University of Phoenix Reviews

I was also put on academic probation, even though they knew I was a veteran with a head injury who was working her way through this the best she could. Also, I was given the same class again that I had complained about the teacher and was never told this. I was also told If I passed this class (the one I had already taken) that I would be off academic probation if I got an A or B and on to my next class - not true. I am now being told I will have to sit out for six months until I can go to my next class. This school is poorly run. Student advisors never call you back for any complaints. They send in your paperwork late so that you get you stipend late, etc. This is a sorry school for veterans to have to go to!

My first big problem was in my critical thinking class last block. In week 4, I received an e-mail from the instructor which stated I had plagiarized a discussion question. This discussion questions were 10 points, and I had a 98% in the class. I still called my academic advisor everyday for 6 days and emailed her before even receiving a response.

After she finally got in touch with me, I was told I had to appeal to the board of academic affairs once I had received my letter. I did and did not hear anything back until I had called numerous people for many weeks. They told me they were standing by the teacher's decision and would not give me any proof of what I had been done or tell me what I had copied. There's nothing I could do. By the end of the class, I received a 97.61% as a final grade, but my participation points as well as discussion questions points were taken away which added up to 30 points. Being a A student with a 3.5 GPA, this whole situation just astonished me.

On Monday, June 16, 2009, I called my academic counselor, saying I wanted to withdraw. She then 3-wayed my financial aid advisor, and we had talked. Both of them were very rude. In the end, I backed out of filing the paperwork, because they both told me that if I withdraw, I would receive a penalty from Wells Fargo (Student Loan Lender) for not completing the 24 credits through UOP. They also stated they could not tell me how much this penalty would be and that I would not know until the whole withdrawal process was already completed but that it could be anywhere from $20 to $1,200.

Today, Wednesday, the 17th, I called Wells Fargo and was told there is no withdrawal fee from them and the withdrawal fee from Wells Fargo as a lender and that the fee must be from UOP. Needless to say, I will be withdrawing, and if there is a fee from UOP, I will not be paying it. They do not teach you anything. The instructors do not respond within the 24-hour said limit. Also, if you attend there, good luck on getting a hold of anyone. It seems like all they do is transfer you to other workers' voice mails! To add, most of their classes are not transferable! Talk about wasting over $7,000.

The third problem arose with my financial counselor first not knowing anything happening with my account. The problem was initially discovered by me in February, asking when the school would be receiving funds in my name and what those funds were going to be. After one line reply after another from my finance counselor, I asked to speak with his supervisor. To this day, I still have not had voice to voice contact with the supervisor. However, by my asking, magically it was found out that I had no Pell money coming because they did not apply for it for me (referenced above). To try to fix the problem of having no Pell Grant funds, the school, without my authorization or knowledge, returned my financial aid to lender! This was to make it look like I was under funded so the government would send Pell monies to them in my name to help cover the cost of tuition. UOP was given the Pell money and they reapplied for the loans in my name which were also granted by Citi. Brent ** called and informed me that all the funds would cover my year of tuition and we would reapply at the end of the year for the 2010 online school year; and not only would it cover the cost, I would have the extra $600 - $800 they received sent to me in June or July of 2009.

On May 15, 2009, Brent ** informed me that I would have to pay $283.00 out of pocket for a class. When I asked if we could defer payment until I received my second disbursement of aid, he said yes, but that I would have to take into consideration I would have a bill of approximately $1022.00 due by October 2009, and that we would then reapply for the next school year after that. The entire way through my bachelor's degree (November 2008 - present), I have not been correctly informed of any information regarding my finances and what the aid goes to, if I have been informed at all. Economic damage was having to renew a lease being 2 months behind in rent in January 2009 and having to let my landlords know that it would be another 2 months before they would see any money (4 months total rent due). I also had to seek assistance through the community for power and have had my water shut off once. All of this has happened over just 8 months. By having all my bills paid past due, I have two accounts now delinquent on my credit report because I was unable to meet the minimum payment due at the time (November 2008 - March 2009) and my credit score has suffered as a result.

After being reassured many times that the classes that she gave me to take were correct and necessary, I took one class and then started another one, only to find out that they were not the correct classes at all. The degree I was pursuing did not require me to take those classes. So that was a huge waste of my time. I called your campus and explained this to you at that time and told you I did not feel responsible for these charges as I was given wrong instructions and took classes that I did not need, but your advisor said I did.

With that, I will not be responsible for paying this stated amount of $1,790.00. It was a huge misrepresentation of U of P and not my intentions to take classes that were not required. I have recently been terminated from my employment, am on permanent disability, and probably will not be returning to work due to a chronic medical condition I have now. So payment isn't even an option at any point. Please have them remove this total from my credit report upon receipt of this letter.

I started classes and in my 2nd week, they told me that I was ineligible for the grant but they were looking into more possibilities. I was eligible for it the next year though. I talked to a few people that I know about this. They told me that they have heard this about them, too. They let you start classes thinking that you have help to pay for college and then you don't. I called today to withdraw after trying to get a hold of my counselors. They tell me that I have to pay them $600 for participating in 2 1/2 weeks of classes.

Nothing on the site says that I have to pay that amount if I quit. I contacted the place where my loan is and told them I wanted it canceled. It wasn't supposed to be sent out till after the 15th. To my surprise, they told me it was sent and that I would have to notify the school to send it back. Three weeks of waiting to find out if I am eligible for other assistance is crazy. They should have told me before I started classes.

Still confused, I contacted my financial counselor, Chaundra ** and asked her to explain what was going on with my account. First, she tells me she doesn't know. Then she tells me a day or so later that the last refund check was computer generated and it was supposed to be less $57.20 and that the bill for $1500 was to be kept for my records. At this point, I am extremely frustrated for a couple of reasons. First reason, I don't have a job so money is just not laying around for me to do whatever I need or want to do. The second reason is above all else my tuition should be paid out of the grants and loans that are applied to my account every quarter. There should not be any computer generated anything. There should be somebody, oh say, my financial counselor, who stays abreast of my account situation and applies the funds appropriately. To no avail, this did not occur. So to cut this story short, in order to obtain my Associates and to move on to the Bachelor's program, I have to find some way to pay this $57.20 which she now tells me are taxes associated to my move to another state.

I've been to numerous colleges and universities, and I had no problem withdrawing from a class or the institution itself. Now, all of a sudden, it seems impossible to get ahold of people and start a formal disenrollment process from the university itself. I've also withdrawn from classes from every college and university I've ever been to and have never had to pay for a class I withdrew from. My financial aid has always covered withdrawn classes, and I've been left to eventually owe financial aid back if it was paid for in the form of a loan.

A letter was sent to me several months ago which stated when UoP was getting their disbursement and when I was getting mine, and my financial aid counselor, Eileen **, even called to inform me that they had their money to cover 'x' amount of credit hours (classes). As far as I'm concerned, they already got the money to cover this course, and now, I owe the loan people back.

I'm in terrible financial straits and am on the verge of going bankrupt (been 6 months now since I've been unemployed). I don't know if I'll be able to afford to pay them anything, if they come back at me and say I owe 'x' amount of dollars. And what's worse is if I don't pay whatever they say I owe in 90 days, it goes to collections, who I hear is merciless--absolutely merciless.

My financial aid counselor said we discussed how it all works if I ever had to disenroll and what would happen if I did when we first spoke after my initial enrollment in January. That's nice, but these things need to be covered in writing in their handbook; and it's not. There's no written policy outlining withdrawal from the university and the fact you'll be stuck holding the bag and paying something to them. This is wrong!

I've read numerous things online about how they engage in unethical business practices, and it sickens me to no end. I now realize I made a horrible decision by enrolling in UoP.

I went through this nightmare process at least 8 times over 15 months with the university. Committee members and mentor signing off on the proposal and yet the university would reject. Aren’t the committee members and mentor employed by the university? I made so many requests for guidance from various individuals at the university as to what I was possibly doing wrong, but I received little to no communication from the university except for when it came time to send them more money. I grew so frustrated with literally begging someone at the university to communicate with me; I ended up writing a U.S. Senator and asking for his assistance. Lo and behold, only then did I get a call from someone in the academic advisory area. I thought, "Finally, a life-line". Wrong.

They promised yet another dissertation reviewer to review my proposal and that would fix everything. Wrong. Even after this additional reviewer who was recommended by the university approved my proposal, the university turned it down yet again for minor changes. The university's mantra was "Just make the changes but, oh, by the way, you will have to send us more money." In frustration, I withdrew from the university after 5 years. I refuse to send them another dime. After withdrawing from the university, I received an overdue bill without any explanation. I paid off my student loan in full last year, paying for any additional classes in full yet they will not tell me why I have received this bill or the almost $600 in additional late fees.

If you have suffered similar mistreatment from the University of Phoenix, please contact me. If we can work together as a group, we have a chance of getting some of our joint grievances addressed. I will gladly update you as to what our next steps might be regarding this matter. Please help me stop the University of Phoenix from continuing their mercenary tactics. This is your chance to help yourself and to help others. Thank you.

After paying the plumber to fix the leak, I then had to pay the water department. He was very rude and said "well, we're coming after you". Months later, my boss got a letter stating that I am in default. No one contacted me after that last person called. The company I work for receives government funding so if I'm in default, then I can no longer work for them. So not only did they not give me a chance to work something out, now they are coming to my employer. I have other student loans where I applied for a financial hardship and my account is currently in forbearance. Why can't these people do the same? I might lose my job if I can't work something out with this company.

