Full Sail University reviews

This company is a textbook example of a "toxic workplace". Narcissism, nepotism, shady business practices, questionable education techniques, low morale and a creepy, cult-like devotion to senior managers define the corporate culture here. If you come here thinking you are actually going to be a teacher you will soon find yourself frustrated. The fact that admissions counselors make 3 times as much money as instructors should be an immediate red flag. Many instructors don't make it past the first few months. Most of the people at the top of this company graduated from the school and immediately went to work there without any real experience in the real world. Almost all of the staff are under-qualified and it shows in the quality of their classes. The company literature touts the staff as "industry professionals" but most have little practical experience in their industry. 12 hour days and overnight shifts are common. The hours leave little time for any outside social activities and internal social activities are required with attendance being taken. Seriously, what kind of company actually does that? The senior management only speaks to underlings condescendingly if at all. Communication is one way. Management does not respond to e-mails or phone calls but if you don't respond to their requests immediately....even if you are in the middle of a class...you will be in big trouble. The senor management doesn't seem to socialize with anyone outside the company and a large number of them are married to other senior managers which makes the atmosphere very strange. Morale is low and you always feel like someone is watching you ready to pounce at the first mistake. Student numbers are down and management's solution was to freeze pay raises, cut off bonuses and reduce hours. They will still spend millions of dollars on parties and celebrations...events that requires staff to do all of the manual labor but they claim they are unable to pay a living wage. Lower level management is abusive and petty and the entire atmosphere seems like an out-of-control grade school playground with the bullies at the top of the food chain. Much of the instruction that students pay in excess of $80,000 consists of being being told to watch YouTube and Lynda videos. For the last four years several of my classes were taught using broken and out-of-date gear. If you are an educator or an industry professional older than 25 years old you will not last here. If you see your job as running faceless dollar signs through the program to make room for more faceless dollar signs you might actually survive. Never forget that this is a business first and a school last. You are there to serve the owners and not the students. If you really care about education do yourself a favor run away from this place. Your mental and physical health will suffer and when you burn out you will be swept out the door like so much garbage.

Where to start? They pay a non-negotiable $14/hr no matter how many years of experience or college you have under your belt. You get to be micromanaged by washed-up former Admissions Guides turned Team Leads who have drank the Full Sail Kool-Aid far too long they have no sense of reality or the outside world. They create a wonderful façade when you get hired on that Full Sail is a magical place where dreams come true. But in reality, every STUDENT is a LEAD and they want you to pull every trick in the SALES book to get them to apply. Check out Consumer Reports at the bottom of their webpage. This school is garbage.