Phoenix College

I’m very surprised on how many bad reviews Phoenix College has. I personally love this school! All of my teachers have been amazing (especially my bio). Yes, they do have some not so good teachers, but what school doesn’t. The reason I’m giving it four stars is because they have that weird urinal looking thing in the women’s restroom in the library. Why they have it there? Who knows, but it creeps me out

I’ve had the worst experience trying to enroll myself these past few weeks. The staff are terribly rude and show NO integrity at all. It seemed like I was bothering them whenever I had an important question. Its a shame that the reputation here is so bad. I should’ve done some research before wasting my time. I’ve gotten nothing but vague answers today and no one seemed like they wanted to help me. I’m saddened because going to school means so much to me and I don’t have many resources under my belt. Even if my message doesn’t get across, I still wanted to express my deep frustration with phoenix college. I hope you folks can at least take it upon yourselves to train your staff more efficiently and teach them some manners, especially considering that we as people are going to be paying for our educations. HORRIBLE :(!!!

I was told I could drop off paperwork here that would be transferred to the actual college I would be attending this fall. I felt relieved because my actual campus is so far from my job I wouldn’t make it on time. So I was told by both institutions that I could turn in my paperwork here, I double checked and triple checked because I know how people tell you something different in person. Anyways I took a hot trip to this campus only to be told I couldn’t turn my paperwork in, I stopped them right there because I made certain I could prior to taking off of work early. Anyhow because I refused to back down they allowed me to speak to the director of admissions, who took my forms and acted as if they weren’t sufficient but she would fax them anyways. Anyhow being told one thing only to be told another thing in person is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Hopefully they can get that jungle they refer to as admissions tamed and get on the same page.

well its my school, so I thought what would be better than writing a review for you own school… what could I say about Phoenix College? The school is pretty small, smaller than the rest of the Maricopa colleges if I’m not mistaken. But there is a reason why I drive across the city to come to this institution, I love the staff and the instructors who are here at PC, they are very well knowledgable at what they are doing.
I have been attending here for couple of years now and I just like it here, community colleges offer smaller class and get better interaction with the instructor which is the way I learn best, and they are more than happy to help you with anything you need. Plus is cheaper to get your core classes at a community college.
The parking is a little crazy from 9 – 12, and 4 – 7, one time I drove around for 40 minutes until I finally found a parking space. One thing I don’t like about this school is the citation they give out, They give you a citation if you park reverse/​facing the wrong way without any warning or anything at all. Well I guess I learn the hard way. I love the fact that Phoenix College have a parking garage, to those of us who knows the heat well in the valley know that that’s a life saver right there… keep your car nice and cool without having to worry about passing out trying to start your car, but you go there during the crazy hours you won’t have a chance of finding a parking spot.
Overall I am happy with the school and will recommend anyone who are in the area looking to farther their education or anyone who just graduate from high school.

Students beware:
PHoenix college students are thieves!!!
I leave my bag of whole grain bread in the library bin (not allowed to have food in the library) only to leave the library not able to find it.

I took an Intro to Digital Photography class and it was a total waste of time. The instructor showed up 5 minutes late for the first class then let us go after 30 minutes (it was supposed to be 4 hour classes). That may be fine for all the kiddies that need a gimme class for graduation, but I paid good money (with books it was over $ 300) to learn how to use my expensive camera, and I was not amused.
It went down hill from there. This guy was totally unprepared for his classes and spent 4 sessions on framing a photo. Not once did he approach the subject of how to operate a digital camera.
After 5 weeks, I decided to stop wasting my time and stopped going to class. I wrote the dean of the art department and asked for a refund. After no response, I wrote him again. After no response again, I wrote the president of the school and I heard from the art dept. dean within 15 minutes. He told me he would research the situation. A week later I got the response: the two week period for a refund had passed and I was basically out of luck. He said the instructor had followed the study plan (he hadn’t) and that I should have brought it up in class. This class/​instructor is a joke.

I’ve taken other classes at PC and been happy with the instruction, but never again will I spend good money at a Maricopa County Community College.

