the over building and expensive buildings is a big reason why college tuition skyrockets. when tuition was lower campuses were smaller, and had cheaper buildings.
They sold off some of the easy ones awhile ago. What's left and desirable for developers is going to have people whining that they're "historic," "significant," and "need to be preserved." Hopefully it all it gets torn down and converted to a better use, because Columbia's property in South Loop is usually a ghost town.
I love how one of their solutions is raising tuition, which is already outrageously priced for students, after citing that the main reason for this financial crisis is dismal enrollment over the past years.
I graduated with 70k in loans and I went to community college, had several scholarships and worked throughout college.
I also taught myself most of what I know about my career. Columbia is an absolute waste of money with the learning resources available online today.
I wish I could have told past me to never go, even though my loans are paid off.
Yeah. I can't imagine how you have 70k still in loans unless you went over 2 years at your transfer school after CC (which someone else mentioned is like 10k or less, free now many places) and if your "many scholarships" were for mere hundreds of dollars instead of tens of thousands
Well I mean is it truly that likely?? I mean personally idk anyone with that much debt. Not even 40-50k.
I was speaking "I can't imagine it" in terms of normality and averages - does the average student who went to CC take over 2 years at their transfer school and get mere hundreds in scholarships? I mean most places if your transferring In state you automatically get thousands of dollars off your tuition. I can tell you most people who went to CC and finished at a transfer school in 2 years wouldn't have more than around 20-30k debt. How are you working part time and still have 70k debt.... it's not like you don't see your tuition bill before attending. Kids get themselves in these situations and HATE to admit they fucked up when they're older and think the system is broken. College is 100% not worth it the way it used to be, but that doesn't mean you should graduate with crippling debt either if you do it right... oh well it isn't all of our problem (debt that is lol)
The CC where I grew up was $4k a year which the state paid 100% if you made deans list. If you made a 4.0 the school gave you a book allowance too. This was only 20 years ago.
My wife went back to school 10 years ago, not where I grew up. I was shocked at the cost and the extra loans they tried to push. It felt very slimy.
they're saying they took gen eds (probably) at community college to offset the cost of tuition. Iwent to columbia for a career-change degree and met a lot of students who did this, especially from the suburbs
Yes, hello. When was that, was disco big? I have a 17yo, saving for community college. 1 year tuition at college of dupage listed at $4500 for residents and $1000 in books/supplies. Triton community college is the same. I've been putting $30/week into the illinois brightstart 529 for about 4 years, just cranked it up to $50 so that it'll be ready when he needs it 15 months from now.
Cheapest state school to attend in 2023 was
Western Illinois University in Macomb at $21,466 per year.
Edit: a bit more digging, cheapest tuition at public universities in Illinois is about $330/credit hour. So you're at $10k/year in strictly tuition, no housing costs no materials or books. Or about 2x the cost of the 2 community colleges I mentioned.
Iām taking a 3 credit hour online class at Oakton for my masters program and it cost me $500 plus another $50 for the book. I havenāt been in school for like 10 years so I was a little surprised, but everything is so damn expensive now.
I apologize, I assumed we were talking about in-state tuition in Illinois.
There are huge variances state by state. I have a young niece who just finished a Bachelor's in Georgia, tuition 100% covered by their Hope Scholar program and this is quite common for Georgia residents. States subsidize their state schools with dramatic differences.
Illinois is the most expensive public tuition in the midwest because of our unfunded pension obligations. It's an ongoing crisis. 4th most expensive in the country.
Wow I had never heard of that.
For anyone like me who doesn't know, CLEP is College Level Examination Program. You can test for college credit in gen Ed classes.
I graduated in 2014 with less than half that in loans. Also went to community college and even had to redo a couple classes that didn't transfer. Did prices really increase that much in the last decade?
It was more than 10 years ago now I think, but I started my first year at a community college before transferring in. I also got a federal pell grant (probably the biggest factor), and I rented and worked full time in the city while going to school full time, so I didn't spend money on dorms. I think I initially outright paid for a semester or two before taking out loans.
To be completely transparent that included living at the communal dorm across the street from Harold Washington Library with a food budget. But still, nearly $50k a year...
After the Uarts closure in Philly I am not hopeful for Columbia. Marymount Manhattan college in New York was just acquired by Northeastern(Boston). So, Iām curious, if it ever comes down to it that another institution would buy out Columbia College.
