Umass Dartmouth Reflection

I am currently on year six at Umass Dartmouth, and thus far it has been quite the journey. I have been a commuter for all six years and my experience hasn’t been too enjoyable. If I could restart my college experience I am not sure if I would not even put this school as a possibility. I have experienced some positive experiences at this school, but the negative aspects definitely outweigh the positive. However, this current semester has really changed my view on the University. Umass Dartmouth’s campus is definitely unique.
One thing that has always bothered me about Umass Dartmouth is the look of the buildings. The outside and inside of the buildings definitely help to impact the negative feeling I get about the campus. The campus is so gray looking that it makes me feel somewhat “gray’. The classrooms are very uncomfortable regarding seating, temperature, and desk space. One positive aspect of the campus is the layout. Personally as a commuter student I really like the “ring road” effect. I feel it makes the campus really navigable.
A big negative when I think about Umass Dartmouth is how I feel as though a large majority of the staff does not care about the students. I have had many experiences ith different departments of the school being very rude to me in different situations. I feel as though the advisors at least should be interested in your wellbeing at this school, but even with most advisors I have had awful experiences. I have switched majors a few times so I have experienced many different advisors.

Not every employee of the university has given me a negative experience. I have had a few professors who I felt were very dedicated to making sure I was learning and understanding the material. This is an aspect that I feel is very important, so I am rateful to have had the experience to be taught by some very educated, caring professors. The core business classes that I started taking as an operations management manger were a very good base to my major. The classes really helped to give me a broad understanding of different business areas.
The class sizes for these classes were medium sized which I thought was perfect for these types of classes. Most of the professors I had for these classes I felt taught me the material very well. However, I did come across one or two professors that I feel really did not benefit me at all. I really find it unfortunate there are professors in this university who do not teach the material well at all. At the end of a semester looking back at a class and feeling like I can take close to nothing from it really frustrates me.
I feel as though the university should really be monitoring the classes and spectating them. So far the operations management major required classes have been very good. The sizes of the classes are perfect. I have found all my classes very interesting, and felt the material is being taught very efficiently. I have learned more this semester than any other semester at Umass Dartmouth. One thing that I really have enjoyed this semester is the amount of class interaction. I have experienced a lot of class discussions and have done a lot of presentations.
I absolutely hated presentations at much more confident in giving presentations and participating in class discussions. Another part of this semester I have enjoyed regarding my major required classes was a recent trip I took toa manufacturing plant that one of my professors setup. I felt this was extremely beneficial. Being able to actually go toa real life plant and see concepts being used in real life really opened my eyes, and made me really excited to raduate and start my career to apply concepts I have learned.
My experience at Umass Dartmouth started out negative, but as I continued through it seemed to start to improve. This current semester has really impacted me positively. I feel as though these operations management courses are really starting to prepare me very well for my career. I really feel as though Umass Dartmouth’s campus is a very big negative for myself as well as for other students. If they Just added a little more color to every building it would really help to improve the atmosphere!