This review is for the football stadium located on campus. They host high school football games on Friday nights. The bleachers are about the same as a high school football field built in the 1990’s. The restrooms and concession stands are on par with a high school football field too. However, this is a college, LOL. You’d expect something a little more modern and better quality.
The only thing I liked about this place is the parking. It was very easy to find parking and with a lot of cars, was easy to get in/​out. Other than that, it was sub-​par.
Return Factor — 20%

Been going here for the past 3 years. If you’re wondering why I’ve been here so long, well, mind your own business. This is a review about the school, not me :-) Actually, the only reason I point that out is so you know that I know the school pretty well.
So much has changed over the past few years and I do think that things are improving. They have the testing, advisement, financial aid, and admissions all in one building and things are so much more organized than when I first went here.
If you’re in need of quiet study time, go to the library. Nice place to study with cool air conditioning. Need access to a computer? Go down to the computer commons. Computers are free to use and there is no time limit. SOMETIMES they will have to ask you to give up your computer to someone who needs to study if they see your not doing anything but this seems to happen more often during the last few weeks of each semester for finals. Printing will cost you 10 cents each.
Some professors are better than others. Work hard, and ask around for who is the best. I have only had 1 negative experience with an English teacher. I don’t want to put him on blast here so go to a certain well known site that rates professors and look around. But with that said, be a good judge of character yourself.
I have mixed feelings about the cafeteria. Everything is overpriced. $ 1.99 for a Powerade you can get for $.50 at Food City or Walmart. My advice is to buy drinks from the Circle K that is right near the school. I wish they would bring back the croissants during the morning breakfast time. The breakfast burritos they have now are okay but quite bland. Also costly– $ 3.00 each!!! During lunch and breakfast you can order different foods to be made to order. I personally think the burgers and fries during lunch time are pretty good. They have a nice variety of pizza and Asian cuisine and have healthy foods available. For a full meal, you’ll probably end up spending $ 6 – 9. Go to Quick Trip and buy a foundation drink, hot dog, and chips for under $ 4 if you want to stay frugal. Or better than anything, bring your lunch. They have microwaves for anyone to use.
I would either call your professors in advance or wait until you attend class to buy your books. It may seem like the wrong thing to do but sometimes it can save you money. My sister rented a book for math only to find out that the teacher requires the new edition with an online access code course. Waste of money.
Overall a good school, methinks.

I had the pleasure of encountering a faculty that could care less bout their student.
All the accolades this faculty received may have been warranted. But during on a one on one session … this is not the case. Am glad that I’ve completed my studies here, and no longer have to deal with this inconsistent self-​righteous faculty. *whew*
Unfortunately, a faculty like this person, ruins the rep of an ok to good city college.

