The community colleges I'm familiar with have some sort of adult education or non-degree programs wherein a person can take a class he's interested in without jumping thru all the hoops. Are you enrolling in an AC certification program or is it just one course? If it's a prescribed course of study leading to some sort of degree or certificate, of course there are going to be pre-reqs. Testing out of pre-reqs is also fairly common, but they're probably still going to nick you for the course fee if they give you the credit.
I don't always like their practices either. I taught extension evening sessions for my local CC a few years ago. The college has a rule that in order for a class to go, there must be at least 12 students enrolled. I had one class that had 11 enrolled and the college would make no exception, they cancelled the class. I should mention I was paid a flat fee for each 15 session class. A couple of weeks later they contacted me and wanted me to do the same class as independent study for some student who HAD to have it that semester to finish his AA degree. "What's the pay?" Sez I. "One-twelfth the normal class wage". After the associate dean got an earful, I don't work for them anymore. :D

See, that is where your problem was. You fail to understand simple negotiation.

You: So, you NEED the class to graduate
Student: Yes
You: For each semester you sit out, it is costing you money in lost wages. So what is the class worth to YOU? :D BTW, I take cash only. Small bills and non-sequential. Nothing larger than $20.

Strelnik sometimes you can challenge a class and just take a proficiency test instead of taking the class, try asking.

It's good idea to take a tech report writing class. I seem to always be writing requests and scopes of work, even though that is not supposed to be part of the job. I have to do it in a way that some one who has NO knowledge of engineering can understand it even though they claim to know the subject. It's amazing how many people just don't have the ability to analyze a problem and figure out what to do.

See if you can take it but not get credit. Talk to the teacher. He may let you show up for free & not get credit.

Eventualy he'll get there.

Is hatty doing spell check or something?

I won't get into the argument about whether or not this particular CC is being a bunch of pricks or not.

But I have seen that depending on the institution - CC, trade school, tech school, licensed contractor - that the amount of time and expense required to get the same course, certification, degree, etc can vary greatly.

Case in point is the EPA Certification for Refrigeration Technicians.

When this first came about in the early 90's, the Navy required that anyone who operated any type of A/C or refrigeration equipment as part of their normal duties or rating had to get the EPA certification. For me, it was a one WEEK course at the base crew training center, at the end of which I received a universal certification after scoring high enough on the exam. DOD paid for it all, as it was considered required training for my normal shipboard duties.

Now, some gents at work don't have their EPA Cert yet, and they're having to take a class in two weeks to get it so they can continue to work at the thermal plant (company sort of dropped the ball on keeping track of that and enforcing it). They're taking a one DAY course at a local A/C contractor, and taking a test at the end of the day to get the same Cert. Probably just teaching what is necesary to get a passing grade on the test. Company we work for is picking up the tab on that one.

The same gents at work have been told by other workers that the normal full-up course, using the same course materials they've been given (book, CD, DVD, study guide, etc), takes one MONTH of classes before being tested to get their EPA Cert - most likely teaching refrigeration theory and systems as well. No idea who paid for what in this case.

So be patient, check around, talk to locals in the line of work you want to take courses in. Your time, your money, see if you can find someone who's willing to teach specifically what YOU want to know.

As a side note, CC's CAN be a bunch of unbending pricks (no pun intended). Local CC back in NC wanted me to take classes for FOUR YEARS to get a basic welding cert - no credit whatsoever for the training and schools I'd received in the Navy, even though I had the DOD paperwork certifying how many hours of credit it was worth. When I mentioned that to a couple of local welders, they laughed like hell and said it was pure BS - that particular CC was notorious for extraneous fees and making people take unnecessary courses, to get the maximum amount of money out of them. Even their own course curriculm book (which their staff apparently hadn't bothered to read) listed a basic welding cert program that only lasted six months - with credit given for prior experience and training.:rolleyes:

I haven't read your whole thread, but -

Just an idea, but try to find a shop where you can apprentice by doing volunteer internship, apprentice work. Maybe even get paid as a helper to OTJT. (On The Job Training)

Trouble is - if you are looking to get official certification to run your own A/C shop, that may not work for you.