Maricopa Community Colleges — Local services in Tempe

21 years ago I took an EMT re-certification course at Phoenix College. Last week (July/2013) my former land lady forwarded a letter from the Community College district. I have not lived at this home in over 20 years and they addressed it to my maiden name. The letter said I owed $57 and I over 180 days late in paying them. The letter did not even say specifically what the charge was for. It gave numerous examples as to what it might be, but not specifically what I may have done or did not do to warrant the fee. I only ever took one class at any Phoenix area college and this was it. I went away for college in California. I do not recall any parking ticket, I never used their library. I paid my fees before the class started. So, I had no idea what it could be. I thought there had to be a mistake. I called them and they first had to go to an old computer system because it had been so long since I went there. Sure enough the lady on the phone said it was me. I asked to speak to someone higher up and she passed me alone to someone else. When I spoke to the supervisor. She was incredibly rude. I said there has to be a statue of limitations on this and she claimed no. I told her I would not pay it and she said "the taxpayers of Arizona deserve to have their $57." How about the taxpayers of Arizona getting their money 21 years ago? How about the taxpayers of Arizona being upset that the cost in time and effort spent on such a ridiculously small amount is greater than the $57 they may ever get from me. She still could not even tell me what I did or did not do. She said it was so old it was on microfiche and wanted me to hold on for 15 minutes or so for her to dig it out. I told her no I would not wait and good luck tracking me down as you have my maiden name, an old old address and I don't even live in Arizona. So, I hung up. This is by far the most shameful display of government waste I have personally ever...

Maricopa Community College is one of the worst institutions I've ever dealt with!

They have the lack of administrative support for students trying to enroll. If you're new to their system they do not provide any technical support whatsoever. And I mean a real person working with you face to face. Instead we have these overly worked employees who treat new students like they are such an inconvenience.

I have been dropped from my classes due to not paying my tuition within 3 days of enrolling into these classes!!!! Well let's see, I applied on Thursday evening "after school hours." Then Friday the campus was closed when I tried to call to inquire about my financial aid. SO, now it's Sunday and some how I'm magically dropped from these classes! WHAT THE HELL! I have financial aid, and instead of calling or trying to reach out before doing so, they just send you an email letting you know "oh, you're no longer enrolled in this class." But then giving me a heads up that I may still have to pay if they dropped me close to the start of the classes.

MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES, HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO PAY WHEN YOU'RE CLOSED??? THEN YOU HAVE THE ODASITY TO THREATEN TO STILL CHARGE ME AFTER NOT EVEN COMMUNICATING THERE WAS A PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

It's amazing, we shove down everyone's throat that education is important. YET, there is such a lack in support and communication within this industry. There is no longer a care for people to actually learn, we are all just $$$ to institutions such as this. How do you expect people to better themselves, their community or even their country when you cannot even provide them with the necessary...

I'm really glad the Admissions office here decided to take a chance, be innovative, and hired an AI chatbot (not literally) called Tina. I emailed the office to asked some questions about subsequent courses as a NON-credit taker. I made sure the email is as detailed as possible by including bullet points, bolded, italic, and/or underlined words, and examples, so that the email can be answered in one single swift response. The problems it seem is that the AI chatbot Tina seems to only pick up on specific keywords in your sentences and tunnel-visioned on those words and respond to only that specific word. Even when you explained that you already clarified that you are asking about a NON-credit course and not seeking a degree, as I already have one, in my last email responses, the AI bot continues to double down and respond to those keywords. By the third email, the AI chatbot Tina ignored my email, instead of reading the email once and answering/redirecting me the first time. The problem with this AI chatbot, that other bots do not have, is that when they don't know the answers, it will simply redirect you to someone who is more knowledgeable or may have the answer...