Pioneer Pacific College Reviews

"I'm happy that I entered the nursing program with 4 years experience as a CNA, as it really gave me a leg up when it came to communication and hands on work during clinicals. Aside from 3 instructors the rest were a mess. Several had another job waiting for them and didn't put the effort in to fully teach us. A clinical instructor spent half the time taking naps at the facilities we were in, or straight up asleep at her desk in front of the class, the other half of the time she mumbled her way through lecture, leaving students to look up the info she didn't know. One instructor shoved her personal opinions of certain subjects down our throats, to the point of flat out making up info. Actually, this applied to a few of them. The structure of program itself was fine, as far as the order of classes each term. The problem was when the instructors wandered from teaching the subject matter, and actually tested us on materials not approved by the school board, we all saw our grades drop. And what's worse, is they admitted they were in the wrong at the end of the term, but did nothing to correct it, or give us a chance to improve our grades. And don't get me started on the Director and administrative staff! Myself and several other students faced financial, physical, and or emotional hardships that we were forced to push through, as they would not allow multiple classes to be missed. The only option given was to drop that term & maybe be able to pick up in a term or two, depending on their enrollment status. I was only allowed to return with a doctor's note (actually multipl, as they didn't like the wording my doctor used), and threat of lawsuit. Where is the compassion, they're all supposedly nurses!? The NCLEX test prep class was not the least bit helpful. I am lucky I had enough time after finishing the program to take my own prep class online prior to actually taking the NCLEX, or I do not think I would have passed. I would warn more people to not attend, but they already closed due to financial loss from COVID. Sure wish I could get some of that pricey tuition refunded!!"

"I was very excited to begin my schooling to become a medical assistant. The student admissions advisor took me through all of the exciting subjects I would learn, how hands on the program would be and how I would learn all of the skills I needed to be a medical assistant. However this picture painted in my mind was destroyed well within the first term and continued through the rest of my schooling. We had multiple instructors through the school terms, the classes were told that they just did not fit what was needed, when in reality we believed it was due to favoritism and instructors realizing that the school was a joke. Teaching was sub par at most. One instructor tried to get students expelled because she was frustrated that they had challenged her to information that they were unsure if it was given to them correct. If it was not for grabbing an externship at such a wonderful teaching clinic, I do not think I would survived. Every aspect of the "college" was lacking. Financial aid, the teachers, admissions, administrative faculty, and the students who did not care to be there. Overall, I would not recommend this program to someone who is wanting to jump into medical assisting. Very few positive things and a bunch of negative."

"Worst school ever! Instructors get hired and fired so often that you never know who's teaching. Students teach students and there is no concern for student education or student safety. Makes me sick to my stomach that students attend here and pay 20k-28k for nothing...literally! They have instructors teaching classes that they aren't even qualified to teach or to teach at all! No lecture, attitude, forgetting to put students in classes and not giving out crutial information to help students! MOST UNPROFESSIONAL AND ILL EQUIPPED SCHOOL!!!! Should be shut down!"

"This by far was the worst school i have ever attended. please whatever you do , do not go to pioneer pacific college, especially in the Beaverton are of the state of Oregon. Teachers were horrible, they only care about taking you money, and the Director of the school is the one teaching pharmacology because everyone else has quit in the middle of the term! mind you the Director can't teach for anything! and makes you do all of the work!!!This school doesn't care about your well being, or your education, it;s all about money for them. please do yourself a favor and not waste your money here! do more research! and find you a school with teachers that actually care!"

"Well all I have to say is this school is super inconsistent and will tell all of this stuff is in the hand book will do something way different each term.. if you want so be confused and annoyed with what they say and go back on their word this school is super perfect for you !!"

"The instructors and program directors are absolutely amazing! I was worried about going back to school in my 40's at first, but because of the program and teachers, I am doing great! I feel successful and empowered to take the necessary steps to ensure my own future. Also, the friendships I have formed with my classmates are forever friendships that I treasure."