Of course, I didn't pass the class even though I did the homework for the class. The reason why I couldn't transmit my homework to the teacher is not only the grid was down because of the storm in September of 2008, tech support took away any and all email support and log tests to submit the homework too. I couldn't even send my test to Dr. ** and e-mail or class site in weeks four or five of the class. Let's go forward to the result of the new policy change and not having no one around to even ask for any help. The next point of disagreement is that at no time no one from the university called or even tried to explain what was going on or tried to help me understand what happened or tried to go within the system at the university.

The financial aid office changed my financial aid program to a non-student as of 2008. It took me over three months to finally understand that I had to do a new financial aid package. Of course, it's very hard for anyone to talk to once you're not a student there any longer. Due to the non-support at the university and the non-help of tech support, I had to enroll in another university, take out another loan because of the error of tech support. I didn't get the loan that I was suppose to get because of not passing the class even though the work was done.

Literally a few hours later, I got a phone call from Phoenix (I believe her name was Kim **). She was very persistent yet nice. I expressed that I was only interested in the school, but eventually she talked me into enrolling. I know it was partly my fault for not doing enough research first, but I wanted to get a college degree and it seemed perfect since I could continue living my life the way I was while still attending college. My great grandmother passed away halfway through the enrollment process. Phoenix has a way of calling you every other hour until they get the documents they need (you know, make sure you sign off your life to them on time!). So I called Kim and told her some of the documents would be late. She was sympathetic and understanding, but I still managed to get them in on time.

Before I start to talk about the actual classes, I'm going to note something that Kim told me over the phone the first day that I talked with her. Financial aid will most likely cover everything and you won't have to pay a cent until you graduate. Alright, so first block of classes at Phoenix. I was told that I wouldn't need the books for my first classes. Wrong. I was told my financial aid would cover them. Wrong. So I just sort of winged it without the books and was still doing decently in my classes. Now literally a day before my finals were due, my internet went down. I did not own a flash drive at the time to put my work on to send it from another computer, so I did not get to turn my finals in (can't possibly go to another location and redo 2 finals in one night). I still managed to pass one of the classes without turning the final in, but failed the other.

So I got a bill for about $1,000 in the mail and I'm told I need to retake the class. What kind of college makes you pay in full for failing a class? That's part of college, especially when you have a legitimate reason. You would think they would be a bit more understanding considering you're not allowed to turn any late work in after the classes are over. I decided to keep going with the university. About halfway through my next block of classes I realized that I wasn't learning anything useful. We actually had grammar lessons that a third grader could probably complete. The teachers weren't helpful at all. They constantly missed assignments that you turned in and gave you a 0, then proceeded to not respond to your messages when you question them about it to fix it.

There was little to no classmate interaction. We had discussion questions, which were really just structured interaction. I couldn't tell you the name of one student that I was in class with while attending UoP. Let me stress this again, no teacher interaction even if you started an assignment early and needed help with it. Chances are your teacher isn't going to check their mail until the assignment is due and/or just ignore it. You're pretty much paying to teach yourself while buying their expensive books, which will more than likely come out of your pocket regardless of what they say.

So it just clicked. Why pay almost $1,000 per class if the education I was receiving was not worth it? So I told them I wanted to withdraw. A few weeks later I got a bill saying I owe roughly $2,000. Then I got another one a few weeks later saying I owe $4,000 because my financial aid was canceled (what the hell? Financial aid canceled? Whatever happened to 6 months after graduation or loans transferring to your new college?) and they're going to report me to the collection's agency if I do not pay it. My credit is going to be ruined for 7 years if I don't pay this debt and for what? So I could learn about University of Phoenix's library (which sucks)? That plagiarism is bad? That the letter "I" is capitalized in a sentence and how to number pages in Microsoft Word? Come on.

I don't know what to do. I finally found a great college (It's the Art Institute of Pittsburgh online division. It's a great school if you're looking for online education and all of my former AIP credits transferred. I wish I would have known about this before I started at UoP. It basically has everything that Phoenix does not have and you get the same degree from them whether you're taking their online classes or on-campus classes) and now I might not be able to receive any more financial aid for The Art Institute because of Phoenix. The economy is so bad and I am a full-time student. I don't have a job.

How do they expect me to summon $4,000 out of nowhere? Why do I owe UoP. Shouldn't I owe Sallie Mae? They never told me withdrawing from school would cancel all of my financial aid with Sallie Mae and that I would have to pay it back immediately. I can't believe a money-hungry company like this can even pass themselves off as a college. As someone else said, once you sign up they hold you hostage until they get their money or you'll have bad credit forever and never be able to attend another real college.

I did a bit more research and found that UoP isn't even a well credited school. Good luck finding a decent job, even if you manage to complete one of their degrees. In short, do not make the same mistake that I and tons of other people have made. Do not take classes at The University of Phoenix.

Another example is on my final capstone question about what I had learned in the class. He marked me off 17 points because he said I did not list all of the material that we had covered when I mentioned some of the stuff that I found interesting and some parts that I struggled with. Other various experiences like that happened to me in that class. But when it came to my final essay, I did follow the same format that I had for the whole class on my essay and he complimented me on how I changed my formatting style to follow proper procedures. I tried getting my academic counselor involved about this teacher and the unfair grading and I even reported him in the end of class survey.

3 weeks have gone by now and my academic counselor will not return my calls or e-mails, or she is never available. I still have not received any follow-up on the survey, as I said that I wanted to be contacted about my complaints. If I had known before I started going here what I know now, I would never have signed up. The only reason I did was because my local VA recommended it for the Voc Rehab program, and even though the VA is paying for it, I still get calls and letters from UoP about outstanding balances. I can't even get my diploma from them because they say I still owe over 2,000 dollars. I would stay away from this school if anyone is thinking of going here.

Once I said I was pregnant, he said that qualified me for a full Pell Grant that would cover all of my education needs from books to courses and that I would not have to pay a cent. He said I would even receive excess funds between every 4 blocks to use towards schooling items such as internet bills or a new computer. His exact words were "it's like getting paid to go to school." I couldn't believe it. I was so happy that I got this grant and had nothing to worry about. Whenever I came across paperwork I didn't understand, I asked questions and his exact words were "It's nothing, don't worry about it." He took advantage of me and lied when I questioned.

So at this point, I am advised I do have a loan and that I have already accumulated $15,000.00 in a student loan that must be paid back. This is not right. The University of Phoenix's Enrollment Department never notified me of a loan or the process of the loan and stated in their so-called notes that they did walk me through it. Well they didn't. They are liars and this has to be stopped. Something has to be done and not just some kind of employee training. I would suggest not applying to this university because no matter who you go through, they are all trained to meet a quota and skip the financial part. Someone please help!

The damage this has done to me as a student has put me in debt if I cannot obtain what I was promised "no cost to me" and is affecting my studies. I have been completely stressed out during my courses and they don't care. Since my degree is already paid for, I have no choice but to continue with them and have the choice to leave when I am done which I will do.

I have seen so many people drop out because they just couldn't keep up. You have to be disciplined to be an online student. This is a great school for working adults that are dedicated to continuing their education.

The kicker is that they have a statement in the help section of their website stating they no longer even require exit interviews. In addition, they have an electronic form where you give them your bank account information for a refund via electronic transfer (which I did). Now, I am told that only applies for the upcoming financial aid year, not for my balance. In short, they are holding $3,500.00 of money I am obligated to pay for while causing me to have to pay out of pocket for my nursing tuition. Way to support students right? I have to pay out of pocket for my summer tuition at another college because they won't issue my refund.

I advised them it’s the course that I didn’t want. I need to go back to the first choice HR. I was told not to drop the class due to financial aid till I was transferred to the HR program on ground. I’ve done so. I was even advised that I will have none of the 3 or 6 credits already earned transferred. I was alright with that, meaning I will have to attend longer. After all was said and done, they couldn’t get me from online to ground campus. The funds from financial aid were not applied to the classes and were sent back, as they said, minus some fee that I still am unsure of.

Now, I am receiving Apollo Group demand letters for $2,004.00 and collection groups. I tried to just go attend another university, and when the excess funds come through for the new school, pay on the balance. That didn’t work because the new school needs the transcript from my BS to place me in the Master’s program. UOP states they are not releasing the transcript as long as I owe the two grand. Now, because they didn’t handle the funds and class schedule accordingly, I can’t continue my education. If anyone knows of a possible way that I can force them to release the program that is not with fees owed, please please help. I am really ready to return to school.

I am stuck paying for my classes now and I called her supervisor, Kristina, and she did not return the calls either. They can't tell me where all the money went to and it does not show where it went either. I don't refer this college to anyone and I will finish out what I owe and move on to another school at the end of the year. The curriculum is a joke and you don't learn anything. They have stupid learning teams and you depend on other students for a grade. This school is all about the money from the government and needs a wake-up call from some government agency.

The instructors require downloads of software onto student (my business as well) systems that is not a part of the software agreement that was signed. In the Stats class, we were required to download Megastat as it was needed for the class, but this program is not in the computer software agreement and the students need to know ahead of time so they have the opportunity to download and troubleshoot it before any classes that require it begins. Megastat has caused a lot of problems using it and is not a Microsoft product, which means Microsoft does not support it and because of the problems it has caused a lot of downtime for me as it continues to crash my office products. The instructor gave no instructions on its use, troubleshooting and incorrect downloading instructions as well.

This last class was way too much work. Every week, so far, we have written assignments, up to 20 word problems, weekly summaries, 10 substantial postings a week, not to mention the team work - twice as much as the other classes and this type of structure is more than 20 hours a week. This is extremely difficult on working folks who already have a heavy workload and could be working two jobs to pay the bills and it causes havoc with making ends meet, which UOP isn't covering when classes take up so much more additional time than expected.

