Florida State College at Jacksonville Reviews of Associates in Nursing

"FSCJ faculty and administration make many mistakes, but place the blame of poor performance solely on the students. They refuse to look at their own mistakes, behavior, and misleading information as the possible reason their students may struggle. Speaking to them about your concerns is like screaming at a brick wall; nothing happens! To pass your classes, you MUST receive 80% average on exam grades, which comes out to be 640 out of 800 points. If you earn 639.9/800, there is absolutely no helping you. You fail and have to retake the class, meaning you dish out more tuition! To put it in perspective, UNF only requires a 73% exam pass rate. It’s also easier to get the specialty/job you desire if you go to UNF. Not only do employers prefer BSN, but UNF has better clinical rotations. At FSCJ, we have done med surg clinicals the whole time. I’m a term 4 student and 90% of my clinical experiences have been on med surg floors. I had 1 and a half days in an L&D rotation and 4 days in Peds. Other than that, it’s all been adult med surg. The positive about FSCJ is the affordability, speed at which you can get through the program and get your RN, and the fact that after you get your ADN, many employers help with your tuition to get your bachelors. FSCJ’s rigidity and outdated teaching information makes me question if it’s worth it, though."

"I should have listened when someone told me not to enroll here. It’s been the worst college experience I’ve ever had. I’m feeling so discouraged ready to give up on my degree. I should have known when they gave me the run around just to enroll. You are on your own at the school. Find another one to attend."

"I heard that the FSCJ nursing program used to be exceptional in preparing its students for a career in nursing. Currently, this is not the case. There is a painstakingly obvious lack of communication and preparation between the professors and clinical instructors involved in the nursing program. For the similarly-formatted assignments assigned each term, each professor had different grading criteria that were not made explicitly clear due to the lack of communication. They also taught different signs/symptoms/clinical manifestations for the same diseases, and we were expected to completely discard our previous term's learning each time. Many of the professors I had belittled our concerns when it came to the format of the instructional material. The first-term professors do not teach, they list out terms and ask that the students find the definitions on Google or in the textbooks and share with the class. A couple of my professors didn't have sufficient knowledge to answer our questions on the instructional material. Of the 4 term professors I had, only 1, possibly 2, showed genuine concern and cared for our education and experience in this nursing program. The HESI exit exam was completely unhelpful and only amounted to adding an unnecessary level of stress and busy-work, which took away from time I could've used to prepare for the NCLEX. To summarize: - There was way too much busy-work spent doing EAQs and online assignments that were unhelpful in preparing for exams and ultimately pointless. - Many of the professors were extremely rigid and prioritized assignments that I don't believe added anything to my knowledge as a new nurse. At times, the incompetence and lack of patience could've even been described as unprofessional. Most of my substantiative learning came through online lectures and help from my more experienced classmates. - The last term, where most nursing schools focus on preparing their students for their exit exams and NCLEX, was riddled with, again, busy-work and an evident lack of support for this stressful transition into completing the program. FSCJ Nursing seems to strictly adhere to this inflexible method of teaching without continually assessing if their methods are actually effective for their students' learning. As a student, I felt undervalued, spoken-over, and disposable. Almost all of my professors refused to listen to genuine complaints and suggestions. There needs to be an immediate program-wide shift in focus from keeping students "busy" to thorough topic explorations, NCLEX preparation, and nursing skills practice. With the appointment of the new dean, I do feel that FSCJ Nursing has potential to become exceptional once again, but in it's current state, I would only recommend this program if you truly could not afford or get accepted into another school."

"FSCJ's administration for the nursing program is absolutely horrible, and I felt entirely undervalued as a student. Students are not respected and taken seriously. I would not recommend coming to FSCJ for any program, but as a nursing student, I can verify that the administrators and staff cause more stress than the actual nursing exams cause."

"This school is awful from it's customer service to information it puts out. It seems like they have ONE phone tree for anything and everything you need. You wait on hold for absurd amounts of time (30 minutes to almost an hour). No one seems to know any answers to your questions and always pawn you off on another person or department. I originally began my admissions in June 2017, I couldn't start until spring 2018 because they lost my application, never processed my transcripts, and never bothered to email me. I would call every day and no one could assist with my lost transcripts. They were mysteriously found in a "folder" where transcripts can't be matched to students who applied for admission after I threatened to file a complaint with the Department of Education. Fast forward to applying for the nursing program and I can't! Their admission applications are insane and so limited in options. I can't roll in person since I am out of state until the fall, so every form of help has been limited to phone or email. FSCJ IS THE WORST SCHOOL TO GO. SAVE YOUR TIME, ENERGY, AND MONEY!!!! Poorest customer service, rude counselors, and inept phone system."

"I think the classes are good at FSCJ but they are way overprices. I have moved a lot over the past few years and attended many colleges but this one is by far the most expensive. If I had the ability to attend a different community college I would. Normally people go to community college first because they want to save money and it is less expensive. This is not the case with FSCJ. I paid for two 3 credit hour classes that were $700.65 without tax. To me this is just absolutely ridiculous. No community college should be as expensive as a university. Also, I spoke with an advisor and they told me to take the wrong classes. Now I am set back an extra semester. Most of the people on the administrative staff give you different answers to the same questions. After leaving a meeting with an advisor some of the information I was told did not sit well with me. So I called to ask if the information I was given was correct and was informed it was not. I was also told I was not eligible to receive financial aid which was also inaccurate. When I call the school I am almost alway on hold for at least 35 minutes. It is very agitating to be mislead and ill-informed. I took summer classes to get ahead and now I am behind because I was told to take the wrong classes. I really do feel like the office administration needs to work on being on the same page and having accurate information. Although I am fed up with administrate I can say once enrolled I do like my classes and most of my teachers so far."

"I love FSCJ don't get me wrong. But the advisors had me taking classes that I didn't have to take for the Nursing program. I ended up takin my sciences last (Microbo, Anatomy 1 &2, Chemistry, Nutrition) I passed all except Microbio. The first time I had withdraw and the second time I made an 68.7 but my Professor  wouldn't round my grade to an C. So I had to appeal which I did not win (of course their gonna take up for their own) so now i'm stuck having to take it a 3rd time and now I have to pay out of pocket (1614.08 plus books) so around $1800 that I don't HAVE. i'm so pissed because I could have been in the RN program 2 semesters ago, but instead i'm looking for a school I can get into for the RN program."

"The program was great although demanding but changes were made constantly throughout the program which I thought was unfair. I say this because ypu go into the program with certain criteria and I feel that should be held up throughout. Changes should affect new students coming in not ones that are currently in. The instructors for the most part were great. Very helpful. The financial department needs work and is improving. Overall my good outweighed my bad and I would seek another degree"