"Pioneer Pacific College was a great choice for me. I proudly graduated twice with AAS in Computers and Networking Technology in 2003 and again in 02012 BS in Information Technology. I chose PPC because I was looking for a new career pathway with no education past high school. I was very intimidated by state universities and their record for financially overcharging and academically under serving and I wanted a practical education that would also build upon my existing skills and recent work history, an intellectual investment that even Suze Orman would approve of in todays economy and tomorrows job market outlook. I'm sensible, pragmatic, fiscally conservative, socially progressive, enjoy helping people and learning about technology, taking calculated risk- resulting in either failure or success, I love to learn and I don't easily accept the status quo. I highly value products or machines that demonstrate exceptional performance and reliability along with honorable and ethical customer service to support it. The end result should be a leading-edge product with proven return on investment and/or great resale which should result in the product practically selling itself. I find that Pioneer Pacific College continues to deliver high-quality education and is unfairly underrated, even misunderstood by general public who quickly categorizes Pioneer with other for-profit colleges who evidently are out of compliance with accreditation and/or are even predatory. Pioneer Pacific College is a local, reputable school, which clearly delivers not only an exceptional value in their core product of teaching competitive job skills across several proven industries but also offers an unexpectedly enriched learning experience overall. Many of the teachers are graduates from prestigious universities or even adjunct professors. My classmates are mostly working professionals who are polished, serious about succeeding and eager to help others to succeed as well. My curriculum encompassed much more than simply blue-collar job skills. Ive realized the returns on my investment even in a changing/depressed economy with weak demand for jobs. Both degrees brought upgrades in job-titles, responsibility and compensation. Although, Ive yet to actually have an official career change into the IT field-(my goal initially was to become more stable by offering employers more than just manufacturing skills, IT is also heavily used in automation systems- the systems that took my manufacturing job..) Ive also been very selective in the job search process on top of the thin economy, I still feel employers outside of IT recognize my education and what Ive accomplished with it. Ive always been a firm believer that your education is what you make of it. Ive worked competitively in positions alongside my better-educated co-workers who graduated from much more expensive state universities. I feel like this is a great example of Mercedes education versus Honda education. Mercedes is pretentious no matter how you look at it, high maintenance, brick and mortar education, name brand, hates online education technology and now has to finally embrace it because its competing directly with it and besides, Mercedes precision mechanical technology is far outdated. And its certainly no Ferrari as some so smugly misrepresent. Portland State University now offers BS in electronics engineering online- that was unheard of 20 years ago, in fact I think they laughed at me when I asked their counselor about online learning in 1994, -times have certainly changed. Honda is still expensive compared to average car but is just as safe, exceptionally reliable, and handles better than a Mercedes at 1/3 the cost including maintenance and much better resale, its mostly computerized by comparison, because it turns out parts that dont move are more reliable. I hope that puts into perspective the difference between upper-class education and working-class education. Depending on your target occupation and what really makes you happy in life, you might not need to pay for all that extra quality you never really got in the first place. Pioneer Pacific has only been around for 35 years since 1981, it remains a private college of the Pacific NorthWest, financially solvent, transparent, honorable and ethical. Many industry leading business that revolutionized the way a product was made or a service delivered are decades younger and older. Many state universities which were originally designed for the working family to afford the opportunity to buy a college education are now out of reach of the common worker, they too, were once only 35 years old. I love the staff at Pioneer Pacific, they are extremely helpful and worked effectively to ensure my student success from beginning to end in what I would describe as a full-service business model. I never once had to do anyone elses job, they were seamless in operations in terms of enrollment, scheduling, financing, general arrangements and they continued to support me when I had to temporarily stop attending school due to extenuating circumstances and again when I returned through government training programs such as Oregon Training Unemployment Insurance or Oregon Trade Act. Not to mention help simply navigating real life outside of career. I broke my leg during my two-year degree program and they made sure I was taken care of and didnt miss a beat talk about catch you if you fall!!! I have made several friends from fellow students to staffers and teachers. Invitations for lunch or dinner are still a regular activity years after graduating. Most if not all of the staff are extremely approachable and caring professionals. I did have that one time instructor who nobody really seems to like and he certainly didnt do me any justice, in-fact he just viewed my Linkedin profile page without even saying hello or inviting to connect. He doesnt work for Pioneer anymore. So the world does not revolve around perfection at Pioneer, but its pretty close from a students perspective. At one point during my academic career with Pioneer, I had a relative in their medical assisting program who would practice her blood draws on me while I did my homework, she has successfully worked in healthcare for over 12 years now, enjoying stability and good paying union wage jobs for Providence and Kaiser Permanente. Finally, It was a decision Ive never regretted. Ive definitely been grateful for the experiences and proud of my accomplishments and look forward to new challenges and rewards with a great foundation from Pioneer Pacific. I think that not everyone was made for traditional college experience. I certainly wasnt. I feel that Pioneer is a solid school and a sound choice for the rest of us and I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again. I cannot say that about other schools Ive dealt with. It would be great to see Pioneer offer programming classes for the local flourishing web development industry in the Portland area. html - css - php - git - java - python. Pioneer did listen and offer a Healthcare IT program as of recently so maybe if enough potential students ask for these classes - we will receive. *Because of that one instructor- I'm only giving 4 stars on quality of instruction, but all the other teachers would get 6 stars from me- they are great! Gratefully, M. K."

"When I walked into Pioneer Pacific College, I expected it to be like community college. I was sorely mistaken. My teachers, program director and the staff were amazing, the courses are challenging. The people I met when I walked thru those doors 6 years ago, are still some of my closest and dearest friends. The education I received paired with outstanding instructors are simply a recipe for success. I felt the instructors had a vested interest in their students success and went above and beyond to make sure we succeeded."

