Metropolitan State University of Denver

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve graduated from my grad program at MSU. Very affordable, convenient class schedule tailored to the needs of those who work full-time and building their careers. I’ve gained a lot from the program, and even had a chance to participate in a paid graduate research project during the last semester. This is truly a place where diversity and hard work are celebrated.

Honestly I’ve had a great experience compared to CU Denver. Much cheaper and still accredited. Parking is kind of annoying. I was mostly an online student and things were very nice. My advisor actually cared unlike at CU Denver. I hear there’s problems with administration but I’ve never seen it. There’s also career fairs every year they spam your email with and professors bring recruiters into classrooms to talk about internships. Success is in your hands just like any other college.

It’s been a few years since I’ve graduated and been able to truly sit on this decision. My experience was ruined, I was one of the students that went through a pandemic & was still in school. I worked hard, cried many many nights. I was the first in my family to graduate let alone attend a university. When it came time for me to accept my diploma and walk the stage they didn’t even bother saying my name. He wouldn’t say my name as I graduated. This memory sticks with me & haunts me. I wish I could get my money back.. this was not worth it. And then this whole economy? No one cares that I got a degree. I should have done a trade school instead of wasting my time here.. especially for a staff that couldn’t bother to pronounce my name.. my Hispanic name but gloat and gloat that they have such a high Latino rate.. funny huh?

Being a transgender student, I didn't have a great experience with this university. I went through the process of changing my preferred name with the Registrar's office, and it would be completely random if the name change actually took effect. In class rosters, my preferred name was used without issue. However, when it came to getting emails congratulating me on honor roll and getting food from the university food bank, staff would refer to me using the name that I didn't want to be called. It's difficult to be enthusiastic about education when the university doesn't care enough about you to get your name correct. It also feels scummy to disrespect somebody's identity while they are reaching out for assistance. I didn't even attend graduation, since I had no idea if the name I put for the diploma would be respected during the ceremony. It seemed like no matter what I did, this was something I had to deal with while attending MSU Denver. For an institution that talks about how important diversity is, it was disappointing to be proven otherwise during my time here.

MSU is the best school. They support the students and they make sure they are well educated I also attended CU Boulder and Metro State University is far more supportive and better for students because the teachers are in smaller Classrooms. The teachers care.

Acknowledge that you need an affordable parking program for this school that doesn’t put students who can’t afford to do this everyday at further financial risk of exorbitantly overpriced parking tickets from the lovely Auraria Higher Education Center that y’all partner with. The cost of living and inflation is higher than ever, and this issue needs to finally be addressed while y’all continue to rake in millions of dollars a year from our tuition and plethora of fees.

This is a great school but the administrative failures I've watched happen to myself and others completely spoils that. You will get a quality education here, if you manage not to run into any university-caused roadblocks with financial aid and lose your chance to go. Before you folks say financial aid is difficult to navigate and they are here to help, that is bullshit. That was the entire problem. Nobody bothered to actually respond to me from the middle of the summer, until LAST WEEK. They do not answer the phone. I am too busy with work to go in person. They are certainly not here to help.

Final Update: To all those considering going into Cyber or Computer Information Systems: proceed with caution. Janos Fustos is the most garbage professor I have ever come across. Stressed out all of us this last semester. Multiple students had 4.0s and he ruined everyone's GPAs. Forced him to curve the final because everyone failed. We even had a meeting with him and his boss - extremely dismissive and defensive. Fustos is a tenured professor so he is virtually untouchable and can do no wrong. The man is coasting into retirement with absolutely zero passion for teaching. His tests consist entirely out of questions from back of the book and he believes memorizing is the best way to learn. His classes sit at the very end of the degree and he serves as a gatekeeper for the CIS and Cyber degree's and the programs do not allow any other alternative choices for professors. Unfortunately I'm too deep into my degree to switch schools. Yet another reason I WOULD NEVER AGAIN ATTEND THIS SCHOOL. Seriously the most incompetent administrative staff I have every had the displeasure of dealing with. Financial aid glitches: every semester. Updates to degree progress report: only when you call and ask. I have class I completed over a week ago that still show pending. I have classes that I dropped that still show as pending. Every time you call for help, you find yourself talking to uncaring and incompetent student employees that gatekeep actual staff that can actually affect change - and this is only if you are lucky enough to get you call answered. Timely answers to emails within even 2x the quoted timeframe: forget about it. I am so incredibly fed up with this sorry excuse of an institution. If I were not 7 classes away from graduating, I would be long gone. Am I going for a master's program after this? Yes. Does metro offer it? Yes. Will I attend metro again for graduate degree: not an ice cube's chance in heII. To MSU's response: if our feedback were actually important to you, you would have done something about these issues after years of others feeling the same way and your institution having a bad reputation. Please don't serve up template responses because it just makes you look even worse. Better off just not responding.