Community College of Aurora - Lowry Studios — Local services in Denver

This is by far the worst most unprofessional educational institution I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I wanted to take a CCNA certification course so I went to speak to adviser to get more info and to get a quote for tuition so I could save and avoid financial aide. When I spoke to the adviser (Misty) she quoted me for a 3 credit class and told me to sign up in November. When I came back in Nov, she could not get me registered into the class. She called the director of the program (Eric Vahling ) for assistance but he never answered her. Note, in the month prior I sent Mr. Vahling multiple emails and left voicemails and he would never return them. I had to camp out of his office and catch him to get help, he told me there was not enough interest so the class was off, sucks I had to hunt the man for that info but whatever. i enroll in another school, 2 weeks before it starts, Eric calls me to say the class is back on and to sign up asap. The class didn't let me sign up, I had to get Misty to override me into a class that wasn't full. 2 days later, Eric emails the class and lets them know an adviser must enroll us, THANKS! So class starts and I got to pay tuition to find it is 4x what I was quoted. I call Eric to inquire, no answer, I call his boss, Victor Vialpando, no answer. i show up at Victor office and find him, he says the adviser quoted wrong and there was nothing I could do and to go file a grievance, THANKS. I got down to financial aide to confirm and they say I have until the 6th, then I check my syllabus and it says the 4th, now I have 3 different dates so i'm confused. So I ask Denise in financial aide who else I could talk to if the dean and director didn't help and she gives me the number for the dean of students and vice president. I called them and the vice presidents assistant David did try to help, he was my first good resource so far. A weekend passes and I decide if all this has happened before the class started, I better withdraw and avoid further mess. I try and it says I can because i'm too late despite my syllabus and course schedule saying different. I rush to the school and see Rebecca in advising, I gave her the documentation showing the withdraw date had not passed and she got me withdrawn, Rebecca was a big help in this process. I urge everyone to look elswhere when it comes to a school, lower admin is not concerned with students and their success. Eric Vahling should not be responsible for any students educational career in any form or fashion. Ms. Reyna Anaya, Rebecca in advising, John Young and David Murphy were the only people who even cared enough to listen to what i had to say. Google restricts review length or this would be so much more detailed but do your own research, previous reviews are very similar. There are plenty of other schools that have your best interest in mind, for the most part this school is not one of them. With all the foreign students at this school, Im sure many have been screwed over by the lack of attention displayed by faculty here. I will do everything I can to steer people away until they get their act together, not sure who to report this stuff to but ill figure it out. They still have my account under another students name after I informed them of the error months ago. Finally, if Eric Vahling is the director of whatever program you are interested in, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU AND WILL...

The school has two campuses, both in aurora. It's very nice looking and the staff is usually helpful on your first day there. The classes are a good size and its always a hit or miss if you get a teacher that actually knows how to teach, but that is at every school. I would advise you be prepared to be on the phone for 30+ mins if you have any questions and lots of miscommunication after your first day. This school has the potential to be great if it would take the steps to train their employees to know how to do their job. I was told several different things about the steps i needed to take next in order to receive my financial aid, i was lied to about the amount of time i had to find a work study job, and when i finally found a job i was told i was over qualified. Please tell me how a student is over qualified for work study.... Staff seems to play around and chat with each other more than paying attention to students who need help. You would think students being an employee of the school would make a difference. It appears to me that some students are honestly there to just have fun and not help other students out. I needed to talk to a student to get information about one of my extra curricular activities and not one of them knew what to do. It took two weeks for me to get the correct information i needed. And after expressing my frustration with one of the staff members in charge, they shot back at me as if it was my fault that their staff didn't have the knowledge to help me succeed even though that is there job. It makes me wonder if these things are the reason their drop out rate is so high. Not being able to get a human being on the phone to know how to accept loans for school is the very first problem. If you can't help students accept their payment forms for college how are they going to even be motivated to go? CCA needs to do a better job of caring about its students and who it chooses to higher...

The school itself is great! The teachers are all very helpful and I have learned and gained so much from enrolling! Before coming I was not good or nor did I like school and I debated on enrolling for many years. It was one of the best decisions of my life! I am in the business program and have learned so many of the in and outs of business and management. Since coming to the college the slight flicker of an idea I had about being an entrepreneur And starting my own business has taken all the way off and I now am the owner of Triple V Industries, LLC. My company is a multifaceted business with clothing, art, photography, graphic design, website design, videography, music production, event hosting, and much more! It all started with the feint idea of a clothing company but hanks to being introduced (and thankfully accepted) into the trial phase of the new Entrepreneurship Program allowed me to take that idea and make it a reality!

Enrolling in school came on a whim, and it was fate that allowed me find a paper promoting a trial of a new entrepreneurship program they were having at the school. I am forever thankful for the school and especially the program. Being around a group of people who are all trying to do the same thing – start a business – is extremely helpful. We encourage each other, we ask each other questions, we learn from each other. That’s what makes the Entrepreneurial Launch program at CCA so great.

Overall, the school, staff and even fellow students are life changing and still manage to be a fun exciting environment as long as you are going for what you are passionate about!

Ps- Thank you to Neil for getting the entrepreneurship program back up!!

Adrian Mejia, Triple V...