I completed my Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Writing at the UC Berkeley Extension in 2014, and the experience was the antithesis of positive. Most of the instructors projected an image of individuals with graduate degrees in either English or Creative Writing who could not find jobs elsewhere. The worst by far was Advanced Fiction with Tom Parker. Mr. Parker sincerely believed that teaching involved warming a chair while reading aloud from student assignments and talking about his personal life. Although this course did not increase my understanding of creative writing, I did learn that Mr. Parker's mother committed suicide and that his son ignores him; based upon the way that Mr. Parker ran this class, his relationship with his son is understandable. Mr. Parker additionally took it upon himself to make the class very aware of the fact that he wrote a bestselling novel and was capable of overpronouncing words in Italian. Although I am cognizant of the fact that I am far from being the next Ernest Hemingway, Mr. Parker also insulted my work anonymously in front of the class, and thus fostered an environment that encouraged his students to do the same. Class discussions of my work reached a point where two students would go out of their way to trash my work just to score brownie points with him. I did not need know that my written work was inferior because it sounded like the sort of thing that students are forced to read in high school. The other courses that I took were also far from enlightening, at least in terms of the curriculum. The Craft of Writing with Dan Coshnear involved listening to the instructor speak extemporaneously or students reading aloud from their assignments for the entire class period. Mr. Coshnear also made a point of mentioning that he lived in Napa, but would be sleeping in Guerneville that night, which made me question his commitment to his marriage. This instructor not only dressed as though he were homeless, but also had an affinity for a certain female redheaded student who batted her eyelashes at him and wore blouses that revealed her cleavage; this young lady was conveniently deemed one of the most talented writers in the class. Mr. Coshnear furthermore neglected to divulge the due dates for assignments and could not understand why students were upset when their work was penalized for being submitted late. A class that was marginally better than these two gems was Developing the Novel I with Mary Ann Koory. Although Ms. Koory was competent in terms of her ability to manage the class and lead a lecture, her degree was a doctorate in English Literature rather that anything to do with Creative Writing, so the content of the course had little relevance. I remember that one of the required assignments for this class was to read The Maltese Falcon, map it on a graphic organizer, and present the work to the class. I learned nothing from this activity except how to complete it without doing the reading and would have instead have preferred written exercises that emphasized the difference between a novel and a short story. The only course that was passable was Intermediate Fiction with an instructor whose name unfortunately eludes me. This course was everything that a creative writing class should be, in that students were expected to read and write in the genre that the class covered. The instructor divided the class' time between discussing an assigned short story from an anthology and offering constructive criticism of students' work. This instructor treated all students with respect and never wasted their time. Perhaps if my other courses had been taught in this manner, I would not feel the way I do about my time at the UC Berkeley Extension. After submitting a survey about my studies at this less than glorious institution, I emailed the administration about experiences, but this message elicited no response. I sincerely believe that the UC Berkeley Extension is trading dishonestly on the notoriety and prestige of the UC Berkeley name in a vain attempt to line its coffers. The cost of this program was exorbitant, especially considering that I learned nothing, except that I never want to take another creative writing course ever again. Those looking for creative writing courses in the Berkeley area would be better served at Berkeley City College than in this overpriced program, because the academic level is comparable with a substantially decreased cost. I sincerely hope that someone in a position of authority, or at least a few prospective students will read this review so that no one will be duped as severely as I was. read more

I studied at UCBX in 2013 for the certificate in Entrepreneurship for International Diploma Program. Back then it was the first cohort of students attending this particular program. The program was great. The teachers were all extremely skilled and knowledgeable. I am glad I went to UCBX and learned this much! read more

