Rio Salado Community College Reviews

Rio Salado messed up big time

Teacher credential program
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on January 5, 2012

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Just after registering for classes on Dec 5, it took forever to register fro classes.  I had to push my classes back 3 times, because they were not organized.  I had all my paper work in and completed, but someone missed something here and there.  I had to keep calling, and fianlly someone made sure I could get register for classes.  Financial Aid gave me a relative date for my funds to be released, tehn I had a hold on my acct.  I had to EMAIL a COLOR copy of my drivers license for some reason.  They stated it would take 3-5 days.  Its Jan 5 and there is still a hold on my acct.  Why put holds on all the accts when they knew that particular dept would be out the enitre week after Christmas.  What a bunch of crap.

A BUNCH OF LIARS

Associate of Business
Reviewer: (Degree In Progress) on January 4, 2012

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I've been waiting on my finacial aid for 3 weeks now everytime I call is a different excuse I sent the documents they asked for and they said it would take 3-5 days to process and I sent it in on Dec 16 2011 and now its Jan 4 and still no word from them

riosalado bad school

Associate of Arts
Reviewer: 1987 (Degree In Progress) on December 28, 2011

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Tey had did a review of students account on december the 12,2011 and said it will take 3-5 days after they get the document in to lift the hold off your account so that you will get your funding for school.Now here it is the 28 on december and the hold is still on my account.Dean ruby miller stay out the office more then she's in the office.And they say they are on winter break until  January  3.They shouldn't have went on break until they got the student account right.This is a terrible school.

Not the best school...

Associate in Science
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on November 22, 2011

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Rio Salado is so unorganized. The study guide that my teacher gave us for the final exam what about 30 pages long. How on earth can a person learn that much information in such a short amount of time?! They require you to write too much. And no matter how hard you try to write a good essay it's never good enough. A person cannot go through that if they they work full time or if they are disabled. I took a Biology class with them last year and it felt like I was taking a premed class. It's insane how much they make you do. And how much they make you do on the midterm and final exams. It is also a rip off that if you don't pass their exams by 60% even though you are passing the class that they fail you anyway. I had a B, but I didn't do good on the final and she failed me. Luckily I did good on the midterm. I've gone to other maricopa community colleges where I was passing the class, but failed the final and still passed the class. They do that in order for you to retake the class. I will never take science classes at their school again. I'm not sure how hard their math classes are, but I'm scared to try them. And the teacher doesn't teach you anything. If I asked her a question, she would just send you a website. She would never in her own words answer a question. I thought this school was all about writing in your own words...

Almost a Total Waste

Associate in Science
Reviewer: beth2_princess (Degree In Progress) on October 26, 2011

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I took some classes to help supplement those I am taking at another college.  In comparison to online classes there, these have all been awful.  NOT for transfer students or those who really want to learn - great for those just looking for an easy degree.  I could've gotten a similar education going to the library and just reading textbooks, as that's about all this "school" does to teach, anyway.  Lazy, useless instructors that are extremely textbook dependant, which is unfortunate since the books are so cheap that they fall apart (and I'm neurotically careful with my textbooks!).  None of my classes ever had discussion boards, either, so no chance to communicate with other students in the class, which can often really help.  RioLounge is a joke.  I've gotten all A's somehow (mostly by memorizing textbook info), but haven't learned a thing. I am so disappointed and scared I'll be ill prepared when I transfer to university.

Poor Quality

Associate of Arts
Reviewer: csworker09 (Degree In Progress) on September 16, 2011

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Rio Salado is an excellent choice if you just want to pay someone some money, skate through school and "earn" a degree. However, if you are truly looking to learn the material or are unfamiliar with the course do NOT take your classes at Rio Salado. Good luck teaching yourself things like Calculus or French at Rio. Additionally, the quality of the assignments and quizzes is absolutely horrible. I've repeatedly emailed my teachers in MULTIPLE courses about quiz questions that were poorly written. The three things I see happen most frequently are: 1. You are quizzed on things that haven't been covered in the course yet or aren't going to be covered at all. 2. You answer the quiz with the correct answer but the automatic scoring program marks your answer wrong. 3. There is more than one correct answer in the multiple choice questions, but you will be marked wrong if you don't answer the one that the automatic scoring program wanted you to.

Like I said, Rio is great for remedial credits, taking classes you just need to pass in order to graduate, or "earning" a really cheap degree when you already know all the information that is covered in the course.

But if you are looking for a real education, this is not the college for you. I will say this though, the more you effort you put into the classes, the more you will get out of it... as with anything else.

I do recommend this school over other online schools that just want your money and whose degrees are literally worthless after you graduate. This is because Rio Salado is actually a Maricopa County Community College and not a "degree mill." Accordingly, their tuition is the same as other Maricopa County Community Colleges (affordable!!). Instead of Rio Salado, I would recommend taking online or night classes at one of the other Maricopa County Community Colleges like Glendale or Scottsdale.

