The professors can be great if you pay attention to their ratemyproffessor but the other staff not so much: -Take weeks just to concider getting a counsler appointment - I had to fill out the same name change form 4 times and emails to Admin. read more

While Southwestern College offers a diverse range of degree programs, their admissions process is lacking. Communication is terrible, often delaying the ability to register for classes or even make a counseling appointment. Unlike other colleges I have attended where to be a transfer student is a simple handoff with realistic processing timeframes with transcripts and responses, the staff at Southwestern College do not answer their phones and take weeks to respond via email with often misinformation. I submitted my transcripts March 15th, and emailed the counseling office to request for an appointment for an education plan. It took them 2 weeks to get back to me only to say they must be evaluated first. Reasonable, although other college allow you to book a general appointment so they can clear your prerequisites to at least register. I email the evaluations department which another 2 weeks go by with them saying that they can't view my transcripts and to contact admissions. I then proceed to email admissions for them to say it takes 4-5 weeks to upload my transcripts. At this point I'm absolutely astounded by the amount of inefficiency at this school. I have been to various community colleges and never had this amount of difficulty to just to enroll so that I may be able to register for the Fall semester. Finally, I received notice after a follow up email that my transcripts are visible and to contact evaluations for review, which I do, and they verify they can view my transcripts and will take 4-5 weeks to process, but to contact the counselors office for an education plan. I finally get through via telephone only to be told I cannot set up an appointment until my transcripts are evaluated. I can't even drop in for a general appointment so that I may register or clear prerequisites. I have never had this experience at other colleges and now contemplating if it's even worth continuing because if this is reflection of their school that promotes opportunities and resources, how am I to have trust that their will not be constant roadblocks in the future, pawning me off to be someone else's problem in another department. If you really want to transfer to this school, I suggest starting 6 months in advance and prepare to be going around in circles like a carousel. read more

Southwestern college is the best college to go to. I loved all my semesters since I got to meet new friends, lots of spaces to study, clubs, and the counselors are so nice and supportive. I definitely recommend this college and also their programs are fun and have support that you're looking for, and lastly the views on campus are the best. read more

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If you graduated in may you won't receive your diploma until September. It wont even show up in you transcript until the middle of the summer of your grad year! So good luck using it to prove you graduated when seeking employment opportunities until the fall. read more

The transfer counselors droped the ball huge, they had me do somthing with my csu application that ended up being incorrect and costing me my admission to sdsu. This college has two extremely knowledgeable va benefits certifying officials but no veteran tutors or counselors. They lack resources for veterans and focus on LGBTQ agenda leaving other students feeling like second class students. read more

It was kinda boring. I thought we would have had access to the green houses but they were locked.

Southwestern College looks good on the outside, but looks are deceiving. Even with the new buildings (and the older ones), this place is a hot mess; it should be cleaner and more welcoming. It's like they say, "hey, we have a new building, but we don't have anyone to clean up". Garbage is always overflowing, and restrooms across campus are often disgusting, making for a poor experience for students. The food in the cafes is horrible, unhealthy, and questionable. Parking is a disaster, and there is no system in place or anyone to direct traffic. Southwestern College is just weird. read more

Everyone has a counseling horror story. Counselors enroll you into classes you do not need, and neglect important prereqs and pipelines you do need. I never met a competent counselor until I was assigned to the veteran specialized counselor. As a whole, the college aspires nothing more than to feed you into SDSU through the path of least resistance. You can be a "successful" non-STEM transfer student by more or less benchwarming. The student body primarily consists of privileged, entitled, and arrogant 18-20 year olds in parental-financed vehicles from East of 805, or crass, vulgar, disrespectful, but less privileged youth from West of 805 or south of the border. Several departments are considered notoriously bad or underperforming by California Communtity College standards and expectations. At the administrative level, the goal seems to be "accomplish as little as possible". Many campus resources are only available 4 days a week, library hours are limited for a college, constant updates and changes to web portals and resources frustrate students and faculty alike, despite record enrollment, at least one or two parking lots is usually closed at the beginning of a semester due to construction. New buildings have non functional doors, wifi-linked light switches, and a centralized AC control constantly cranked down to the 60's for multiple buildings. Adjunct instructors from other institutions have noted, "it takes them a long time to fix things here" in comparison to Grossmont, Palomar, etc (other Community Colleges). 90% of the faculty instructors I have had have been competent if not good at their jobs. They occasionally are prone to the "adult in the room" power trip. I would recommend Cuyamaca or Grossmont College over Southwestern for 90% of students with any aspirations. In the words of comedian Nick Thune, "Community college is a place where adults hang out between jobs" and Southwestern College is a perfect example. It's a place to swoop you up after failing your first semester somewhere else, or for you to live rent free with mommy and daddy instead of growing up. The numbers back it, they have the highest retention and lowest transfer rate in the surrounding area. read more

