Columbia College Reviews

"I was hoping to earn my MBA but instead enrolled in the worst online class I have ever taken. Very slow instructor response for help. Teacher not available to explain coursework. Would not recommend to anyone who would like to learn. Look elsewhere for you education."

"It was an average online college. The instructors were decent. Financial aid was easy to set up The cost of college is outrageous. The cost of books is outrageous. The counselor that I had was rude. It served its purpose but really did nothing to land a job. I did go on to another college to obtain my Masters degree."

"This school needs a lot of work, especially for the evening/online. My issue is that learning is way more difficult because most teachers are lazy and don't offer any true structure, guidance, or lectures. They expect you to read everything on your own and are terrible with communication through email. I feel as though I am paying Columbia College tuition just to turn around and have to be my own teacher. I feel I am not learning properly in none of my classes and that this is becoming a waste of money. I am in the middle of transferring and cannot wait. I also wish they would offer 16 week online/evening classes just so everything is not crammed and thrown together."

"This school's computer science program really was over hyped in the immediate area. While they lower the amount of Math you have to take, the actual programming part of the degree is not at all different from the bigger school that's just 10 minutes away from campus. As a matter of fact, after the fundamental data structures and algorithms class you need to take, the curriculum and all necessary classes are teaching the same information. There might be a difference in languages that are used compared to Mizzou's computer science curriculum, the actual data structures used for the programs we code are exactly the same. Even the initial assignments and projects you have to create to learn programming were literally just like Columbia College's direct competitor, University of Missouri. While the one professor the day campus has is a pretty bright man, it's literally just one man teaching computer science there. Since the other professor that was originally there left to a bigger university, the school has had at least three different professors that were interviewed for a tenured professor slot to assists teaching. For three years, each professor has seemingly last minute found another place to teach leaving the same professor to actually run the computer science program. The Math part of the program at the location in Columbia, Missouri was fragmented. At least that's the best way I can put it. The initial classes of Algebra and Pre-Calculus leading up Calculus were horrible. Both professors, although nice, really had a terrible time teaching the Algebra and Trigonometry. It was either too easy, or flat out just giving a passing grade just to move students along regardless if they actually know the material. Once in Calculus, the math associated with everyone's core credits they need improves. That really only applies to one professor of the three main ones the day campus has. Take that one professor out, the rest of the school's math department would be pretty mediocre. Since there's really only an x amount of professors to truly teach Computer Science and Math over in Columbia College, all the upper level classes were on a "rotation." Basically each important class for junior year and senior year are taught just that given semester. Should a student fail for what ever reason, that class will not come around until another two years. Don't know about you, but this whole type of problem is a make or break deal. Of course people who sign up want to pass classes, but unless you're a student with no obligations other than to go to school, this problem will pretty much make you walk away from this school all together. Should you try to stick it out, prepare for just some of the most stressful four month periods you are going to experience. The stress isn't just passing classes, or make sure you're not just A semester behind. It's to pass classes with a great GPA and make sure you're graduating at all. That's how far back failing key classes puts you thanks to the low professor count and the ridiculously low amount of students even taking Computer Science at all. As far as amenities go, this school lacks a lot of just that. You'll probably spend more time going to MU just for the fact that they're just so much going on over there than Columbia College. As a matter of fact, most of the social aspect of college life will be spent with Mizzou students, not Columbia College. That's not to say you won't make friends here, of course you will. Just know that the "college experience" in this school is just not there. All in all, if you are here because you've heard that computer science program is "better." Truth be told, it's not. At best the initial introduction can be argued as better but once up to speed to program in general, it's better to just go to University Of Missouri."

"The schedule was convenient and allowed you to power through courses in eight weeks. The topics were relevant. Some of the other reviews note the difficulty of the class work and tests. It is challenging on a academic level but rewarding. The online classes were thorough and well constructed. I did have a couple classes that were not as well done as the others. Overall, it was a challenging and productive degree experience."

"Columbia College is a place where students are nurtured and facilitated in all ways to achieve their highest academic potential. The classes are thoughtful and contributed significantly to the student I desired to become. The layout of the levels are logical, and an essential aspect of the coursework is the fact that the student has several available courses from which to choose. The classes are not pre-selected. Through the elective options, one can specialize the education to their particular needs. This feature is unique to some online universities."

"Awful! I received zero guidance as an undergraduate student. I did not finish my degree, but have recently reached out to try and complete this. After months of many emails with Rachel in the student success office I still dont have an answer as to what courses I need. She has now passed me off to another department. All I have asked for is guidance on who to speak with or information regarding coursework and I get nothing. There is a reason the graduation rate is so low."

"Evening Campus - This school has gone to c***. In general the school has become a diploma mill. The instruction is pretty much non-existent between the change of in-seat courses being one night a week for 4 hours instead of the old 2 nights a week for 2.25 hours. The teachers just read previously written notes, or power points, and when you ask for help tend to hush you because they say it is the only way to cover all the material with the minimum amount of time. Furthermore, with the new setup homework seldom receives feedback before actually being tested on the material. The online campus is even worse. Instructors are glorified graders and seldom can offer any help to the assignments that are generated from a purchased program. The program provides syllabi in which instructors are not allowed to change, and in which do not change from course to course. The school knows there is problems with the learning systems, for example the proctored test that the majority of students score less then 80% on because the whole text is tested over, with no idea which parts are actually important."