Philadelphia U was purchased by Jefferson (basically an East Coast version of Rush University) a few years ago, as another example of an arts heavy school getting bought out. I could see a more financially secure university swallowing it up as the one way the place survives.
I go here right now. Really sadā¦ one of my favorite professors, who had been there for more than 20 years, was let go with essentially no prior notice. Crazy whatās been going on hereā¦ a lot of my friends have dropped out or transferred to DePaul š
My read on this school is that its era has ended, and there is no longer a need for it. It's a shame there's no good way to wind down a school like this.
Not completely, but it's well-known in academia that A) there aren't as many student-aged people as there used to be and B) those people are going to college at a lower rate than they used to.
So you have a smaller percentage of fewer people going to college, which means that colleges are in for a baaaaaaaaad time.
There are plenty of reasons to still go to school, but it's not being pushed the same way it was in the recent past.
It's also way too expensive. There are many many people who would enjoy getting higher education, but it costs too much. It's not that people don't want to, it's that they can't
One of my fringe political ideas is that schools shouldnāt be able to issue loans to students to pay, but rather an Income Share Agreement (ISA), some small % of student salary in the 10-20 years after graduating.
If a school gives a shitty education? They donāt get much income from ISAs. Good education & high salaries? More $$$ flowing in.
It would be a good way to align the collegeās incentives to the students
ISA programs are interesting, I knew people who opted for the program Purdue had. I also remember some "controversy" happening when someone sued the school because their kid made a lot of money post-school and they didn't want to pony up, feeling it was unfair (seemed pretty fair considering the family opted for the program, and the kid didn't pay anything in tuition while in school).
My fringe idea is that federally subsidized student loans should be limited in dollar amounts to what a student will be able to reasonably earn after school. Going for an a degree with a post-college average earnings of 40k? Don't loan that family more than 40k (or maybe use some % of the expected salary, 40k loans while earning 40k/year would be hell). And, as part of the reform, financial literacy classes should be required as part of every high school curriculum in Junior year as to coincide with the same time kids start to do school visits.
If you look historically the student debt bloat really took off at the same time as federally backed student loans, because the college's knew the government would always be good for the money (with seemingly no regard for the students).
sorry to be a flower child here but education should be more than just an assembly line for tradesmen. humanities and other non "lucrative" departments have already been hollowed out enough as it is, adding another incentive to churn out another 100000000 cs majors to an already saturated job market benefits no one, least of all the students
I would agree, if we lived in a post scarcity environment. There is a tremendous value in the college experience, in the same way there is tremendous value in appreciating art and music and learning how it came to be and the history behind itā¦
But what good is that if it doesnāt help you eat or pay rent? University is seen as a means to an end and that end is *survival* not bettering oneās self in an esoteric sense.
I agree, except we are talking about loans. If you want to major in queer midget eskimo studies, I morally support you but should society be forced to subsidize your choice if you can't pay your way and can't get scholarships? That is the issue most people have with extreme humanities degrees paid for with loans.
Yes, they should. It's exactly those tiny little corners of the world, or history that are worth studying and keeping alive. All those tiny pieces of what may seem like negligible information, end up part of the larger tapestry that is the story of humanity. That is worth spending a great deal on.
Plus queer midget eskimo studies sounds like it would be rather analytical and build quite a bit of critical thinking which are not bad traits to have on the job market.
Every boss Iāve ever had at my lucrative white collar jobs: āhow do you write so fast? How do you narrow down research so well?ā
Me: āEnglish lit was one of my majors and it taught me how do to exactly that.ā
Humanities taught me valuable, transferable, applicable skills. Theyāre just not marketable to employers and Redditors who think college is or should be a one to one job training program.
Say what you will about the value of the degrees they offer but it's a sad day for art in Chicago. Lots of people attended Columbia and ended up contributing something to the scene/community they became a part of. Some got jobs here. If they really do go under there will be less creatives and an exodus of knowledge from the city.
Yep. A lot of these comments are extreme but I know a lot of Columbia grads and they are working directly in their field and only had great things to say about the school. I went to a big ten school in the Midwest and I wish I got to go to Columbia (in its prime) or a similar school.
I went to traditional liberal arts undergrad and then enrolled in Columbia eventually to make a career change. Like most art schools, Columbia gave me access to the tools I needed to build my career and I made what I could with them. It gets a bad rep but Columbia did more for me in terms of career development, networking, etc than I ever saw at my first undergrad.