Bathrooms are always a disaster and never clean for students taking night classes. The study rooms are "first come first served" basis and are ALWAYS occupied by one person watching movies or taking naps. I never see anyone studying ? It's unfortunate for groups who have exams that come in before 5 to study in a group. This is something that needs to be regulated by library staff to ensure everyone is able to use the study rooms. The library however does have the cleanest bathrooms on campus. Stalls are wider too so you don't find yourself with your legs touching the toilet as you try to close the door LOL. Science building is super nice! Bathrooms are a bit of a walk for those taking micro. read more

Absolutely the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE, or responsiveness if you prefer. I have called them over a period of three weeks, numerous times, admin and student services. No one has ever answered, and no one has ever returned my call. That school is on a major building boom. I don't know why though. Their enrollment typically drops off mid semester, every semester. What any organization comes down to is management. Management here must be VERY BAD to be providing such horrible communications and facilities (after reading many other reviews). This is government bureaucracy at its worst. Congratulations! read more

Again putting young adults lives in danger by expecting them to attend class during a tornado watch and major rain. It's a bad look for the administration. Seems like they only care about money and not their students. read more

Could be much better. Vet going to school here. Sent multiple transcripts from my previous schools here, and then "never recieved" them after 3 sends. Resulting in them NOT ALLOWING ME TO UPDATE student plan and then STOPPING my financial aid. Counselors have little idea of what they're doing. I would reach out for guidance before every term to make sure i am taking the correct classes, and almost every term I end up getting told there was a class I've taken that was unnecessary. This isn't a college based on helping students, it's just a poorly ran mutual fund. read more

This school almost lost its accredation because of all the people they allow who live in Tijuana to enroll at this school. I witnessed it first hand how bad they struggle because they just don't understand the English language and because of this the school's GPA avg was super low. I hated doing group projects with TJ students because it meant I would have to do most of the work to secure getting a good grade. On the upside about SWC is Most professors are good professors like Professors Bacchia, Luna, Hiskey, Waayers but then you also have some that should never be teaching like Diane Palmer if you don't believe me just go see how bad her rating is on rate my professor. I will also say that the Student Services department was very helpful to me and also SWC has satellite campuses available too is a good thing. But they need to put a limit on TJ students intake because the school came close to losing its accredation. So I give it 3 out 5 stars read more

I have had to jump school to school in the past due to military assignments. Currently looking to start my masters degree in the near future. That being said, my husband has been attending SWC (first college experience for him). This is the worst school (college) I've come across. This school has horrible communication. My husband has missed out on several GI Bill payments--following doing all the proper paperwork (degree plan, student contract, etc). The email correspondence we have received has been littered with grammatical errors every single time. Not a great look coming from an institution based in "higher education". Anytime we have had to call it's apparent we are just a nuisance for basic question/answer clarification. I cannot stress this enough, if you are using the GI Bill or TA through the military please look into SDCC instead. read more

The worst school you could possibly go to! They have horrible communication their counselors are hardly ever available. I had to email every counselor and any one who worked at the school who wasn't a professor to get a response from one or two people. Took months to approve my transcripts and even then I still can't apply to classes without special approval every semester. Constantly being waitlisted because of them not approving transcripts in time and having to get special approval from them to enroll. I was enrolled in a course and they decided to cancel it a week before the class started and had only two other courses available that did not fit my schedule with my other classes. Again I had to ask for them to put me on the waitlist for another course (because I can't do it myself because of their prerequisite and transcript policies and they won't fix this problem) they didn't respond for three days until I sent another email clearly upset because the waitlist only got longer in that time span when it takes seconds for them to enroll me on their end. I have asked for emails of the dean of students or someone higher up on multiple occasions and constantly get ignored. I have brought to their attention how I've tried to reach out and have gotten no responses and the waitlist situation and they denied it even when I had picture proof that was time stamped and showed the date on it. Absolutely terrible school, have no clue how they are ranked so high and how they are still open. Not to mention the campus is gross and rundown and there is constantly construction occurring. If I didn't have to attend this school for prerequisites I would recommend literally anywhere else! read more