I decided to take an online finance class through Berkeley Extension. Teacher quals look good, and the Berkeley pedigree appeared to add a little goodwill value to the class fee. Let's just say this experience was a mistake, primarily due to the lack of response and professionalism of the administrative staff there at UC Berkeley Extension. I signed up for the class easily online. But, when I needed to cancel and get a refund, I called the office. No one answered. I left a message. No one called me back, nor intimated when they might. I called twice the next day. Same effect. The following day I called, the phone rang over 10 times before someone answered, and I was finally able to reach someone to follow up with my class refund. Getting information about the finance certificate was of a similar vein. I called, no one answered. I left a message. No one called me back. It is truly a shame that an institution with the name "Berkeley" represents itself with a timbre of disdain, indifference, and lack of care. I'll take my education, and money elsewhere, and encourage others to do the same just simply due to the fact that you expect elementary professionalism for $800/class and a collegiate reputation that's respected the world 'round...but don't get it. read more

Instructors here have to stop operating with the notion that those who come here are the weakest of their generation and offer poor-mediocre, lower division quality science education. Some of us are/were honor roll students and expect our time, money, and effort to be treated with respect. If you come here for a quick buck by teaching close to nothing, you can say goodbye to us. That being said, there are really good instructors here so it is a matter of knowing whose sections are worth your money. If you want upper division grade education, go for instructors with at least 5yrs experience teaching 4 yr schools (NOT community colleges nor professional school), an actual professional career of 5yrs in the field of their class subject (not medical doctor teaching molecular biology, a virologist teaching cancer cell biology, etc.). Example - Amy morgan, Mark Liu, May Alice Yund, and Johannes Bauer are all good picks, and if UCBX is reading this, there is a very good female instructor at CSUEB that teaches Neurobiology (not the neuroscience course available now, which is a different subject) that you should consider bringing over. read more

I almost didn't attend UC Berkeley Extension because of all the bad reviews on Yelp. But I'm very glad, that I enrolled for my first class: Strategic Brand Mgmt with Scott Worthge. I can strongly recommend his class, as it is very oriented to real life situations. I learned a lot! I can only recommend to check the teachers online through Linkedin. Depending on what you are looking for - if your goal is to improve your skills for a job, you should look for an instructor who is experienced and worked in companies. read more

It's hard to fully express my dissatisfaction with the classes I took from the UC Berkeley Extension finance program (Corporate Financial Modeling and Analysis, Business Valuation). I was taking corporate finance classes because my boss suggested they might help round out my skills as a corporate strategy practitioner, so my goal was purely educational, not to meet a certification or achieve a prerequisite. I was only in it to learn. As such, I was highly disappointed. I took classes at Berkeley Extension because I thought the Extension school would maintain a certain level of quality to protect the reputation of its brick and mortar institution. It did not. While training to deploy to Iraq years earlier, I had taken classes at American Military University, and those classes were atrocious (borderline fraudulent). I thought the Berkeley institution would be significantly better. It was not. The Corporate Financial Modeling class was particularly bad. The "lecture" videos were literally some intern or research assistant reading boring slides word for word. He would periodically pause for breath at awkward times, and just read them with no understanding whatsoever for what the words meant. He would literally read equations out loud and chop them up or mispronounce common acronyms. He would butcher common finance terms like annuity, demonstrating that he had no knowledge of finance whatsoever. It...was...awful. The homework assignments came straight from the book and consisted only of reading the book. I literally would have learned just as much if I had read the book on my own without paying for the class. And the final project was so beyond the scope of the class that asking questions seemed futile because there were so many of them (I did ask some, and the replies from the professor were slow and generally uninsightful. But in general I just had to figure out how to do a valuation on my own). In sum, I came away feeling like I could have just read the textbook on my own and been equally enlightened, but without the annoyance of doing homework and taking a final exam. Business Valuation was better only by comparison (if the former was a 0 out of 10, this was a 2). The homework assignments were a joke. The weekly lectures were actual lectures, maybe 15-20 minutes in length per week (awfully short to cover a topic as complex as valuation). The vast majority of useful learning (say 90%) was from the textbook. The professor was condescending and arrogant. Early in the class, I asked a question about how to approach something not covered in the lecture or required textbook, and he stated not everything will be covered in the class, and also that I should have bought the Suggested textbook. He stated I was letting my future group down if I didn't. I noted to him that if the book was seen as Required, it should be described as such, since it was clearly not a suggestion in his mind. I bought the book, and never once had cause to use it after that. The group project. What an idea to have a group project....for an online class....in a non-degree program....where 90% of students don't participate or care. This was the worst project ever. From the second week, I was the only one in the class to post the mandatory weekly discussion posts (that were part of our grades). This did not bode well for my group participants. And sure enough, my group members barely responded to my emails about the project, and they contributed a grand total of ~5% of the total work effort. I was left to do the remaining 95% alone. I had 5 group members, which was the entire class (all other students had dropped the class by this point). One group member never responded at all. Another said he had dropped the class because the professor never answered any of the questions he posted (verifiably true). Again, I cannot sufficiently articulate the idiocy of having a group project in an online course at a third-rate university. Then the final. Ah, the final. There's nothing like walking into a proctored exam and then finding significant and obvious errors in the income statement you have to use for valuation. And in a proctored setting, there is no teacher you can ask for guidance on how to reconcile those errors. These were egregious - one literally said something like "Earnings before taxes: 80, Taxes: 20, Earnings After Taxes: 80". Say what??? After the exam, I emailed the professor immediately to explain the assumptions I made given the errors. He ultimately denied that the test had any errors, and very conveniently refused to show me my exam, citing school policy. So that's my Berkeley experience. I will never take a Berkeley class again (I hear Harvard's online courses are actually much better). Take my advice - if you're looking for corporate finance courses, look elsewhere. Or if you're just in it to learn, go buy a textbook and read it cover to cover, and save yourself the $950 per class. read more

