When you first arrive on the Valhalla Campus of WCC, your first impression may be that this place is far nice than any community college you've envisioned previously. From a distance, the buildings are sleek, the grounds clean, and - during the spring - I'd be lying if I said the campus itself wasn't very, very pretty.
The problem comes when you analyze the campus from any other angle/distance.
We'll start with the good. The professors here, for the most part, are absolutely wonderful. Many have taught at other, prestigious institutions, and are thereby incredibly qualified. Not once have I had a truly bad professor here at WCC, and even when I figured one was going to royally screw me, I was able to communicate with them and fix any problems that may have arisen. I'd like to give special shoutouts to professors DuBose, O'Rourke, Siff, and Ostman.
The problems begin with everything else. First and foremost: the grounds themselves. This place is absolutely infested with geese all seasons of the year, and the pathways are consistently covered in dark green goose droppings. The interiors of the buildings on campus are particularly egregious - the student center being particularly bad.
I cannot name a single day where I have walked into the student center and not seen uncleaned tables, or grease smeared on the floor. The couches are all torn to shreds and the tables are missing entire panels, and are more often than not absolutely filthy. The microwave smells like a dead body and is frequently out of order, and the food here ranges from sub-par to sickening. The place, even when cleaned, looks a wreck on account of trashed, cheap furniture.
The library is also particularly bad. There is gum, quite literally, everywhere, and I'm almost certain most of it has been here since I started two years ago. Like the rest of the campus, if you were to appraise the library - interior and exterior - from a respectable distance, you would find it beautiful. The architecture is nice, the organization is easily understood, and the big window at the front provides a lovely view of campus. Under any sort of scrutiny, though, it falls apart. The windows themselves are dusty as shit, and look over at least one rotting ceiling tile, balled up paper, and the remnants of tossed food. The wooden chairs are woefully uncomfortable, and the cushioned chairs are often just as dusty as the windows, and smell like your grandmother's house.
The Tech Building, contrary to its name, lacks any sort of Wi-Fi. My first semester here, but 20th Century American History Class had to move buildings on account of the lack of internet. The Academic Arts Building and Science Building look cool on paper, but the second you hit the third floor you're beset by an onslaught of roaches, flies, and food stains along the floor. To be fair, the classroom building is always nice and clean. Kudos to the staff for that.
The staff, though, could use some serious help. Departments are woefully unhelpful, and I've heard tell from multiple other students - graduating and looking towards graduation - that the transfer department is utterly useless. I was, at one point, directed to a department that no longer existed. The sheer lack of communication from staff (excluding the professors and counselors) is frankly astounding, and one can go weeks without a peep from a department, or only receive automated emails for the rest of their time here. Combine that with general technical ineptitude, and you have a recipe for disaster. Over the course of my two years here, I have been able to/wound up:
- Accidentally entering an orientation event on zoom early, where I was confused for a professor for 30 minutes. I watched technical staff fumble with granting kicking permissions and try to take them away.
- Watched technical support give up on my Spanish Professor's computer after 10 minutes of basically slamming their head against a brick wall. This was, promptly, fixed by a student in the class.
- Been given IT support for 10 minutes, only for the guy to tell me he hadn't the foggiest idea what to do, and direct me to a department that directed me back to him, thusly locking me in place. I had to fix my connection to the on-campus WiFi on my own.
And oh, boy, the WiFi. I've already mentioned that the Tech Building, contrary to its name, has none. The Gateway Center, allegedly the pinnacle of on-campus achievement, has none either - my entire Spanish class was basically locked out of quizzes for the first half of the year. Multiple outlets across campus are broken to shit, and it's come to the point that the Viking News - our on-campus news source - has begun questioning what in the world the student government is doing.
Tuition here is mercifully cheap, and it shows. Come here if you need to bang out general education, or need a stepping stone on your way to a proper four year college. Do not come here if you are expecting anything other than mediocrity. read more
