I'm proud to be a student of Ashford and I will be proud to be a graduate. Not because of their athletic program, or because they have the most beautiful campus around, or because the school has a prestigious name, but because of people like Dr. Lee Meadows, one of the best professors I have ever had the pleasure of working with regardless of what school I have attended. It's people like him that separate good schools from the best schools.
I had some wonderful professors at Southwestern College; in fact all of them were great to one extent or another. I have also seen the same thing at Ashford University, however Dr. Meadows has the dubious task of taking people who have majored in areas of study that do not usually include Accounting, Finance and Quantitative Methods. When I first entered the course I was scared. When I made a 30% (that's right, out of a 100% margin) on my first week quiz I was positively mortified by the course. I had studied the material, read the lesson plan and worked so hard to understand this stuff and all I could pull out was a 30% for my efforts. I truly hit a low point in my academic career.
I pulled a couple of all night study sessions at my local Waffle House and tackled my first week's assignment with a little help from a professional Accountant who was a friend of my brother. I would ask what are in retrospect, some very dumb questions and even emailed Dr. Meadows directly and he always responded fully and on topic, which is somewhat rare for busy professors. But what makes Dr. Meadows special is that he was always positive and encouraging. He had a class full of people like me and was always giving us encouragement, kind of like your parents probably gave when you were first trying to ride a bike but without sounding patronizing. He was patient, friendly, eager to help and was always had a positive attitude. He replied to each and every single post, replied to our questions, gave helpful feedback on assignments and didn't make me feel like we were putting him out in the least, even when asking the same question 2 or 3 times, just phrased differently.
Ashford University did a good job hiring this guy and it is my hope for future students that they do everything to retain him. He earned every red cent of his pay and is a true gem among professors.
To the more cynical natured readers, I have received my final grade from Dr. Meadow's course and will not be seeing him again for the duration of my coursework at Ashford University therefore this blog post will have no impact on my grade. ;-) Hopefully this doesn't sound like butt kissing, but when someone does a great job I feel it is important to recognize it.
My belief is that good faculty makes for a good school whereas great faculty makes for a great school.