Thread about Holberton School and the bootcamp warning signs

While I was initially supportive of these institutions, I'm now a lot more skeptical. I just don't see the value-add. The incentives don't seem to be aligned and the fact that these institutions are backed by VCs makes me especially suspicious since the VC model requires rapid growth or else dissolution.

That financial model makes absolutely no sense for an educational institution. If you're getting an education you want the institution to be around for a while. Whereas if you're a VC you could care less if it dies if it doesn't deliver 10X returns.

I don't see a positive ending for these types of institutions unless something really radical changes in their business models.

I appreciate your willingness to participate in these threads, be transparent, and show how hands-on you are with your school/students. However, I’m going to put you on the spotlight for a bit if that is ok.

Right now, Lambda School is young enough that the amount of collected outlier feedback can be easily remembered. Doubly so since you can still interact with this outlier population at the scale you operate at. However...

1. Instead of the bottom 0.1%, what about the bottom 1% or 10%? Will you be able to remember/account for all of these students as you grow in scale over a long period of time? What’s your strategy for this?

2. There will come a point where one person cannot handle all of the outliers. There will also come a point where your priorities are pushed elsewhere. Do you feel that it’s more important for you to be central in handling these issues or will this responsibility be handed off? How will quality be ensured?

I agree that you should not extrapolate from such a small sample size. However, I believe that to take ownership after a spotlight has been shone upon the worst instances would be to not discredit the feedback. Instead, offer up the insights on what actual patterns emerged from larger population findings, own any that correlated, and show how these were/are planned to be addressed.

Individual teachers have to deal with this all the time. Sometimes with additional metrics evaluating their every move. It would be nice to see someone at a higher institutional level be an example of how negative outliers are handled, not only from the bottom up, but from the top down.

Lastly, while Lambda School might be an exception, that doesn’t mean all bootcamps operate the same.

The criticism students have is not that we want the school to be ruined or shut down. The reason why a lot of students don't want to speak up is because they're still looking for jobs in the industry and are afraid of backlash or just "tainting" themselves before getting their foot in the door. Maybe it's irrational, but it's a real fear coming from someone just starting out in the industry.

The purpose is that we want them to be better, to be held accountable for the experiences that they're offering to students who pay that $85k. Everyone coming in to the program is aware of the peer-learning, ISA, etc. However, it's gotten this far because there were promises made that weren't fulfilled, and despite all effort to speak to staff and even the co-founders about the problems, none of them ever listen or do anything about it. One of the former students suggested a "Suggestion Box" and was told she didn't belong in the school. It's extremely frustrating.

They've held Town Halls where students have suggested very real, actionable criticisms but it gets waved off. What's the point of having a Town Hall? Sure, there are students who are successful, but there are a ton of other students who come out struggling to find a job with little to no support from the school. They accept anyone and forget those that graduated and need help. They spend money on PR and ads and parties instead of hiring real staff with legitimate education experience. Instead, they hire former students to build out the curriculum. The second year curriculum's all made by former students and is buggy and not particularly great so no one's interested in taking the second year.

It doesn't have to be perfect, but for $85k, it needs to be better. Much better.

Also, note that it's 17% of gross income, so before taxes and benefits...