took CHEMx18 Organic Chemistry online. From the beginning this class never passed the smell test. These guys weight the final exam 40% of your grade, and you have to get a 70% on the final to pass the class - no matter what your grade was previously. The professor existed solely to correct your papers and offered no real teaching. There's no live lectures, no face time, zero interaction and also zero help. The feedback on mistakes was not helpful. The discussions were a joke but easy to ace. The midterm was a timed cumulative of the first half of the class - which I bombed, and then the professor decided to insult me about it via email. The final exam was also supposed to be cumulative, but turned out to be a fraction of everything we learned (also timed) and was a massacre. I swear there were a full 4 chapters-plus not even on the test. I know this because I studied like a maniac for 2 months straight and didn't see a single thing on the test I had just studied. Doing poorly on the final completely negated the B+ I did have in the class. I have to ask, what kind of college does a pass/fail on a final (for a pre-req class)? What kind of college takes your tuition and uses it to pay someone to grade the papers you turn in but not actually teach anything? I don't know if this was college policy or the professor's, but either way is horrible. The one good thing I can say, is that I ran up against my class deadline and they worked with me to get my proctored test done in time. If you want to take this class you'd better be a chemistry genius or enjoy pain. For everyone else like me, if you must take organic chemistry online take it somewhere else and spare yourself the heartache I just endured. read more

I took an online creative writing class. Thought I could trust the Berlely could trust the Berkley name. Boy oh boy was I wrong. The instructor critiques were simply awful. These are vanity classes. They have nothing to do with learning and instruction. I really threw 500 hard earned dollars out the window. Along with 200$ for books and 50$ recommended magizine subscriptions. Well they got me once but never again. Do not take these online classes read more

As a follow-up, since my review seems to be helping a lot of people over the years, I never received word back on the case I filed in 2013. I considered it case closed a long time ago and moved on with my studies, lest I waste more of my time. I transferred to San Jose State University in 2015, and am about to graduate soon from this fine institution. It was a long road to get to this point, but after having attended several community colleges, and other colleges seemingly more "prestigious" than community colleges, U.C. Berkeley Extension will always fare as the most dishonorable and most stomach-churning experience I have ever had, with my dealings with academia. They are merely preying on the name associated with U.C. Berkeley. Do not be fooled. read more

The IDP program for international students is a very valid alternative to a MBA. Some of the instructors are truly great people and they try so hard to give you a good education! A special mention for Gene Hendrix, instructor of Human Resources! read more