Great college. Great nursing program. Lots of different classes and programs. A good wxperience overall

Placement advisors give you wrong advice you get the run around they tell you to get on the computer down stairs and take "x" survey but the web page "links" have you spining around In Circles had to tell the guy bro. Do you even know what you're doing? Because you have us spinning our wheels and wasting our time? Where is this? Link you're talking about because we click it, and it takes us nowhere. Sure enough, he gave us the wrong advice. read more

My daughter was in the hospital yesterday getting an IV for flu and dehydration. She still tried to do the right thing and make it to class today so she won't get dropped from the class. She was throwing up at school but the teacher didn't care and yelled at her telling her he didn't want her in his class. She went to the counselor and they said it's up to the teacher if they drop her from the class. The counselor is supposed to be an advocate for the students. But I guess it's easier to just pass the buck than to do your job. I guess they get money for every day that a student is in class so it's better to have a person in class sick then in bed getting well. Even though eventually when the whole class get sick it will cost them more in the long run. Parents be careful especially if they are taking a bio class. All they care about is money not the welfare of the students that they claim to be there for. read more

The amount of work the counselors put in to keep you going around in circles. Is insane. After Covid no one answers the phones. And there is literally no way to graduate from here. They make it so difficult so that you stay in this school forever. I've had one class for the past three years and then they added a new course for everyone out of no where. Then I had two classes left. After I was done with those two, the counselor came back saying I need another one. I mean five fucking years. I am insanely pissed at this school. There needs to be a protest to get this school out of business. Cause the number of fucked up students by counselors so they don't graduate could be 1 in 3! Ahh! read more

Very quite and so much wonderful and helpful librarian's I find it to be the best library to study and ask for help to find resources. So many beautiful areas to sit at to have a lovely view of nature. read more

I'm in complete shock because the Nursing Program is HORRIBLE, None of teachers care about the students. They are quick to judge students, treat them like crap and dont offer any help when asked. I applied for the nursing program at this school (LVN). Grant it, I have never attended this school , so I didnt know what I was getting into, but at least I know now! If you didnt know, its very difficult to get into any nursing program. You have to complete all the pre-req's required . Took me a year to get it ALL done... i had to take a couple science classes, pass the TEAS exam, complete a CNA program, buy a bunch of books, take a CPR class, pay for a computer software testing program with the school (ATI), purchase a uniform (with the school logo), purchase white leather shoes, get a ton of immunizations, pay for my own background & drug testing...and by God, I got it all done....THEN the week before the program starts they tell me I'm no longer accepted because according to the Lab results for my drug test, my urine was too watery. TOO WATERY!! For the past couple weeks, I have been drinking water in the morning to hydrate BECAUSE I'm in a phlebotomy program and we are all practicing needle sticks. What is this policy about? What is a girl supposed to do, to get into a nursing program?? How much higher do I need to jump!? Since others have possibly diluted their urine to hide drugs in their system, I am now being accused as a druggie as well! I'm paying the price for someone else's druggie lifestyle and have to abide by a policy that doesn't pertain to me. This is defamation and I will be fighting for my rights. I WILL BE REFUNDED for ALL the costs up to now. I WILL BE REIMBURSED. Think twice before putting your efforts into this school. read more

By far Southwestern College aquatics swimming pool is the absolute worst. There is better swimming pools out there but this one is not one of them. The staff is useless and rude. The pool standards are garbage. Honetly, its not worth it to pay membership at this location. This pool needs new lifeguards as well as new managers. Because they are all rude and inefficient. And when you want to complain there is NEVER a manager on duty. Stay away from this place. read more