"I transferred from another college in 2017 and unfortunately in this area, there's not many choices for in-seat classes to obtain a bachelor degree. Columbia College is ridiculously expensive for the quality of education you receive. Since the beginning of my classes, I have seen a decline in the quality of instructors. I have literally been handed A's and been told by the instructor that they don't give a c***, it's just a paycheck. The cost of tuition now, with their "Truition" is around $400 a credit hour, which is WAY more than a university. These professors are adjunct instructors who have day jobs, come to class unprepared and just read PowerPoints off of a screen, and that's "teaching". Their online classes aren't any better. I'm supposed to just read some material and then participate in online discussions, get no real informative feedback from my instructor, and I'm supposed to learn something from this?? I'm beyond fed up and I may move just to transfer to a better quality college. My education is important and this is highway robbery."

"I honestly cannot say anything good. They have screwed up my account on multiple occasions attempting to charge me an extra $1500 for no reason! I have had nothing but false information given to me from individuals that are working there and it has been an awful experience."

"I attended the world campus of Columbia College of Missouri as an active duty member of the United States Coast Guard and obtained my BA in Criminal Justice Administration. While I was stationed in Key West, Florida, I was introduced to the school through the Education Service Officer (ESO) who was attending the school himself. The application process was extremely easy and they accepted almost all of my accredited military experience which helped to eliminate almost all of my lower level and core classes. This helped to save me a considerable sum of money by not having to take unnecessary classes. It also helped to speed up my ability to graduate within a reasonable amount of time. Tuition was reasonable and I was able to fit it into my budget. Through the years I was a student, there were several times that I was simultaneously deployed and taking classes. There were some times when I did not have internet connectivity and the professors were extremely accommodating when it came to turning in assignments. All the professors were willing to work with me within reason- and seemed to have my best interest in mind. Class work was challenging and you are expected to participate in discussions throughout the 8 week classes. Assignments, projects and papers were both topical and relevant to current events of the time. Discussions could at times become lively but were always respectful of differing opinions. Obtaining my degree helped me lay the foundation to start working on my Masters. This will help me to significantly increase my future earnings once I retire from the Coast Guard and transition to the civilian workforce."

"Great school! I attended both Kansas City and Denver and both were terrific! The academic advisors at both were incredible and the professors are outstanding and always have a great deal of knowledge as they typically work in that field. Many intelligent students, great place for veterans and international students, or working adults. No complaints at all!"

"Going to the school really sucks, the teachers are really full of themselves because they been in the military or the police and they think they know it all. Going to the school is very stressful because the assignments are really hard and the reading material that they choose is not adequate enough. The readings are professors truths are more for somebody that has been teaching the class for 30 years and not for somebody that is entering into the course. The cost of attending the school is very high considering that you don't not get a lecture. The exams and tests in this school expect you to remember everything so that you can write a paragraph for every question on an exam with no multiple choice or true or false. If you want to go to the school you better be ready to remember the whole book and wish they give you a book that has a thousand pages. This is really a disappointing experience for me and I really do not recommend going to Columbia College online because honestly you may not even be able to get a job with this degree. And if you go to the school, you will have the teachers treat you like you are stupid."

"I felt that Columbia University's Social Work program provided me with theoretical concepts that have molded me into an exemplary social work activist and clinician. The faculty and advisors were quite approachable and I felt as if they had my needs and career goals in mind."

"Their financial aid department is completely incompetent. I was relying on my financial aid for living expenses, and it was significantly delayed owing to their error. They flagged my file for review, for no good reason, and did not process the review in a timely enough manner. I got my electricity turned off as a result. Columbia awful. Go someplace else."

"Their financial aid department is the worst. My first year, I had no problems. My second year, they screwed everything up. I was denied my Pell grant because they flagged me for review. I submitted everything in a timely manner, but Columbia couldn't get it sorted out. After this nightmare, I am glad to be transferring to a different college!"

"The only positive thing I have to say about this program is that the cost per credit hour is cheap. The materials that the school uses are at least 10 years old. The things that you are learning about are also outdated. The courses are all disorganized and the website is a mess. You never know which set of standards you are being graded by or even what your assignments will be. Every class uses a different schedule for due dates although they are all basically the same structure of material and all are on the same 8 week program and it takes searching through all the different pages on the website to figure out what exactly is due. The assignments are often a complete waste of time discussion board questions. In these discussion board posts you are forced to answer a yes or no level question and then respond to multiple peer posts. These posts are normally just end up being the equivalent to random words used to reach word count. In summary - Pro: Cheap Con: Outdated Busy Work"

"It's a good school, very affordable and well organized. If you are an international student, it's a great place to, you won't be stressed about the cost of tuition, and you will get an opportunity to work and get some experience while studying. It's a good college, not well known yet but it's getting there. The teachers give excellent course, they master the subject, and guess what they are pretty much the same teachers you will find in other schools in the states. I met almost 3 of my previous schools. You can keep your job and get a degree in the same time, Columbia College will help you with that."

"This college IT system sucks they are not well prepared for their student. Keeping strict ruled for paying tuition fees on time is not enough they need to think about their students as well. I will definitely would not recommend this college to anyone. This college really sucks."

"I attended Columbia College & studied Human Services because I wanted to be in the Social Service field. I'm currently working for a non for profit housing organization & what I've learned has helped me tremendously. I would recommend this degree."