Concordia University - Portland

Concordia was not originally my first choice for college. However, I have fallen so in love with it that I wonder why it wasn't my dream school from the beginning. It started with the admission and financial aid staff; they were so friendly and welcoming! The majority of my classes were amazing, thanks to the teachers; they made me work hard, gave me harsh criticism, and helped me become a more well-rounded person. A large part of my time was spent with the Office of Service Leadership. Concordia... Read More has amazing community service opportunities through this office. The relationships I've made at this school with fellow students, my teachers, and other staff members are the kind of relationships that go past my graduation date. This university has been such a blessing to me, and I honestly am so glad to say I graduated from Concordia.

I really enjoyed my program because it allowed me to work full time and still complete school in a timely manner. The instructors were great and were always available for questions and help. I did encounter some difficult situations, mostly around group projects and working with people who just did not care about their grade or their team. This is to be expected in all group work, however. I enjoyed the course work and found that I definitely learned a lot about building a business plan, which did... Read More actually help me in the months following my graduation with work projects. I do wish the school had offered more scholarship opportunities. I also wish there had been a few more student social activities for us to get to know our classmates better. Overall, I had a positive experience and I am even considering going back to school for my PhD.

I am one from the large group of teachers who arrive in America holding a Bachelor's degree. Mine was in English Education. As I tried in different schools I noticed I was not ready to cope with school and students demands. There was a gap that I had to fill in order to start a route of personal and professional gains and satisfactions. I realized that to serve my students better, I had to go a step forward in my preparation. Concordia University (Portland) has been a great fit for me in my intention... Read More to get the spirit of teaching English to people from other cultures. It helped me to systematize and upgrade previous knowledge and skills as well as to learn new trends and methodologies for motivating, teaching, assessing, and managing English Language Learners for the new global circumstances. I really appreciate the expertise of my cohorts and professors, the selection of materials for the courses, the experience of counselors, especially G, and the effectiveness of financial aids personnel to assist me. I also appreciate the biblical messages and the general sense of service of the university. Today I have a more comprehensive vision about what I am expected to do, and what I should do to help ELLs be successful in their new country. Thank you for helping my dreams come true.

I am disappointed at the instruction and administrative accountability at this school. I hold a Masters degree, in another field, from another school. Even without the my previous Masters degree, I would find this school curriculum and academic expectations below undergraduate expectations. I apologize to schools, that cohorts of teachers will be entering the field, with a masters degree from this degree mill, without the knowledge needed to fulfill the responsibilities of the job. I was drawn in... Read More by the one-year masters degree, with the expectation that the program would be a rigorous one. However, I found that the books were not college level books, the expectations for writing posts and papers was below any respectable standards even for undergrad, and the administration hides behind a student masquerading as an advisor who will allow a student neither to speak to a teacher, nor any member of the school administration. All phone numbers given to a student lead to one place--a message that says, "the mailbox is full for the person you are trying to meet." Concordia did not report that I was in school for four months. The result was that my student loans became due, and reported on my credit. Concordia refuses to state for my credit that they did not report that I was in school for four months. Upon calling the brick and mortar school, I found that the Provost office answered no questions, and did not call back with information as arranged. I could have continued and had gotten an easy decree for the money I paid. However, my conscious will not allow me to continue this farce. I am changing schools.

I was so excited to start my master's program here and I asked the enrollment counselor and the Dean of the university if since the college was "faith based" if the curriculum would reflect that...I was told three times that the Christian values were just reflected in the way they wanted us to treat each other online...this was a load of poop!

There were scriptures at the bottom of our syllabus (which didn't even tie into the theme, it was just placed there for G-d knows why)...the authors/books... Read More you read are all from the Christian perspective. I have no problem with people who participate in organized religion but this program felt a little bit indoctrinating (even though they swear it's not)...don't believe them, they want your money even if it is a "not for profit" college.