The quality of instructors is incredibly variable. If you are considering taking a course, do your homework on the teacher before you sign up or you'll pay a big bill for a dud. Also, their financial aid office appears to be staffed with rude people who will not try to help you and probably can't answer your questions about process. If money is an issue, look hard at city colleges in the area before you decide on Berkeley Extension; it's unlikely that this office will call you or your bank back, much less actually try to do their jobs. Some facilities are really nice-- but I've also had a class taught in a small, basement room in a hospital with limited temperature control. Facilities, like teachers, vary a lot. read more

Great experience in the Essentials of Management business class with JP Novin. Pertinent subject matter and real-world examples/applications. read more

Thoroughly research the instructor for the course. Try to take the class in-person, you'll get much more from it.

i was going for the project management certificate and i paid the 150 fees and 800 for the first course. I tried to reach the staff a couple of times and they never responded so i started searching the reviews and i was shocked from the reviews especially staff being not responsive. therefore i cancelled and dropped the course before its too late.... At the beginning i thought the name Berkeley is unquestioned and it has to be an excellent degree. Then i found the extension has nothing to do with Berkeley professionalism... I ended up enrolling with eCornel and they were amazing in responding to my questions and working with me to identify which classes would be the best for my experience in IT and ERP systems. The tutors might be excellent but if you run into issues with the staff then i can tell you good luck with that !!!!! read more

Perhaps the quality of instruction is lacking in the business courses, but, honestly, most schools have terrible instruction for those classes. I took Biochemistry and Medical Microbiology. Both instructors were researchers/phd's from UCSF and brought really interesting anecdotes to lessons. FYI the extension program is the only place to get biochemistry without paying $1,300/UNIT at a private school. You are locked out of every public university as a graduate! Anyway, for my needs it was perfect. I didn't do a full certificate program but I have thought about it. For the people complaining about facilities, their downtown SF location is fine. The bathrooms are a bit dated and the classrooms have A/C turn on at 8pm but it could be a lot worse. read more

This review is for the post-bacc health program at UC Extension. I considered several different post-baccs in the area and I am so, so glad that I chose Extension. I am a career changer and I completed the majority of my science coursework at extension. I am applying to med school this cycle. This review is for the in-person courses, as I have not taken any online ones. Pros: Excellent professors: Some are better lecturers, some less so, but almost all covered the content thoroughly and were sincerely dedicated to helping students learn. A few of the lecture courses were challenging for me as a non-science major, but the grading almost always felt clear and fair. Note that since most classes are once a week, expect to do a good amount of homework/studying outside of class. This worked well for my learning style but could be challenging for people who prefer more lecture heavy learning or hand holding. At the same time, almost all my professors went above and beyond to answer questions and provide support w difficult concepts when asked. I am studying for the MCAT now and feel super prepared based on the depth of content coveredin my classes. Also most of my labs were excellent, many were on the UC Berkeley campus, so we were literally doing the exact same labs as regular Cal students, but with a professor rather than a TA. Scheduling: I started the post-bacc when I was working full time and so the fact that all courses were offered at night, and most are once a week was huge for me. Also, you can take the lectures and labs separately, which really helped with fitting everything into my work schedule. Small class sizes: most of my classes had 30 students or less. One had around 10. This made it much easier to get to know professors than at my undergraduate institution, and a few of my classes were run like seminars which was awesome. Advising/support: the primary pre-health advisor is great. She has years of experience advising pre-meds and is extremely knowledgeable, accessible and supportive. You have to seek out the support yourself, but if you do, it's super accessible, my advisor literally has an online calendar where I can schedule appts w her anytime. Also the program offers seminars on topics like financial aid, personal statements, interviews etc which has been helpful for me since I was not a pre-health undergrad and am learning how to navigate the process now. Cohort: extension seems to attract people who are working and/or have other life commitments, which slants to a slightly older cohort. I really appreciated getting to be in class with people who have had super varied life experiences and are going back to school because they are truly interested in healthcare. While the program doesn't have a "cohort feel", it's small enough that I ended up in multiple classes with the same people and a few have become solid friends and support through the application process. Cons: There are 3 campuses, Berkeley, San Francisco and Belmont. I live in Oakland and I was able to take around 80% of my classes in Berkeley, but I had to take a few in SF/Belmont because of scheduling issues. In all cases, the course was offered in Berkeley, the timing just didn't work with my schedule. Bottom line: Definitely consider Berkeley Extension for pre-health, especially if you are working or have other life commitments. The professors, small class sizes, scheduling and advising made it work super well for me as a career changer and working student. read more