UOP has already cost me $20,000 in student loans with another $20,000 approved for the last set of classes. UOP has also cost me monies in lost businesses, downtime, and other types of expenses, which they are not covering. I cannot work on my clients’ needs when I am putting 40 hours a week into classes that instructors (so far two classes have been this way) have set up for class work overload and one instructor included a software download that caused down time for me and the use of ALEKS, which refuses to agree with my operating system and causes even more problems.

I do understand the nature of UOP courses and yes the majority have a heavy work load and I have gotten through those classes within the 20 hours a week that have been allocated for them. But in at least two to three of these classes so far, the workloads are much heavier than the other classes requiring more hours that I don't have.

Before I start again and finish up, which I would really like to do and get my Masters, I need to know what classes are left? Which classes require this extra type of workload? A class with extra workload needs to be scheduled near the end so that I can adjust my personal workloads more effectively to give that additional time to those classes. Right now, I don't know when these heavy hitting classes, like the one I am currently in, are coming up and they are causing havoc with me paying my bills and causing additional stress trying to deal with the problems they are causing.

On May 8, 2009, my area was hit with an inland hurricane shutting down the complete city. I called my instructor twice on May 8 and to this date my instructor has never called me back about staying up on classes or getting an extension for completion of the classes. I have talked to Greg **, my advisor, on May 11 giving him the same information. I did not get my electric back on until May 13, 2009 and I left another message with Greg ** letting him know that the instructor still has not called me back and that I knew that I would be failed due to the destruction that the hurricane had caused and that I still did not have Internet at home and that if UOP continues to not try to resolve this issue so I can finish that class, that they are essentially punishing me for a natural disaster caused by a storm. I also have left an email with my advisor and just got off the phone with him May 14, 2009 at 1:33 pm, and it was clear that they were going to do nothing until after the class was over. He was asking me to drive through a disaster area to get to a town that had Internet access and refused to recognize the dangers of doing this.

Here is what the head of Dept for Criminal Justice had said to me: "First things first. You stated you received an AA degree from UPhoenix. This means you have a lot of CJ courses that are not transferable. Although UPhoenix is an accredited college, you will still need to complete your general education requirements in order to take your upper division (last 2 years) classes for your bachelor's degree and beyond. So you will need to get your transcripts to admissions here at BC and have them looked at to determine which classes will count toward your two year AAS-dt (direct transfer) degree."

They have a place online that you can check to see what University has credits that can be transferred to BC and if it still applies, I have a total of 1 course (3 credits) that would be transferable. The people in the Psych Dept at my local college (they are a 4-year university that works in partnership with the community college) if the same would happen if I was to go master's through a traditional university since UoP does not offer what I want at the master's level. At this time I am still awaiting their reply, but I can only imagine that if my AA is not transferable to get me into a bachelor program, then the same will hold true if I completed my bachelor program through UoP.

As you can imagine, I was livid. This system is unfair and a major scam. I did exactly what my counselor suggested and was not told that I would be on a new version when I returned to school. I have sent out two appeals so far explaining my situation and both have been denied. I will not stand for this. I will keep fighting until I get what I worked very hard for. If anyone knows of a class action lawsuit, I want to be a part of spreading the word of the true UOP.

What should have been easy and a quick problem to fix stretched out over 2 years. Needless to say, during all this, I'd lost my job but they wouldn't reimburse me anyway for a D. So I am on the hook financially for $1,200.00 and have an incorrect grade. But worst of all, I was unemployed and my account sent to collections. I realized even though I was still disputing the grade, that I would be held liable and I really wanted to continue my studies at a different school. I made arrangements with the collection agency who, at one point, deducted 3 times the agreed upon amount from my checking account, sending it into a tailspin. I was able to recoup the overage and some of the fees, but refuse to let them touch my checking account.

I got into a different school, but after a few classes, they said they had to see my official transcripts from UOP. It had been a while and there wasn't any closure on my outstanding issue, so I called them up. The academic advisor finally got back to me. The financial advisor has yet to call me and had changed, yet again. I was asked to write a letter outlining my complaint. I was assured this was a higher level and more formal complaint than what I'd previously filed. In the meantime, I am not able to go to class; I am not able to finish the degree I have worked so hard for and I was given a letter saying it was the final answer and they weren't changing my grade even though I had provided them with emails and screen shots, the returned, graded assignments with comments from the instructor, etc. Two years later and I got nothing.

I have finished 2+ years at UOP online and have just registered for the BA program, investing 2 more years. I believe in this school and I know from experience that it is a good school willing to work with people as long as procedures and deadlines are followed. In order to take a break for a hardship, you must contact the advisor immediately, fill out a request to withdraw, and send in the request for approval. If there is good reason for your request, they will grant a break with prorated credit towards the current course.

I have had to take 3 breaks due to life's hardships. I was able to withdraw each time. The only fees I had to pay were prorated for time in the class. This is explained in the policy handbook and is understandable. I have checked out local college campuses, enrolled in one, and quickly returned for the BA program. Other colleges have even harder policies and are more difficult to enroll in, schedule, and get straight answers from concerning expectations and tuition fees.

Overall, I love my UOP online experience. I know from this experience that all of these negative comments are from whiners who think that they should be treated with kid gloves because they failed to read and understand their responsibilities. A person's life, including education, is their responsibility. Putting negative comments out there because a business did not bend all of the rules for a person is a bad practice and just goes to show the rest of us what type of person you are. Take responsibility for yourself, and your decisions to follow procedures, or not. Every aspect of UOP procedures and policy is clearly stated and easy to find. You just have to look.

I failed one of my classes and ended having to retake it. Well, sure enough that will cost you $1,000 out-of-pocket, even though they said that my financial aid would cover it. Turns out that because I failed the class, they had to send back half of my financial aid. What in the hell is that about? So I took the class again and did my best to apply as much as my time as possible to passing it. Keep in mind I have a full time salary job that requires me to work as needed. So what I did was reuse some of the previous material that I submitted to the previous class to the new class. And of course the work I had submitted before that was graded exceptionally well by the first teacher was graded horribly by the second. In the end, the instructor ended up failing me by literally just about 10 points. I called my academic counselor and tried to dispute the issue and he said that all grading was left up to the teachers. He didn't even care that I was upset. He basically wanted to know if I wanted to continue, and if not, would I like to be transferred to the financial adviser to pay off my now hugely growing debt.

In the end, I am now in debt about $15,000 and have only made 15 credits towards general education. I beg anyone who has taken the time to read this: please do not consider joining this school. The worst part about it is I took the time to research the school and as well read all of these complaints, and I still went through with it because I was looking for an easy way out. The end result was an empty bank account, 15 credits, no additional knowledge of business (except to stay away from UOP) and a lifetime of regret.

This class was a joke. I have learned more about business by reading internet blogs and forums than I learned in this class. Also, I was sold a bag of goods by my advisor, telling me how simple it is to go back to school. I have been waiting over a month for them to process my transcripts so I know what classes I need to take. All the classes are set up by your academic advisor, but I have never really known how many classes I still have before I complete my education. Also, their library is a joke. I was told by their advisor that my classes and course materials would be paid for but if you want to look up anything in the library, you have to pay for all your reference materials.

I am currently going through a bankruptcy and I am living off about $600 a month. How am I supposed to pay for all of these items? I cannot even complete my class without these course materials. I feel like the university has taken advantage of me and worse yet, put an even larger financial strain on me when I am already in a tough financial position. My entire experience with them has been a complete waste of time and money. I would not recommend the University of Phoenix to anyone.

While we encourage all students to work with their local campus directly, the University also has a department dedicated to handling student complaints. The Office of Dispute Management (ODM) is responsible for all student and faculty grievances and appeals. Our goal is to resolve and bring closure to escalated student issues either by correcting a problem for a student or providing the student with sufficient detail as to why the University took a particular action or made a particular decision. If you would like to pursue a complaint with ODM, please contact our office using one of the methods listed below.

Phoenix, AZ 85040

Email address: UofPhoenix@phoenix.edu; Phone: 602-557-5566; Fax: 480-557-2275

They then came back and said they couldn't find the certification, and for me to call my lender. I called my lender and they said it was on ELM. I then called my counselor back and they gave me the number of the processing center. The processing center said that they did not have access to ELM because all they did was review the information and then send it back for certification, that I needed to call my counselor back, which I did. The request for information continued. I called my counselor every day. She put in several "heat tickets" to try to find out what the hold up might be, but we never received an answer. At the time the loan would have been originated, my account balance was zero. I should have received the entire loan at that time.

In the mean time, between various computer crashes which can be detrimental to an online student, work and personal stresses, there were problems with my classes. Following the advice of my counselor, we would drop the class and give it another go in a couple of weeks. In December, her manager finally began to work with me on my case. When I came back from Christmas break, I found out that my financial aid counselor was no longer with UOP. Still awaiting certification and waiting on numerous answers on "heat tickets," I decided not to continue accumulating tuition until they were able to resolve the issue. I let them know that the credit portion of my plus loan would expire in the middle of February, so we were in a time crunch.

Nothing was resolved and the credit deadline came and went. At this point, I was told that I needed to reapply, enroll in another class and they would get my loans on my account. Stupidly, I did as I was instructed. The first portion of my plus loan hit my account in late March - 7 months after it was originally supposed to hit. However, I did not receive any of these funds because by this point, I had accumulated more tuition and so the plus went toward the balance. It is now the end of April and the second portion has hit. Of course, that is not the end of the story. Due to the misrepresentation that there was no need for prior knowledge, I got a C in my first class. This immediately put me on academic probation.

It is now April and even though I have steadily improved my grades, it has not been enough to get my GPA up to a 3.0. I am sitting at a 2.8 so I am going to be allowed to take one more class, then I have to sit out for 6 months. This now affects the rest of my financial aid. Originally, I would have received the plus loan free and clear, and then my second disbursement would have gone on and taken care of the remainder of my tuition that had been incurred. Now I am being told that after this class, I will not have earned all of my financial aid so the majority of the funds I would have received are going to be sent back to the lender. This leaves me with less than 25% of my original plus loan and having to repay funds back to the university, following my next disbursement.

