Full Sail University; experiences, problems, accredidation?

No, but good choice on the Web Design and Development program!

I lived in the Orlando area for five years recently. I can only tell you that the campus has a lot of updated equipment. The facilities were very nice.

I went there for an interview as a representative of a non-profit for a TV show. The student-run video production unit was very professional.

Its reputation in the community is quite high.

They are actually a client of mine so I am probably a little biased, but their courses in web design are very comprehensive. Also they excel in online courses, far beyond any state university or community college which is a huge advantage for their students.

Here is a link to get more information http://www.onlinebusiness-degrees.com?key=ov_ms_education_media_design&v=overture&a=22925562137&c=MS+in+Education+Media+Design&cat=ms_education+media+design&mt={ovmtc:search:search:content}&emt={ovmtc:exact:broad:content}&est={ovkey}&st={ovraw}&ad={ovadid}&utm_source=overture&utm_medium=ppc

Sorry about that link it was from a marketing campaign and had tracking attached to it!

I have no idea about Full Sail University, but I’m a big fan of Full Sail Brewing Co.

@patg7590 – What do you want to do? And really, just as importantly, what type of company do you want to work for?

@funkdaddy I want to be a Web Designer/Ninja; be able to design, build, and manage anything a client wants; master Flash, Actionscript, javascript/ajax/jquery, (X)HTML, XML, PHP, CSS, MySQL, server side management etc.

@drClaw what exactly do you mean that they are a client of yours? Do students from there internship with your company or something?

Actually my company manages (online) marketing for them, we do some internships as well.

@drClaw thats cool. Can you tell me more about the accreditation?

I don’t know much more than what you can find online, but basically the way I understand it is that courses like Web Design are accredited as vocational. All this means is that state colleges don’t have to accept all of your credits if you transfer out.

doesn’t really seem like a school you would transfer out of anyway…
Thanks!

I think that the accreditation thing is more of a consideration for the people who go for things like business and want to get an MBA later.

Glad to help!

@patg7590 – sorry for the slow response. The reason I asked who you wanted to work for is to get an idea of how important a degree would be. Web design is still a business where a strong portfolio can trump most other things, a degree will certainly come in handy no matter what, but it would be more beneficial in larger companies that need to justify hiring you.

Do you want to work for a web firm? An ad agency doing their interactive projects? Yourself in your own shop?

I checked out Full Sail a few years ago when trying to decide if I wanted to go back to school. A few things made it seem less than ideal for me personally, these all may or may not apply to you, but just some things to think about.
– For the technology specific portions of their curriculum, it’s very Flash and animation heavy. I don’t mind Flash, but I was more interested in web applications.
– Courses like Art History, English Composition, and College Mathematics seem out of place in a concentrated, focused program like this. The whole point for me would have been to get in, get exposed to the best and brightest while cranking out some wonderful work, and then move on. I’m not arguing against a well rounded education, but it’s not what they’re offering.
– At $80k for 2 years, (and 80k I’d be taking in loans, assuming I worked to pay living expenses) I’d really want to come out ready to work on a job that I love, I didn’t know if it would really get me there. This may say more about my ideal work environment than the education they’re offering, but it’s something for you to consider as well. Does this help you reach your goals?
– a traditional four year degree isn’t as focused, but transfers a lot more easily into whatever I might do in the future. If I wanted to go back to school again later (for example an MBA as drClaw mentioned), or switch careers (perhaps photography for you?) I could do those things more quickly with a four year degree and credits that applied.

Ultimately I thought the program sounded great; a real school where they taught real web design as it’s used today in a great environment. It just didn’t fit what I was looking for and was well out of my price range.

If it will launch you into the career you want then by all means go check it out. Walk around their campus and talk to people. See if they can get you a day in the type of environment you’d ultimately be working in, or better yet, try to find an internship.

Whatever you choose I hope it works out wonderfully for you, these are exciting times and exciting decisions.

@funkdaddy so what did you end up doing? What do you do currently?

If anyone is taking online classes for web-design at fullsail university.
Can I follow along with you? I just want to learn the skills and don’t care for the degree. Plus, I defiantly don’t want to spend $57,000 for the knowledge.

- I’ll give you $50 a month to follow along = $600 per year
– You can turn in the work that I do as your own, as I follow along. (if you get behind or just don’t want to do an assignment)

I’m very serious about this offer.
If you are interested or know someone who might be, here is my email: luckyim491@gmail.com

Thanks in advance,
Lucky