Worthless Education

Computer Technology
Reviewer: argowyn (Degree In Progress) on January 5, 2011

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My wife is currently attending this school and working on getting a degree in computer programming. This is a terrible school. I have 12 years of software development experience and have never before in my life seen such a piss poor attempt to teach such things as web programming, math, and intro to systems. The web class was completely essay based up until the last 4 assignments, then you get 1 chapter for each, html, css, javascript and the final. Bear in mind this is an "Intro" class the teacher...who is also their "Web Manager" aka self important know it all...and they have the students build websites with no instruction. They require the use of Javascript in one assignment but don't go over any programming basics!!! like how to declare a variable or what it even is they are trying to do! I have watched my wife struggle to grasp basic concepts and in the end have to teach her, and then she gets it just fine.
For the math the screwed up a test pretty badly. In the middle of a pre-algebra test that is covering square roots they suddenly jump to college algebra, going over function domain and range! from roots to domain just all of the sudden! has to be an error right? WRONG! even though the material is not covered in anywhere in the book. We let the professor know what is going on and her response was "I cover that with my freshman algebra class" and points us to stuff that is not in the book. 
I am lucky i went to a decent college and have years of experience to back it up or my poor wife wouldn't know what is going on. I truly feel sorry for anyone that is attending that school. you are not getting a quality education.

Freaking joke!

Associate of Arts
Reviewer: Anonymous (Graduate) on December 30, 2010

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Rio Salado... Well I did get my associates in arts and then a partnership with Northcentral to get my Bachelors in education. Let me take you on my nightmare. FIrst I enrolled and one of the "academic advisors" told me all of my AP credits would count this was a total of 18 credits. Well after I applied for teaching program 18 months later I was told these credits did not apply I then had to take these credits over the summer and the program admissions did not even recheck my program application till 9 MONTHS LATER! No one is there for you at the academic advisement and the program leaders really could care less about you. Being able to take classes at home was nice, but the money you pay for a university really is worth it... if you don't want a headache don't go to Rio.

Worst school ever attended

Associate in Science
Reviewer: wildmanstimpie (Degree In Progress) on September 27, 2010

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No joke, Rio Salado is the worst school I have ever been enrolled to. The Online material is unorganised, and the books provided miss out on valuable information to do your studies independantly. I took 4 classes Math 092-122, English 101, and Psych 101 after being told that Rio Salado would be a good start for completing my prereqs in nursing.
turns out I was given bad advise..... I couldn't grasp the mathmatical consepts in the course load because of the missing steps in the book. Everytime I was on a math question I couldn't complete, I would have to attend the tutoring sessions which eat up a good chunk in my wallet for gas. I found the english and psych courses to be easily understood however, the instructions given to me by the instructor was obscure, and I was constantly being downgraded on assignments that I put alot of effort into. After talking with my instructor and student dean about the course outline and it's obscured context, which the student dean agreed with me on, I was given only the option to either drop out of the classes or take an F and be put on academic probation. Rio Salado doesn't care about your education. If you have to drop out, they still get there money. Now come on I obviously don't have a problem with my english. English 101 and Psych 101 are some of the easiest classes in all the prereq requirements for nursing. If you do attend this school, you will soon find out just how sloppy it is truley ran. In the end I own about $4,000, was treated like crap by the school especially my instructor, and past only 2 math classes that I wasn't able to understand all that well. The instructors don't have time for you, and if an important issue comes up in your course work, you will be past from one person to the next with no real solutions. BEWARE OF THIS SCHOOL.

Excellent student support

Associate in Science
Reviewer: leroy319 (Degree In Progress) on February 28, 2009

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I needed one 3 credit math class to complete my BA.  this class was last because of a terrible fear of failure in math that began back in high school.  Math 102 was selected and proved to be the perfect choice.  Professor Strom stayed in continuous contact and provided constant encouragement.  The end result was a successful grade and a good level of learning.  I would encourage anyone with a fear of math to look at this option.

General Studies

Associate of Arts
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on August 20, 2008

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Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona has excellent customer service. Their financial aid department is top notch. Everyone in each department is always so friendly. They have a great book savings program. Their automated phone system is excellent. Their online self help is a bit tricky, and I recommend that you use one set of user names and passwords for everything: riolearn, forms and mymaricopa. They have a large selection of online courses and I find their online learning works just as well with Linux as it does with MS. The absolute best thing the college has going for it is that their live customer service for admissions, registration and financial is available after 5 pm and even on saturdays. I highly recommend this college to anyone that wants to take online courses or get a degree entirely online.

Rio is as good as gold!

Computer Technology
Reviewer: aninfinitecycle (Degree In Progress) on March 27, 2007

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Overall this degree has been a good experience for me and I feel confident in getting a job related to what I have learned.  Also, rio offers general education blocks of 30 credits that get you into Universities.

Good experience overall

Associate in Science
Reviewer: Anonymous (Degree In Progress) on April 30, 2006

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I took just one science course with this college (that is all I wanted to take) and it was a good experience overall.


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