They don't do what they say they will. They don't have what they say they have................... *Hyped up representatives take advantage of prospective students with fast talking and false claims. *Unexpected expenses. *Frequent instructor turnover. *Instructors reeking of alcohol. *Many classes don't teach you all that they were supposed to cover. *Broken down and obsolete equipment. *Overcrowded computer labs. *Their accreditation is shoddy at best. *Apparent racism observed. *Students left frustrated. I unexpectedly found that the only school which honors an Al Collins Associate of Arts Degree in Visual Communication is California Arts College in California. I found they didn't have equipment they had advertised on TV. Also, Equipment constantly broke down and wasn't repaired on time, which made assignments late and class projects went uncompleted. Upon completing a video concepts course, the instructor had been fired and a group of students' portfolio pieces had been either lost or stolen. My typography class didn't teach what it was supposed to cover in depth and the instructor ended up being fired. An instructor in me Macintosh production class came in every week reeking of alcohol. More than 4 absences in an 8-week class drops a student from that class. I did observe that white students, who would be excessively absent, would still pass, but persons of minority backgrounds, especially Mexican, were being dropped... even excellent students and a women who had a baby! I was told extra expenses for class materials were taken care of by a part of my tuition, but I would have to reach into my own pocket for over $1000 in extra expenses. Such as : Zip drive $200 Portfolio $53 Portfolio printing $300 Design Process $160 (photo shoot - costume rental) Typography (photo shoot) $150 Photography (photo shoot) $167 Total $1,030 What happened here to me happened to many others! Most of the students like me received Federal grant monies. I know they should be envisaged. A Former student Cali D. Tempe, Arizona ....UPDATE 8-19-00 .... Theodore Sistrunk [SMTP:bullfiddle@earthlink.net] To: info@ripoffreport.com Cc: Subject: Rebuttal to Report Sent: 8/20/00 2:53 AM This is not a rebuttal but an addition to the Al Collins graphic Design School. I was considering attending. As a requirement of my financial aid, I called 5 places advertising for graphic artists & asked them, ..."If I was an Al Collins grad, would you consider hiring me?" ..They all said no! Frizz Allen test2 test40