Walla Walla Community College — Attraction in Walla Walla

It pains me to only be able to rate WWCC 3/5. Although there are absolutely world class instructors(majority)that went above and beyond, there were/are also a couple of classes that still keep me awake some nights.

Econ. and Science were absolutely hellish experiences that largely influenced me to give up on WWCC.

1.) The first nightmare I had to pay for was Econ. Oh, unless I write a book — words can not express how painful this experience was. The class is taught out of a book from what felt like the 80s, recorded so we can re-listen to the lessons(lolol), and the quiz/tests made little to no sense. There is an issue when ~half a class ends up failing while the rest barely pass — well, to be fair, one guy got an A. The entire class essentially revolved around 3 tests and a Final. After doing all the coursework, and showing up every day, I thought I was doing well and I was shocked when I received a D+ for my first test. Discouraged, I thought I didn’t study hard enough, so I buckled down for the 2nd test — only for a C-. Confused and worried about my GPA, I decided to form a study group for test 3 and the final to barely squeeze out a passing grade. I tried my best for that class, I really did, and it almost broke me. The instructor “teaches” out of a 20-year-old book, and is essentially hated by the entire student community that ever had the misfortune of sharing my experience. I know of one younger classmate that dropped out after the class, and a couple of close friends who almost did — regardless of detail, this is already a huge problem.

Enough complaining, I believe in action, so what did I do? I went to one of the ~10 Deans(lol) with my concerns and let’s just say — that’s when the jokes around college administration really sunk in. What a joke indeed.

Still searching for an explanation — I reached out to friends who suffered through the class before me and got their old tests for comparison. That’s when I realized a core issue of the class. Test questions were pulled straight from the book and were rewritten every quarter — to likely discourage cheating, but after writing and rewriting the same questions over ~20 years — the questions get pretty convoluted. For example “What is 1+1”—”What is Albert Einstein’s favorite number” was just ridiculous.

Again, words can not express how much I still HATE that painful experience that I had to pay for. I want my money back.

2.) Science classes — nightmare #2. I’ll keep this one short as it can be summarized in two details. 1) Adjunct instructor who didn’t care — why should they? 2) The first lesson in the first class began with the instructor realizing they played the wrong video.. 3.5minutes into the video. Although there is much more, I think these two details offer a pretty good evaluation of quality control. Again — I want to reiterate that the majority of my ~3 year experience at WWCC was positive, and I loved the majority of my instructors and is the only reason I’ve not shared my experience prior — but, on the other hand, it’s worst that poor quality control caused/is causing students to hate their lives needlessly — I would guess these two alone have made many drop out.

WWCC administration, be better, listen to your students — we pay your salaries.

Regrettably, Mike...

The college itself is quite decent and some employees are JUST AMAZING. To name a few, Susan Palmer, Eric Schulz, Carlos Delgadillo go above and beyond what is required of them, because they clearly genuinely care about their students' and advisees' success, understanding, motivation, and enjoyment of college. That is why I've been reluctant to post this review, talking about the negatives in this school. Great employees are very easy to identify any time, but the not-so-great, the useless, and even the harmful employees are much less noticeable, and that is why this is such a big problem. I, my sister and very literally the majority of my friends who are enrolled here have been completely "screwed" by the advice of some employees here. I won't go into detail because if you, the reader, don't believe a simple description, you won't believe a whole essay either.

But in a few words, ANY time that you're dealing with the financial aid office, you MUST do, by yourself, all the research and work the employees should normally do, because, EVEN IF they don't screw up your documents, applications, etc. year after year, they will at the very least give you the literal opposite of correct advice.

I've been done "stepping on the same rake" a long time ago, but it's very sad that the majority of people get no useful help whatsoever from the Financial Aid Office, and find themselves dropped from classes 2 weeks into the quarter because the incompetent workers did not file the paperwork. After 3 years here, I have grown to know all those employees very thoroughly, and trust me, ALL, with the exception of Danielle, who is the director of Fin Aid, are incompetent. Danielle is a big professional, but throughout the years, she has become less and less accessible, and less willing to deal with routine issues that her staff SHOULD be able to handle or not cause in the first place! But that's not the case. Time and time again, my jaw drops at the sight of their incompetence and rudeness. Yes, they are rude. Usually not the first time you ever speak to them, but if you ask even the simplest specific question about deadlines, federal and state financial aid specifics, department rules, etc. you can rest assured, knowing that you will undoubtedly get some of the worst service you can find in town.

Well, at least, that has been my, my sister's, and a dozen friends' experience here.

Another big no-no are the testing center and admissions office. Some employees there are hidden gems, very professional, responsible, and nice, but 2 of them are the complete opposite. Specifically, Erika Bockmann, who is the Assistant Director of Admissions, and an older lady that works (or at least 6 months ago used to work) at the testing center. Both are not professional, in my opinion, though Erika is much more professional than the other lady. Thankfully, the Director of Admissions, Carlos, more than makes up for the lack of professionalism among some employees.

One piece of advice, do people's work for them, or go straight to the department director, because otherwise, eventually you'll get screwed big time due to the incompetence of some, seemingly, people-hating work-indifferent 9-to-5 employee. (this mainly applies to the Fin Aid...

As a 2006 Associate of Arts graduate from Walla Walla Community College I can attest to it's excellence. Having gone after high school I got all of my prerequisites done and was part of the Honors Program which are rare in Community Colleges. The fact that the college is situated in a town with other higher education establishments (Whitman College and Walla Walla University) made for excellent faculty. I had several professors who taught at the other 4 year schools as well.

I acquired all credits appropriate to transfer into Whitman College an elite liberal arts school as a Junior. I felt well prepared having transitioned from high school to college level courses, then building rigor slowly.

There are not any negative things I can say about this school. Their tech programs are also amazing! Way to...