It is unending and still, the university is not willing to own up to the fact that their financial aid office didn't do their job in the first place to get the original plus loan certified, so I am ultimately the one who just has to deal with the outcome of their shortcomings.

Two weeks after attending my class, she called to notify me that I now have to be under the new version of the program and would have to take 24 more units! Since the new policy took in effect on April 1, 2009 and I attended the first class on April 6, 2009, according to her, I would fall under the new version. I understand the fact that policies change. However, I was re-assured by the counselor that I was approved to come back under the older version and complete the last 6 units I have left to complete my degree. I believe that the proper and ethical protocol should have been the counselor advising me to hold off until she evaluated my transcript (which she only did yesterday, April 22, 2009) prior to me re-enrolling. If I had known ahead of time that I would be continuing under the new program, I would have had a choice whether to continue attending UOP or going somewhere else. I believe that the university misrepresented itself by using a bait and switch tactic, luring me to register and later on telling me that I need to take extra classes.

They are taking advantage of the fact that I am eager to graduate or they even think that I am desperate. When I asked the counselor exactly how many units I need to take under the new program, she said she hasn't evaluated my transcript, which is lame because most universities would do this prior to enrolling any student! The counselor also asked me to write a SAC appeal explaining as to why I stopped attending school for a few years. I sent her the letter but it will take 3-6 weeks to even get a response and there is no assurance that they will approve the appeal. So by the time I even get an answer, I would have finished the 2 classes and they have taken the money, since I am paying out of pocket.

I dropped the online class which started 2 days ago because I don't believe that I should be paying $1,500 for an online class which potentially will not even be counted towards my degree. And like the thousands of students out there, I cannot get a straight answer from the counselor. She said that she was not notified about the change until two days later it has taken into effect! That sounds ridiculous and scary at the same time because the university apparently does not communicate well with their staff. I am seeking assistance on this matter. If anyone of you out there who has a good legal attorney, please let me know. Thank you.

When I refused, he locked me out of class. The Financial Manager, Chad **, told me in order to receive an invoice, I must post attendance in the classroom. I told him I could not post attendance because I have been locked out of class. He said, of course, because I refused to pay for the class. I told him that I need an invoice and a receipt before I pay for class. He said no problem, I can give him my credit card number and he will post the payment as a credit to my account and then at the end of the month, I will receive an invoice. I refused. I needed to see what I was paying for. He then said that I will not be able to attend class because he is not allowed to send out invoices.

Considering they posted my Pell Grant, I don't see how they can say my financial aid is being reviewed. It's a crock they are just holding my money. I called my lender and was told that nothing is wrong on their part. They mailed my money to the school on April 15th and today is April 21st and still has not posted to my account. My financial aid is in review is all my counselor will say to me. I told her that her other financial aid agent said she needs to file some kind of research request to find out why it's in review and she would not even do that. She gave me a number to processing and said to call them for answers because it is out of her hand. I called them and was told they have done all the processing they need to do. They said they would document that she said to call them, but I needed to call her again to file an information request to find out why my loan is on hold especially, since the fact that my Pell Grant was posted shows that my financial aid is fine.

Ironically, when my financial aid agent sent me the email after I called all day Monday and Tuesday, she accidentally sent me an email intended for someone else that was inquiring about her disbursement being held which leads me to believe that they are not only doing this to me but to many more. I think this is an illegal ploy to hold our disbursements for their own gain which is wrong and I really think it is illegal and being done on a grand scale. I just don't know how to find out how many of us this is being done to. If there is a lawsuit in the making, please include me.

For those who do not wish to work very hard for their degree, then this is not the school for you. I learned a substantial amount that will benefit me in my future endeavors and I have to state that it does take at least 50-60 hours per week per class. It is not an easy A and anyone who feels that this school is not of quality needs to refer to another school. It angers me to read about those who did not do what was expected. After all, this is a University and not HS. For the professor or the individual who stated they were a professor, I doubt that this is the case. As I found, most had the qualifications to teach the classes. There was only one that I questioned as to their intentions, qualified yes, but their attitude was poor.

UOP is a great place for those who wish to work hard and obtain an education. For those who wish for a degree that is bought, then google something else. These are just my thoughts as a UOP Graduate Student Class of 2009 and yes, I am over the age of 40.

In any event, I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out that these so-called complaints are not necessarily complaints against what the school did; rather, these complaints are individually lodged because these people did not do what was expected of them. They thought an online course would be easy and when they figured out that it was just like any other college (no excuses, do what is expected of you), they decided to complain about the school instead of accepting responsibility for their own actions! Come on people, nothing in life is easy and it doesn't come for free! If you are going to be grown up enough to register for school (and financial aid), you better be smart enough to realize that you will be expected to be responsible for your actions!

I seriously cannot believe some of the lame excuses I have read about how awful UOP is and these people should be embarrassed by their remarks. I, too, had some difficulties (primarily with the learning teams), but I worked through those problems without blaming the school. Life is not damn picnic and crap happens to each of us every day. But rules are rules and we must learn to comply with them. Seriously, if the school made different rules for each person who experienced difficulties in his/her life (headaches, life problems, whatever), I would seriously question its validity! What UOP did (re: almost all of the complaints) was to follow their own guidelines and enforce their rules. The same thing that any school or college would do! UOP was very good for and worked my butt off to make the grade! I've just recently accepted a position at a local college teaching part-time and I will continue on with my full-time job as well. I completed my master’s degree so that I could move up the proverbial ladder in the federal system, which I will now be able to do, thanks to UOP. My point is you people need to accept responsibility for your actions and stop blaming the school for your mishaps and/or failures.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the educational leadership doctoral program through the University of Phoenix. However, aspiring students should be ready to work hard and put in lots of hours. The upside is that classes are led by dedicated and positive professionals who really get to know their students and you have a great class of students behind you helping you to meet your goals. Additionally, my financial counselor, Shanea, my enrollment counselor and my academic advisors check on me and have provided all assistance at the drop of a hat.

I am sincerely sorry for having left you hanging like that on our team presentation. The situation is this. I was given 0 points for the first paper. She said she never received it, so I figured so what I'll take that. It's only 10 points. I was given 0 points out of 15 for my second paper I did in that class and saw no point in staying if I was to only get a mere 75% if I aced the rest. Even though I turned in the paper a day before the due date, I didn't get a grade until the day of the next class, one week later plus one day. The reason she gave me zero points was because she said I had 18% plagiarism on my paper. I ran it and it only had 14%. That is the first problem. The second is that the majority of the plagiarism came from my usage of the questions in the assignment in the introduction of my paper. When did people start copywriting questions?

So I take it that every question put in text has to be quoted or cited. This is unacceptable. The rest of the remaining 3% came in improper citing so all in all, maybe there was 1% of actual plagiarism; and that, I will say that I dropped the ball on it due to not putting the webpage in the reference. I used 3 web pages and referenced them minus the one which was WikiAnswers.com. Technically, I gave credit where credit is due but due to APA formatting issues, I was given nothing in return for my efforts. I felt compelled to leave quickly and quietly without disturbing the class. That's just how I was raised, to be a gentleman. That is just the logical side, LOL. My emotional side wanted to yell and scream. I am going to attach my paper in original condition so you can run it in the checker or read it if you like. I wish you both the best of luck in the rest of the classes.

I may just pop in to sign the attendance so I retain my student rights to write a report on her when the class is over, just in case I am not compensated by UOP for my distress and loss of funds or allowed to retake the class under another professor. She still should have your respect as your professor as I still respect her degree as PHD, RN and as a professor at UoP. Please don't misunderstand my email. If the presentation on week 3 is affected by my absence, please feel free to let me know and I will take it up with the Academic Board for UoP or other appropriate persons and have it rectified. This kind of terrorism needs to stop!

I was not given this information so I had to blindly plead my case; which took them 3 months to get an answer for me and again I had 10 days to appeal. I had a lot of questions which my advisor or anyone at the school could answer and I was not able to call the people to get the answers. I have finally given up on fighting the case through the school but I'm trying to notify anyone and everyone of the injustice this school does. Not only was I not given time and documentation, I was not given a liaison or contacts to someone who could guide me through the process or someone who had answers about the process when being charged.

I guess I am being charged with violating the unauthorized assistance part of academic integrity but I still don't specifically know as the school has never told me. I worked in a study group on 2 homework assignments so we could help each other learn the material. The teacher did not state she did or did not allow this type of interaction in her syllabus or at any time until she said we were being charged. We were told while some teachers allow this, she didn't. The school therefore has made me believe that getting a tutor or asking other students for help is unauthorized assistance and I am not allowed to do this (which I asked a teacher before and they said, "No help from a tutor, student or ANYONE!").

I can't believe that I can't go to other resources to actually learn which is why I am going to school. I don't recommend anyone go to this school as the policies, procedures, and processes this school has in place can be twisted in many ways that they only will twist it to make it work for them and the school is unwilling to accept when they are wrong or even make changes to make it better for students and teachers, make the policies clear and specific so there is no misunderstanding of the policies. If the school is going to leave it up to the teachers, then teachers should have to clearly state if they allow things or not as we are students, not mind readers!

In both instances, they gave me ample time to recover and even sent me a refund check because I missed a class. Although I may have an odd ball for an instructor who asks for a bit more than the syllabus, my time here has been pleasant. I believe I have earned my bachelor's degree just as diligently as if I had attended a traditional college.

