Santa Fe Community College

Great school my kids went here before moving to UNM!

Very slow in their response; staff aren’t competent, the whole vibe fits with this elderly community of Santa Fe. Low efficiency and so out of touch with what the world is advancing in education. SFCC student website is poorly designed and the worst student portal I have ever used. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t even try to attend this school. CNM is way better; my gosh.

Regarding the CONTINUING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: I have signed up for two continuing education courses. Both have been cancelled due to low enrollment. I called today to ask what the policy was and was informed that if there are less than SEVEN signed up they cancel the class. That seems like a high threshold for a community education class. I know I spent a great deal of time looking through the catalogue, reading all of the deceptions and signing up for classes. I looked forward to each one a great deal and planned my work and social schedule around them- only to have it cancelled just days prior. I can’t imagine wanting to make that time and effort in the future with this pattern. Which is sad because in other cities I’ve lived in community education programming is a life force for the community.

This place is a great local resource. The art department has well-equipped facilities and knowledgeable, caring instructors across the board. For locals seeking space and knowledge to advance their skills, this place can't be beat. If you are interested in the arts, visit the art studios. Sculpture, welding, woodworking, painting, ceramics, photography, etc. all have great instructors. Plus, it's affordable, and I've heard that it's even more so for seniors. Degree programs here help the school stay in biz while adding to your list of accomplishments so sign up for one. If you are a returning student, you've probably already fulfilled many of the requirements and will only be taking electives anyway, so it's not going to cost you more money than if you just pursued your interest anyway. You'll help keep your program going by doing so, because The Man loves to cut funding for education and is more likely to do so if programs don't have a lot of graduates. So you are helping other students have access in the future. I'm going for an associates degree in the art department and am having a blast. I've already got a degree, so I'm just taking what I would have wanted to take without a seeking an additional degree. It's really helping me accomplish work I wanted to be able to do outside of the school.

Despite what some may say, the Santa Fe Community College is an excellent school. Especially for those of us who can not afford and expensive University.The staff and facilities are awesome and there are many degree options for you to pick from. There are also many extra circular classes that seem like a lot of fun! Sure it's not perfect but no one should expect it to be as they are just a small college. I can say from my own personal experience that I enjoy coming to school here. Everyone is really friendly and most of the teachers are helpful and caring towards their students. As for the previous reviewer, I work at the bookstore and I can tell you that we would never purposely sell you a used book for full price. If that was really the case, you should have come back the the Bookstore with your receipt and shown us the mistake. We would have refunded you your money if what you said was true.

SFCC offers an amazing array of great courses, both credit and continuing education. Many of the teaching staff are wonderful, dedicated professionals and the quality of the classes is often exceptional.

The staff communication and attitude is a reflection of SFCC “leadership.” I have never encountered a place to have such rude staff unwilling to answer questions— if they answer your question they treat you as if you’re bothering them. Customer service and student success is NOT one of SFCC values. Not to mention the predatory collection SFCC practices, CNM drops your classes if you do not pay, SFCC will send you to collections instead of dropping someone for non-payment, im so glad I switched over to CNM. CNM might be more expensive but it has been the most helpful with the most at tentative staff. I hope SFCC becomes what it once was; a good place like it was a couple years back.

