career services advisor

instructor

administrative assistant

medical assistant

data entry clerk

Carrington College

Working at Carrington College was one of the most stressful and toxic work environments I have ever experienced. The Enrollment Services team was treated like the bottom of the hierarchy despite being the department responsible for bringing in students and generating enrollment numbers for the campus. The expectations were unrealistic and exhausting — employees were expected to make 150+ calls a day and still somehow maintain high enrollment numbers, all while constantly being pulled into meetings that took time away from actually doing the job.

No matter what you did, it was never enough. If you talked to coworkers, it was a problem. If you stayed quiet and kept to yourself, that was suddenly a problem too. At one point, I was literally moved into a separate office because management thought I talked too much, only to later criticize me for isolating myself. The expectations constantly changed depending on the mood of leadership, which made the environment feel impossible to succeed in.

The management style was entirely fear-based. Instead of encouraging employees or helping them improve, leadership relied on criticism, pressure, and embarrassment. Kathy, in particular, rarely spoke to me unless I was “in trouble” or being criticized about performance. There was no mentorship, no support, and honestly very little professionalism. Employees were treated more like numbers than actual human beings.

The workplace culture was equally unhealthy. The environment constantly felt like high school drama rather than a professional college setting. At one point, multiple coworkers were barely speaking to each other, tension was obvious throughout the office, and management did little to address any of it. The toxicity was ignored while leadership continued obsessing over call numbers and enrollment statistics.

What made the experience even more frustrating was how disconnected upper management seemed from reality. They would occasionally show up, give generic speeches about “doing better,” threaten consequences if numbers didn’t improve, and then disappear again without actually understanding what employees were dealing with on a daily basis. There was very little accountability from leadership, but endless accountability expected from staff.

I eventually realized that I was not meant to sit behind a desk making repetitive sales-style calls all day, which led me to pursue EMT school — a career path that actually aligns with my strengths, personality, and ability to help people. Instead of being supportive, Kathy felt the need to tell me that I was “not meant” to be an EMT and that I lacked certain qualities for the field. That comment alone showed how little she actually knew me as a person. She judged me entirely based on how I functioned in a toxic office environment rather than recognizing that different people thrive in different careers.

A good leader motivates people, communicates effectively, and creates a healthy environment. Kathy did the opposite. If she was in a bad mood, the entire office felt it. Her inability to regulate her emotions affected the atmosphere constantly, and that is not effective leadership. Respect is earned through professionalism and consistency, not intimidation.

Overall, my experience at Carrington College made it very clear what kind of work environment I never want to be part of again. While I appreciate the lessons I learned about myself, I would absolutely not recommend the workplace culture or leadership experience I encountered there.

Now that I am out of that environment, I can clearly see how negatively it affected me mentally and professionally. I absolutely love my current job, and the difference is night and day. I have supervisors I can actually approach, speak with, laugh with, and have genuine conversations with without constantly feeling like I’m in trouble. I feel respected as a person instead of feeling like I’m just a number attached to performance metrics.

I also realized something important: the issue was never that I was incapable or unwilling to work hard. The issue was the environment. When I am comfortable, supported, and working in a position that aligns with my strengths, I thrive. I have proven that in previous jobs, including T-Mobile, where I had strong relationships with management, felt comfortable expressing myself, and performed very well because I was in an environment that allowed me to succeed.

At Carrington, I never felt comfortable enough to thrive. I felt anxious, isolated, constantly criticized, and emotionally drained. It is very difficult for anyone to perform at their best in an environment where they feel unsupported and constantly on edge. Looking back now, I can confidently say that the culture and leadership played a major role in why so many employees struggled emotionally and professionally.

And if anyone from Carrington ever reads this, everything I said is the truth. These are thoughts and feelings I often kept to myself while employed there because speaking honestly did not feel safe or welcomed. I chose to leave quietly and move on with my life rather than continue participating in an unhealthy environment. But that does not change the fact that my experience there was genuinely one of the worst professional experiences I have ever had.

So do not work here lol 



This is a real and honest review, I don’t know who gave 5 stars because EVERYONE I know in the department who is still there is miserable and many looking for work elsewhere. 

Typical day of work: 
Teaching class, creating content, covering other vacant jobs duties, student meetings, faculty meetings. Fast paced, high stress, the faculty never take lunch breaks, and have to ask around to get any updates from upper management or department plans because the communication is lacking. 