I have not had any problems with this school, yet. I have just received my associate's and am moving forward to get my bachelor's. I have had one academic counselor that was always available and one financial advisor and both my counselor and financial advisor called me to congratulate me on my year's anniversary. I ended up with a wonderful team. As a matter of fact, I was late on an assignment due to a hectic work week and contacted my professor to get a one-day extension. I got it! No penalties! He understood and said he always gives a one-time free pass. As you can see, it is difficult for me to relate to all of your bad experiences. I do wish all of you the best and hope you find resolution.

By the way, I attended a "real school" by which I assume people mean being in a classroom setting the traditional way and there is "no difference." You are expected to turn in your assignments on time and complete your final on the day it is given. In addition, if the site is down, it typically is not down for long. Every site needs to be updated periodically and typically there is a place on the bottom of the page letting us know the times and date they will be working on the site. This has not interfered with my work being turned in on time.

Sallie Mae will not say who they dealt with or their reasons. University of Phoenix says it is Sallie Mae's origination fees that are causing the discrepancy. I have spent numerous hours on the phone and email trying to straighten this matter out. Now, I am not only unable to continue my education with University of Phoenix until I pay them $6,781.60, but also owe Sallie Mae $3,330. Something isn't adding up, and I am not getting the degree I am being asked to pay for.

My academic counselor, Kayla, emailed me on 10/06/2008 and said to me, "Save the rest of the money from that check. Send back $3772. After you have been out of attendance for 29 days, the processing center will start process of canceling funds. They might send back some since you completed 6 out of 8 classes. However, they might not. I can let you know once it is completed. I would just recommend saving the rest of the funds from that check just in case." Well I guess there are some technical difficulties in her writing, because I understand her email to mean one thing; in speaking to her it is something different.

To date, I have returned $3300. I received a call from collections sometime in January informing me of a balance of $2125. I somewhat dismissed it since I knew I had already paid $3300 and that I had a balance of $477, so I thought it was just an error. I received another call a week ago informing me of the balance. What I discovered is that the University, even though they were given a month's notice both in writing and orally that I will be withdrawing from the school applied half of the amount of the money from Financial Aid to my account and returned the other half back to the lender. The total cost of the class is $3772. I was under the impression that since I had already completed the class and that I did not drop out or failed the class, the entire amount would be paid for. I am wrong.

They are now telling me that I am stuck with $2125.00. I know that I will have to pay it since I received the service. However, I do feel that the way they handled the situation was unreasonable and not in the best interest of the student whether past or present. Why would you apply half of the money to the class and send back half to Financial Aid for a class that has been completed? Why wasn't I informed that if I do not complete the remaining two classes, there will be out of pocket expenses? Why weren't the full amount of $3772 applied to the class and the difference of $478 returned to Financial Aid, since that would have been the remainder to cover for the two classes that I did not take?

In these difficult times when we are facing a sluggish economy, when jobs are unsure, where do they think one can find that lump sum to pay at once? I do not have disposable funds at this time and when questioned why I wasn't offered a payment plan, my counselor said that she tried contacting me by phone and I did not return her call. My instructor knew very well that the best method of contacting me was via email; she never tried to. My account was sent to collections. I am attending another school and I am aware that I would not be able to receive my transcript until that balance is paid. It would appear that once you decide that the University is not right for you, you are held hostage.

Anyway, you have saved me a lot of money. I do see how they get folks in: they tell you you're covered, but the catch is you start classes before your financial is cleared (I was told at least 90 days) so you rack up money, and then you don't get the aid they said you would get. I was also told that I would get back for supplies, etc., about $2,300. They told me my tuition would only be $18,000 for a Master's program, but based on their tuition costs posted at their website, I was actually looking at $25,920 for 36 hours. This also caused some concern for me. I hope that some of these folks who have posted do file suit.

I lucked out. Your site, and reading what others have gone through at UOP, saved me money. I'm 56 and was going back to school to advance in my company. I'll take my chances on advancement without spending the money, especially at UOP. University of Phoenix is extremely unethical. Ironically, the first class they signed me up for talks about ethics. They need to take their own classes.

It was later that week that I contacted UOP to make them aware of my emergency. I was told that the instructor called all the shots and to contact her (which I already had at this point). Between the grief and the traveling up and down the east coast to attend to finances and memorials, the instructor and I connected by telephone.

I simply asked the instructor what my options were. She indicated that she did not grant any extensions nor would she accept any late assignments, including the paper that was in draft form from week 4. I then asked if I should withdraw from the course because I would receive a zero for the paper and then zero for the remainder of week 5 when I was attending to funeral arrangements. She said, and I quote, "We all have little hiccups in life - you can pull this through. You are almost done." Even though I was somewhat surprised by her comment, I told her I would give it my best and that my family and I were still in shock over the suicide. I then made sure to tell my academic counselor all the details and proceeded to do the best I could to finish the course.

While in NY, to attend one of the two memorial services, I only attended the service and spent the remainder of the weekend in my hotel room, working on my schoolwork. I did not spend time with any of my family while in NY. Some 3 weeks after the course ended, I checked my grade. The instructor gave me a D, UOP put me on academic probation, and the entire cost of the class was to be paid out of my pocket. This is after I was told that I could pull it through. I did what my instructor told me to do and she gave me a D. I do not expect to receive any special treatment regarding the rules. I do have a problem with an instructor giving a student incorrect instruction regarding that student's grades, when she was really setting me up to fail. I was grieving and she took advantage of that.

Bottom line, I cannot get anywhere with the school. The Office of Dispute Management could not so much as provide me with the Dean of Student's name! What is the point of having a number to call when there is a dispute and their office does not handle that matter. I am referred to my academic counselor's supervisor's name and her reply was that she... did not have the Dean's contact info to be able to give... to me.

I do not have time to continue to get the runaround from UOP. As a paying student, I am entitled to this information and I expect the school's cooperation! I am not letting this one slip through the cracks. Of all the things to do to a person who is still grieving!

A few days later, I received a letter from my financial counselor stating that I withdrew from that same class after making attendance and that I am liable for out-of-pocket cost. Now I'm stuck in the middle with no scheduled classes for this block waiting to see what happens next. This school says it is for working adults, but there are so many papers to write that require research that I would have been better off attending a real school. I work odd hours, at least 50+ hours per week. My enrollment counselor told me that this would be no problem and that this school would allow me to work the long hours and get my degree in Criminal Justice at the same time.

I'm beginning to find that almost impossible especially now that I'm getting further behind making this whole online ordeal even longer since I was dropped two weeks before the class ended. I was strongly advised against this school by a lot of people but enrolled anyway. If anyone is considering UOP, please think twice, I only wanted to better my education and now I have this problem and I don't know what I'm going to have to go through to get this resolved. If I drop out of this school now, I am stuck with thousands of dollars in student loans and tuition.

Then Christmas break came along which was two weeks long. I traveled back to West Virginia to visit family and I had limited cell phone service and no internet. I received a call during that time that my transcript from a previous school was on hold and I need to complete a form until it was resolved. I called my enrollment counselor and informed her that I was out of town and would take care of it once I got back. I forgot about the form and had started back to class. My enrollment counselor called and left me a message just checking up on me and told me if I had any questions to call. Well, I have no questions; their system is pretty simple for me to understand.

The next day she left a message stating that it was unacceptable for me to withdraw from my classes and that I would be responsible for the full tuition. I called her back and told her she must have me confused with someone else because I have not requested to be withdrawn. She told me that she just said that to get me to call her since I was not communicating with them which is unacceptable. She told me that my academic counselor and my financial counselor had called and left me several messages and I had not called anyone. First of all, no one ever called me but my enrollment counselor and I had no questions so why would I call her and waste her time and mine? So after a heated discussion, she reminded me of the form and I completed it on the spot.

A few weeks later, my father passed away in West Virginia and I immediately emailed and called my enrollment counselor (the only person I have talked to so far) about what was going on and my concern for submitting my assignments since I would be traveling and staying in West Virginia for 2 weeks. She responded to my email and her first comment was that I could not withdraw from the classes because I would have to pay for them. Again, I never said anything about withdrawing, I just asked for what my options were since I was in a panic.

While in West Virginia, I was able to get dial-up internet service to post my assignments. Well, needless to say, that dial-up doesn't work well with their service. So the only thing I was doing was posting my assignments and not taking part in the class discussion. My enrollment counselor called me and told me that I had not posted anything regarding the class discussion. Again, I explained my situation. She started telling me that I was not committed to completing my classes. I got upset and brought up the issues that I have had and I asked why she constantly told me that I could not withdraw from the classes. She tells me that she has to tell me because our calls are recorded.

As of this point, she has never informed me that our calls were being recorded and I never consented to that. So I asked her why she had not told me this prior, that it was a legal issue. She told me that this was just another excuse and that I was not committed to completing my educational goals. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she transferred me immediately. Imagine my surprise when her supervisor told me that there was no reason for her to be speaking to me about failing the classes and that she would never speak to me like that again. Also, I told her about the previous issue about others calling me. She looked up my notes and told me that no one had ever called except my enrollment counselor. So my enrollment counselor lied to me about the previous issue to cover her own skin.

Now, I have completed the first block of courses which was a total waste of time for me and I have resolved the issue with my transcript and wanted to have it evaluated toward my program. This was very important because I have completed some of the classes already that were coming up. I told them that I had attended two different schools in the past and they only wanted to request one of the transcripts. After 3 long weeks, I logged into the system and had seen that they had posted the credits. I had 35 from my previous school.

