not the type i enjoy,hee-hee).....

anyway i still have a bad taste in my mouth from the parking,the numerous assholes you have to deal with(not the ones you could walk away from),the things that i paid for that i'll never use again while working two jobs(if all your looking for is theories,then go for it),and the lack of practibility or training in my field(for some reason they thought all of us would just accend to the top,and no one did)....very bitter about those 3 1/2 years....but if your into stupid jocks and violence.....

Mother Mo · Post by **Mother Mo** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:49 pm

I've really enjoyed almost all my classes & professors at UT, but I never considered going to any other university, so I don't have much of a point of reference. Compared to Pellissippi, it's fantastic, but Pellissippi seemed like a bad high school flash back, IMO.

I've had experiences with the Classics & Psych departments at UT & have been incredibly impressed by the various instructors. I have heard complaints about hiring grad students in at super low wages which never seem to go up very high, even after considerable time & academic advancement. The strategy seems to be to keep lots of low pay associate professors & down size the higher paying positions. The push for more & more research may impair the instructors' abilities to be as available & focused on teaching, as has been already stated.

It's also far too focused on catering to the athletes too, but they bring in revenue so I'm not really surprised. In the many years I've been attending I've seen some big improvements & some equally large disappointments. All in all its still a pretty good school though. I hope my own kids decide to go there when its their turn. Especially now that they can benefit from the lottery funds.

Hardcoregirl · Post by **Hardcoregirl** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 6:04 am

Mother Mo wrote:I've really enjoyed almost all my classes & professors at UT, but I never considered going to any other university, so I don't have much of a point of reference. Compared to Pellissippi, it's fantastic, but Pellissippi seemed like a bad high school flash back, IMO.

I've had experiences with the Classics & Psych departments at UT & have been incredibly impressed by the various instructors. I have heard complaints about hiring grad students in at super low wages which never seem to go up very high, even after considerable time & academic advancement. The strategy seems to be to keep lots of low pay associate professors & down size the higher paying positions. The push for more & more research may impair the instructors' abilities to be as available & focused on teaching, as has been already stated.

It's also far too focused on catering to the athletes too, but they bring in revenue so I'm not really surprised. In the many years I've been attending I've seen some big improvements & some equally large disappointments. All in all its still a pretty good school though. I hope my own kids decide to go there when its their turn. Especially now that they can benefit from the lottery funds.

See, I loved Pellissippi, yeah, it felt like high school sometimes, but, it was CHEAP and the classes were small and it seemed the teachers actually cared for you, not like you were one of 500 students. I'm so glad I got my AA from there and didn't have to take but one or two HUGE classes were I felt like cattle being driven through...

And yeah, the graduate students seem to be a pretty pitiful lot, they work their asses off and don't get paid shit or get good benefits. As for the athletics, yeah, they bring in money but I think it just goes back into athletics, not stuff that benefits all the students...otherwise I suppose the fucks wouldn't continue to increase tuition.

Tampa_Nights · Post by **Tampa_Nights** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:37 pm

It is not uncommon at all for smaller jr and community colleges to offer a better education for the money. There's many situations where the big school has the professors with the PhD's, but many of them are career academics and haven't implemented their specialty in the Real World. The smaller school may offer instructors who only have a Bachelor's or Masters, but these people often have more professional experience in the field.

Often times, its best to do two years of the prerequsite "get em outta the way classes" at a smaller school and then finish out your studies at the University, whose degrees will usually mean more to an employer because of the big name. This can be a pain though, as sometimes schools change who they will and wont accept credits from, and it really is up to them to decide.

All in all, it sounds like most schools in that it's overpriced but at the same time most people don't regret going there. I will most likely be enrolling as an Economics major, as well as finishing up some IT certifications I've started already. I'll be able to add that degree to my resume....

B.S. Business Administration
A.S. Information Technology (already have)
MCSE
A+ (already have)
Network + ( already have)
MOUS

That should mean a final end to shit jobs/entry level monkey crap. Especially considering the positive things I've heard about UT getting people internships and research work.

Thanks for your replies.

creapyrob · Post by **creapyrob** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 6:12 pm

I went to Tech and was forced to get a business admin. minor.

It was my experience in the business department that the age old saying "Those who can do, those who can't teach" was very true. EVERY professor I had (with NO exceptions) was someone who tried to hack it in the real world and either cracked or failed.

The only teachers that were any good (but I was never able to have) were the HR Lady from Tech who taught the Management fundamentals class a crazy old guy who was an accountant for one of the big military industrial companies (McDonald Douglas or the like) and taught cause he thought it was fun.

I got a guy who had a nervous breakdown for management, a crazy old guy who worked for Federal Mogul as an account and got laid off cause he was useless. I also had a Korean guy who no one in the real world could stand so he was a teacher.

Business is a real hit or miss world for teachers MBA's and CPA's are enough to teach and those aren't that hard to get.

Engineering professors work on grants and do some pretty huge impacting research (most of mine had at least one or two articles published). Adjunct professors are usually pretty good (they are real world folks who teach on the side).

Liberal Arts folks can do art or write about their field and get famous. I mean hell Peter "Buckaroo "Robocop" Bonzai" Weller is a Western Civ (or something along those lines) professor and grad student. ("Dead or alive you're publishing my article"). So just be ready for some real duds and some really crap classes.