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Absolutely useless student center. Make sure to bring your workout clothes when you head into the student center as one simple question will turn into a workout. Each department there is equally useless (besides the cashier where you pay for your tuition) as they will keep sending you from department to department as none of them can help you. Counselors are almost non- existent as they have told me that in order to even speak with a counselor you must make an appointment that is 3-4 weeks later. Their walk-in counselors are an option but it is set to a 5 minute appointment in which they are not even supposed to look at your files and is for "general advice and counseling purposes only." The advice they give is so obvious I'm pretty sure a rock would have been just as useful in giving me advice. Their evaluations department is a total mess so good luck getting your associates degree on time. They're new format is clearly trying to push these appointments online but their website is equally as confusing and useless. Go jaguars! read more

This college made me resent my decision to go back to school. I enrolled for a specific program and so far they've discontinued 3 of the classes which were originally part of the program. Most recently I didn't find out that a class was cancelled until just days before the semester began. I'm now struggling to get into any class this semester as everything is full. They completely remodel their website every semester and it gets progressively less efficient and more confusing every single time. They also conveniently decided to switch to Microsoft outlook for email just days before the new semester started which has caused me to miss important emails and the app doesn't even load emails on my phone. Ive had a couple of professors here who seem to genuinely care about their students but the majority of my classes have felt pointless. I feel like I've learned nothing about what I went back to school to learn. Trying to get help from a counselor is a nightmare as the website is impossible to navigate and there is always at least a 2 week wait to be able to talk to one and of course by then it's too late. I wish I would have gone to any other school for my education as I am most likely just going to switch my major now from something I was super passionate about to whatever gets me my degree as quickly as possible so that I can be done with this terrible experience. read more

I want to give props to South western college they have really did a good job with the campus. Just think though I had a part of that. When the under ground construction was be built me and my step dad were working right were the flag polls are its good to know that it has came a long ways I am kinda bummed out I thought the college was having classes. Walked by last night on hopes that it might of still been open. Well I guess I'll see if there is any chance of trying to do it on line. But I definitely want to follow up on my education and vocational. But I hope that we could open up the door so we can further our education and be able to get a better job so we could pervied for our family's and love ones. So come people let's do some praying and let's get those door open God Bless Joseph D Sapien 619-603-2301 read more

Trying to enroll. All I got was a half ass response and figure it out yourself email about my password not working. Obviously if I was able to reset it myself. Do you think I would be asking for help? No. Sad ass excuse for a school. read more

We attended the college to watch a football game. The seats are the concrete stadium, which don't provide maximum comfort. They had food available to be purchased. There was parking available, but it was paid parking. read more

First off, I'm in the Fitness Specialist Certicate -- Advanced program and I've gotta say this has been one of the best educational choices of my life. After struggling to stay at 2.0 and off Academic Probation/Warning List at my old school in Virginia, I found this program and knew it was for me. I dove in and have had some of, if not the best professors I've ever had. All the teachers do a great job breaking down the material for you to understand (assuming fitness is your thing) and prepare you for all the tests and exams. If you get below a C in these classes it's probably best if you just look at other career paths. Shoot even below Bs shouldn't be looking at this field. And even then Bs should really be more like As. The teachers in this certificate program want all of their students to not just pass, but get As or close to it! read more

Terrible terrible "school". Do not sign up with this school or the swcc district. If you can go to SDCC, do it. Almost 5 years ago I tried going to this college and was faced with so much miscommunication from the staff that I couldnt take it anymore and left. I did not realize years later that they charged me 2k for two classes. Now they are stealing my tax refund every year. AVOID THIS PLACE! THEY WILL FIND ANYWAY THEY CAN TO TAKE ALL YOUR MONEY. read more

This college really needs to expand their parking spaces.. I literally come to school at least 20-15minutes early & sometimes I have to look for parking for 20-35minutes roaming around campus.. Also, at the school's cafe, they charge you for utensils -_- Students here are already poor enough.. Even my high school ( Arcadia High School ) has way better class rooms. My main concern is their disorganized campus parking areas and nasty restrooms.. read more

Southwestern College - New rolly chairs - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Chula Vista, California

If you are planning on transferring, try to find a transfer counselor to help you through the process. DO NOT SEEK HELP FROM AN ORDINARY COUNSELOR- they will give you inaccurate information because they have little to no transfer knowledge. I had to learn this the hard way. Additionally, try to find resources and assistance in completing the transfer paperwork ASAP because transfer workshops and open labs fill up quick. Faculty and staff at Southwestern College need to do a better job at being more helpful and compassionate in order to set their students up for success. Their lack of knowledge and resources regarding the transfer process is extremely unprofessional and disappointing. ***I would give this institution ZERO stars if that were an option.*** Go to San Diego City College. read more

