College of the Desert

I have been at COD almost 3 years trying to get my nursing prerequisites and ended up with a Liberal Arts degree without even intending to. I can say its been more of a challenge to get into the science classes I needed more than anything. If you are looking to get a degree in liberal arts, communications, you can get out of there in no time if you have an academic plan. General ed classes are increasing each semester at COD and they have some great professors (check reviews).
However, if you are like me and want to get a degree in the medical field you will find it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get into some of the science classes. Especially Microbiology, chemistry’s, and anatomy/​physiology. I waited around for an entire year to get into my classes (I still had 40 COD units) and could not get in until I got into a program that boosted my priority.
Registration is 3 months before classes actually start so stay on top of your dates!!! They fill up quickly so don’t procrastinate all that needs to be done before registration day. People who have written reviews below me are correct, you will have to scavenge to get classes if you don’t have high priority right away or you register late.

I took the time and effort to drive from Orange County to COD. I have to commence by stating the admission department needs a roadmap to blow their nose; I was told that since I did not have an on-​line account I would have to drive to come and get my transcripts. The lady who answers the phone failed to tell me 1) There is NO visitor parking 2) I would have to have cash to pay for an all day parking pass 3) There is a $ 6.50 library hold that would delay getting my transcripts 4) It will take 24 hours to release my transcripts 5) Finally, to top all this off that it will cost me $ 25 to get my transcripts contingent on getting the library hold released.
This all was per «Blanca.» This individual stated I would have to go to the library and resolve, come back & get my transcripts. When I finally got back from the library the lady there a 2^nd lady who after 30 minutes, a different & equally difficult lady sent me back downstairs for the 3^rd time to pay. I came back up & she was unsure Ido was going to be able to get my transcripts today until I told «Blanca» said I would. When I enquired with the 2^nd lady she was extremely persnickety & said «well, did you ask if there was visitor parking?» I asked if there wasn’t a policy & procedures in place to properly inform people who called. I explained that I was clear about the fact I was coming from Orange County & why would I not be properly informed. 2^nd lady said well generally a student answers the phone, so I take that as her passing the buck and absolving herself of any responsibility.
Thankfully, Roger at the student library was able to clear the hold, man has the patience of a saint.
In summation this whole ordeal has left me with an inset on a migraine. I am going to have to go have lunch because it’s going to take another hour to get the official transcripts.

If you have other options, choose those, because this school is a joke. The faculty is rude and the dean could care less about the school environment and how the faculty acts. The tutorial services program here is horrible. Might as well hire an outside tutor. They should really consider hiring younger faculty and staff– it seems that old, outdated methods is what continues to be the norm here. Seriously, consider an online university or some other college, it’s not worth the trouble here.

I took a class i needed after getting my A.A. in Los Angeles and I’m so glad I did not go here for my A.A. Omg!!! I wanted to pull my hair out! Getting the class you want is like hitting the jackpot. I had to scavenge so bad to ge into that one class and would have taken more had they been available. None of the other classes I wanted were available or were filled up. In Los Angeled you have any class at any time and you can just walk in the first day and add it lol
One of the other really annoying things was how hard it was to see a counselor. In Los Angeles, you can walk in and see a counselor within 15 to 30 minutes. I waited more than two hours to see a counselor, who wasnt even as good anyway. I dont know if Im exagerating, but I know for a fact the school is not user friendly or accomodating. You are going to have to revolve around their very limited class schedules. I wouldnt do it, but I guess it could be worse. Good luck

My background: I graduated this May 2015 with an Associate’s in Liberal Arts with an emphasis on Math & Science and will be starting nursing school at a 4 year university. I
98% of people told me I would get stuck here at COD. I was one of the few people that actually graduated and will be transferring out.
CAMPUS: Out of all the campuses I have been to, this is one of the most prettiest and modern community college campus in Southern California. There is tons of parking.
PROFESSORS: There are good AND bad professors. You have to ask around and see who are the good professor.
CLASSES: If you are/​will be a science major like me, it will be very difficult to get classes. My advice is to be persistent with enrolling for classes and always make sure you’re on top with studying.
COUNSELORS: I’ll be honest. You can’t expect them to know everything. You must do your research before meeting with them.
ASSESSMENT TEST: STUDY! You must take this assessment test seriously because if you do not do well, you will be place in non-​credit remedial math/​English courses which will take you awhile.
STUDENT LIFE: There is no student life. Most students there are there to come to class and leave.
CAFE FOOD: It’s disgusting. After my first year, I stopped buying food regularly from the café. I only purchased packaged snacks and drinks from there.
Just stay on top of things and remember to not give up on your dream. It’s a community college that is packed just like any other community college.