It is a good idea but still needs working! I trust that they can improve their services but it's a pretty long way! Please select WISELY your professors! read more

OK - here's the deal: Great education. useful classes. experienced teachers. Nothing but props for this program. We are lucky to live in the same state as this institution. read more

I want to make this very clear, the low rating I am posting here today is strictly in regards to the experience I had with the transcript department. I really wanted to make the review 1 star, but I don't think one employee is an accurate representation of the school itself. I've been applying to grad schools and so I've had to call the transcripts/records department on a few different occasions. Each time the same lady picks up and each time she is extremely rude. I get it, people have rough days so I shouldn't be quick to judge, but that is no excuse to be so rude on 3 different occasions over the span of a month. The first two times the conversations were pretty quick, so I didn't care much. But recently I called and asked if there was anyway I could access my unofficial transcript online or if it could be emailed to me. She was appalled and very condescending in her response and mentioned that it would a violation of privacy to have to an unofficial transcript even if it were online. I kindly mentioned that this was my own transcript, not someone else's and I needed it so that I could input my coursework exactly as shown on the transcript. Again, in a very condescending tone she went on to mention that this wasn't community college where you could just access your unofficial transcripts online or ask for them. First of all, I do not know what made her assume that I am a community college student. I am not. I just graduated from UCLA and noted, I'm pretty sure you are able to view your unofficial transcripts trough the student portal at all UC's. Secondly, even if I was a community college student (nothing wrong with that), she has no right to be so condescending and talk to anyone like that. I definitely was appalled by her demeanor. That was plain outright rude. I definitely stuck up for myself, mentioned that I graduated from UCLA and was not familiar with how it worked with CC's, nonetheless I felt it was a given that all students have access to their unofficial transcripts. In fact, I called UCLA extension this morning as well and they were kind enough to email me mine. She continued about how that wasn't allowed, which is fine. I get it, it's policy. I don't mind trowing down $12.50 to get a copy of my transcript, that's fine. But she could have just kindly told me that instead of showing me so much attitude. I don't want to go through the entire conversation but in short, every single question I asked her this time and on previous occasions, instead of being helpful and simply answering my question, she was just extremely condescending and rude. I'd rather not mention her name, but if customer service is important to UCB Extension, then this needs to be looked into. Side note, their transcript processing is extremely quick. I personally didn't have any problems with that aspect at all! They even emailed me on their own right after my orders about how they needed me to send an attachment form and then sent out my transcript on the same day. I also took a few classes and they for the most part good. One of the professors who I believe is note-worthy is Monica Raes Goldberg. Not only was the class I took with her phenomenal, but the as an instructor she is absolutely amazing! read more

what a total money making scam: i signed up for a number of classes this semester at a cost of $740 per class plus textbooks. One teacher takes weeks at a time to correct each homework assignment so I have no continuity of learning. I took a final for another class here last semester and the proctor sat in the next room, at a reception desk, watching something amusing online, laughing out loud so students had to go out to ask him to be quiet. He also had loud conversations with a number of people who came by looking for directions or who wanted to sign up to classes. He also proceeded to make a number of phone calls over the duration of the exam. Any time I called the extension with a question, the buck was passed to a different department and nobody could give a straight answer on anything. I will definitely not re-enroll here. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!!! read more