In Danny's voice from the first Karate Kid movie "This school sucks man! SUCKS!!" Well.... i've been here almost 4 years when I was supposed to finish 2 years ago b/c of some class i need that is only offered once a year and at night while i have to take public transportation. Yea, this school's alright. read more

Southwestern College - Inside the gym. Wed is the last day to have 38 hrs. It's early in the morning and there's usually not that many people here. - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Chula Vista, California

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Been going here for about 3 semesters and I think I have had more than enough experience to comment on the school. The quality of the classes vary from class to class. I have taken classes that are impossible to fail and some where you are borderline going to fail. I've taken math classes here and I often hear about how someone has taken this classes multiple times and I couldn't understand that until I took an easy class and realized they've been getting by in those easy classes so they figured " oh, the teachers are just hard" when in reality, they just had it easy. When looking for a teacher, you really have to analyze RateMyProfessor. Some people complain but most of the time where there is smoke, there's fire. Make sure you search nationwide because not everyone is reviewed locally. Some of these teachers have TERRIBLE classes and they lowkey know but you have to call them out on it. Make sure you check to see if your assignments are checked because they forget those sometimes, even final projects. Something that people need to understand is that many of the teachers that go to this school teach at the other school. Most of my teachers teach at Grossmont and SDSU so the education is literally the same you would be getting somewhere else, in some cases. Major concerns I have with this school is the counselors and class availability. What's even funnier is that the classes on the degree plan aren't all that accurate when it comes to what you're allowed to take. **VETERANS**, If you have a problem with you education plan and getting certified for classes, call Meghan Burke, it's likely her fault along with the counselor. The counselors just seem to copy the degree plans they have on the website and don't seem to offer anything besides regurgitating what's already on there. The reason they're trash is because they know the classes are not offered by now so why let someone waste their time. I've noticed that a lot of the classes I need to graduate are yet to be offered. There is a literal roadblock in the education plan because the classes aren't offered. Some classes are temporarily offered but they are then subsequently cancelled to no signing up for the class. Not to sound elitist but a lot of the basic classes are the only thing available. You graduating says a lot about your degree because anything that even sort of look like a STEM degree won't be able to graduate. Computer Science? Computer Information Systems (programming)? No dice. Business? Well, you're good. I'm not going to go a full MAGA tirade like some people have went in the reviews but I will talk about a couple of things. *The parking/parking lot is initially dense the first couple of weeks but it dies off for the most parts. *Don't be the idiot to pick all 10:30-2:00 classes and you should be fine *The dangerous thing is people are in fact terrible drivers and I have got into an accident (rear-ended in the front of the school) *The car insurance people carry at the school is joke (Infinity insurance). They target Hispanic people (look it up) and is cheap for a reason. I purposely decided against letting them get my car fixed. Reputable places available was going to take over a week to fix so I handled it myself when I was rear-ended. This might not sound that bad but I hated going to school for that very reason; terrible college student in terrible cars, driving reckless. *Teachers don't speak Spanish in class but the I haven't had many Spanish speaking teachers. When a student asked something in Spanish, the teacher would quickly bring it back to English. *** Remember, THIS SCHOOL IS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM HIGH SCHOOL. It's only a matter time before someone says "I didn't know" *** **Don't think City College is all sweet though. Beside certifying and counselors the admin aspect is better than City College or the rest of SDCCD. Things are pushed out weeks for anything to get done at City College.You need them to review transcripts? Well carve out at least a month. You can effectively get done with a lot of stuff on the spot that takes literal weeks at City College. City does that stupid temporary student education plan and the you have to go back for a permanent. AT SWC, it's done all at once, which it should be. You also have to pay out of pocket at City College and then wait to be reimbursed by City College when SWC (at least for veterans) you can start school and get the money from the VA. The process for Post 9/11 and Voc Rehab is a lot easier at Southwestern than City College. Parking is bad at Southwestern, City College is worse. Use Southwestern to get you up and running and use City College for longevity. read more

