For those entering the nursing program, I would look elsewhere. I am glad that the program is now four semesters instead of three, but the things you cover in leadership class have nothing to do with leadership. One of the things that you have to cover in the leadership class is talking about the union. This should not be something that is talked about until you are in the bachelor's program. And don't even get me started on the bonus points that they offer. These are nothing. These only help you if you are already passing the class. I had a friend have to retake a whole semester due to one point! I refused to have these points applied to my final grade. This is how the school makes the student's grades look better, thus making the school look better. As I have said in the beginning, look elsewhere. read more

You have to drive a bit south from Edina and you're not quite in Bloomington the city once you get here. A calm, rural suburb looking surrounding area makes for a good setting for a college campus. I think it adds to the mental wellness aspect of attending a college. read more

Normandale Community College - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Bloomington, Minnesota

Very unprofessional when it comes to contacting them. All phone lines except the one line being the disability line don't work. It says office is closed but in fact it is open. No one is answering nor doing their jobs. I found this very stressful to deal with. I previously attended north Hennepin community college and even though their building and overall area is out of date and not remodeled they give their students more attention and I found it 100% easier to contact and reach them! read more

Sub-par to average school, I have attended this college for three years to complete my marketing degree. In that time the absurd bureaucracy and bad teaching has literally driven me to insanity, If I were to do it all over again I would NEVER attend this school, but at this point I am looking forward to receiving my degree and never looking back at this terrible place. Most students start here and transfer out but it makes you not have a positive view of college after attending Normandale, I think time and money is better spent at the destination college than here. None of the courses are that great and most are bought courses where the professors are professional powerpoint readers or if it is a online class you are subjected to the hell which is Cengage or MindTap. I literally could benefit more from reading articles on the internet than taking these courses. Take my advice and skip this place, its not worth it. read more

I'm an adult who was forced with an uncomfortable decision a few years ago - and I made the decision to go back to school... Being an adult (who already has a degree, courtesy of my ma & pa) I am paying for my own education. Because of this, I decided on Normandale, instead of someplace pricier, like say the U of M. The good thing about Normandale, their curriculum mirrors that of the U of M's...so you still get a very good education (and transferable credits) with a smaller price tag... The campus is nice enough, and easy to navigate. The parking lot is a bitch, but they do have off-campus parking complete with a shuttle bus. Their class schedules are pretty flexible & they seem to cater to a lot of adult students (or people who work full-time). One helpful tip...if you have to take General Psychology, or any Psych course...look for Charles Nikles and take his course. He is, hands down, my favorite teacher I have EVER had... read more

Great facilities and amenities. Instructors vary, as they do anywhere. I suggest checking them out on a site like ratemyprofessor or something similar, I've found the reviews there very helpful. Normandale is not intimidating for an older student who has been out of school for a long time, and there are a fair number of older students attending class along with the typical college age kids. It's a good alternative to getting part of your education at a much better price than going straight to a University. You can complete the MN transfer curriculum at Normandale, and that guarantees you admission as a junior to many schools in MN (those in MNSCU, I know U of M and the MNState U's are included. Normandale has also partnered with some 4 year schools (Mankato and Metro State for sure, and a few others) and you can actually get your BA or BS degree in certain areas all at Normandale. read more

I stopped into Normandale today to tutor a student in chemistry. We met in the Student Center on the north side of campus. This building was basically brand new and quite nice on the inside. They had a lot of places (tables, booths, generally seating) to sit and do homework or read the paper between classes; they also have a large café on the second floor, as well as, a brand new bookstore. After I was done tutoring, I walked in to an adjoining building (I believe it was called the partnership center) this building was also basically new and filled with top of the line technology (tablets hang next to the classroom doors and tell you what's going on in the room (by the hour) weeks in advance). I only have two complaints, which I why I gave it a four star instead of five. The first, is that parking is horrendous!!! I spent almost a half hour finding a parking spot, that wasn't a 20 minute walk from the building. The second complaint, is that the rest of the campus seemed to be outdated and in need of a freshening up. This campus was overall delightful and probably a great place to get an affordable education. Will I be back though? I have no choice; I was told about a Japanese Garden that I'm really wanting to check out and I tutor students here. read more

AWESOME! I am receiving my AA degree in a month and Normandale has been a amazing school. They are affordable and have engaging professors. I really recommend anyone who plans on going into a anthropology related field to get their AA degree here. The anthropology department recently received a HUGE grant and the students are getting opportunities of a lifetime. If you take felid archeology expect to actually go to a excavation site for a weekend, with paid hotel, food, and gas. ALSO you get to dig up old artifacts and really learn how to do archaeological felid work. read more