My advice: find almost any other online program beside UCB Extension! No doubt there are some talented instructors in their program. But the experience forces one to assume that they're playing the "pay an adjunct prof poverty wages" game, and some of the professors both don't try and don't care. Once you get stuck in a class like that, you're doomed. In my experience, the administration won't help, and won't refund. In one class, it was difficult to tell if the professor was being forced to follow a course design that was poorly done, or if the professor just couldn't be bothered to read the textbook and answer questions from students. To be clear, I'm not complaining about the subject matter being challenging: that's why you take a course from an institution with UCB's name! I'm complaining about the unwillingness of UCBX to help their online students learn. There are now plenty of top-tier university offering online instruction, and there's no reason to subject yourself to the whims and abuses UCBX. It's possible that in-person UCB Extension courses are better. I wouldn't know, as I've not taken one, nor do I know anyone who has. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. Their attitude about the online classes is so bad, it doesn't bode well for the in-person classes. If you read the other Yelp reviews, you'll see that I'm far from the only person with a low opinion of UCBX. read more

I've taken two courses at Berkeley Extension -one was great, but the other was SO bad that I am sure to stay away. It was poorly organized and much of the administrative staff was permanently unavailable. My instructor was ...&@$&@&$! There are so many excellent online schools to choose from that this would have to be a last resort. read more

I wish I would have read this bad reviews before enrolling in 3 courses.... To be completely honest, the first one I took in Project Management was really good and the instructor was great. The second and third were not that good - One thing is what you read you will learn and other quite different what you really receive. In addition, I had a lot of problems with the only one I took online - the instructor never showed up to help us with connection problems, and she asked us to remove her from our communications as she was getting loads of emails (of course you are....it is an online course) etc - at the end my grade was a D because of the lack of communication!! The response of the program director when this was reported was just to reenroll in it again to get a higher grade - and they treat you like a 10 years old guy complaining about your grade - this is not serious nor professional - completely disappointing and a waste of money. You better go to a different school. Silvia read more

The quality of classes offered by UC Berkeley extension has gone down through the years. This is one reason many of my friends and I chose not to take any more classes from UCB. The only thing that remains consistent is the "inefficiency" and "extremely rude" and "snobby" manners of the office personnel in the records and transcripts office. Those employees have very poor customer-service skills and definitely lack professionalism. No one should not have to deal with such rude, talk-down-on-people attitude of anyone. To me, tax payers' money is wasted on these public employees. read more

EL ENG X429.9 First Course in Java So my background is in Bio-medical Engineering, and I had some prior experience in programing during my undergraduate degree. I highly recommend this course if you had some background knowledge in computer programming. I also highly recommend this class if you have family/friends who can help you when you are stuck on the homework. For me it was easy to go through Modules 1-6 but the last two modules 7-8 where a bit challenging. I feel like the first half of the course is super easy and the second half gets significantly harder. If I didn't have outside support I wouldn't have been able to pass the 100 point assignments. Also this course has a proctored final exam, and I took this course fully online with Professor C. Limsco. The final was super fair game. Review your assignments, and if you don't really get the last two just memorize the solution, and I guarantee you will pass the final. The final was composed of true and false questions, short answer questions, multiple choice, and coding by hand problems. If you read the textbook, memorize important vocabulary, and redo all the homework's before the final you will do great! My only concern with this certificate program (Software Development and Programming) is since I do not have a bachelors degree in CS, SE, or CompE, I am worried I will continue to struggle finding work. I took this program in hopes to gain demanding skills in the market rn, and I hope it pays off. If you have any questions feel free to email me, and if anyone has completed this certificate where you able to find work?(Would seriously love to hear peoples experiences regarding this certificate program). One more thing that I don't like is I think these courses are way over priced. I understand we are paying for that UCB name but it better pay me back. I really hope it does! Good Luck read more

It is just not good at all. Rather than learning something you just try to get a good grade to pass. It basically becomes a torture. You try to do the homeworks given which is unrelated with the class because classes are mostly based on theory. Most of the lectures are disorganized it is all over the place. And they are not sharing the solutions of the homeworks&assignments because it is against their policy? I mean thats just a shame because it is wasting your time and money! - there are a few good professors, not sure why they are still related with this institution. read more