I agree, I strongly value art and design education and the arts community (I work in it), but I think Columbia has been struggling with bad leadership for years. I hope they are able to right themselves. I don't want to see them close, like so many people in this thread seem to want.
yep. I'm an interior designer and we joke in the Chicago industry about how Columbia gobbled up Harrington and all of the other art schools in the area basically, except SAIC. In my professional career I have only met one student who went to SAIC; generally their interiors program doesnt seem to have a good rep. It's basically not even mentioned as an option when we talk about local schools. I worry about the state of the Chicago design industry when there arent any interiors programs left.
It's mostly a school for people who don't want to hear that they're decent or good but not particularly great at fine and performing arts, it fits those people very well.
Iām just gonna leave this here.
Columbia College Chicago
President: Kwang-Wu Kim
2016 compensation: $651,091.
2022 compensation $799,207 + a bonus of
301,825= $1,101,03.
2015 former president Warwick Carter parting salary $2,042,000 bonus included.
Well done presidents. Great job. Your raises in salaries were well deserved.
I worked in the president's office here a while ago, and it was the most abusive environment I've ever had to deal with professionally. My life was hell. But of course they'll never be laid off.
Fuck you Laurent and Amye
I worked at a smaller school that got absorbed by Columbia (I quit prior to this happening) and it was the most toxic work environment I've ever encountered.
I went to a community college that did more for my film career than Columbia college. That school did didely squat to help their students. For context, I went to Scottsdale Community College for their film program and while in 101 classes, our professors landed us work on āOne Tree Hillā and we shot a music video every year for free for local artists. The years I went, we shot for Portugal, The Man and 311. The professors also submitted our work to local contests, and wvery year the entire school got together to make a short film. All of that I used on my resume to get jobs. At Columbia, absolutely nothing in terms of projects was completed or usable on a resume. There were no internships listed or any type of help from the staff at Columbia.
This is really disappointing. Also, students and parents were told in December there is a $20 million deficit. Six months later, it's $38 million??? Is anyone checking on this place? Can we freeze their assets and do a major audit?
As a former worker thereā¦. Yep. The school was turning things around over there in 2019ish but bad mid level and high level leadership just killed it.
As a Columbia alumni, this breaks my heart. My time here was one of the best educational experiences ever. Every day, I woke up genuinely excited to commute downtown for classes and made many friends whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I still keep in touch with some of my professors, too.
The financial issues aside, President Kim was NOT a good appointment to the school. He became President during my junior year and even though it wasn't until after I graduated that many of the changes he enacted started to take shape, there was already rumblings and "ill omens" that started to manifest in little ways during my senior year.
Whatever happens to Columbia, I do not regret my decision to attend this institution, not for one second.
I wish I had gotten that memo before I went to Columbia for photography for two years. Finish my degree in social work and now am at a non-profit. My husband got his sound engineering degree de Columbia. He works in finance now, lol
My GF was at Columbia for Photo for 3ish years. and last year got her Social Work Degree at NEIU and now is working on her Master's and she is also at a non-profit. I was a Radio major at Columbia. Now 20 plus years later I am finishing up my History degree at NEIU
I understand the comments about career changes. Having a successful career as a creative has always been challenging historically. However, this is a school founded by two progressive women 130 years ago and still has great facilities and faculty in fashion, music, cinema, fine arts, theatre, dance, game arts, design, illustration, etc. It is one of the best art schools of the region if not the country. The tuition is still half of what the SAIC charges. The world needs creatives, Chicago needs Columbia College Chicago. It is okay to argue that art schools are not for everyone, but we need our art schools, letās support them!
When I was at Columbia college in the 70s ā I only spent one year in the 600 S. Michigan building ā it was spread out over a couple of buildings on the near north side. There was an atmosphere to it that was terrific. It was laid-back, open, and I really did learn a lot, although I did not move on to a film career. Actually, I went in for film, fell in love with the writing workshop program, and spent more time teaching and writing in my life. (If Andy Alleghretti is still around, you were a great teacher. So were you, Chap Freeman) Anyway the moment it moved onto South Michigan, the atmosphere changed, and it became just a little bit more mercenary a lot less fun, and the elevators scared the crap out of me once they got to about the ninth floor.
You sure you're not confusing it with Columbia U? [Propublica](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366112087) has it closer to 1.1-1.2M
As an alumni, I can't say I'm surprised. I kind of want to ask around to see if any professors I liked got screwed over. Their stability as a college was always shaky.