Well, they only evaluated 14 and none of them were applied to my program of study. I emailed about this to my academic counselor and my enrollment counselor. My enrollment counselor responded that the academic counselor is the one that will handle this issue. I called him and after about 10 minutes of trying to get him to understand what has happened, he told me he did not know why none of the credits transferred and he believed that "some" should. I told him that it was not acceptable to me that out of 35 only 8 or so would be transferred. He asked me what particular classes was I looking to have transferred and I told him all. He told me that no matter what school I went to, I could not transfer all my credits. So to test his argument, I went to Sacramento State with some unofficial transcripts and the admissions counselor reviewed them and told me that all of my credits but one would transfer to my degree choice.

Being that I am in the National Guard, I am going to inform my military commanders of this school and its practices and hopefully have it blacklisted because they are only concerned with earning money and not the needs of the student or the education of their students.

So I ended up speaking to about 25 different people getting the situation straightened out and was finally able to get to redo the class when the new session began. Okay, great! Well, I am in class for at least 2 sessions; all was well. And I need another leave, this time for emergency purposes...and it happens again! I fail a class before my break is even halfway over. So this time, I was extremely mad and spoke to the highest official that I could get hold of and explained the situation. They pull up my records and, lo and behold, this entire time I was enrolled at UOP, my Montgomery GI bill was never touched. They took out several student loans and grants to pay for my schooling. What the hell? What was the point of speaking to a military advisor? I have been calling UOP daily for weeks now with not one return call. My lawyer will be getting involved and I will never enroll with another online school ever again.

For the most part, the school is fairly good; it's no Harvard education, and it is pricey. I need convenience at this point of my life. If I would have stayed in college like I was suppose to in my late teens/early twenty, I wouldn't be paying such a high price for an education today. I would not have to deal with the stress of going to work and being a responsible parent while going to school. I am paying the price now. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Oh and how does that saying go? The world doesn't owe you anything. How true is that?

I am willing to finish out this block, but I want to finish it online and have this 6-week block refunded to me in full, which is $1,895. I will continue to take the class, but online only. I have written emails expressing my concern, and I am being misinformed and treated like a second-class citizen. I know my rights and I am trying to locate the CEO of Apollo Group.

I am losing out financially due to the lack of service I have received up to this point. Since I have not learned anything in the first 2 classes, I want to switch to online at no charge and have fees for this first 6-week block WAIVED due to the lack of organization by the instructor, the slow pace of the class, and the lack of correct information being given to the students in the class. Too much confusion and wasting time.

For instance, I was told that two textbooks would not be required for the first course and, therefore, I would not have to pay for them. However, the textbooks were required and I could not do one of the assignments without them. The reason this bothered me so much is that my husband attends CTU Online, another private college where tuition for an associate degree is nearly half of what UoP charges at only $250 per credit. While my husband does pay a $55 monthly fee, the cost of all of his books and materials are covered.

At nearly $500 per credit with UoP, why should I have to worry about books and other expenses? I realized that I better step back and further research what I was getting into. So I decided to withdraw from UoP after just four days. Unlike traditional college, there is no drop period where you can withdraw from a course without charges. While UoP was trying to convince me to stay in the program, they also informed me that I will be charged $375 just for those four days. This confirmed my decision to get out ASAP. Online colleges like CTU tell you exactly what you're going to pay up front. UoP doesn't tell you about specific charges until you're already on the hook for the money. For the same money that UoP is charging, I can attend a reputable university like Penn State and not have to worry about them constantly trying to profit from me.

I've learned my lesson: there are no short cuts. If there are, there's usually a price to pay. Yes, it will take longer to get my degree but it's much better to do it through a reputable university.

Then there is the issue with my enrollment counselor who never returns my call unless I contact his supervisor. I was attending University of Phoenix (UOP) when someone from the university informed the VA I was no longer attending the university. Well, to make a long story short, my counselor forgot to tell me I was dropped from the university causing me to appeal the VA for mistaken enrollment, something I believe my counselor should be doing since I was dropped. Then there is the issue with online offline courses. I am now on a leave of absence for I don't know how long and I don't know my graduation date. My counselor stated I could take an online course without a break and now he tells me while on a break that he did not know how to enroll me in online courses. As of today, I am just sitting and waiting to hear back from my counselor who never returns my phone calls and in hopes of still graduating.

I do wish I did more homework on the school itself. My course cost me more every nine weeks. At first, $855 per course and now all the way up to $980 per course. The books cost $65 each course. I am 19. I have been living in my own apartment since I was 17. I hate that there are standards saying that I should be a dependent student until 24, not even recognizing the circumstances. Not to mention I get less aid for being considered a dependent student.

I am attending an online school program since 2007 and I am destined to graduate by Sept. 2009. The thing with this is they keep failing me so, that they can get more federal dollars towards their school. The first time that I was failed, the instructor said that I did not meet the requirements of the class. I tried to contact the in house people so that they would look into the matter and find that I was right. They never did anything, so here we go again with the instructor not responding to me, not helping me with the class work and now she decides to fail me because I did not have access to the work. How is this supposed to work?

Recently, I was assigned to a Financial Aid counselor, but still no academic is on account. I called the main number and was treated rudely and still not given an academic counselor. I am paying for this. My money goes to have these services and it is not well spent at all. I spoke to a lady that I told I have been contacting the financial aid man on my account and sent over 6 emails to him. I also told her I have not heard from him in over 3 weeks, and no answers to my emails. He responded on the 16th of January and told me that if I had any more questions for him that I could ask. He won't answer me. I am THOROUGHLY FRUSTRATED at this point. They pass the buck to one person and another. I have had friends sign up and now wish I would not have. I am tired of being told one thing and they are doing another!!!

It was extremely time consuming and I hogged the computer at the library trying to post all this. That is, IF I could get into the library before it closed. There was really not much I could do about the "participation" portion and I started failing for bad attendance (have to "participate" 6 times a week) and even the assignments typed up were not good enough for they HAD to be typed in Microsoft Word and sent to their Outlook inbox in an attachment only.

So I requested a temporary leave of absence until I could get back home after the job was complete. My counselor said that would be fine; I just had to clear it with my professors. I sent an email to the professors, via Yahoo of course since I did not have much of a choice. And I received no reply back from either one. When I came back home in September, I had a letter in my mail box on behalf of University Of Phoenix, saying they wanted the full amount of my student loan of $2,625.00 or it will be sent to a collection agency. When I called my counselor back to ask why, he stated, (coldly I may add now that I am no longer a student my best interest is not at stake) that it was the deciding factor of the professors and they did not approve of my leave of absence and "dropped me failing" instead of "withdrawal passing" and if I were to check my OUTLOOK inbox, I would have read the denial of withdrawal and the copy of my request, and they are saying I quit participating in JULY and it is now my responsibility to pay the loan back in full. It isn't as if I wanted to quit. I wanted to finish, but I needed a computer and the professors cared more about being paid than actually assisting a student who was clearly having a difficult time.

My first question to my financial aid advisor was will my financial aid continue without having to start paying it back right of way. She had told me that I was okay and everything will be fine. Then I asked if it is okay if I start my graduate work right after my undergraduate work. She stated there will be no problems. Well, now we have a problem and she sent it to me in an email, not a professional courtesy to call and set up a meeting. I am prepared to take this all the way to the top of the chain of command in the university's financial aid department. Those of us struggling out here to make it in the world should never give up.

Out of four classes for the second half of the academic year, I had completed one class, receiving a non-passing grade in another class, withdrew from the third class, and did not attend the fourth due to monies owed to UOP - monies I was not aware I owed. It was determined that I owed $3,555. To my surprise, I come to learn that the monies I had paid, which I assumed were towards the failed and dropped class was in actuality for tuition that my financial aid had not covered. My classes totaled to $6,480 and financial aid had only covered $4,860. No one had even bothered telling me this until I started questioning why I owed $3,555.

For those of us who depend on financial aid to cover the cost of classes, this is something I should have been told. I would have not enrolled if I had known that I would be short $1,620 each period of the academic year. So, if you rely fully on financial aid paying for your classes, make sure that everything has been explained to you. I am now left with a $3,555 debt. I am returning back to a traditional school which offers classes online. UOP won't release my transcripts until I pay the balance off, but it doesn't matter because none of the credits are transferable.

One last thing, UOP has its own internal collection agency; and the person I spoke with to arrange payments and the person I spoke to was extremely rude. My advice to all ask questions, make sure you keep in touch with your academic counselor and that he/she is communicating back. Most important, make your financial aid counselor explain everything to you regarding your financial aid. Don't be surprised as I was.

First things first: University of Phoenix is a FOR PROFIT private university. What that means: it's a private institution that is set up like a business organization. So when you are paying for your education, it costs more, but in return you receive more, including people who actually care and hold you accountable... That doesn't mean it will be easy and they will help you get out of school because of migraines or a broken arm. It is still school and like any university you have to deal with the consequences of not completing your homework or assignments.

Secondly, yes, in the real world when you work in teams you will have people you don't like or are not as smart as you. But you have to deal. If you complain to your boss about it you think they will care? No. They aren't your babysitter nor will they look at you in a positive light if you complain all the time. Figure it out; make it work.

Thirdly, school loans with any institution are not going to just let you drop out of school and not pay your loans back. The loans are not through the university. They are through the Board of Education AKA the government or a private loan agency; they want their money back. Once you commit to an educational program, the government gives you the courtesy of not paying on your loans until 6 months after you leave school; otherwise payments will be required.

Fourthly, if you are doing your associates, that means general education requirements. This is required for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. If you just want to study something specific like X-ray tech, go ahead. Go to a certificate trade school. There, you won't have to do general education and, in addition, you won't have your degree, but it will all be about the subject not English or Math.

If you ask me, most of these complaints are simply of ignorance and stupidity. Try going to community college or a state school and see what help you get... none! Try telling the instructor about your migraine... They don't care. Try getting out of your financial loan without paying or dropping out of school and keeping the grant you received from the state... It won't happen.

