collins college Al Collins Graphic Design School game production, game art, game design PHOENIX, Arizona

In 2009 - 2010, I stumbled upon a school named Collins College, which offered a Game Art degree. It was my dream to be a part of the video game industry doing video game art. While I was debating whether to attend, I called a few months later and found out that the program had changed to Game Design and they no longer offered Game Art. The counselor told me that the program was only different by a couple of classes but nothing else would change. The college is located in Arizona and I was in Colorado, so I took a trip there to take a tour of the school and find out more information.

While speaking with a counselor he told me that the school was accredited and that I could transfer my credits for any classes taken if for any reason I decided that the program was not right for me and I wanted to transfer to another college. There seemed no reason not to go. I understood that I could obtain my degree at Collins in a two-year period but that if I had to go back to Colorado for any reason the credits would be transferable. I did research the schools accreditation prior to attending and it seemed legitimate. This is directly from the colleges website:

Collins College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to award Associate degrees and Bachelors degrees. Collins College is licensed by The Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education.

And this is from the ACICS website, (the accreditation board that gives Collins College its accreditation):

Founded in 1912, ACICS is the largest national accrediting organization of degree-granting institutions. We accredit professional, technical and occupational programs, and are one of two national accreditors recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation with a scope that includes private postsecondary institutions offering certificates, diplomas and degrees from the Associates through the Masters.

Everything I had been told sounded great and my research seemed to indicate that the school was properly accredited as far as I could tell. So, I signed up to attend.  By the end of the first semester, I had made the Deans list, the Presidents list, and the honor roll. After the third semester, when my program was almost over, I was informed that the program was changing once again. They told that if I failed a single class I would not be able to take that class again (since it would no longer be offered), that I would have to change to the new program that they were offering, and that I would have to start all over from the beginning. None of my previous classes would count. I felt as though I had
been given an ultimatum and had no choice. I was pressured into doing the new program, which would add at least another year and a half onto my studies. After a break a new semester came and I never went through with the new program because of major medical issues, which forced me to return to Colorado.

After coming back to Colorado and regaining my health, I decided I was once again able to return to school. I choose a Greeley Community College. As I started to register, I handed in my transcript from Front Range Community College and tried to obtain my Collins College transcript but an employee told me that Collins College was not accredited and that none of my courses were transferable. I assured them that it was. I had been assured by Collins College that their program was accredited and transferable. It seems that everything the school had told me about their accreditation was not accurate. I was extremely upset that I had wasted 1 years of schooling, and a large amount of student loans, on classes that I could not transfer after all.

I am not a professional administrator or school accreditation specialist. In addition to assuring that the school was accredited through research, I had to rely on the word of the school itself regarding the transferability of classes. They assured me the classes were transferable; I had no reason to believe that they not were being truthful. I am not a lie detector. I did my best to do my due diligence to ensure that the program I chose was accredited and that the classes would be transferable if necessary. I do not relish the thought of having to repeat classes that I have already taken. Nor do I want to have to spend money to retake classes. However, I do want and need to get my degree, so I have no choice in that.