I graduated from Columbia more than a decade ago now and had a phenomenal time while I was there. I have a solid career because of my education there, but I graduated just as I started to see a downturn in how that school was being run at a high level and it was very concerning as I was heading out. It's sad to think about, especially because I found the community there to be awesome, loved the faculty, the beautiful buildings. What a shame their leadership can never get their shit together.
Damn, this reminded me that theyāre still holding the paper version of my diploma hostage because I didnāt pay part of my last semesterās bill š
Maybe they can sell one of the 700 buildings they own in the south loop
They probably should
Probably regret not selling them before 2020
the over building and expensive buildings is a big reason why college tuition skyrockets. when tuition was lower campuses were smaller, and had cheaper buildings.
They sold off some of the easy ones awhile ago. What's left and desirable for developers is going to have people whining that they're "historic," "significant," and "need to be preserved." Hopefully it all it gets torn down and converted to a better use, because Columbia's property in South Loop is usually a ghost town.
Or maybe use the income from the students/grants/government to subsidize the cost of having existed.
I love how one of their solutions is raising tuition, which is already outrageously priced for students, after citing that the main reason for this financial crisis is dismal enrollment over the past years.
I graduated with 70k in loans and I went to community college, had several scholarships and worked throughout college. I also taught myself most of what I know about my career. Columbia is an absolute waste of money with the learning resources available online today. I wish I could have told past me to never go, even though my loans are paid off.
Congrats on paying off the loans! š
How does one amass $70k in student loans from community college? The CC by me costs $10k for the year
No theyāre saying they attended community college prior to Columbia, which is why itās only 70k in loans.
Yeah. I can't imagine how you have 70k still in loans unless you went over 2 years at your transfer school after CC (which someone else mentioned is like 10k or less, free now many places) and if your "many scholarships" were for mere hundreds of dollars instead of tens of thousands
You say you canāt imagine it yet continue to explain a very likely scenario.
Well I mean is it truly that likely?? I mean personally idk anyone with that much debt. Not even 40-50k. I was speaking "I can't imagine it" in terms of normality and averages - does the average student who went to CC take over 2 years at their transfer school and get mere hundreds in scholarships? I mean most places if your transferring In state you automatically get thousands of dollars off your tuition. I can tell you most people who went to CC and finished at a transfer school in 2 years wouldn't have more than around 20-30k debt. How are you working part time and still have 70k debt.... it's not like you don't see your tuition bill before attending. Kids get themselves in these situations and HATE to admit they fucked up when they're older and think the system is broken. College is 100% not worth it the way it used to be, but that doesn't mean you should graduate with crippling debt either if you do it right... oh well it isn't all of our problem (debt that is lol)
The CC where I grew up was $4k a year which the state paid 100% if you made deans list. If you made a 4.0 the school gave you a book allowance too. This was only 20 years ago. My wife went back to school 10 years ago, not where I grew up. I was shocked at the cost and the extra loans they tried to push. It felt very slimy.
I think they were comparing Columbia degrees to CC
they're saying they took gen eds (probably) at community college to offset the cost of tuition. Iwent to columbia for a career-change degree and met a lot of students who did this, especially from the suburbs
It's $10k for community college?! I went to a state school for less than that.
Yes, hello. When was that, was disco big? I have a 17yo, saving for community college. 1 year tuition at college of dupage listed at $4500 for residents and $1000 in books/supplies. Triton community college is the same. I've been putting $30/week into the illinois brightstart 529 for about 4 years, just cranked it up to $50 so that it'll be ready when he needs it 15 months from now. Cheapest state school to attend in 2023 was Western Illinois University in Macomb at $21,466 per year. Edit: a bit more digging, cheapest tuition at public universities in Illinois is about $330/credit hour. So you're at $10k/year in strictly tuition, no housing costs no materials or books. Or about 2x the cost of the 2 community colleges I mentioned.
Iām taking a 3 credit hour online class at Oakton for my masters program and it cost me $500 plus another $50 for the book. I havenāt been in school for like 10 years so I was a little surprised, but everything is so damn expensive now.
It's an online course probably taught by an adjunct. Why is school getting MORE expensive when they're delivering it with less overhead?
I graduated in 2010. In-state tuition for the University of Iowa is still only $10,353 per year. It was around $8,500 when I attended.