My fiancée and I have gone to Phoenix College for our first semester of ‘furthered education’. We would have chosen Scottsdale for the quieter seeming, nice campus, but location is the most important.
I will start by reviewing the campus overall, and then branch off into the Music portion since that is where we are.
The campus looks great. Lots of planning went in to incorporate some elements of real nature into the grounds. There is a completely new renovated portion of the campus including the Hannelly Center (main office type building), cafeteria, and hangout-​type building with computer resources. I have not explored these places thoroughly, so there may be something I am unsure of. Very modern architecture, and the system for getting the assistance you need is intelligent. There is a screen in each main building that has the virtual list of people in order of the virtual line. They have the estimated wait time, and they even text when it’s nearing your turn.
Financial Aid Assistance was interesting because we knew more about what we were doing than the person working there. They didn’t know what SNAP benefits were and they work for Financial Aid? Hmm.
The library is a nice quiet place to study, get your work done, use public computers (or your own at your own table).
The art building is new just like the main office, and it looks very nice in there from the outside.
The rest of the class buildings are pretty old, but not run-​down. They are suitable for their needs. The one problem that my fiancée and I have is the Music Building. Half of it is really nice with high ceilings and sound diffusion walls. The other classes are tiny, with only brick walls, not a very good environment for playing guitar. I don’t know why they can’t have more of the nice rooms for the instrument classes, or plan better to get the time slots in there.
The pianos are really nice upright-​keyboards. The nicest I have used in my piano playing so far. They also have practice rooms with real Petrof acoustic pianos. There are a few lockers, we weren’t assigned one though. The lounge in the music building is nice, it has a hang-​out vibe to it, with comfortable seating when it is available.
The class sizes are small-​reasonable. The instructors know what they are doing. Pedro Perez is a great guitar teacher. Ellen Brown is a great piano teacher. Chris Herrera is new to the school and has a nice atmosphere to his Aural Perception class. The only qualms I have with the actual classes is the system in community college for Piano. The levels are all mixed, so you get like 5 – 10 minutes of instruction, and the rest is just class practice time. Really? I learn a lot in Guitar, but not as much in Piano for that reason.
I also do not recommend taking «one-​class-​per-​week» classes. We take Intro to Music Theory in this setting, and it is has been gnawing at our sanity since it started. It is basically learning two chapters per 2 hour class. Also, the class is cut short because everyone wants to leave 30 minutes early. The class is supposed to be 2.5 hours. If it was split up it would be the normal length, and not as grueling.
The morning and night atmosphere at the school is pretty consistent. In the Music Building it gets more jazzy at night, which is kind of fun to hear when you walk in.
The other thing is that with Music Majors you really have to meet up with the director, who is a little condescending sometimes, but he means well (hopefully). You have to meet all these strict requirements of classes and really fine-​tailor it to work the way they want. It is a lot at once, but it makes sense the way it is set up.
We take our academics online which makes everything a lot easier for us. Less time at school, going back and forth, etc. We only go there for our Music classes. We went against advice to take online classes only after the first semester, and we have had no problems because we are familiar with computers and online environments. The Canvas program they use for the classes is really useful and modern, it was just launched recently.
Useful tips:
–I learned that books are never needed the first day, so it is good to wait to make sure you get the right edition!
–Enroll early so that your classes are open with time slots you need!
–It is never too late for FAFSA as much as they all try to tell you. We got ours halfway through.
–Most of your learning is through yourself at home studying.
–Missing classes is very damaging to your learning, there are usually new concepts that later concepts build on.
–Some teachers are offended by tardy students, and some are not.
–Seek help at the Hannelly Building, many questions can be answered.
–Take a tour of the school, or just get a map and plan your path for classes.
–There are two parking lots, one on the southwest corner of the campus, and one on the northeast corner.
–Placement test scores can get you paid tuition if you are a new high-​school graduate.

Lets take a moment to talk about the non professors and teachers… Seriously the worst customer service I’ve ever received. No one is on the same page. Financial aid, advisors, office staff are ALL unhelpful, and rude. I’ve honestly never had such an awful experience trying to give people money to further my education. Calling to get an issue figured out? Forget about it. You will be on wait for 30 min up to 3 hours, get disconnected multiple times then be told to contact a different office or just never get through to the person your actually trying to reach. I had people tell me that they would resolve my problems and never follow through. Even supervisors were unhelpful! Do yourself a favor and find a different school that has there stuff together.
Professors and teachers… Here it gets better.
I’ve been taking classes here for sometime now. I actually already have an associates in Liberal Arts from here and I’m in the process of getting another in sign language. After this semester I will be applying for their interpreting preparation program which is ranked in the top three programs in the state for the last time I checked.
Joanne has been my advisor for two years now is the absolute best. She has been there for me every step of the way and advised me in the right direction in every which way!
The campus is usually always clean and the grounds are kept up daily. I still prefer Scottsdale community Colleges campus over PC but its not bad. I like that if your in a specific program majority of our classes are held in the same building so you don’t have to be running from one side of campus to another. This campus is also in the process of remodeling and adding new buildings as well s parking structures. I’m looking forward to the new look!
The staff here has been great I have yet to take a class and not like the professor. I highly recommend, Jeff Stone, Tamara Henner, David Bailey and Michelle Monhan for any American Sign Language or Interpreting classes. For English I highly recommend Cristie Roe. All these professors go above and beyond to help their students and really take the time to make sure everyone understands the material that they are teaching.