I'm currently attending the MBA program at the University of Phoenix and I was pleasantly surprised at the level of customer service I received at the campus, as well as the Instructors' level of experience and knowledge in their industry. I had taken community college classes while I was in high school, attended a traditional state college for my bachelors and now University of Phoenix for my MBA. It is a night and day difference. In addition, taking classes one night a week is much more realistic than quitting my full time job to go back to the state school system to get my MBA. If you ask me, I think that the complainers here would rather complain about their life in general than do something about it. Hopefully, one day, you will take some responsibility for your own life. Good luck to those who pursue and complete their degrees. It's not easy.

I spoke with my counselors and told them that the professors changed the requirements for posting online every class. Most of the professors are not even qualified to teach the classes that I was taking. I also told them that in order to stay in school, I needed all the financial aid I could get so I didn't have to come out of pocket. But they make you fill out paperwork that says if financial aid doesn't cover, then I am responsible. However, I have applied for enough loans through Citibank that should have taken me through school. But I didn't know that the school has the right to certify only for what they feel you need.

My Pell disbursement to the school was on January 15, 2009. All of this money was to be sent to me in excess because, as I stated previously, my loans covered all of my expenses! The university took 6 business days to supposedly release my Pell to me. The school states that my excess was mailed out on January 23, 2009. It has now been 14 business days, and I still have not received my excess funds check. I have contacted both the financial aid processing center as well as my local campus financial aid counselor regarding the matter. I have received no answers as to where my funds could be. I have also spoken with USPS, and they stated that the longest it would take for any mail to come from Phoenix to Savannah is 10 days. I received a print out regarding my Pell disbursement around the time I should have received the check as well.

This printout has always been in the same envelop with my excess funds check since I began the school in 2005. And yes, I have all of the envelopes and check stubs in a file at home. I asked the university why I received the print out and no check this time, and their answer was they don't always mail them out together. The date on the print out was January 23, 2009, and this is the same date they claim they mailed out my excess funds check. I have since received mail from the school dated February 5 with no problems, but still have yet to receive my check. The only assistance the school has suggested is to conduct a stop payment on the check they claim they mailed out, investigate and then process my excess again. The timeline they gave me on this was another month long wait. I am a single parent that relies on excess funds to handle other school expenses and some living expenses.

The school is handling the matter in a manner that screams unimportant! I would think that the school would rush the matter and release my funds to me in a manner that screamed urgent. They do not seem to value their students, and I see that I am not the only one experiencing problems with the financial aid process. Something must be done! The students should not have to suffer because the University refuses to incorporate a processing system that works. I am struggling to get supplies needed for school, as well as make ends meet. I am receiving no speedy assistance from the school and no answers as to where my money is. This is causing a great deal of stress and hardship. With the economy being the way it is, something must be done about the way this school treats and handles financial aid processing for their students.

Now, it’s February, and I get a call from my new financial advisor saying my loan amounts are $23,000! What do I do now? They originally assured me that I qualified for everything, and the checks I received from them were for extra money to use towards school supplies. When I first received a check from them, I called and asked what to do with it. They told me to use it for school supplies. Once again, I asked if I had any loans and if I do, I will not have to pay anything back, right? They repeatedly told me everything was covered, and I do not have to pay anything back since I am a single mother. I do not even make enough to pay this amount back in however many years they want me to. I was totally misled, and now, I have realized my cousin went through the same situation. They say the things you want to hear when you are in desperate need of trying to help your life improve. Now, I do not know how I am going to afford anything for my daughter because I have major money to pay back. I will not get a good paying job with my degree because the economy is crap. The only thing happening are people getting laid off.

So today is Feb. 9th and I still have no report as to what is going on with my money or where the heck it is. I would assume that the monies would be rushed because I have been waiting for over one month! This happened in Sept. as well and it seems as though I have to do the work of the finance counselors because they can't do their own freaking jobs. If I wasn't more than 1/2 way through my program, I wouldn't even try to finish; but I am kind of stuck where I am.

They really need to do something with their financial aid department because the counselors can't do their jobs without being watched over like a hawk by the students. Then you go to their supervisors or persons above them, and you get ridiculed and reprimanded for doing so. Well wouldn't one think that if they were doing their job that the students wouldn't have to do it? I hope this gets resolved soon. I will be posting again with the outcome.

Ultimately, I failed this class. As you know, this affects financial aid. What was disturbing is that I was moved into the next level of this class when I had not passed the first. I again communicated with my academic counselor, resulting in again no response. I came to learn that I was withdrawn from the class in my third week of class, resulting in payment of both the failed class and partial payment of the class I had requested to be withdrawn from. Not having the money, I had to arrange for payments.

At the time I was making my last payment, I found that now I owed another $3,555 (refund to lender). What I don't understand it what I am paying for. Since my withdrawal, I had not taken any other classes nor was I scheduled to take any, as I had an outstanding balance due. UoP doesn't let you move on to the next class if you owe them money. It is my understanding that if there is a 90-day break in attendance, UoP must refund the lender monies advanced. What I don't understand is why they are billing me for money returned for classes that I have and will not be taking. This should only reduce the amount I owe my lender and I should not be owing UoP anything. The last message I received from my financial counselor was that she would need to talk to her manager. I've yet to hear from them. They have been paid for the classes I have taken.

Now to this day, I'm still struggling to get answers as to why I am still dealing with a debt why my money has been returned to the lender recently and where the second loan I had to take has gone. UOP claims to have never received it although when contacted, the loan company told me the disbursement was sent out and received by UOP on 11/17/2008. I should have received my degree by now and have been struggling with this and seeking answers more than I have actually attended class at UOP. The initial problem has started a snowball effect for the rest.

Five days before the end of my class, I started calling and emailing Jaime and my academic counselor. Finally, at the very last moment, Jaime returned my calls and stated that I was denied any assistance and since I do not have an unsubsidized loan, they were not going to even consider me for anything else. This seems ethically wrong in two points - one, the lies and the last part, where I was not only told no but because I choose not to owe someone interest on a loan that accrues starting immediately (not after graduation), but they would not even try because of that. I pay my bills and owe them nothing; so this is how they treat a cash paying customer!

I realized upon starting my first 2 courses that something was not quite right. I was in a course where the other students could not even construct a basic sentence in English. I questioned both my enrollment and academic advisor if there was any way I could transfer out and obtain credit. "Oh yes, you can take your CLEPs and they would apply," I was told. This, dear readers, was not the case. Theoretically, I could take 22 of the 34 CLEPs offered, giving me the possibility of 132 course credits. UoP only takes 15 total credits. And then, I come to find out, this sad, sub-par course is a requirement and credits cannot be used to place out of it. I already took English 101 and Essay writing at a real higher learning institute. Why are my credits that I was told would transfer not applying to this?

But here is my major beef besides being placed in a class with the kids who start fires and have to have their mittens pinned to their coats and blatantly plagiarize my work, but first give me the feedback that they don't understand the "big words" I use.

The Financial advisor told me that I have received my disbursements for my Pell Grant and I should be receiving the check on the 22nd. Then it became the 26th. I still haven't received it. This is the money I would have used to take my CLEPs and place out of this god forbidden hell dump known as Axia Online/UoP. I called a total of 7 times, with none of my calls being returned.

I decided that enough was enough and spent exactly 6 hours digging on every UoP student site trying to find the withdraw paperwork. I filled it out and dated it for that day, which put me at exactly 12 days of enrollment. I contacted all advisors on where and to whom I should send this paperwork. I called both my loan guarantor and the Student Federal Aid offices and had them stop the disbursements, as well as explained to them what was going on.

It was then that I received a very nasty email from the financial advisor stating that I would have to pay my entire loan and grant back to UoP and they would come after me if I didn't. She never addressed my question as to where and whom to send my withdraw paperwork. Her statements also contradicted what the loan guarantor and Federal Student Aid told me, as well as contradicted UoP's own policies, which are on their website. She also stated that the 5 higher learning institutions I spoke with (Universite De Montreal, McGill College, Harvard Extension School, University of Michigan and Mott Community College) were all completely wrong in the any and all information they gave me concerning the ability for me to transfer my degree program to any one of those universities. Hmm, so an Ivy League college lies to their prospective students? I think not, madam.

After using UoP's own policies against them, as well as the information given to me by the loan guarantor and S.F.A., I was able to finally get her to call me back. She began by attempting to make a threat and refusing to answer any questions I had, which I quickly quelled, and got her to state that I would not have to repay anything. She tried to tell me that I had received the overpayment check (I had and have not) and that I would have to pay that back, but I burst her bubble by requesting a stop payment and return of funds order on it, which I also distinctly wrote on the withdraw paperwork. She finally and begrudgingly, after having to ask 8 times, gave the fax number and department to send the paperwork to.

I will continue to be in limbo until I receive some confirmation from UoP that all is cancelled and returned to its proper place. If not, I would love to join the currently pending class action lawsuit against them.

I highly suggest to anyone and everyone dealing with them that you record all phone calls with them, as well as insist that correspondence be through your personal email address only. Take screen shots of your account invoices with them, because those seem to have a tendency to change, flux and disappear at will.

You have to be 120% pro-active and impeccable in your information, research and language to get anywhere with UoP. Their job is to enroll as many bodies as possible for profit, as they are a for profit corporation (I choose to call them what they are, not what they are masquerading to be). It is a sad situation when a Federal Student Aid representative tells you specifically to lodge a federal complaint. And I plan on doing just that if they do not hold up to the integrity of their word.

There's a lot more I could write here, but I think I have stated enough and the volume of complaints against them speaks for itself. If I hadn't been lied to and deceived from the get-go, I would not have even bothered in enrolling in the first place. I'd love for an attorney who takes joy in nailing the disgusting abuse of power by a corporation to contact me.