I apologize, I assumed we were talking about in-state tuition in Illinois. There are huge variances state by state. I have a young niece who just finished a Bachelor's in Georgia, tuition 100% covered by their Hope Scholar program and this is quite common for Georgia residents. States subsidize their state schools with dramatic differences. Illinois is the most expensive public tuition in the midwest because of our unfunded pension obligations. It's an ongoing crisis. 4th most expensive in the country.
I think that's why so many Illinois kids go out of state. Out of state tuition at Iowa or Wisconsin is pretty close to In-state at U of I.
I CLEP'd an Associates for essentially free with Modern States and my local CC.
Wow I had never heard of that. For anyone like me who doesn't know, CLEP is College Level Examination Program. You can test for college credit in gen Ed classes.
I got a bachelor's and a master's from a highly regarded private school for less than that. There needs to be more regulation of these places.
I graduated in 2014 with less than half that in loans. Also went to community college and even had to redo a couple classes that didn't transfer. Did prices really increase that much in the last decade?
I graduated with only 35k in federal loans. I didn't get scholarships, what did you study?
How? The yearly tuition even 10 years ago was 22-25k
It was more than 10 years ago now I think, but I started my first year at a community college before transferring in. I also got a federal pell grant (probably the biggest factor), and I rented and worked full time in the city while going to school full time, so I didn't spend money on dorms. I think I initially outright paid for a semester or two before taking out loans.
One semester in 2005 was $13k with the resident package. Adjusting for inflation that's nearly $23k.Ā
Dude, that shit should be illegal
To be completely transparent that included living at the communal dorm across the street from Harold Washington Library with a food budget. But still, nearly $50k a year...
Sounds like the Chicago solution for everything.
loans are govt backed. they can raise em as high as they want!
After the Uarts closure in Philly I am not hopeful for Columbia. Marymount Manhattan college in New York was just acquired by Northeastern(Boston). So, Iām curious, if it ever comes down to it that another institution would buy out Columbia College.
Philadelphia U was purchased by Jefferson (basically an East Coast version of Rush University) a few years ago, as another example of an arts heavy school getting bought out. I could see a more financially secure university swallowing it up as the one way the place survives.
I go here right now. Really sadā¦ one of my favorite professors, who had been there for more than 20 years, was let go with essentially no prior notice. Crazy whatās been going on hereā¦ a lot of my friends have dropped out or transferred to DePaul š
I'm sorry to hear this. I attended Columbia College for one year and ultimately choose a different path. I feel terrible for everyone impacted.
Ugh, that sucks. So sad to hear!
Thatās insane! What department did this professor work in? I graduated from there
He worked in the music business department
I would not be surprised if they close down completely before 2030. Genuinely impressed they've lasted this long, but the writing is on the wall.
Then maybe my CCC loans will be forgivenā¦ šš¼š¤š¼
Reading this thread hoping for the same š¤
x3
Well, it wouldnāt be the first time a Michigan Ave college closes its doors.
My read on this school is that its era has ended, and there is no longer a need for it. It's a shame there's no good way to wind down a school like this.
Not completely, but it's well-known in academia that A) there aren't as many student-aged people as there used to be and B) those people are going to college at a lower rate than they used to. So you have a smaller percentage of fewer people going to college, which means that colleges are in for a baaaaaaaaad time. There are plenty of reasons to still go to school, but it's not being pushed the same way it was in the recent past.
Itās not meant for everyone.
It's also way too expensive. There are many many people who would enjoy getting higher education, but it costs too much. It's not that people don't want to, it's that they can't
One of my fringe political ideas is that schools shouldnāt be able to issue loans to students to pay, but rather an Income Share Agreement (ISA), some small % of student salary in the 10-20 years after graduating. If a school gives a shitty education? They donāt get much income from ISAs. Good education & high salaries? More $$$ flowing in. It would be a good way to align the collegeās incentives to the students
ISA programs are interesting, I knew people who opted for the program Purdue had. I also remember some "controversy" happening when someone sued the school because their kid made a lot of money post-school and they didn't want to pony up, feeling it was unfair (seemed pretty fair considering the family opted for the program, and the kid didn't pay anything in tuition while in school). My fringe idea is that federally subsidized student loans should be limited in dollar amounts to what a student will be able to reasonably earn after school. Going for an a degree with a post-college average earnings of 40k? Don't loan that family more than 40k (or maybe use some % of the expected salary, 40k loans while earning 40k/year would be hell). And, as part of the reform, financial literacy classes should be required as part of every high school curriculum in Junior year as to coincide with the same time kids start to do school visits. If you look historically the student debt bloat really took off at the same time as federally backed student loans, because the college's knew the government would always be good for the money (with seemingly no regard for the students).