The school is mostly students from Tijuana borrowing Chula Vista addresses. The annoying thing is most of the TJ students dont even take school serious they are just there for the fafsa and to score campus student jobs most of them dont even buy books and because of these students the school nearly lost it's accreditation a few years back. It is also hard to get into the classes you want when the TJ students are hogging up all the morning not caring if the class has anything to do with their major or not they just simply pick classes to have their 8 to 3 daily schedule. So good luck finding classes here. read more

I've taken few classes here. Some of the classrooms are out dated and some are up to date. The layout of the campus is pretty easy to find your classes. I have a pretty busy schedule so am just going here part-time. So far all the professors I've dealt with have been really cool. Finding classes was pretty easy everything is online. All the classes I've had all the homework has been online. Well yeah my experience here has been excellent so far. Thanks and take care! read more

It seems that other reviews seem to have a problem in a certain situation with specific individuals and not the school in its entirety. So I would really recommend checking it out for yourself. I love my school. They have been amazing at every department I've been in the student services center. From financial aid inquiries, cashiers office, transfer center etc. I have to commend the counseling department they just truly show a sense of care. From the front desk when I called early one morning and got an appointment same day to getting a walk in full counselor appointment within 30 minutes. Counselor Crystal is amazing. She really listens to your wants and needs and puts together the best possible plans for you in order to help you be successful there. I just love her work ethic and appreciative of her help. I have less than a year left and I know I will be successful and ready when I transfer. Teachers I have had have been phenomenal. I do go based a lot off of rate my professor and believe me it matches perfectly. I don't do it to find the easiest professor but the one who knows how to communicate and wants you to succeed. I also get lots of feedback from other students. They seem to be a very liberal college however I do know they cater to a conservative side... at least in a way to make you feel comfortable. I love it here and glad I decided to pursue a portion of my education here. read more

Most people that go to this college think they're really cool because they have those loud walky talky phones aka MEXtels. Like, we know you live in TJ and want to have a better education, but leave your brick south of the border. It's really annoying when I'm trying to learn and all I hear is "BEEP jajaj! BEEP way! BEEP osea! BEEP fresa!" Also, just because you have a "designer" bag, doesn't make you better than me. I go to school to learn, not to prance around in Coach. read more

SWC is doing a horrible job of helping their students during COVID. Been trying to get a hold of a counselor or admissions is impossible. Good luck with getting any help for your spring classes. read more

I don't see why some people are complaining so much about the classes... if you're there to learn, you WILL. Theres more variety of classes here compared to City and teachers here are waaaaaaay better at what they do. staff at the main office is SUCKY! they either have ignorant students working or incompetent adults who could care less about you or whatever it is you need. no one seems to know how to answer you when you have a question regarding to your classes, paperwork, records, or anything else for that matter. read more

I'm so happy to finally transfer out of this hell hole. It took me several years and a lot of semesters + summer sessions, but I finally transferred out and plan on attending San Diego State University with a 3.86 GPA. There were a lot of cool professors who were always willing to help and fully teach their interpretations of the material, but at the same time, there were some awful professors who have had long lasting careers on campus and that's a shame on SWC's behalf. Obviously, the dean doesn't listen to student's complaints and all the negative feedback about those professors or otherwise they would have replaced them by now. As far as the administration and counseling departments, there are some nice people but then there are some total A-holes who purposely sabotage your progress because they don't really care or lack the knowledge to help you graduate/transfer. Almost every single person who works in the financial aid department has been extremely rude and unhelpful. The same cannot be said about the staff in the cafeteria because the majority of the employees are friendly and I trust them preparing my food. Now, when discussing the atmosphere of this campus only one word comes to mind, and that's the word "Tijuana." This place is basically Tijuana 13th grade with around 80% of the population little social kids who live across the border and prefer to only speak Spanish and have their walkie talkie Nextels always chirping while they goof around all class and practically drop or fail every course they sign up for. I will not miss you Southwestern and your crowded parking lots, ticket happy police, and all of your budget cuts on classes when in reality you guys are spending millions of dollars expanding the campus. What's the point of building so many new facilities and classrooms if every semester they keep cutting classes and staff because they claim they have no money? You obviously have the millions of dollars to build a new cafeteria in the back and new facility on the corner of H Street yet you make all of your pupils suffer trying to crash and enlist up to 50 students on a wait list with no mercy or sense of urgency for your students. read more