Excellent program. The professors for visual art and graphic art are outstanding. The staff always helps you. I took over a year of classes and learned a lot for art, photography, and graphic design. The students in the program are highly educated and motivated and add to the learning experience. It was overall a fantastic experience. I learned a great deal of relevant material and honed my skills. The admin was always helpful, too. Highly recommend especially for the price - great deal!! Thank you! read more

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS - X105 Biochemistry at UC Berkeley; this was a huge mistake by me and i dont anyone to ever go through what i just experienced. Online work consists of 11 modules, 3 quizzes and worksheet and short answer questions. The final is proctored and requires a 70% or higher to pass the overall class. THE problem is that all the online content and expectations are reasonable the FINAL on the other hand is not. I passed all the online content with a 95% and failed the final and therefore failed the entire class. What you get tested online on during each module and quiz is at the intro to biochem level what you get tested on is some things totally different. The final was extremely difficult and not even in the format as the quizzes and online work. Final felt like a more upper division biochem final then intro to biochem. JUST take this at a local college in classroom setting. AVOID AT ALL COST !! I would suggest you ask for pass rate for this course if you dont believe me. DONT waste your TIME and MONEY !!! read more

I took Essentials of Management at UCB Extension March-May 2017 by JP. I m a Software Dev and this was my first non technical course. I wasn't sure how it would be to sit in a class for 3 hours without it being a tech class :O I was very happy with my decision to take the class. We learnt a lot from the instructor's experiences, case studies, role playing and other class activities. read more

The phone lines disconnect 10 minutes before 5 pm so employees will be able to go home by 5 so don't bother calling. Otherwise, your call will go through, get picked up and hung up immediately by the receptionist. I've heard their courses can be beneficial but so far I've seen no proof of anyone who had benefitted on the job market from them. Simply needing to call so I can receive an alumni discount but cannot unfortunately. read more

This courses look like a scheme. I came here with honest desire to fulfill requirements to sit for CPA exam as well as prepare myself to take it. I paid expensive tuition for two of my initial classes out of my pocket. Classes started ok, but once we passed the term to drop the classes without any consequences (refund money paid) BUMM they notify you "we have a 70% pass policy for our Final Exams". So no matter how hard your studied and participated in class, if you don't pass their Final Exam with more than 70% (which is extremely hard) you simply will not be able to get a credit for that class. You will need to pay again for that class, and again, and again until they let you know that you "Passed their wonderful Final Exam". Only question left: What are you guys selling? People come to you overwhelmed by your ads and hoping to learn something new as well as get something back for money invested. In any events, AVOID these courses if you can!!! read more

I had to write this review to warn anyone who is considering taking a course online specifically in Abnormal Psychology. I for one do not recommend taking it as there is great disconnect between the work you put in and the finals you take. I had a great experience learning in the class as the essays I had to write forced me to think of unique ways of addressing hypothetical situations with the knowledge I have gained. As such I felt like I have learned a lot and then the finals. It was a short answer test with true false questions. It was not a, "hey what did you learn in my course and how do you apply it in real life? " It was a route memorization of concepts and tasks that where easily missed. So all the work you put into the modules where worthless. A lazy person can just ignore the modules and take the exam rendering all forms of work in the course useless. Basically if you want to learn abnormal psych, DO NOT TAKE IT HERE. read more

I have successfully completed the project management series certificate courses but have had the most terrible experience with a clinical studies course. There were only two students in the class and for most of the class the instructor was completely absent writing every 10 days or so that he was having computer issues. When I complained, the instructor did call and say he would be more responsive but he still works at a snail's pace to correct the assignments of merely two students. In addition, when I complained to the administration, they tried to "wash their hands of it" and tell me that perhaps it was me who was having the difficulties with the online format. I would NOT recommend anyone take the clinical studies classes based on my experience. read more