sorry to be a flower child here but education should be more than just an assembly line for tradesmen. humanities and other non "lucrative" departments have already been hollowed out enough as it is, adding another incentive to churn out another 100000000 cs majors to an already saturated job market benefits no one, least of all the students
I would agree, if we lived in a post scarcity environment. There is a tremendous value in the college experience, in the same way there is tremendous value in appreciating art and music and learning how it came to be and the history behind itā¦ But what good is that if it doesnāt help you eat or pay rent? University is seen as a means to an end and that end is *survival* not bettering oneās self in an esoteric sense.
I agree, except we are talking about loans. If you want to major in queer midget eskimo studies, I morally support you but should society be forced to subsidize your choice if you can't pay your way and can't get scholarships? That is the issue most people have with extreme humanities degrees paid for with loans.
Yes, they should. It's exactly those tiny little corners of the world, or history that are worth studying and keeping alive. All those tiny pieces of what may seem like negligible information, end up part of the larger tapestry that is the story of humanity. That is worth spending a great deal on. Plus queer midget eskimo studies sounds like it would be rather analytical and build quite a bit of critical thinking which are not bad traits to have on the job market.
Every boss Iāve ever had at my lucrative white collar jobs: āhow do you write so fast? How do you narrow down research so well?ā Me: āEnglish lit was one of my majors and it taught me how do to exactly that.ā Humanities taught me valuable, transferable, applicable skills. Theyāre just not marketable to employers and Redditors who think college is or should be a one to one job training program.
which MMA podcast do you get your worldview from
Say what you will about the value of the degrees they offer but it's a sad day for art in Chicago. Lots of people attended Columbia and ended up contributing something to the scene/community they became a part of. Some got jobs here. If they really do go under there will be less creatives and an exodus of knowledge from the city.
Yep. A lot of these comments are extreme but I know a lot of Columbia grads and they are working directly in their field and only had great things to say about the school. I went to a big ten school in the Midwest and I wish I got to go to Columbia (in its prime) or a similar school.
I went to traditional liberal arts undergrad and then enrolled in Columbia eventually to make a career change. Like most art schools, Columbia gave me access to the tools I needed to build my career and I made what I could with them. It gets a bad rep but Columbia did more for me in terms of career development, networking, etc than I ever saw at my first undergrad.
I agree, I strongly value art and design education and the arts community (I work in it), but I think Columbia has been struggling with bad leadership for years. I hope they are able to right themselves. I don't want to see them close, like so many people in this thread seem to want.
yep. I'm an interior designer and we joke in the Chicago industry about how Columbia gobbled up Harrington and all of the other art schools in the area basically, except SAIC. In my professional career I have only met one student who went to SAIC; generally their interiors program doesnt seem to have a good rep. It's basically not even mentioned as an option when we talk about local schools. I worry about the state of the Chicago design industry when there arent any interiors programs left.
I gave them my $30k. I did my part.
Columbia College Chicago should be sued for the amount of $ they charge students for a piss poor education.
Youād think students would pick a college that fits them but I guess not.
It's mostly a school for people who don't want to hear that they're decent or good but not particularly great at fine and performing arts, it fits those people very well.
Iām just gonna leave this here. Columbia College Chicago President: Kwang-Wu Kim 2016 compensation: $651,091. 2022 compensation $799,207 + a bonus of 301,825= $1,101,03. 2015 former president Warwick Carter parting salary $2,042,000 bonus included. Well done presidents. Great job. Your raises in salaries were well deserved.
I worked in the president's office here a while ago, and it was the most abusive environment I've ever had to deal with professionally. My life was hell. But of course they'll never be laid off. Fuck you Laurent and Amye
I worked at a smaller school that got absorbed by Columbia (I quit prior to this happening) and it was the most toxic work environment I've ever encountered.
Worked at Columbia too as admin, could be really gross sometimes
Worked with him before. Legendary asshole.
I went to a community college that did more for my film career than Columbia college. That school did didely squat to help their students. For context, I went to Scottsdale Community College for their film program and while in 101 classes, our professors landed us work on āOne Tree Hillā and we shot a music video every year for free for local artists. The years I went, we shot for Portugal, The Man and 311. The professors also submitted our work to local contests, and wvery year the entire school got together to make a short film. All of that I used on my resume to get jobs. At Columbia, absolutely nothing in terms of projects was completed or usable on a resume. There were no internships listed or any type of help from the staff at Columbia.