I am so incredibly disappointed in the assistance I have received from Phoenix College. I am a first-​time college student who also works full time. I enrolled in 3 classes to start easily. I have had an issue with one of my online classes for a MONTH now. Advisors have been unhelpful to say the least. They do nothing but tell me to contact the instructor, which I have tried to do several times to no avail. So I ask and advisor again, and they tell me to contact the instructor’s department head.
Sure, that would be great, except the class begun YESTERDAY and I STILL have no gotten any answers or help regarding the issue.
I would not recommend this college based on the experience I’ve had. I’ve spoken to many people who are currently enrolled in other schools, and they have been blown away by the general unavailability and apparent ambivalence of the advisors to help me with my issues.

I am really fed up with the Community College system in this state. I am convinced that the powers that be are trying to deter us from getting an education by making it difficult to establish eligibility for in-​state tuition. In addition to that there seem to be roadblocks at every turn and no help whatsoever especially for those of us who work full time and don’t have the time to make a trip to campus in order to bypass these roadblocks and attend class. I have a Bachelor Degree and am trying to fulfill a few prerequisites for grad school and have found it very frustrating that a college graduate has to provide proof of eligibility to take a 200-​level class. And the amount of red tape both with Arizona community colleges and the university California I attended has driven me to the breaking point.
Now that I have that off my chest, this is a shout out to Tanya at NAU Extension at Phoenix College who was very helpful and proactive in helping my retrieve some transcripts from my attendance there. While this has not solved my problem entirely, she took the time to listen to me and for the first time since I became mired in what should be a simply solved problem, offered me advice on how to possibly cut through that red tape. Of all my dealings with the education system in this state, this experience was the easiest and most productive.
I was very impressed by her and by the modern layout of the campus and facilities. If the powers that be in higher education in this state would get their shit together and make it easier for us to actually enroll and attended classes I would love to take a course at this campus.
Hats off to Tanya-​I really wish there were more people in education like her!

this year the college looks really great and well done everything makes you feel happy
i really like this one more than other colleges ‚
and without the changes they made i would like it

I have been going to Phoenix College since 1999, YES 1999! I have always had the best instructors and really enjoyed the courses. HOWEVER, in all these years I have yet to have a pleasant customer service experience. I always dread going to the admissions office because the staff are MISERABLE! Does the Dean work them to the bone? Are they whipped if they don’t meet a quoata? Lord. I know, I am here for the education which on a scale from 1 – 10 would give an 8. Great campus feel, parking use to be and still kinda is a nightmare, that is until mid-​semester when half the kids drop out. Dont expect to ever receive good service from anyone from the traiffic cop to the administrative staff, however you will get a decent education. You might have a better experience with online courses.

The instructors are fantastic. I have not had a bad experience here. I have transfered to Rio due to time constraints. The class sizes are smaller and generally shrink as the semester proceeds. I learned a lot about myself by starting my adult college career here.

I love the old brick buildings and the huge library that makes you feel like you are in an actual regular library. I love the art department, when you come into the area it is located centrally and has a dark, cool tunnel-​like hallway. This is a very diverse school so you got to love that about it. Get involved in as many clubs and activities as I did! This is a great school that has that mini-​university feeling like the other reviewer said.

This place feels more like a mini-​university than it does like a community college. The range of classes offered is really amazing. I know 2 generations of folks who’ve graduated from here (W/​Associates before ASU) and someone who’s a teacher here. They have such a great class list. Personally, it’s their campus that does it for me. It has a sense of history that the other stucco campuses will just never be able to capture. And it is just me or didn’t we all dream about going to some old ivy league school with brick walls and cool crisp breezes while we carried our books from class to class? Ok, maybe it was just me. But this place totally fits the bill — as much as any Phoenix community college can.