CSI Takes No Responsibility After Misinforming Graduate Student

By: Anthony M. Acevedo

With aspirations to be a full-time teacher, Anthony’s passion is also for his faith in God. Photo Credit: Anthony M. Acevedo 

A former graduate student shared his experience with the mounting issues CSI is facing within their academic advisement department after being abruptly dropped from his graduate program in Education.

Anthony Mulkay, 26, is considering becoming a pastor or deacon one day. He currently takes online seminary courses while finishing his MA in Education with Touro College.

Anthony explained how Touro College makes sure he knows what tests and certificates he needs after he graduates to be a teacher. “I have to say the professors have been very good at Touro.

“They do in person classes and online courses so you get to experience both. Overall, the professors are always very informal, always willing to answer questions.”

Unlike Touro, Anthony confessed that CSI had him running around like a ‘turkey without a head.’

Anthony shared, “It doesn’t matter how good your guidance counselor is if you cannot be informed by the administration and what the administration requirements are.”

Anthony elaborated on his experience with CSI’s graduate program during his Spring 2018 semester. His GPA as an undergrad was a 3.0, and his grad GPA was a 2.3 due to taking graduate classes before entering the education program.

“They told me I was on academic probation but the problem with that was they said just graduate with 3.0. I did exactly what they said, I averaged a B.” Anthony expressed with disappointment, “I was on my way to get a 3.0 about the time I was due to graduate.”

“Two weeks before my finals, two years into the program, they told me I had to average an A- that semester, not overall.” Anthony shared about the administration of the education department.

They failed to tell him clear requirements he needed before his semester began. “Two weeks before my finals, they told me they would terminate me from the program.

“I got two B’s and I got kicked out for getting B’s. I think CSI is disorganized in terms of how they inform.” Anthony’s experience is not uncommon with CSI’s education department.

An anonymous student who was taking a Creative Non-Fiction Workshop with Professor Ava Chin during the Fall 2018 semester expressed dissatisfaction with the Education Department as well.

She was working full-time as a teacher and providing for her husband and child while going to school. In order to satisfy the administration’s requirements, she had to leave her full-time job as a teacher and do a two-month unpaid internship as a teacher somewhere else.

She was outraged over the ineptitude of the Education Department. Why wouldn’t the Education Department allow her to satisfy her internship requirement at her teaching job?

Advisement issues at CSI have such unsatisfactory reportings that General Advisement in 1A has snatched up Jennifer Durando from the English Department to oversee all of General Advisement. She went from being a full-time professor to being a full-time advisor for the English Department.

Jennifer Durando was and still is legendary among many English students who have gone to her for advice and advisement.

“The counselors in the education department are also professors, they’re so overloaded with lectures and work that they neglect or don’t know the information to give to the students.” Mulkay added, “They should hire full-time advisors so the professors could focus on teaching and the students could be properly informed.”

Mulkay also recollected his work as a part-time substitute teacher while pursuing his MA and doing online seminary.

“Being a substitute teacher is great, I wouldn’t say it’s a lifetime position, but it’s a great job for when you retire or for when you go to school for your masters.”

“When I first started subbing, the schools wouldn’t give you work, you’d have to bring your own material and your own stuff.” Mulkay explains that he always prayed that his students in these situations would do the work he brought for the day.

“Make sure you find the right schools that you would want to sub at. It is usually the disorganized schools that don’t give you the material.”

“The work is definitely worth the pay, because it’s $185 for one day of work and you usually work between 6 to 8 hours.” Composed, Mulkay is content with his current job for now. “You need a bachelor’s degree to be a substitute teacher, for an education dropout who got over 20 credits, I would say it is a great job to have.”  

Mulkay was asked for any closing thoughts or advice for anyone considering going into graduate school at CSI. He was elated to offer help to anyone in such a situation.

“They have good professors there, but do your own research on their policies. I trusted my advisors too much. Make sure you check the paperwork on the policies, programs, and all that stuff on your own.”