UC San Diego Extension

IF YOU CAN AVOID THE STUDENT CENTER, AVOID IT! If you need to order your transcripts, just have it mailed to you. Student Services has terrible communication for being attached to one of the top public universities in California and even worse service.
First of all, their Transcript Processing is outdated. You have to mail/​fax in a submission form or fill out the form there. After that, you have to wait forever for them to come in. I tried to go around this by requesting to pick up my transcripts. I sent my request in early January and received a receipt for the processing payment on the 9^th. After that, I heard nothing else about my transcripts or if they were ready to get picked up. A couple of weeks pass, so I call and talk to a guy named Drew. He asks me for my name, which I spell out, and he interrupts me in an abrupt manner saying, «HOLD ON!» before I can finish. Okay, rude. He tells me they have my transcripts and that they close at 5 P.M. Cool, I can finally get them. When I get there, Parking Lot 303 outside the Extension Campus is a practical shit show. Calling it a mess would be putting it nicely. Students are talking to their friends who are in their cars about driving out of the lot and people leave you trapped backing out of the 5-​minute spot to get a parking pass. If you come here, come from the other side of the lot where there’s NOBODY. When I finally get in there the same guy I talked to on the phone (who only confirmed this by saying, «Oh you called earlier») asked me to «sign in» a binder not giving me any context. I can’t help but ask for him to explain to me why I need to sign in. As it turns out, when you want to pick up your transcripts they put your name in a binder for you to confirm you picked up the transcripts they printed. I see that the date my name was written was the day they emailed me that receipt. So I ask Drew if my transcripts have been ready to pick up since the 9^th. To me, it saying the 9^th says that I could’ve picked these up a lot sooner. But Drew just shrugs his shoulder says, «Dunno, that’s the day they were printed». After I sign the paper, HE TOSSES MY TRANSCRIPTS AT ME!
I don’t want to ever come back to this office. Having your transcripts mailed to you will be a lot less stressful than coming to UCSD if you’re from San Diego.

I come here noticing that I am not the only one being treated badly. I enrolled two quarters there, everyone rarely smile when I was there. I guess they are really unhappy working there. Especially, the lady sitting near the door, no matter what question I ask, her first answer always «no, you can’t!» She is very rude and refused any help. And she even didn’t let people finish their words. She just want to use fewest word to let you go, don’t bother her. I really hate talking with her. Next time, I will definitely request another person to help me.

UCSD has some real problems with their administration and in their service to students. They take advantage of so many instances that they should be quite ashamed of themselves. Hold onto your pocketbook, because they are so screwed up in their accounting and in their ethics, it won’t be long till they are investigated.

This review is specifically for UCSD Extension offices and their customer service. I had an issue with my student account that has become outdated since about 10 years ago when I completed a certificate program at UCSD Extension. Now I needed to enroll for one class and was having an issue with doing it online. So I call the Extension offices and this woman, Loretta, picks up. She is curt with me right away and then turns plain rude. I couldn’t believe it. I am trying to register for a class, give your institution my money and you treat me like that? She kept interrupting me impatiently and then yelled (!) at me when she had trouble spelling my last name. If I wasn’t already committed to taking this class, I would have definitely hung up.

I am currently enrolled in the Marketing Certification program. I have found the courses, instructors, and education very helpful in my enhancing my career and business savvy. Courses are taught by vetted marketing professionals. Their experience and business acumen create a dynamic and applicable education base– not theory based. Timely, relevant, and competitive is the tone I have experienced in all of my courses. I especially like the course variation and the ability to tailor your classes to the business track that you desire. Class facilities are clean and comfortable, especially the new campus off Governor Drive.
I would recommend UCSD Extension– Marketing Certification Program for anyone who is looking to develop their career and wants to learn from experienced professionals with a passion for teaching and marketing.

Marketing certification program has been great with excellent teachers. I am updating my knowledge of social media marketing. The resources here have been great!

A had a professor that claimed she did not receive emails. When I complained they just backed her up. Stay away. This is just a poorly run place. There are lots of options out there.