Unfortunately this school has changed a lot since I started. The priority of the school has shifted from helping the students to helping themselves. With tuition rates constantly going up, classes being shifted or just cut this school is a perfect example of overpaid administrators. They put more in administration salaries and asthetics of new buildings rather than invest it back into the classes and students. This is evident in the president and administrators pulling up in their Mercedes Benz, classes narrowing, and NOW EVEN CHARGING TWO DOLLARS FOR CLASS SCHEDULE BOOKLETS, nickel and diming the students. I transferred to Crafton Hills were students work with 80– 100 k dollar class tools and I paid a fraction of the tuition with a much better structure why? Because they put there money back into the students and not into the school presidents pocket, or administrators which lets be honest are not the best caliper. I didn’t write this review to bash the school, I love the school and it has great instructors there. I’m writing this review because the instructors are working with limited resources making the best with what they have while administrators and the president line their pockets. Are they earning that over a 100 k a year paycheck… NO. I could list a dozen teachers that are worth their weight in gold and actually earn there pay which is no where near what these presidential crooks earn. I drove 30 – 45 min west and obtained a much better education, variety of classes, and resources to boot. And the drive was more than worth it. They have just lost their way… I gave two stars instead of one for the teachers

Very bad experiences here!

This is the community college of the desert hence the name of the college! It has a bunch of brand new buildings and continue to get bigger each year. Always construction going on but for the better.
The parking is great, now that they opened new lots or renovated them. Make sure to buy your parking permits off their website for $ 20 a semester, beats the $ 1 permit from the machines. The professors and classes are at a high caliber with only a few that are low speed. The admin is always busy during the fall semester but quickly dies down when it starts. Financial aid is never packed and can get anything accomplish. Counselors are helpful to a certain point and are only busy during the beginning and ending of a semester.
Downfalls are that the parking machines sometimes don’t work or won’t take a certain type of payment.
Financial aid office staff can be rude at times and not clear on what they need from you. Their system online needs to be updated when asking for certain items since it sends out a generic message asking for almost everything until you ask in person to clarify and they tell you they just need one thing!
The counselors won’t see you for long if you haven’t registered, which is fair but could be kinder when telling you. Also it seems like they tend to lose paperwork, so I recommend keeping track and making copies. Also they will not clear you for a class without the paperwork you submitted that they lost.
Overall I enjoy and am happy at this college. The Veterans Center here is great! Every issue I had they have always taken cared of and gone out of their way! That’s why I rate them at 4stars haha

The priority ladder demoralizes me in terms of perusing my career, because I will never know how long it will take for me to get there or at least complete the community college part of edging closer to my career. Some of the instructors at this school are just down right absurd. My math instructor had the NERVE to tell our class during summer school that if we don’t show up, it wouldn’t matter to him because he’s still getting paid. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Also my girlfriends instructor attacked her health in an email, blaming her health for problems what he is CLEARLY RESPONSIBLE FOR but is too ignorant to admit that it’s him and not his class. This college should have a semester pass/​fail check for EVERY instructor on campus because some of these instructors have classes where their semester fail rate is a drastically higher than their pass rate.
The reason I gave a rating of two stars is for so e of the counselors. Some are very nice and very helpful. Some others have attitude.
Not every place is perfect. The campus is relatively clean, there is ALWAYS construction. But that’s a good thing to the school. Not for the students.
This school is building it self to become bigger and I’m positive the out come will be really nice. For the school.
I just hope I can do something about the whole priority ladder dilemma because I don’t want to be stuck In COD for another while because I can only manage to get into 1 or 2 classes per semester because of the priority and the classes filling so quickly.
It’s like saying, «wait here while these people pass because they’re doing better than you and they matter more than you do and if you want to come in after they do their business, your welcome to.»

I attended COD for one semester, not because I only wanted to go for one semester, but because my priority was so low I couldn’t get the classes I needed. I enjoyed my classes and teachers. The campus is also very nice. I was very disappointed in the priority regulations and the number of classes available.
For example, there’s only two Intro to Chemistry classes available per semester. With 30 or so students in each class that doesn’t leave much of a chance for people like me having to wait until the 7^th day to register. There’s nothing counseling can do to help, I’ve tried. They not say good luck.
I’ve tried for 2 years to attend and only managed to get in for one semester. Since moving to California, this school has really made things difficult for me, and had me jumping through outrageous hoops I should not have had to do.
Approach with extreme caution if you’re interested in attending! It’s an absolute nightmare!

It’s community college … Things I don’t like is the poor communications and a couple instructors I have had leave something to be desired.

