I graduated from the massage program at the top of my class. Weeks after I graduated, I re-entered the school to study in the Fitness Technician program. Since it's a "medical" school, we all have to learn the basics in Anatomy and CPR and such. Seeing as how I've already taken those classes, my credits were supposed to transfer (so my tuition also went down) and I would get a vacation from school. Woohoo!
Two weeks ago, I saw that my Anatomy class would be starting soon, and I checked with the department head to make sure my credits had been tranferred. They hadn't. He, Gilbert, told me to get in touch with my admissions rep, Kathy. I went to Kathy who told me, "Oh, that's nothing I deal with, go talk to the dean," and walked off on her merry way. I emailed the dean, Terri, and got no reply. I emailed her twice. Nothing. So I emailed Ginny -- the lady in charge of the school's massage clinic - outside of my department. She forwarded it to Gilbert. He said he'd take care of it. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
I went to school on Tuesday, the day the Anatomy class started, and asked Gilbert if my credits had transferred yet. He said he didn't see why they shouldn't have, but go talk to the dean to make sure. I went to see Terri and got to wait 45 minutes for her to come to school. Woot.
When I do get a chance to see her, we're in the office discussing the situation. I'm miffed, clearly, because it took so long to get this handled. She asked how long I've been in the program (since June) and then was surprised that we're just NOW taking care of it. Derr -- that's why I'm annoyed. She's going through my massage grades and sees they're all A's, except for that one blasted B. She asked what happened (as though I'd crash landed and killed 75 children or something) and I told her that it's hard for me to get a solid A when I'm tested on things I haven't been taught. "Wrong answer," she said. "Except that's REALLY what happened. I was angry about it." She asked why I didn't come to her and dispute the grade. [Seeing as how quickly THIS matter was being addressed... right. And I remember a classmate being given a failing grade in that class because she refused to get deep tissue treatments -- BECAUSE SHE WAS LESS THAN 12 WEEKS PREGNANT. YOU DON'T WORK ON FRESHLY BAKING BUNS-IN-OVENS!]
Anyhow.
So then she asks how my other classes are going. I laugh a bit, because those have been frustrating me as well. Especially this last class, Group Fitness, because AGAIN we're being tested on things we weren't taught. My teacher saw that the test was not on things we had covered, so she made it an open book final. Which is GREAT. Except for the part where the test was on the FIRST edition of the textbook and we'd been issued the SECOND, and the questions on the final were not addressed at all. The definitions they were asking for were NOT in the book. I read BEYOND what we had covered and still nothing. Pretty annoying, really.
She then starts talking about how that's just a simple matter of updating our information and tests and shouldn't take long to solve. (Meanwhile, I still have the grade from that final. Should I dispute that?) And she started yakkin' about how she goes over textbooks before publishing, as a kind of editor or something; as though I'm supposed to be comforted that my dean edits textbooks while I'm STILL being tested on things I haven't been taught and aren't in MY textbooks anywhere. But whatever. She also went on about how teachers are getting frustrated with paper tests because this IS a medical school, we need to be hands-on, so they're starting to push hands-on tests and that should solve the problem (of the test I ALREADY took?) so there. I told her that the hands-on portion was GREAT, but it was the WRITTEN portion, which is still PART OF THE OVERALL TEST, that was poorly executed.
I love how she took my original problem and twisted it into a problem I didn't have, and then solved THAT problem. Best. Dean. Ever.
So then she shunts me out to wait for her to finish paperwork or something and says she'll be right back. When she actually just shoved me on to someone else. This other guy comes out a few minutes later, shakes my hand and apologizes that all of this has gone on. He tells me not to worry because he's going to take care of it. I never saw him again. Two minutes later another admissions rep came out and had the paperwork I needed to sign. I like how they had an admissions rep, not my own, do this. And my admissions rep was on the other side of the office, totally aware of what was going on -- she had to sign something as well.
Then I get to go to the registrar, who puts me on a non-schedule, tells me when my next class starts, what it will be, and finishes everything. Awesome.
What a great Tuesday.
On Thursday, I get a call from my admissions rep telling me that the paperwork was wrong and I get to come in and sign it all over again. Since it was a voicemail, she also told me that if she's not there when I am, the paperwork is in her box and anyone else can help me at that point (which is the most helpful she'd been this ENTIRE FREAKING TIME). I went in Friday, signed it. Done. I get a voicemail a couple hours later from the Administrator they think I'm NOT annoyed with, giving me a "friendly phonecall reminder" that my classes start on October 13. Pfffft.
And, and, and. I've been in this Fitness class since June 29. We work out together. When I get on the scale, the numbers never change. I've been out of school for a week, working out my mom, doing MY exercises. I've lost 5 pounds.