I am an adult enrolled in a language course at UCSD. The price of the classes and overall quality of the instruction is very reasonable.
However, my 1 star review goes out to the parking enforcement on campus. These guys are tyrants and the cost of parking and fines you will endure will greatly impact your education costs. They ticket for every minor offense and their negative reputation from the other comments found here (and elsewhere online) are very clear.
I highly suggest that you look at other options with some of the fine community colleges in San Diego. I know I will.

5 stars for being able to enroll concurrently in UCSD undergraduate classes. Great way to complete prerequisites!
The customer service at the office isn’t so great. Negative 2 stars for that.
After I enrolled in two courses neither of them showed up on my online account. Their website states that it takes 1 business day for enrollment to appear on each student’s personal account and it had been a week already. With my midterm approaching I just wanted to make sure I was in fact enrolled to prevent any potential issues from coming up. I called in and the woman who answered the phone said that because there was a holiday things were pushed back and that it usually takes 24 hours for enrollment to appear online. Since it had been a week and the holiday was just 1 day, I asked her to double check my file. I did not want to show up for the midterm only to find that I wasn’t even on the roster. The strange thing is, while I was completely polite the entire time, she was condescending and had no sense that my concern was very reasonable… A few similar instances have occurred before where I had to make an effort to be extra polite to appease the person who was actually providing the service…

I’ve used UCSD Extension off and on for thirty-​five years. The quality of their programs has been excellent. However, I have a major complaint. When I attempt to contact an instructor whose class I’ve signed up for, and I play by the rules and «go through the system,» I run into an almost impenetrable security screen. The result of this is: I cannot touch bases with an instructor prior to the first meeting.
Why would I want to do this? Simple. Because I’ve signed up for a class where there’s a great deal of reading required. I confess to being somewhat of a slow reader, though my comprehension level is stellar. If I know what are the first couple of books on the syllabus, I can get a jump start and spread out my commitment timewise. Otherwise, I have to cram the reading into an extremely busy professional schedule, which stresses me out.
I know that many Extension students are retired or for other reasons have a great deal of discretionary time. That doesn’t describe me. I think that the Extension should make an effort to accommodate all comers, including slow readers with busy lives.

great classes and atmosphere for international students!

The class I took was not bad. The teacher liked to talk, which I don’t mind under normal circumstances, however this class was a 6 – 9 PM class.
The parking lot security is unforgiving. After 10 minutes of overtime in lecture, I was slapped with a $ 60 fine. It was later retorted into a $ 30 fine. I was in a debacle as extension students have to pay the same fee for a parking pass as UCSD students when most of us only have class once a week. Not to mention the stringent security that probably hover over the extension parking lot knowing that most of us use the pay-​ticket machine.
Not pleased at all, to be completely honest. I’d rather go to a community college and pay a third of what I paid this institution.

A blatant rip off for various reasons. Many universities maintain extension programs because they know thousands of employees of large corporations with tuition assistance will enroll. The quality of the lectures in their CS programs is subpar, you’d be better off taking a free course at Udacity or Coursera. The slides for all my classes were lifted from departments at other campuses practically word per word. Most of the classes are just regurgitated content exactly from text books, so essentially you’re paying $ 700 a class to listen to flash based web lecture of an instructor READING slides to you. Interactivity is minimal at best.

I am currently enrolled in their Accounting Professional Certificate program and I have no complaints thus far and I am deep into the program.
The classes are $ 500 for normal people and $ 450 for UCSD alumni. The classes are taught by very accomplished professors in the field who know what they are talking about. Each class is well structured and I have enjoyed my time in the program.
Each quarter I have to call in to get my alumni discount which is annoying but the enrollment advisors are very nice and helpful along the way. I recommend this school to anyone looking to further their career and most importantly not have to wait at community college to get into the classes they desire or get placed on waitlist.

