SCAD in general

Colleges and Universities A-Z Savannah College of Art and Design
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<p>Even if it were, I think that the country needs schools that will give people a chance who haven't had the opportunities for first-rate preparation that most of the people on CC seem to have had. I personally have a certain amount of respect for schools that will let you in and see whether you sink or swim.</p>

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<p>Scad is a nice art school, Computer arts majors are their strongest department. animation, visual effects, motion graphics, interactive, game.
of course there are some not so good students, but there are also quite a few very creative strong students. some students work is beyound industrial level. besides, as a design major, your portfolio speaks more than your school name.</p>

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<p>?Something like 5000 to 7000 kids a year attend the college. Taking the word of one individual is probably not a good idea. Maybe soleseek is one of many who are dismissed after one year because he/she failed to maintain an appropriate GPA? Apparently the student failed to get past year-one - based upon the comment on "foundations" profs.?</p>

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<p>?a. Arrogant and unapproachable? I never had that experience except for 1 prof during my education. How many profs did this student actually "approach" in one year? What kind of attitude did the student display in general? Generally I would say that if you are a sincere student who puts forth committed effort, you will always be treated with respect. During my experience as a student, I wrote letters to the President of the College on two occasions, and in both cases she responded to my requests immediately.?</p>

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<p>b. What is "university" appeal? It is a city campus. It has buildings scattered throughout the city. Students can walk or ride bikes, or take the school bus system. It does not have a self-contained campus. If that is what you are looking for, then do not go there. </p>

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<p>d. Savannah is not a "safe" city. All cities have crime, so what city is safe? Some student housing is on the fringes of ghetto areas. Yes a student was raped off campus in the city. and this would be a matter for the Savannah Police. The student went to a location known to be dangerous. The college takes great precautions to protect students. My advice is to use common sense during the evening hours. I have lived in the area for more than 12 years and have never been victimized by any crime. </p>

<p>Visit this page: <a href="http://www.scad.edu/about/security/index.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.scad.edu/about/security/index.cfm&lt;/a> and you can even call the Director of Security. The number is listed. </p>

<p>g. The "fraudulent degree" was documented online by an "irate" professor whose prof. wife was dismissed for a serious offense - a fact he always hid. I don't know exactly what happened, but he was obviously looking for some kind of revenge in his accusations. This is my opinion.</p>

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<p>I think that all of RainingAgain's comments are valid and should definitely be considered. I do not want to come off as sounding hostile in any way. I think that anyone should consider both sides of a story in any given situation. I must ask, are you still in the field in which you majored in? How much did a degree from SCAD contribute to your success? And yes, it is true ? they will accept just about anyone. Maybe not so much now because they are expanding so much.</p>

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<p>//check monster.com postings for SCAD ? there are always open positions. Maybe they are adding professors? Or maybe they are replacing them? Or maybe the Professors are replacing themselves?//</p>

<p>Faculty retention was 95% last year. The school simply keeps growing. They have been hiring non-stop for ten years because of growth. </p>

<p>//Yes, everyone encounters good and bad professors, and maybe they have weeded out many of the bad ones since I was there.//</p>

<p>Partly, it is a numbers game. The college has grown so quickly that it cannot be as picky when hiring new faculty, and to some extent as quick to dismiss them as well. Problem? Yes. As a student, as you should at any college, find out who the good ones are and avoid the bad ones. I am very familiar with many faculty having attended the college, worked alongside, and maintain relationships and attend social events. Overall I have observed the quality to improve year by year from what I can observe and from what people are telling me.</p>

<p>//That aside I would still recommend viewing the site here:
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/200503080...nfo/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://web.archive.org/web/200503080...nfo/index.html&lt;/a> //</p>

<p>First of all, the site is not active. The "professor" took it down. The link you provide is "archived" by third party. Second, you have to read deep into the text to understand his motives; his wife was fired. He allowed anyone to post anything. I wrote in response to some BS he posted as a correction and he told me to make my own website. He didn't want to do anything but destroy the reputation of the college; he wasn't interested in truth. He was simply vindictive. Third, no degree was ever awarded. </p>

<p>In effect what we have here - IMO - is a case of a professor assigned courses in order to upgrade his degree (he was from France and despite significant professional credentials, did not have the appropriate academic certification to teach, which the college requires). but because of scheduling issues, he was granted permission to not attend the classes, but to prodce the appropriate coursework for a grade...thus he can say that he never attended the courses listed on the transcript but received grades. However, he may well have produced the work as arranged; independently. Do I think the college was in error to some degree? Yes. I hink someone decided to cut a few corners. </p>