What I learned: 
I learned to advocate for myself because every day you have to fight corporate and management just to do your job. There are the most ridiculous procedures and policies, and if you find an easier way to do something the answer is “that’s not how we have done it”. If a procedure is outdated or no longer best practice for education, even if you can show data and stats to support it, forget even trying. There is no point. 
If (when) you are given extra work because the entire department is understaffed, they ask you to work less hours, or question what you do with your time, and belittle you. (The entire department is understaffed because everyone is burnt out from the workload expectation) The expectations in the department are not upheld by management so you are constantly dealing with hypocrisy. 
The workload expectation for one person is so high that working extra in the evenings, weekends, and holidays is the norm for the majority of faculty. Many who have left Carrington stated they did because there was “no way one person could manage all of this”. Of course, upper management does not care and hasn’t conducted exit interviews to see why they have high turnover rates. (if you last a year, you have seniority) 
Oh and you are constantly being asked to do more in every staff meeting, and every interaction with upper management. They do not acknowledge at all that the faculty is drowning, even when we have told them directly. People have threatened to quit just to get management to meet with them. 
Upper management will send out an employee satisfaction survey and they do absolutely nothing with the information, or say they “didn’t believe people were honest” on the survey. 

Even if you have no experience teaching you will get no mentorship at all, maybe you’ll get to shadow a class if you’re lucky. You’re expected to make all of your class content on your own, which takes up the majority of your time. Of course, upper management doesn’t recognize this time investment. 

 It is an unsustainable environment, and I have never worked in such chaos and dysfunction. About once a week someone is breaking down crying because they are so overloaded with work and feel so overwhelmed. And then get called into the office and told you need to reduce your work hours because “your current class load doesn’t support the amount of hours you work”. 
The majority of faculty is staying currently because they feel bad to leave the students hanging. It is not their fault that the faculty are all drowning. 
As a plus, they have some of the WORST benefits I’ve ever seen.

I thrive in fast paced environments, I can handle stress and pressure. I read negative reviews about Carrington and thought “those people just couldn’t handle it, but I can”. Listen to the reviews. Don’t make the mistake I did. And don’t believe anything that is said in the interview, because you’ll be lied to. 
Save yourself the headache and heartache. 

Responsible for managing the operations of the financial aid department at the ground campus in Tucson, AZ which consisted of implementing new strategies to be more effective and efficient, identifying areas of opportunity to improve processes through streamlining current operations with intentions of reaching and exceeding short term and long term organizational goals.    
Day to day tasks include but are not limited to running reports through CampusVue to manage department functionality.  These reports include new student reports for enrollment service, contract aging detail reports for collection purposes, potential grad reports to ensure all graduates are fully funded, undisbursed aid reports to resolve disbursement issues that would hold up funding, student master summary report to monitor students who are not meeting academic requirements such as SAP.
Managed campus based aid allocations to ensure SEOG funds were awarded according to need based policy and did not exceed allocation.  Managed FWS funds including hiring and designating FWS students to different campus functionalities. 
Responsible for student account management which included students with cash payment plans and tuition options contracts.  
Responsible for staffing the student finance department based on budget, student population and business need.  Also responsible for monitoring training and development of new student finance staff members. 
 Responsible for the development and success of the student finance advisors.  Conduct observations on tuition planning meetings between advisors and potential students.  Ensure proper verbiage is being used for compliance purposes and that advisors are adhering to the company’s integrity TEACH value.  
Provide feedback to advisors in one on one coaching sessions to help develop professionalism through interactive communication to increase productivity, self-growth, discipline and higher business acumen.  
Review Individual Development Plans for short term and long term goals.
Review Individual Performance Plans per company performance metrics to hold advisors accountable for performance, productivity, development, efficiency and effectiveness. 
Created and monitored schedules to coincide with enrollment services hours, campus hours, and business need keeping in mind that students always come first. 
Held daily huddles, weekly meetings, and monthly performance reviews to properly disseminate updates through different channels allowing for transparency of Title IV, regulatory compliance, regional, or corporate information.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Seeking a school where genuine care is evident? A place where educators are dedicated to teaching, not just earning a paycheck? Carrington College is the ideal choice. Their commitment to helping students is truly remarkable, and I highly recommend this college to anyone.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As an instructor, my appreciation for this school runs deep. While I do experience some stress regarding tuition costs compared to other institutions, the exceptional quality of the teaching staff has been unparalleled in my experience.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The distinctive quality of Carrington's Nursing programs falls within the expertise of the instructors. They possess extensive knowledge in their field, and their ability to instill confidence in me makes a significant impact. Additionally, the positive and supportive atmosphere among the students contributes to a collaborative and encouraging learning environment.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?

From an Instructor's Point of View: Carrington operates as a dynamic learning environment with a team of highly skilled instructors. While the initial workload may seem overwhelming, it gradually becomes more manageable as students adapt. The collaborative support from peers and the encouragement provided by the instructors play a crucial role in facilitating success. I recommend Carrington to those prepared for a challenge and eager to embark on their career journey.

Initially very excited to start in my role here, I was quickly demotivated after learning the inner workings of the college. If you're a person with a degree and a passion for knowledge, you have to understand that people in this role are responsible for helping those who likely have neither; it's the rare student who does. I have a huge impact on my community, especially right now, as medical professionals with an education are in high demand.