"The second day of school we were in our second teacher. Throughout the entire nursing class we had a total of 8 teachers!! The turn over was awful and drastically impacted my class. There was a lot of self teaching. We had under qualified teachers to teachers that didn't care about student success. The coordinators also don't care about student success. Some students did not have a clinical location until half way through the term and then had to play catch up all term to meet board standards and to make up for the school's incompetence. We had to pay for books that we didn't even use because none of the instructors or directors were on the same page. Nobody was excited to come to class because none of us had confidence in what we were learning because there was never any consistency. We had days where there would be no instructor and they would put on a film for our 4 hour class. Honestly if it weren't for the 2 NCLEX books I have, I wouldn't have passed the NCLEX. It was all self directed learning. Many of my classmates dropped out or did not pass NCLEX in the first attempt due to the lack of actual reaching provided by the school. I am truly shocked that their nursing program is accredited. I have heard that all of PPC's programs aren't as awful of an experience as the PN program. I have also heard from other LPNs that graduated from other schools that they never had such a miserable experience in nursing school. On a small positive note: the A&P instructors were actually very intelligent and I learned a lot from them and finally during my last term I had a nursing instructor that cared about everyone's success and had great teaching style. Lastly it is a money making college. The nursing program is $30,000 and you most definitely do not get what you paid for."

"It's taken me 5 years to finally post something about PPC as I wasn't sure to what to say. I'm 100% sure that if I could go back, I would not have gone here. My reasons are as follows: 1. The certification Medical Assistants receive is through NCCT. Going to a program whose certifying body is AAMA is a much better. If you list all the certifying bodies in order of good to bad, NCCT is at the bottom. An increasing number of employers are not even accepting NCCT certifications. The AAMA is a much more prestigious cert. which shows employers a much higher skill level. 2. Their job placement services are a total joke. I found a job within 2 months of graduating but that was no thanks to their help. Their job placement services consist of emailing everyone copies of Craigslist postings. In their sales pitch, they made it sound like they had established relationships with hiring managers. That is not the case. 3. As long as you can get a loan, they accept anyone. I had quite a few classmates who would never be able to find a job due to drug addiction, physical and mental disabilities. 4. After working with other Medical Assistants, I feel that their training was much more comprehensive than mine. Although I can keep up, I imagine a lot of other people can't and go in as a new graduate highly unprepared. An example of that is the electronic charting system they teach, and I use that word, teach, lightly. I don't even remember the name of it as its a program that no one uses. Other schools teach using Epic which is what all the main hospital systems use. The one I did appreciate is the teachers. My main instructor was truly invested in our success. Her name was Laurie and she was incredibly intelligent and dedicated to the students. In all, I think any other Medical Assisting program is better than the one at PPC. Get certified through AAMA so your options aren't limited and you prove to employers that you have proper training."

"I am currently attending my first term at Pioneer Pacific and so far it has been very disappointing. All but one of my five classes are 'self taught', so the teachers do nothing. They are supposed to be there if you need anything but so far only one of my teachers in the self taught classes have even been able to answer any of my questions! My academic adviser comes off as very unapproachable, and when I asked about why I wasn't being taught by my teachers she said most of the classes at the school are self taught! Why am I paying so much for tuition just to be given a book and told and answer the true and false questions in the back of each chapter!? When I asked to switch advisers I was told she was the only one that advises the business degree programs so there was no one to switch to. This school is great if all you want is a degree and do not much care if you learn anything or are very good at teaching yourself. If your looking for a college experience and want to be challenged and learn from your teachers then this is not the school for you. I know that you get what you put into college. However, when a person is trying to teach themselves and the teachers can not answer questions a student has, is becomes obvious that something is wrong. I did have a teacher (Mr. Ed) in one of the self taught classes that was great, he seems to really care about the students and their success. I wish I could say the same about my adviser! I plan to transfer after this term, although credits do not transfer so basically I have wasted about $8,000 from my one, 10 week term at Pioneer."

"I am not sure why there would be any good reviews. I went to a Community College and the education I paid for there was excellent. I paid twice the amount at PPC and got barely an elementary education. Do yourself a favor do not invest your money into any programs at this institution. PLEASE!!"

"Poor service after graduation. Never got a job and have been ignored from job-lead to finding one:((no response to emails and didnt received any phone calls back!!!"

"This program is nice because it is all-inclusive. One year, start to finish, and you're a nurse. The price tag is high, but increased earnings after just a year of school make up for it."

"Becoming a nurse is a dream I'm in the middle of fulfilling. All thanks to the nursing program here at pioneer pacific college. Becoming a nurse will be the most rewarding job, and I couldn't have done it without the amazing schooling I've gone through. Pioneer has some of the most inspiring and supportive teachers, I couldn't have possible made it through this year of nursing school without them."

"Pioneer Pacific college has been a great college, they hold there students to a high level of professionalism and encourage their students to strive for excellence. I feel that most of the staff was behind us 100% of the way and where there to guide us to success."

"I must say that the experience that I went through at this school was great, it did have some down falls like any other school but the problems were addressed and were promptly taken care of. I Loved the classes they went much better than I ever thought they would. Instructors were always helpful and patient for any question I had and would explain it differently for all students to understand. Financial aid was also great always listening to your concerns. The career services, the person who was there when I was attending was very rude and would bring students down. I was told that I would not be able to get a job in the legal field because of something in past and told me I was wasting my time in going to school. That was a lie. I addressed it with my program director and was addressed. I did not think that was appropriate for him to say that and to bring our hopes down like that. My program director was actually the one who helped me in finding a position, and I am forever grateful with them. I am a Paralegal at a law firm in Salem and could not see myself here without Pioneer."