<p>You see...even if you have 30 years of industry experience, you must still hold a terminal degree in your field to teach at the grad level, and you are NOT considered as qualified as some one who went straight from HS to an undergrad degree to a MA or MFA w/o any industry experience. Does that sound nuts? Sure, but both NASAD and SACS have established this standard. Sometimes faculty with significant industry exp. could be hired if they simultaneously pursued and completed an MA or MFA.</p>

<p>//I am astonished that Paula Wallace responded to your complaints.//</p>

<p>Paula was provost at the time and Richard was the president. Now she is the President and is constantly on the go; however I am told that she does read every email sent to her ( <a href="mailto:pwallace@scad.edu">pwallace@scad.edu</a> ). Whether or not she responds or delegates or forwards the message is unknown to me, but I am told that she reads all of them. Also..who said I complained; what I did was to express a concern. You get better action depending upon your approach.</p>

<p>//And yes, it is true ? they will accept just about anyone. Maybe not so much now because they are expanding so much.//</p>

<p>The college symbol is a bee, which aerodynamically - maybe based upon weight ratios or something, really shouldn't be able to fly, and yet it does. The principle the college was founded upon was to give students with interest and passion a chance...to fly...even if they weren't yet aerodynamically prepared. In recent years, because of the school's popularity, I was told that many many more applications are received and thus the college can be more picky. But...because the college is family-owned, I do think they are also interested in numbers and dollars. </p>

<p>If you want to know how some grads are doing, visit the online alumni page and see where people are working.</p>

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<p>Our son attended SCAD and has been working in the computer gaming industry for about seven years. He seems ridiculously happy. </p>

<p>When he was there, we were told that the reason for high turnover among faculty members is that SCAD felt tenure was counterproductive to their mission of employing cutting-edge instructors -- teachers who were keeping up with the latest technologies, not Ph D's who were only interested in research and their next book. </p>

<p>The student body at SCAD is so diverse, it was hard to get a feel for how many of them were happy. I think the best measure of the school's worth might indeed be to scan their alumni pages. SCAD graduates appear to be getting jobs. And isn't that the whole idea?</p>

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<p>I know the full story about the Professor. That aside, the comments from former students, faculty, parents, and alumni are not to be avoided. I am posting all of this because I think that people should know some things about the school that is not advertised in their clever brochures. As with the student body increasing, it truly is alarming. And the opening of the Atlanta campus is another indicator of SCAD's intentions to grow even more, there could possibly be SCADs of SCADs! Ha! The alumni page on the SCAD homepage is of course going to tell you of all kinds of grand jobs that SCAD students get after graduation. The problems with a lot of majors is that the job market is becoming heavily saturated - that makes it harder to get a job after school. Shoe66, your son is a lucky one, he got into the industry before every institute started offering game development degrees. Raining Again, you never answered my question. How much has SCAD contributed to your success after school? Just curious. Have a nice day everyone.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>If placement is the worry, I can at the very least vouch for the placement of my own students. You can view my interaction students here: <a href="http://employeepages.scad.edu/%7Ejkolko/_InteractionMinor/studentsAlumni.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://employeepages.scad.edu/~jkolko/_InteractionMinor/studentsAlumni.php&lt;/a> .. 21 of 23 are employed in their field, are making a huge amount of money, are enjoying their jobs, and write me emails on a continuous basis. They are employed at Target, Otto Bock, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Cooper, IDEO, XPlane, Intel, etc. </p>

<p>I would question any statement that attempts to categorize a 7000+ person institution in a blanket way.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Jon Kolko
Professor, Industrial & Interaction Design
Savannah College of Art and Design</p>

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<p>Honeypi......"former" students usually are unhappy. I have two different friends who have children at SCAD. One is a senior (female) and the other is a freshman (male). Both are very happy. Try to find some current students or grads to talk to about their experiences</p>

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<p>RainingAgain, how would a student go about finding how who the good teachers are, and which ones to avoid? Especially as an incoming freshman?</p>

<p>And thanks to both you and jkolko for sharing your SCAD staff perspectives.</p>

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<p>ktwofish: Thanks. I have found someone at my church whose son is a freshman at SCAD, so I am going to get in touch with them.</p>

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<p>//RainingAgain, how would a student go about finding how who the good teachers are, and which ones to avoid? Especially as an incoming freshman?//</p>