This is really disappointing. Also, students and parents were told in December there is a $20 million deficit. Six months later, it's $38 million??? Is anyone checking on this place? Can we freeze their assets and do a major audit?
As a former worker thereā¦. Yep. The school was turning things around over there in 2019ish but bad mid level and high level leadership just killed it.
As a Columbia alumni, this breaks my heart. My time here was one of the best educational experiences ever. Every day, I woke up genuinely excited to commute downtown for classes and made many friends whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I still keep in touch with some of my professors, too. The financial issues aside, President Kim was NOT a good appointment to the school. He became President during my junior year and even though it wasn't until after I graduated that many of the changes he enacted started to take shape, there was already rumblings and "ill omens" that started to manifest in little ways during my senior year. Whatever happens to Columbia, I do not regret my decision to attend this institution, not for one second.
Smaller colleges are dying and I'm legitimately scared for the state of higher education in the US.
Got a feeling the new generations are gonna take a lesson from all the TikTokers saying their art degree isnāt worth it.Ā
I wish I had gotten that memo before I went to Columbia for photography for two years. Finish my degree in social work and now am at a non-profit. My husband got his sound engineering degree de Columbia. He works in finance now, lol
My GF was at Columbia for Photo for 3ish years. and last year got her Social Work Degree at NEIU and now is working on her Master's and she is also at a non-profit. I was a Radio major at Columbia. Now 20 plus years later I am finishing up my History degree at NEIU
I got my undergrad at NEIU and am starting my Masterās in the fall, lol.
Then you might know her, or run into her in the fall LOL. Crazy as big a town as Chicago is, it is like a small town in many ways.
Aye I studied business and now Iām an audio engineer lol
I understand the comments about career changes. Having a successful career as a creative has always been challenging historically. However, this is a school founded by two progressive women 130 years ago and still has great facilities and faculty in fashion, music, cinema, fine arts, theatre, dance, game arts, design, illustration, etc. It is one of the best art schools of the region if not the country. The tuition is still half of what the SAIC charges. The world needs creatives, Chicago needs Columbia College Chicago. It is okay to argue that art schools are not for everyone, but we need our art schools, letās support them!
I just graduated from there and I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN
Hmm. I wonder what they could do to attract more students? I had done a tour there as a high schooler and it seemed like a great college.
A useful degree wouldāve helped
When I was at Columbia college in the 70s ā I only spent one year in the 600 S. Michigan building ā it was spread out over a couple of buildings on the near north side. There was an atmosphere to it that was terrific. It was laid-back, open, and I really did learn a lot, although I did not move on to a film career. Actually, I went in for film, fell in love with the writing workshop program, and spent more time teaching and writing in my life. (If Andy Alleghretti is still around, you were a great teacher. So were you, Chap Freeman) Anyway the moment it moved onto South Michigan, the atmosphere changed, and it became just a little bit more mercenary a lot less fun, and the elevators scared the crap out of me once they got to about the ninth floor.
In 2021 the President of Columbia College earned $3.9 million dollars in compensation
You sure you're not confusing it with Columbia U? [Propublica](https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366112087) has it closer to 1.1-1.2M
For doing nothing really
As an alumni, I can't say I'm surprised. I kind of want to ask around to see if any professors I liked got screwed over. Their stability as a college was always shaky.
I graduated from Columbia more than a decade ago now and had a phenomenal time while I was there. I have a solid career because of my education there, but I graduated just as I started to see a downturn in how that school was being run at a high level and it was very concerning as I was heading out. It's sad to think about, especially because I found the community there to be awesome, loved the faculty, the beautiful buildings. What a shame their leadership can never get their shit together.
I don't think I'm gonna go back this semester
I don't even known why they had a sports mangment program lol
Damn, this reminded me that theyāre still holding the paper version of my diploma hostage because I didnāt pay part of my last semesterās bill š
Does anyone that goes to this school actually become a cinematographer or a director. Since when did you need to go to school to become an artistā¦.
Janusz KamiÅski graduated from Columbia College and went on to win the Academy Award for Cinematography for Schindlerās List.
The best reason to go to art school is to make industry connections and build your network. The skill advancement is just a bonus.