Normandale is a great community college and the teachers and staff there are great. Student services is amazing with helping their students in any way they can. Jeremy from student services is a great guy, he really cares about student's situations and does what he can to help. He recently helped me with a situation with a class and stayed in contact with me through out a couple weeks of dealing with it. read more

The people there is very nice ! The first time I went there , I just took a map and walked around, some worker there asked me if I need help to find somewhere. It's a nice place to start my college, I applied already! I will be a student there ,haha ! read more

See all

I love my school. The teachers and staffs are very nice and helpful! The tuition is cheap. The school does it best everyday to improve the environment. I wish the wifi is a little bit faster and cover more. read more

I just started at Normandale this fall. By way of background, after that miserable experience I had at MacPhail, rather than quit music all together, I decided instead to take my music education to the next level: pursue a degree. I tried to get accepted into the U of M School of Music, but I didn't pass the audition. I did, however, take the first year of music theory at the U of M via the College of Continuing Education, and I transferred the credits to Normandale. I auditioned and was accepted as a two-year AFA degree candidate at Normandale. My experience at the U of M gave me something to compare Normandale against. At Normandale, so far so good. I don't feel I have been here long enough (yet) to give her five stars, but if things progress as they have thus far, then I will probably up the grade at some point in the future. As one other reviewer states, returning adults are inevitably faced with the challenge of "fitting in" with much younger classmates (in my case, young enough to be my own children). Unlike the U, at Normandale I have found that once my classmates got used to me, and once they figured out that I'm not a creep, they were very nice, very warm and very welcoming. Several are MUCH smarter than me, even though they might lack life experiences, such as watching your children being born, raising teenagers, or surviving an IRS audit. But they're really good kids, and from them I get a certain energy that I don't get in my work place. Normandale takes the "community" part of the Community College title seriously. We nontraditional age students appreciate that very much. It is comforting that I am not the only returning adult. (In fact, there are five of us older students enrolled in the music program, and at 50 I believe that I am the youngest!!) And as the previous review mentions, many of Normandale's programs are modeled after the U of M, which does facilitate transfer to a four-year degree if one so chooses. Normandale provides a valuable community service, both by providing an affordable path for a baccalaureate, and in helping prepare students who might not be quite ready for the rigors of a more intensive four-year program. The complaint about parking is valid, but the U is worse. So one might have a bit of a walk; it isn't as far as walking from the East Bank to the West, or vice verse. Normandale is in the process of erecting a parking ramp, so the parking situation is temporarily exacerbated, but it should improve when the ramp is finished. My only real gripe (aside from some of the bathrooms that smell) is the design of their web page. There are no less than five (count 'em up, 5!) separate log-in pages for student services: one for e-services (tuition, grades, registration), one for email, one for D2L (on-line course work), one for the bookstore for purchasing books on-line, and finally one for library services. Each of these log-ins takes a separate password. It would be nice if some of these services could be consolidated, similar to the way that the U of M has One-Stop. (MnSCU IT Services, take note!) read more

I interviewed for a faculty position at Normadale recently. I was VERY impressed by the facilities and campus. Many community colleges are run down and have carpet that is decades old. Most of the buildings at Normandale were either brand new or recently remodeled. The Dean and hiring committee was very nice and welcoming. I also like that the school is a little south of the Minneapolis so the area around the campus is not crowed and densely populated. The Japanese Garden is supposedly one of the best things to see in the Twin Cities. Normandale seems like a great place to work and attend class. read more

Normandale is a very nice school with good to great professors. The outside of the school doesn't look like anything special but once inside, the school is very clean and reasonably modern. The layout inside can get a little confusing because there are so many different hallways but once you get an idea of where your classes are, you'll be fine. I haven't spent a lot of time in the student center or exploring the extra circulars on campus, but there seem to me a lot that are offered. The parking situation is okay, on busy days I have to park on the top floor of the parking structure but I'm never searching for a spot. All of the professors that I've had here are great but I have definitely heard some stories about some pretty bad professors, so bottom line, research your professors before signing up for the classes. Overall, a good school. read more

Don't be frightened off by the cloud of cigarette smoke shrouding each of the entrance ways. Once you get inside, you find a friendly, stimulating academic environment. read more

This is a good and welcoming school for those who are continuing their education. I had to make the tough decision to go back to school already having a BA and this made it affordable for me to do it without having to take out additional loans. There are many online and evening courses. I wish there were more, but this school has definitely gotten me started. read more