Concord University Reviews

  • 14 Reviews
  • Athens (WV)
  • Annual Tuition: $19,340
50% of 14 students said this degree improved their career prospects
79% of 14 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

Scott
  • Reviewed: 12/11/2022
  • Degree: Social Work
"Best program for social workers who are not academically gifted and want to obtain a cheap degree without having to work very hard, especially if they have no plans to do social work and just get a job at Concord. Most courses are almost exactly the same with little to no instruction. Once you take one course, you can just fill out the “forms” for the rest of the courses. For some courses you don’t even have books, no interaction with professors, and for some courses students wonder if there is even a professor at all. Emphasis is placed on ethics, but most faculty behave unethically, play favorites, and treat students unequally. Favorite students, who most often have less academic ability and less intent to do academic work, are given exceptions and opportunities others are not. Many of these “favorites” are given exceptions on assignments and in their field placements that include less rigor and less requirements. Favorites are often given passing grades for minimal work, and are given paid student jobs in grant offices and other offices like career services on campus that have nothing to do with required competencies in field placements, and are then just pushed through to graduation. Non-favorites are graded harder and are required to work real jobs doing actual social work off campus to obtain competencies. Favorites are often given jobs on campus after graduation including faculty positions in the MSW program. Students will find it to be no surprise that the courses that have little to no instruction and little to no professor interaction are taught by these professors who were once “favorites.”These professors have never taught a course on any level prior to being given a masters level faculty position at Concord, have never worked off campus, and have never actually done any real social work in their lives. This is even true for the Program Director who is also a local who went to Concord, has only worked in grant offices, and has never actually done any social work on a professional level and therefore never obtained required real competencies to be awarded the degree of MSW. Students will also not be surprised to discover that the lame professors in the program mentioned above who were all locals and former “favorites,” were all close friends of the Director that the Director hired over other candidates with years of real world experience in the field and years of teaching experience and expertise. In this way, Concord’s MSW program resembles an unethical internal colony of locals who simply exploit the university and the program for their own personal gain and the gain of their friends and cronies. Students who are willing to do extra non-required work can still obtain a decent education, but most students can just coast through this program doing minimal low quality work with almost no effort, especially if they are local “favorites.” The university is currently on a serious financial precipice and is so desperate for money due to decades of financial exploitation by locals in positions of power that they rarely ever fail a student. Students are viewed as “units” that represent 10s of thousands of dollars in revenue that the local internal profiteers can’t afford to loose. These internal profiteers like the MSW Program Director need every student who applied to pay their outrageously high salaries and maintain their internal colony and profiteering scheme which takes high priority over academic quality and institutional and professional integrity. Complacency is a requirement for faculty, including the very few competent and ethical ones, and those who are not complacent to ethical violations and internal corruption are viewed as not being “team players” and therefore are targeted for harassment and eventual elimination. All of this makes the university and the MSW program a poor choice for those students who want a good education, want to be competent and ethical social workers after graduation, and have no plans on working at Concord in an unethical internal colony of local profiteers."
Tarya
  • Reviewed: 9/17/2022
  • Degree: MSW
"The MSW program at Concord is subpar and unethical. Several of the faculty and the program director are locals who obtained faculty positions in the MSW program after obtaining their undergrad degrees from Concord and then just working on campus in grant offices and other offices in which they never actually did any real social work. Most of the faculty have limited teaching experience and many had never taught a class before in their lives on any level prior to obtaining their teaching positions that they were awarded over well qualified applicants with decades of real life advanced social work and teaching experience. Many of the classes taught by these faculty have little to no instruction, no interaction with the faculty member, and in some instances not even a book or required readings. Some faculty put almost no effort at all into their classes and for some classes it seemed as if there wasn’t even a professor for the course. Favoritism and unethical behavior runs rampant in the program in which students who are from the local area are offered opportunities that other student don’t even know about and are never offered, are graded easier than other students, and are given exceptions on assignments that other students are never offered and are kept in the dark about. Most of these locals are given jobs on campus in grant offices and other offices to complete their practicums where they do not actually do any real social work and therefore do not complete their required competencies like other students working in the real world. Most of these locals are then awarded full time jobs on campus after graduation and some faculty positions in the program. This favoritism and grooming of locals by locals makes the program resemble a corrupt internal colony of profiteers that simply uses the program for their own personal gain compromising instructional delivery and program quality. If you are a local, and especially if you know or are related to a faculty member or administrator, just want to buy a cheap degree that you don’t want to put much effort in earning, and want to work at Concord, then this program is for you. If you are not, and you actually care about obtaining a good education in order to be a competent and ethical social worker, just pay more money and go elsewhere."