Yes, I am a COD fan. I am in the middle of my classes there. Overall, its a wonderful way to get cheap/​easy course credit for transfer to a 4 year degree. Its not centrally located to Palm Springs (nearly 30 minutes drive each way) but its do-​able. It is going thru a lot of change with the new buildings and solar panels. The only grievances I really have is when asking professors about previous edition books for class (1 penny books on ebay, amazon and
), they tend not to reply to that email or brush you off with something glib and vague like ‘try the campus bookstore’. Also, 2 out of 3 times when I have emailed a professor about switching to their class in the 2^nd week of the class, and I get a stoney response of, ‘I regret to inform you that it is too late in the semester to transfer’ (one day after the cut off). I know that its possible because I have switched after the deadline by filling a petition to the dean and all it takes is one signature and 2 business days to process. So either they are ignorant of that, or they dont want to deal with more students if they dont have to. Otherwise, all of my teachers (except for just one) have been very helpful and if you are willing to put the time in and do the work you will make an A in the classes. Just be prepared to walk a few blocks to your class from the parking spot, and dont take any math, science or technical classes online, just humanities.

I have nothing but good things to say about COD (The fish school… COD, get it?). Had a very good teaching staff there, learned a lot, they encourage higher education (which I took advantage of), and the campus now is looking like a ‘real’ campus, although truthfully, it was a great campus to begin with. Even if a degree is not what you’re seeking, this is still a great place to take a few classes, learn about something you’re interested in, etc. I’m a fan! And a graduate!

I’ve lived in Palm Desert for about 5 years and now in Palm Springs. This is the Community College that everyone in the low desert goes to. I’ve taken classes over the years and I am always happy with them.
Construction has been going on for the entire 8 years I’ve lived here. Nice new buildings and the parking is much better. There are still quit a few construction areas still up but it’s improving the college so I don’t mind.

Good community college.
went here and never had any problems.
the staff are friendly and its like any other college, you get good teachers and then you get some rotten apples.
parking was a huge bitch but now that the construction is over its alot easier to find parking. its always a fight to find the good close parking spots, but hey thats life. you always got to fight for what you want.
classes can be easy or hard. i never really tried hard but i will say that they are educational.
Also, the yoga class will knock you on your ass, so be prepared. its not easy. beware!
the campus, like any other can be confusing but after a couple weeks or semesters, lmao you’ll get the hang of it.
the new café rocks. its so modern and hip. love love love the breakfast burritos. they’re cheap and hit the spot.
financial aid was fairly easy. got to love free money

It’s a community college, so you can’t really expect the best of everything. They have recently done a lot of renovations to some classrooms and added a nice new student services building so it doesn’t look so bad anymore. These renovations were made possible with a bond measure that was passed in 2004 that could only be used for construction, so the fact they did not use it for more class meetings (which they desperately need) is not their fault.
This campus, like any campus, can be confusing. But there are displays here and there of the school layout. Or one can be easily accessed on the college website by clicking campus map on the top right corner then clicking campus map (again) on the left.
I really don’t think this school can be judged by what kind of students attend here. That’s out of the school’s control. Budget cuts are also out of the school’s control, which is why there always seems to be around ten students trying to crash every course. As strange as I think it is that more classes aren’t offered when this is the only community college in a fifty mile radius, it is what it is until the school can get more money I suppose. By the way, my last statement was an exaggeration. I don’t know how far other community colleges are from this one.
And as far as instructors go, there are good and there are bad. I would highly recommend looking up your potential instructors on
prior to enrolling so you can increase your chances of having a pleasant semester.

For being a self-​proclaimed ‘intellectual’ of two previous universities, Ryan H. certainly likes to place the blame on the wrong people. You can’t really blame a community college on the «quality» of its students, considering it’s a c-​o-​m-​m-​u-​n-​i-​t-​y college. Community = all walks of life. People go to community colleges because they actually want to be educated and do something good with their lives. How unfortunate that Ryan didn’t learn about a little something called tolerance from his two universities. Anyway…
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area for all of my life and only just moved to the Coachella Valley last year. Having already been to a four year university and deciding I didn’t want to do what I originally majored in (marketing) I decided to change majors to biology and attend College of the Desert until I could transfer to a new university.
I was absolutely astonished by the quality of their educators. Every single instructor I have had thus far for the last two semesters have been encouraging, knowledgeable, and passionate about the subject that they taught. They have made me want to learn more and more about things that I had little interest in prior to attending their courses.
I’d like to especially mention Mr. Bingham who teaches various political science courses both for College of the Desert as well as Palm Springs High School. He possesses qualities so rarely seen in our educators: knowledge, passion, guidance… the list goes on. I wish he could teach the world.