A typical day involves dialing numbers of people who think they want to invest in themselves, and generally ends having reached very few of them, if any at all. You are the entire revenue stream of the campus, but management at all levels will ensure that you're reminded regularly that the status quo will never change, regardless of your misery and communicated suggestions for effective change. You can try to negotiate more compensation for yourself to ease your suffering, but your actual performance, education level, and experience are arbitrary details that don't matter to this company's culture. Diversity of staff is practically non-existent. Turnover is exceptionally high in this role.

The most enjoyable part of the job -- and it is a job, not a career, due to the size of the campus and the number of programs offered -- is seeing the students you enrolled graduate and begin their own job that has a community impact.

After transition to SJVC, Carrington College went downhill. A lot of promised of better resources, staffing, improving education, and focusing on EDUCATION rather than being a business. After the transition, benefits went bad, Executive Team visited sites and was told that we are at their expense. If we do not meet expectation, we will get fired.

Students are being pushed through to graduation because "it was our job" rather than producing safe and quality healthcare providers. Good management team was replaced by YES MEN and YES WOMEN that they forget their ethics and morals as healthcare providers and educators. 

It is a operating as BUSINESS (Diploma Mill) and not as COLLEGE (where quality of education and graduates are important) at all, a students can graduate even if they don't have good understanding of their program and their future roles, even with failing grades(multiple remediation are being allowed). 

Prior management was great under ADTALEM (DeVry), benefits were great, management were great, until SJVC came into the picture and raised Tuition fees, expectation were high (for enrollment, retention, and  money) Quality of staff and students degraded. 

No colleague support in dealing with student issues and concerns. Carrington says they have TEACH values but show poor respect or care for their teachers, directors, and students. Leaders fail to follow policies when students are demonstrating intimidating behaviors towards faculty and other students. 
Leaders prefer to change student policy at will and intimidate faculty into following unethical procedures. Colleagues have no voice, are offered no career development, no promotions. Only those who are “in the good old boys’ club” are provided positive feedback. 
Good and ethical instructors are intimidated into resigning in the middle of courses and leaders fail to find suitable replacements leaving students without proper instructors. 
Little to no class approved adjunct teachers to provide coverage for full-time colleagues for vacations or illness. Students are often left with no instructor for the day, or a "non-teacher" is sent to "babysit" students. These are adults who pay a substantial amount in tuition but are often jerked around through poor leadership decisions.

I have been away from Carrington College now for 9 months. I wanted to give myself time to cool off and make sure that I made the right decision to leave. Since I have left the school, my department has changed twice over. That is not good for students' morale. After my department chair gleefully left, due to upper management, we were left with no direction, but plenty of burden.

As I had come to find out, the Dean in charge of the pharmacy department was a hot head who did not have any interest in listening. I was blamed for something that was not true by a student (not teaching). Instead of listening to me and letting me tell my side of what was going on, I was berated and yelled at and essentially told that the student was right and I was wrong.

There was a lot going at this point, such as, new books, introduction of iPads to new students and not old students (old students had a different set of books) and evening students were going to have to be taught from two different sets of books, in addition to no department chair.

I have kept in touch with my colleagues I worked with and not much has changed with this Dean. I recommend steering clear of employment here for this reason alone.

I joined because I have a passion for teaching individuals about my field. They made it sound like such a great opportunity where the focus was centered around doing right by the kids. News flash- this place is centered around taking advantage of these kids. I only lasted 6 week- during that time I had meeting after meeting about my concerns for the curriculum and offered solutions on how to better it and I was cut off and shut down immediately. Now it makes sense why they have been through over 4 instructors in 6 months. These kids are paying for an education and all we were supplying them with is outdated and inaccurate information. Morally I couldn’t stay and continue to falsify things to these kids. They deserve better but unfortunately, they are just another number and another paycheck for management. I loved the kids and hated to leave them without a teacher (AGAIN), but I need to be able to stand by a job and be proud of what I’m teaching. That classroom and curriculum…… they should be absolutely ashamed. 

Double - triple your workload with no raise, will gaslight you if you feel overwhelmed, poor management, TONS of pointless meetings the could be an email, expect to treat the students like incapable children, get in serious trouble if you set boundaries that allow you to have a personal life, working under 50 hours at 40 hours of pay is unacceptable to them they will gaslight you saying you’re salary and work until the job is done (even if that means having no days off, never directly said but heavily implied), if you attempt to set boundaries for work/life balance you will be told you’re not a team player. For rvts, treats tech week like a joke, you’ll get a mandatory staff meeting with lunch and “thank you”, they will allow students to walk all over you,  management will reward the employees who kiss the most a**, you will be overworked and underpaid, when you get a raise it’s because minimum wage increased and they’re legally required to increase your wage, they will not give you a raise under any other conditions 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Career services advisor 3 salaries reported	$20.67 per hour
Instructor 3 salaries reported	$62,167 per year
Administrative assistant 6 salaries reported	$19.83 per hour
Medical assistant 2 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Data entry clerk 4 salaries reported	$33.00 per hour

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