In a previous thread, someone suggested reading the Glassdoor reviews of HPU. They are worth reading. The review from December 8, 2015 is particularly disturbing and suggests (among other things) that HPU may not be for students who are able and engaged academically. The reviews are anonymous, so exercise due caution. Here: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/High-Point-University-Reviews-E128848.htm
Clemson is an awesome school
Students are treated like children at HPU
Isnât it common knowledge that High Point is more of a country club than a college? They accept anyone willing to pay the ridiculous decision, and it seems to all be spent on amenities to draw in even more paying customer than actual quality academics. Every person I know whoâs gone there was at the bottom of their class in high school, looking for an environment where they would be pampered, not challenged.
@deborahb - âWhat about FERPA?â Thatâs an excellent question. I worked at HPU for many years and will tell you right now that the current administration ENCOURAGES parents to call professors when they are concerned about their childrenâs grades. Students are given FERPA waiver forms to sign so their parents can call professors whenever theyâd like. There is a master list of who has signed the form and who has not. If a student has not signed the FERPA form, no problem, they can sign that form at anytime and then parents can call professors to their heartsâ content. I taught for several years at a well-known school in the midwest before coming to HPU and never talked to a parent during that entire time, but in my first week at HPU, I saw more parents than I could have possibly imagined. But what do you expect when the president tells the assembled masses at the start of each academic year âParents, donât worry - we will take care of your children.â I think that last bit may address your question on âadulthood.â
The Federal Educational Rights and Family Act (FERPA) establishes boundaries with regards to access rights regarding a studentâs educational records. HPU informs parents and students about the FERPA waiver so that families may have an informed conversation regarding student privacy. Naturally, HPU maintains a record of who has signed or not signed the FERPA waiver as this data informs our ability to disclose certain records to the parents of a student.
HPU does not âencourageâ parents to contact professors. However, we do appreciate that parents, HPU, and the student are all partners in the holistic educational journey. We are committed to providing an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people. We do believe it is possible to provide a challenging and rigorous academic experience and still treat students and parents with dignity and personal respect.
My kids is very interested in HPU. While itâs disconcerting to hear some students or parents speak poorly about the academics at this school, I have also read many positives. One thread on this same subject (regarding the lack of accreditation of the business school) mentioned a student who recently graduated and spoke of how very prepared she felt going out to interview for a job and had several strong interviews at Fortune 500 companies and had an attractive offer already. My son is looking at exercise science as a gateway to physical therapy. Itâs exciting to read about the new graduate program they are building and that the founder of the program comes from Duke "He is also a four-time winner of the âDuke DPT Excellence in Teachingâ award and a three-time nominee for Duke Medical Centerâs prestigious Master Clinician Educator Award. I believe that High Point knows of their shortcomings and are working to raise the level of excellence. Every interaction I have experienced in communicating with the school has been professional and impressive actually. Ultimately my son will return to campus of the schools where he has been admitted before he makes the final decision.
KatcapâŠâŠ
You might take a look at the U.S. News stats on the GPA of incoming students at HPU (you may have to pay to see the full stats). HPU accepts a very broad range of students in terms of GPA, test scores, etc. If there is an issue with academic rigor at HPU, part of the problem may derive from that fact and the school may not be able to make progress unless it is able to become more selective. The faculty has to work with the students who are admitted.
You might also take a look at the US Department of Education stats on faculty salaries. You will find that HPU falls well behind a lot of the public universities in the UNC system (most, I think), that it falls further behind more selective private schools and that it is light years behind schools like Wake and Duke.
Salaries donât really tell you anything about teaching ability, but they do push back against the idea that HPU has been pouring money into the faculty in the same way it has been pouring money into the campus.