Disaster School
  • Reviewed: 12/24/2019
  • Degree: Medical Office Administration
"This place is all about signing you up. Once you sign on the dotted line you owe BIG tuition bills but do not have a solid foundation. Uneducated teachers. Employees who are not teachers filling teaching roles becuase of high teacher turnover. They couldn't care less about you other than getting your name on that line. BEWARE! READ THE FINE PRINT! ABOVE ALL, do NOT feel presured to sign up as fast as they would like you to. Go home, review paper work and think. There is no short cut for a medical job."
An Alum
  • Reviewed: 7/24/2018
"Concord is an excellent university! It is very cheap compared to other schools, which truly matters after graduating, and they also have a lot of "free money" for their students. However, I would be lying if I said that a liberal arts education is worth they money. Sure, if you are getting to go for free or next to nothing, then by all means, go to Concord. If you are having to take out tens of thousands of dollars worth of loans when all is said and done, then I strongly encourage you to major in something worthwhile. Art, psychology, graphic design, business management, recreation and tourism management, English, art, political science, and such are truly useless degrees that will not get you a job after graduating. Let's be honest, you want a job that makes some money after graduating, right? I though so. If so, consider education or social work, or another university all together. The truth of the matter is, if you are going to spend more money than you have ever seen in your life on a degree, you better make sure that degree will get you a job, and those majors that I listed before, are about as useless as the tree they cut down to print your degree out on. Good luck everybody!"
Jerri Nash
  • Reviewed: 7/31/2017
  • Degree: Business
"I wish I could have found better employment. The school was great and professors as well. They just did not help me find a good paying job or career. I wish I was making more and could pay off some debts. It seems I just have a degree and nothing more."
Seth
  • Reviewed: 3/2/2017
  • Degree: Biology
"Concord University is a small school located in southern West Virginia with under 4000 students attending. Many close friends told me that I was making a mistake by choosing Concord, but I am very proud of my choice to attend the great school. Concord is often referred to as " the little Harvard on the hill", because of the rigorous curriculum and is respected a lung graduate schools in the region. The class sizes are small which allows you to have a personal relationship with your professor and they help you grow as a student and as a person. Concord University is a great fit for anyone looking for a great college education that equips you for you professional career or studies."
Ronni Wood
  • Reviewed: 2/11/2017
  • Degree: English
"I love Concord and I love the English department. They have both been my home for four years and although I'm ready to graduate I will definitely miss all the memories I made there. The program is incredible for a small university. Many English majors go to grad school to discover they've been doing the same things for years."
Sam
  • Reviewed: 5/29/2015
  • Degree: English
"The English program at Concord is very good. The professors are intelligent and caring, and the classes do a good job of preparing you for a career. Concord is a small school, so you are able to receive a more personalized education."
Louisa trott
  • Reviewed: 5/3/2014
  • Degree: Organizational Leadership
"Overall, I am satisfied, but I would benefit from additional assistance/guidance."
Suzanne Evans-Wright
  • Reviewed: 4/22/2014
  • Degree: MBA
"With my current work-life balance, I do not have enough experience with the social life on campus to rate that category. I started the graduate program in fall 2014. Overall, I am satisfied with the program. One con I have is that some of the professors seem to teach like they are on "autopilot". They have taught the class a number of times, and do not seem excited or enthusiastic about the class they are teaching. One pro is that the university understands that group work outside of class time can be difficult to coordinate, so many of the professor do not require group projects outside of class time."
Louisa Trott
  • Reviewed: 3/9/2014
  • Degree: Organizational Leadership
"Overall a good program. Would like more scholarship assistance."
Larry lewis
  • Reviewed: 12/6/2013
  • Degree: Business
"The pros for me, was that Concordia university offers a safe and competitive accelerated programs that help the working families continue to redevelop themselves without dealing with the traditional program structures. Cons was that the programs was condense into 4 or 5 week session with massive work loads."
Winsome Wint
  • Reviewed: 1/10/2013
  • Degree: Business
"The small class size along with a strong curriculum base and competent faculty allow students of Concordia University to compete on a national level with other graduate students/colleges. Students interested in pursuing need to know that Concordia University is an institution of high academic standards and an excellent institution of choice."
Courtney Rankin
  • Reviewed: 12/4/2012
  • Degree: Health Sciences
"Pros to the program are being able to have help when you need it and being able to succeed! Cons would be not very clean"