So, here's a truth about this courses in a nutshell: These guys willfully selling a brand name of UC Berkeley and most of the potential students buying this particular part of the advertisement. Meantime quality of their classes are not any better than classes you would take in any community college. Their Courses are expensive and unfortunately not useful as one would hope. For example: If you an "Average person" pursuing to take classes toward preparing for CPA exam without anybody's help (tutor or acting CPA in your family), then forget it! This courses do not prepare you for the CPA Exam per se, because during the study process you will have so many questions you won't get answers for. Oh, and last thing: -) If you are thinking that it's going to be a fair game at the end "EVEN if I will not be able to prepare for CPA exam at least I will get a Certificate in Accounting, which I will be able to put on my resume", not going to be a case with their "70% Final exam pass rate " policy (which by the way they will not mention to you when enrolling to their courses). So make a math before going there :-) read more

I took an online statistics course, expecting that in today's age, with the name of UC Berkeley behind it and with various online tools available to make the material more accessible, it would be worthwhile. It was merely a self-paced self-instruction course. The instructor was largely useless, answering basic questions, without explaining anything days after I had sent him an email. The interface was incredibly slow and clunky, as if it had been designed decades ago. There were no good resources, other than online chat rooms that would require days for me to discover something useful. I would never take an online course from UC Berkeley Extension again. I thought it was criminal that they could charge what they did. - they pretend to teach and I pretend to learn. read more

I took biology courses this semester. They are indifferent, will not help you once they take your money, & will do nothing if you have a bad professor. Took parasitology this semester with 22 kids, only 2 people got As, 6 people dropped out, & the rest were Bs & Cs. That professor (John Boss) was a misleading, and ambiguous professor who gave unusually detailed and grad-school esque level exams. Administration did nothing and decided to spite students by telling him not to curve the class (when it was truly & fairly needed). In any case, I would NOT get a committee letter here. Some professors are good here, but you have to be careful which courses you take because they don't care if everyone gets a C or not. It's extremely unbalanced here. If you can get a committee letter from your alma mater or elsewhere. Go to SF State Post-bacc or some other FORMAL post-bacc program rather than this. Berkeley Extension doesn't even accept federal loans (so you have to pay out of pocket) which is another indicator this program is garbage. If you are sure of some classes you want to take, and you KNOW for a fact that the professor that is teaching it is OK, fair, or reasonable in their grading, then take it. Otherwise, stay away no matter what. The other reviews here are pretty accurate as well. Do not go here if you can do it. Look elsewhere. You have been warned! P.S. The administration is extremely bureaucratic here. Nobody at this program really gives a damn & they're all really just paper pushers who don't want to be bothered by students. If you're pre-med, stay the hell away. It's OK to get individual letters from professors, but don't get your premed committee letter from here. Also, Patrick Brown/Sharon O'Doyle have started requiring/compelling professors to mention how often you were in class/if you missed classes/how often you volunteered/etc. Basically like it's high school. The key point, however, is that they want you to conform to their idea of what a good pre-med candidate is. read more

I took an Unix/Linux class @ UC Berkeley Extension on University in Berkeley. The class itself was great. I got what I wanted from the class. It was very well taught and the material was right on. Now to where I am very unhappy with the school of admin offices. The class i took ended in November. I have still yet to get a grade. I have called the administration office more then three times and every time they tell me that they do not have a grade because the grades have not been turned in by the professor. When I ask them if there is anything they can do they advise me to contact the professor directly and have him turn in the grades. Isn't that something that an university should do? Why should I be chasing down a professor, who has a day job and does not pick up his phone, to ask him to perform his job? Should they university make these professors accountable? Talk about passing the buck. This places suck the big one. We got your money and that is all we care about. Useless. read more

great courses, great instructors, Thank GOD they got rid of most of the asshole extension staff! props to the staff who are there now.

I took JP Novin's class in the Leadership and Management program. The class was extremely informative. JP's real life experience increased his ability to teach and relate to everyone in class. read more

The system itself is broken. In fact, I had to go in person with my daughter because she couldn't get an extension. UC Berkeley definitely needs to put more emphasis in assisting their students. read more