<p>Incoming freshmen do not have a choice the first quarter because admissions assigns the classes. During the first quarter, and in anticipation of the second, just ask around. Other students will tell you. Or, look at the work hanging on the walls. What profs are doing interesting and well-executed projects. I would guess that the foundation year may be a little difficult to grasp, but once you get in your major, the profs reps are better established.</p>

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<p>Thanks, good tips!</p>

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<p>can u compare SCAD to schools like Pratt or RISD? can SCAD be considered to be around their level?</p>

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<p>// dhillman - - can u compare SCAD to schools like Pratt or RISD? can SCAD be considered to be around their level? //</p>

<p>You certainly can compare, in that they are comparable. Better to compare majors however than schools specifically, and that's a really difficult task. RISD has been around for a long time and it's rep is well-established. SCAD is a new school, and has grown at an aggressive pace which is good and bad; a. they are determined to be the very best, but there have been some growing pains along the way. At the moment I think it is a very good school, and some depts. might be excellent, but overall RISD would be considered an elite school.</p>

<p>I've heard some things about Pratt lately from ex-Pratt profs presently at SCAD which lead me to believe that they are near equal. But...this is all a matter of opinion. Ultimately, you determine the quality of your education through your initiative, effort, and research. </p>

<p>I'm sure that each college may or may not appeal to different students on different levels. IMO, visiting the school, sitting in on a class of interest, speaking to a department chair, looking at the student work, exploring and researching the locations, etc will help you to decide for yourself.</p>

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<p>//I am posting all of this because I think that people should know some things about the school that is not advertised in their clever brochures. As with the student body increasing, it truly is alarming...The alumni page on the SCAD homepage is of course going to tell you of all kinds of grand jobs that SCAD students get after graduation. //</p>

<p>First, the disclaimer:
I am not a staff, employee, parent of a student, or student at SCAD; never have been. All I am is a parent doing research for my D, and a person with a LOT of personal knowledge and experience with Savannah. Soleseek, I find your comments, referenced above, amusing. Would you please show me ANY of the schools discussed in cyberspace, art specific or otherwise, who use their promo literature and/or websites to highlight the flaws of their school? Get real. Ultimately school is what you make it and these days it boils down to several issues: 1) Is the degree/program a fit? 2)Is the environment a fit? 3) What is the rate of job placement/grad school placement? 4)Is the cost in line for the individual that is attending.</p>

<p>As for the safety issue - again, while Savannah appears to be a sleepy little historical town, it is a BIG Metropolitan city. Given that it is the mecca for the Girl Scouts of the USA and thousands of little girls are taken there every year literally without incident (including my own troop of 10 six-graders who did several WALKING tours at NIGHT downtown), as long as one uses common sense, one should be safe.</p>

<p>And, pray tell, WHY is growth "frightening"???</p>

<p>While discussion boards such as this are interesting and you can get some good practical advice on things like which dorm is good and whether a campus is big/small, spread out/compacted, etc...Ultimately this is ALL opinion and I would not recommend picking or NOT picking a school based mostly on things read here. (No disrespect CC :) )</p>

<p>Everyone do your own research (and I don't mean cruise the bulletin boards of the internet).</p>

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<p>More anecdotal evidence:</p>

<p>my cousin is there and loves it. He is a very talented artist and SCAD was by far his first choice. I guess that isn't very specific, but it is a strongly positive review from one student.</p>

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<p>Quick question: which cell plans have good coverage in the SCAD area? I'll be adding a phone for my daughter soon, and no point in reupping with Verizon if it's no good there.</p>

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<p>I don't know about Verizon, but I have a Sprint phone and it seemed to work fine there. When is your visit to SCAD, Moominmama? Did your daughter decide on SCAD?</p>

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<p>We'll be strolling the streets of Savannah two weeks from today! As for deciding, in her mind, she has, but she is only a junior. SCAD does seem like a good fit for her interests, but I'm getting her to apply to a couple of other places as well, SVA and maybe RISD in the art school category.</p>

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<p>My daughter is a Senior. A year ago she was 'set' on going to Skidmore. After visiting several schools and doing some homework, she decided to not even apply there. In fact 3 out of the first 4 schools we toured, with great anticipation, she quickly eliminated from her list. She ended up applying to 3 art (SCAD, MICA, MassArt) and 2 liberal arts schools (Towson and Syracuse).</p>

<p>She was accepted to all but fell in love with MassArt & Boston in general. I just sent the deposit in this morning. She is set. So keep an open mind and keep looking.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>