Thomas Nelson Community College

I gave it four stars for a reason. Whilst the administration sucks and so does customer service to some extent, overall the professors and education I received was better than other 4 year universities I attended. The reason most likely being, I took an engineering track and I think all courses transferred! Also classes are much smaller, much more attention, and professors were more into teaching.
I almost gave 3 starts because like everyone else, parking office, records office, and payment office staff are MISERABLE. I never applied for financial aid because the tuition rate is a joke. I mean it is super cheap for the quality of education I received. Most people need a reality check these days on the value that community college courses can offer!
That being said, TNCC was the basis of my education in engineering of which I was able to transition into a good 4 year university and an even greater Ivy league graduate school with no debt. Classes worked well with my work schedule and it really got the job done. People complaining about the financial aid office I think really need a reality check. I was able to pay for my education working 3 jobs and still taking engineering classes and having a life.
I think they do need an overhaul in some offices but with the level of institution and the quality and demographic of many of the «students» that apply there, I can’t truly blame them.

I went to Thomas Nelson College in Hampton VA for a class I needed in Public Speaking during Spring 2015. Overall TNCC is a really a good school and most of the Teachers are really good. However; for the first time, when I took a class called Public Speaking, the teacher for this class was Sandra Calderon… a heads up… you might not want to take her class. She treated me and my friend unfairly and midway through the course she decided not to give us our grades. We waited 6 weeks for our grades, she did give papers and grades back to students that she wanted to with in a week. She had me stay after class a few times to have me look at my homework papers that she marked all up in red and told me to redo them. This teacher Sandra Calderon has a problem giving and posting grades to students that she feels indifferent to. She would give me dirty looks in class and I got the feeling she wanted me to quit or fail. Quit? I did not quit, I did however; go to the Dean, the Dean took care of that of that matter.
This was my experience and I wanted to share with you. Because, if your are paying for an education, you do not have to put up with this from someone with a teacher title and who is getting paid to teach you to help you further your educational goals.

I went here between 2009 – 2012 for my Associate’s in Social Science. Three years because I kept switching my major. I loved all of my professors. They were all there for the students-​to help them succeed. They stayed after class, extended office hours, answered emails in a timely manner. I LOVED the fact that you are taking classes with people from all walks of life at all ages. It is one of the most valuable and wonderful experiences you can have. That is a joy of attending community college that I think I would have missed out on if I started at a 4 year university. I left out one star because the administrative staff always seemed to be stressed and a bit rude (THEY’RE stressed?!) Also, a lot of people attend this school! You have to be on the ball to get things done early and right to avoid administrative mistakes, which are the biggest pain that college has to offer. It’s not the classes-it’s the paperwork to get in them! Show up to whichever offices before they open. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS THE FIRST TIME! The campus is old, the admins are a bit butt-​headish, but otherwise, it was a great experience. Just a heads up-​bring a jacket to your bio labs, those rooms house dead animals, so they’re always freezing :)

I have been taking pre-​requisite classes here for my Nursing degree for 2 years. In class and online. During this time I have had experience with almost every department of the school. What I can say is the professors are the best thing about this school. The campus is old, and needs a major update. The bookstore associates are not friendly, the counselors seem like they don’t know what’s going on, and the financial aid office has at the most 3 representatives. None of them are kind, and seem like they hate their job! They never greet you or even smile. Also everytime I’ve been there, I have had to wait over an hour. This week when I went the wait was 3 hours. So what did I do? I drove to the Williamsburg campus. I have been to that campus a handful of times when I didn’t want to deal with the Hampton one, and the experience is world’s better! The campus is newer, cleaner and better maintained. The office associates seem like they want to be there, and that their main goal is to assist you in furthering your education. I recommend traveling to Williamsburg campus if you are able to. You will receive an overall better experience.

Ahhh. Where to begin?
I’ve been going to TNCC off and on for about 5+ years for schooling, leisure learning and I have even worked for some third party agency attached for this community college.
TNCC is where a vast amount of people go to right after HS in the area. But you will find people from all walks of life that go here too. Old folks, young folks, broke folks and snotty folks. Everything… but a large amount of people who don’t give two cents about their education.
The college itself is dingy. It does look like a prison at times and there is virtually little to no school spirit. I just found out that the school mascot was a Gator because of the faded Gator prints leading to the admin office. The place is dated… yellow walls, smelly bathrooms, mediocre landscaping and just everything you can think of when it comes to a community college.
Visitor parking is a nightmare because most of the spots are full and they are sporadically place in every small lit they have.
The cafeteria is a joke. Nasty unhealthy food with little options… never have nor will eat here. The lounging area is not comfortable and you are better off going to the library-​which is usually loud anyways so just go to the computer lab… if you can find a seat.
Staffwise most of the individuals I have dealt with are just mean. The academic counseling people are mostly clueless and will sign you up for some unnessary classes. Registration folks, financial aid and people in the library act and look like they hate their job. The folks who work at the computer lab are usually students who don’t really give a crap about helping other students and roll their eyes when asked for help.
I know it sounds like a horrible review BUT! A lot of the actual professors I had here are jut golden! I took a lot of classes, mostly CRJS classes and a handful of bio and english classes. In person classes were definitely all worth it. Many of the professors here are so experienced and really care about their students that sometimes I fell bad they work in such a crappy community college.
Final verdict?
It’s better than those cookie-​cutter «colleges» like ECPI and some other joke universities. Great teachers, sorry school.