NO HELP, NO MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS, NO FOOD, on campus or within miles, NO MINORITIES EXCEPT JANITORS.. NO RELATABLE PEOPLE FOR THE YOUNGER INCOMING STUDENTS. Which is why no one stays to graduate. They don't have any structure for student success and achievement because the seniors advisors can't relate or communicate to the youth of today's times. There is NO MENTAL HEALTH counselors to help the process of mental or psychological struggles for New Mexicans. Seen a friend having a mental breakdown who needed a license counselor. She was told to go online and that there are a handful of people out of state doing counseling sessions. I sense have looked into it and these remote counselors, have no clue about anything related to New Mexico. You won't find a minority to help you answer your questions unless they are a janitor. The staff is strictly Caucasian and European. SFCC STAFF ARE OLD AND OUT OF DATE CANNOT RELATE TO YOUTH STUDENTS(under 30) ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM STUDENTS..SFCC caters to Rich Retire Senior Only Campus (non New Mexicans) . They don't even have counselors to help with student issues or mental situations on campus. They barely understand that we are a state. How can they help us. The school really doesn't provide help for the students. Been going here prior to COVID and it has only gotten worse. If you're Caucasian or European you can definitely get a job here but if you're a minority you can only be a janitor! WHAT HELP ! Get on the train and go to Albuquerque, where the schools actually provide what is required for student success and graduation ( FOOD, LICENSE COUNSELORS, FREE TRANSPORTATION, RELATABLE COUNSELORS, YOUTH ENGAGEMENT, CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES ON CAMPUS FOR YOUTH, MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES, EVEN FREE FOOD) Art department faculty are of quality caliber but not the rest. SFCC STAFF IS A BUNCH OF SENIOR CITIZENS TRYING TO GET YOUTH TO DO IT THE WAY IT WORKED 40 + YEARS AGO. When they were young SFCC SPENDS THEIR MONEY ON ARTWORK , GALLERY SHOWS and staffing slow seniors that don't get the job done. SFCC IS NOT INVESTING INTO STAFF TO HELP THE YOUTH OR TO HELP WITH OVERCOMING MENTAL OBSTACLES OF BEING A STUDENT

Affordable school and core classes are setup to transfer (do your transfer equivalency research though) I finished both the engineering and the controlled environment agriculture (greenhouse management) programs. I highly recommend the agriculture program. They have a great algae and biofuels lab, the greenhouse is so awesome and is on its own microgrid. Unfortunately they dropped the solar program in a very solar energy focused state. Go talk to Charlie Shultz and Dr Gomez about AG and environmental sustainability courses. Lots of internships available and great hands on experience in the lab and greenhouse. Microgrid technology is on the rise and you can find good stuff here for it. If you need physics, Jerry is the best around! Math department is great, particularly Jonathan Haack. The school did make me jump through some unnecessary hoops for the engineering degree that did not help with my transfer to UNM though(pretty lame, sync up to more than mechanical engr please!) Advisors are pretty helpful but way too busy to give the needed attention in my opinion, that's an admin problem though. They have a great fitness facility with a pool and nice basketball courts. The kids campus is supposed to be great but almost impossible to get your kids in. They have a high school program there (TMP) and dual credit classes so high school students can graduate with an associate's as well as HS diploma. I plan on sending my kids here through middle and high school, much better than public school options in this town. Go to school! Do it! It's worth it even if you only do a little at a time, but it's much more affordable if you go full time and crush it. I say this because if you're reading this far you're thinking about it and if I can do it (in my 30's) you can too! SGA needs some work, particularly in the administration side. Involvement in clubs should be much easier to engage with and they should be more considerate of atypical students (i.e. working parents). The student involvement coordinator is more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to starting and engaging in clubs. Overall great Santa Fe school, I wish they would consider moving into some 4 year programs though because Santa Fe needs more for their youth and especially working parents to move forward effectively as a community.

Santa Fe Community College provided me a cheap alternative to expensive universities. I have been going there since being a sophomore in high-school (about 4 years ago) and they have a great duel credit program. I was able to substitute high school classes for credit which was very handy when I graduated from High School. The teachers seem to be a split down the middle between the ones who care and the ones that want to get paid. Most of the pre-rec classes are pretty boarding and nothing special , but they are affordable and not that hard to pass. Its a great place to get that kinda stuff out of the way for people looking to also transfer to another 4 year school. The 2 major down sides I notice are the administration and age gap between students. Admin is slow and unresponsive, they don't warn you of important dates and deadlines resulting in administrative havoc that can take days and even weeks to fix. As for the age groups, I am currently 20 years old and most students at the school are either in High School (14-18 years ) or an older adult crowed ranging from 30-65 years old. So for someone perusing an associates after high school it isn't the best place to make tones of friends and have the stereotypical college experience. However... The classes specializing in media arts are acceptable. Students are usually more motivated to learn then the pre-recs. The teachers are nice and very flexible and will tweak things around for you to help you get your degree sooner. Over all I would suggest this school for kids looking for a great alternative to high school. Or people that are looking to get their 2 year degree for a fraction of the price of a university.