I can only speak about courses I have taken to benefit my career (Paralegal) and I have never encountered any problems with online courses, changes in the schedules, etc. I have had nothing but positive experiences with UCSD Extension.
Part of the requirement of being a paralegal in California is taking Continuing Legal Education (CLE) classes. UCSD Extension offers interesting and relevant classes in this arena. They also offer courses that help advance your career and for the paralegal profession, you cannot find these course at any other of the Community College or University level programs in San Diego County. The best part is that you get a tax write-​off for your continuing education. Not bad at all!
I will continue to seek out UCSD Extension for interesting courses and classes for my career. Given that most of the classes are in the evening, it works out exceptionally well with my full-​time schedule. You cannot beat it!

Anyone who thinks they could benefit from a higher education should run, not walk, to the UCSD Extension center and look over their course list.
In the 18 weeks I spent here, studying iPhone development, I learned more than I ever could on my own, thanks to a classroom environment that teaches real-​world practical concepts. My professor was easy to get a hold of and very accommodating to any of my questions (and I had quite a few).
Add to that the small class sizes and schedules tailor-​made for people out in the workforce already, and you’ve got a place that can undoubtedly help you make your next career move, as it did with me.
My only gripe? Their parking enforcement people are tyrants — you go one minute after your paid parking lot time and you’ll get slapped with a ticket.

I notice that a lot of people aren’t huge fans of UCSD’s extension, but I like it!
It’s really different from UCSD’s academics, because here you learn about real things instead of all the theory mumbo-​jumbo. I’m actually taking a digital media class right now, and here I learn to photoshop, flash, illustrator and dreamweaver, which are all essential things to know when applying for jobs.
They also offer a ton of other interesting classes that you wouldn’t find at UCSD’s main campus such as screen-​printing and photography.
If you are a UCSD student, and are reading this review pay close attention. A lot of students don’t know this, but if you go to the extension offices in muir college during week 10 of any quarter, you can pick up a voucher that lets you take any of the extension classes for free! I highly recommend doing it, and I’m sad that I just found out about this before I graduate =(

Extension classes are a great way to gain practical and theoretical knowledge in one field, either to specialize in your industry or simply to bridge a gap until you start your next adventure in life. You don’t have to be UCSD student to enroll in these classes, anybody can! Extension programs usually offer single classes or a full program towards a certificate. Note for foreign students: you won’t be able to apply for a student visa with UCIS as you need to go for a degree.
I’ve taken a certificate at New York University last year and was extremely pleased with their service and professionalism. That said, I booked a class at UCSD Extension and hoped for a similar experience.
Well, rating the whole UCSD Extension is way too generic but I have to point out that I didn’t feel that UCSD is treating their Extension students appropriately. You pay about $ 450 for a class so you could expect nice facilities (most of the classes are held in containers, or huts for that matter), and, more important, instructors that really care about their subject and don’t just read off a book.
I truly believe that from the wide range of classes and fields I just picked the wrong one and other students have great experiences, fair enough. But– meeh, I’ve seen better.

If you want to gain practical knowledge in a short period of time, I suggest you to attend extension classes. Most of services and course info are listed on web. It takes only several minutes to pay and register online. You always can find a parking spot around extension buildings. There are great teachers, real-​life experts. It takes only three hours a day, but you feel certain confidence about the subject in which you’re interested in.

I neglected to mention the number of times they have changed pertinent course information (i.e. location, date/​time of classes) without notifying me. Don’t rely on their catalog schedule of classes if you’re desperately in need of a class. Call and make sure the course info in the catalog still stands.
I showed up for my first day of class only to discover that they had canceled the class I was enrolled in because of the instructor. Instead, someone else took it over, but the dates had changed so much that when I showed up for the first day, the class had actually already ended. I got an apology, a refund, and they made an exception to allow me to take this course in the winter after I take what should have been the final class in the fall. That’s great, but I’m still there an extra quarter because of their mistake. Oh and good thing I double-​checked my Fall schedule while I was in the office because I discovered, only after I asked, that one of my classes switched from Tuesday (how it’s listed in the catalog) to Monday (the only day the instructor can teach). I wonder if I would have been notified of that change. I probably would have missed the first day of class.
Completely disorganized.