Central New Mexico Community College Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Camiller

Academic wise the school has ensured that all students perform well and achieve in what ever field one is taking by the help of the school community.

Charles

The overall school is ok but my comment here pertains to a particular school named Applied Technologies. My advice for any student who is planning to take courses within this school should be advised to go to another school as you will be much better off doing so. I decided to attend this school and take classes in electronics but the coursework is very weak and it seems as though the administration in the school is still trying to figure out a curriculum for the program of study. The program itself is geared to place people in manufacturing and these jobs are not currently seeking people for employment and the people they are seeking need to have a Bachelor's Degree in order to even be considered for a position and the pay is not the greatest for the amount of education required for the positions that are offered in industry. I recently found out also, as they do not tell you this up front, but none of the credits earned in this program are transferable to very many schools and as it is there are only about 2 schools that will transfer credits from this program. For example, if you are planning to take classes in the electronics program and want to transfer the credits to UNM, think again because UNM will not accept transfer credits from this program of study from CNM. I mentioned that the coursework is very weak in this program. Not only is the coursework weak but there are a number of instructors who's knowledge of the material is very weak also as when someone asks questions about the material covered a majority of the instructors there have to get back to you with the answer. I did say that there are a majority of instructors like that, but, there is one that is very good and is very knowledgeable about the material and can prove what he says in his instruction very quickly, he is very detailed and uses very good examples to explain the material. The name of that instructor is Mark Davis. As for the material itself, I have found that the administration keeps on trying to stuff more and more material into the courses to where the instructors are having to cover the material at a very fast pace in order to get it all the material covered and thus it makes it very hard to be able to learn the material effectively as the material content feels as though it is covered in a rushed and hasty pace and there is not enough time to really comprehend and understand the material. Most of the material also is taught through the use of computers and not much instruction is provided by the actual instructors themselves. So if you are looking for a program major in which the material is covered in a very fast pace, where not much time is allowed to understand and really learn the material, where the instruction is mostly provided by computers and not by instructors, where when you ask questions the majority of the instructors do not have the knowledge or ability to answer your questions in a timely manner, none of the course hours transfer to most universities, the curriculum seems questionable and you feel like a guinea pig for the administration to see what seems to work and what does not work, the students are invited to speak to industry but the industry itself appears to be having difficulty getting the administrators of the program to understand what they want the students to know in order to work for them, where a majority of the instructors tell the students to just do what is needed to get the degree and the actual training will be done by industry when the job is obtained (if this is the case then why do we need to go to school to learn the material, I say cut out the middleman and go where the training is provided for the job that you want), where more and more material is just piled in the classes but it is questionable as to whether anyone knows what material is appropriate to be covered in the course and the material is very overwhelming to really understand and learn, where when you talk to other students who are farther along in the program about what they learned in the program in order to get some insight on what is to be expected in future coursework those students have no real clue what they learned or are learning and are not able to provide any real answers as to what they are learning about or how the concepts and material they are being exposed to in their courses applies to the real world, where if you really want to learn anything then you have to really be able to teach yourself the content and be willing to spend countless hours at home and between classes struggling to figure out the notes you are provided with and struggling to keep up with the course you are taking while at the same time trying to juggle the other courses you are required to take, then this might be for you and if this sounds like what you really want to do in order to get an education and to try to learn what you need to learn to get a job in manufacturing if that is what you want to do where the hours are long and the pay is not proportional to the work hours then by all means sign up. As I stated, my advice is stay away from the School of Applied Technologies and any class offerings listed under that school as they are not worth the money spent to take them.