The worst consequence for me was just the added stress and disappointment when I was getting ready to attend my last (Capstone) class ever that evening, and received in the mail the same day, a letter stating one of the tests I'd taken for credit hours had been disqualified and I would have to earn 3 more credit hours, which meant I wasn't finishing that evening, but had to add more time and effort and money to my process. I did it, but was very upset. The test I had taken was for upper level credits - I had written a life experience essay for a similar topic and been given lower level credits. My advisor assured me before I studied for the upper level credit test that I would be given credit if I passed, as it was a more detailed and complex level of learning and understanding than the essay I'd submitted for lower level credits.

The moral of the story is when earning a degree there will always be glitches, disappointments, and drawbacks. I've known people who attended other schools who also had to jump through hoops with eccentric professors and wade through piles of paperwork just to get through some process that could be much simpler. The accounting, especially when student loans are involved, sometimes gets messed up. Changes are made and not everyone who needs to know has been informed.

This is the world of academia today - and it's big business for UOP and other universities that appeal to working adults. My suggestion to those who are disgruntled is to stop feeling victimized, and get a hold of someone who can help you get your degree and move on. Stop blaming UOP for your failure to endure a process that for most students is filled with tedious, frustrating nonsense all enmeshed with learning that is so valuable. The education I received has served me very well, and I knew I would get out of my experience at UOP what I put into it.

The Maitland, Florida campus was reasonably well-organized and, though wasn't always perfect, provided a learning atmosphere that was truly an educational experience that has helped improve my managerial skills. UOP is not a diploma mill. So many students have worked very hard to earn our degrees. It is, however, riddled, like so many large businesses, with discrepancies. Those inconsistencies affect the students and instructors especially. My suggestion to UOP is to get on the ball and practice what you teach your manager majors - plan, organize, implement, and revise when necessary.

Get on track within your own organization and stop the student and instructor bashes of UOP by operating an efficient educational institution that equals your high standards set for your instructors and students. You're making the big bucks that the students are spending - start putting it to better use! Hire top-notch managers and better curriculum developers that are committed to being on the same page as the instructors, who seem to get the worst deal of all sometimes.

To the complainers, stop demeaning a school that has graduated thousands of reasonably happy students, who have spent several years, hard-earned money, and a tremendous amount of energy and are not complaining, but working in their field and going on for even more education. Learning is what UOP is about. Disgruntled students, have you learned complaining isn't the answer? Proactive, positive attitudes, words, and behaviors are what will remedy your situation.

Even my enrollment counselor had me to believe that I could use my first disbursement check to pay the balance from CTU so that my transcripts could be released. He has now since departed from the University. This is now giving me the impression that my enrollment counselor did not care at all about me enrolling and finishing my education at UOP. He just wanted his enrollment bonus. My financial aid advisor, Sonya **, now is telling me after four weeks into my second class that they won't release the funds until all documents have been received. This has put me in a very awkward and discouraging position and I am very frustrated about this. I was under the impression that she was here to help me with my financial aid options and whatever she could do to help me, but she is not.

I have called and left messages for the financial aid manager on 1/12/09 and 1/13/09 and she has not returned my calls. I have e-mailed my financial aid advisor, Sonja **, on 1/13/08 and she has not responded to my e-mail as of this date. I take my education seriously and I thought that University of Phoenix's mission and purpose was to provide students access to higher education opportunities. Sonja ** called me and expressed to me that everything was taken care of with my financial aid and not to worry about it (those were her exact words) because I had just received a bill from UOP. I am wondering also what happened to the loan disbursement that should have paid for my two classes that I took.

I have brought this to the attention of three instructors, only to be told that the teams need to “work out their differences”. The concern here is that I suspect that some instructors are “pencil whipping” these assignments and are giving good grades just because an individual tries. This practice, if true, is unfair to those who really give each assignment 100%. If I can tolerate another year of this nonsense and graduate, I will look elsewhere to continue my lifelong journey of education.

The consequences are simple. I spend more time correcting others' mistakes which in turn takes away from my ability to study and complete assignments. Also, my GPA and integrity is in jeopardy as the current team I am assigned to work with is submitting rough drafts that are plagiarized. I have pointed this fact out, but the others do not seem to have the same work ethic or integrity that I possess. I do not know where else to turn.

I cannot transfer my units taken which were A's to a new school. I have been stuck. UOP will not give an employer my GPA either. They are withholding my GPA, and transcripts. It is very difficult for me to raise my daughter as a single parent without a degree since most employers want to see that. This bad credit report from UOP has caused the inability to request credit for cars, home, etc. for me.

I question the validity of UoP before I decided to go and went against my gut instincts. I should have never gone there. Everyone makes A's, so honestly how on target can they be?

I had great teachers for my first block of two classes and I was getting straight A's on my assignments. Having a great experience with the first block, I went on to the next block which also went very well. By about half way through my fourth block, I kind of stopped and thought about what type of classes I was taking. I was attending UOP for my associates in Health Care Administration, and I had taken three English classes, and a history class - nothing to do with medicine! I finished that block and waited to see what my next classes would be.

The next classes were about ambulatory care and environmental science. I realize science is important when going into the medical field, but throughout the whole class, the only thing we learned and wrote about was global warming and what we thought the world would be like in 2050. After the first two weeks of class, I had a huge family emergency and ended up moving. Unfortunately, I do not have a computer to go with me.

I talked to my counselors at the UOP and they had made sort of a deal with me. They said I would not be billed for any classes as long as I wrote a letter to some woman (I cannot remember her name), someone being on the high end of UOP. Anyway, the letter was explain my situation and my personal business that went on in my family and that if she approved it, then I would not be charged with that block and I would be able to return to retake those classes as soon as my family emergency was resolved. I was told my letter had been approved.

I came back to school about one and a half months later and I had bills sky high from the school, and a million emails and they never stopped calling me while I was away. My question is, why, if I have a student loan and my loan sent payment for those classes, am I being charged by the school themselves? This was three months ago, and I have still not been able to resolve this problem, and they are still sending me bills, and I have not seen anything from my loan agency. Now what?

We are now at the point that they want a letter from the IRS or an amended tax return because they are disputing my filing status. There is no reason for me to refile my taxes with an amended return. It was filed correctly and properly. I have documentation from a professional tax preparer, which they asked for and said would be sufficient, stating same. Suddenly, it isn't good enough and they need more again. I am currently not enrolled in classes. I have been withdrawn from my second block of classes twice now because of the almost $2,000 balance I am carrying at the University which I refuse to pay until this process is completed. (When it is complete, the funding should pay for it supposedly.)

I'm angry and frustrated that they are dragging this out and playing games with my ability to continue my education. I don't know what to do at this point because I'm not sure how to go about getting that letter from the IRS and I don't have reason to file the amended return. This financial aid process is seemingly more and more bogus to me. I started to go to a different online university and I'm beginning to wish I had. I do have to say my Intake, Academic and Financial counselors have been helpful and have tried to help expedite the process as much as they can but apparently, the problems I am having are handled by someone other than them. I think UoP needs to take a look at whoever is handling it and fix what's broken.

So, I called UoP to get that information that I couldn't find on the website. I just wanted to know how long the program would take. Someone named Adam ** picked up the phone. He began to ask me questions, and I thought it wouldn't take that long because it seemed as if he was just verifying information what they already had. He asked for my name, address, contact number, and email address. Then he asked what college credits I already had. I told him I already graduated with a Bachelor degree. He asked in what, and I told him.

I then told him I was interested in the masters degree program in HA and I just wanted to inquire about it, and he continued to ask more questions. This time though, I felt they were even more unnecessary. He asked where I graduated from, what my GPA was, what previous jobs I've had, was I still working, where and why not (I got laid off as a tech at a health care center), and he even asked, "Why are you interested in health care?" That's like asking someone, "Why are you interested in art?" One can't help what he or she is interested in.

The whole conversation from beginning to end was informal and unprofessional. He kept saying, "Mmmkay," and "Cool, cool." It got more stupid and pointless nearing the end of our conversation. He was just annoying and nosy. I felt like all he wanted was my personal information. Then I said, "Why do we have to go through all of this information? This is all irrelevant. I'm just inquiring about a program and before I express any interest in the school, I want information. How would I know if I actually want to go to this school if I don't have the information I need? You don't need my information. It's unnecessary for you. It would be a waste of our time if I express no interest after you give me the information. All I want to know is how long the program would take."

And so, he finally gave me the answer, but I wasn't pleased with the representation of the school at all. So before he could say anything more, I immediately said, "Okay thank you. Bye." I hung up and thought to myself, "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to that scam school to throw my time and money away." That school is not legit at all. Scam! This Adam ** was like an annoying telemarketer or store employee.

One or two days passed. I received a phone call from UoP again. I picked up just to tell them that I was no longer interested so that they never call me again. However, he asked, "Why aren't you interested anymore?" I recognized this man's voice because of the "cool, cool" and "mmmkay." It was that Adam ** again. I answered him, "I am just no longer interested." He urged the same question. I said angrily, "Why does it matter why I am not interested? Do you need to know for your university's statistics? Are you filling out a survey? Why do you need to know? All you need to know is that I am not interested anymore." Then he said, "I'm just trying to guide you in the right direction. Is your education valuable to you?"

I said, "I know that my education is valuable to me. I know what direction I want to go in. I called the school trying to get information so I can learn about the school and I didn't like what I learned. I even remember our previous conversation when you kept asking me irrelevant questions, urging for answers. Now I am telling you that I am no longer interested in the school. I don't need to give you a reason why. (Now that I think of it, I should have said it was because of him, lol). And also I don't need you to guide me in the right direction. I know what I want and don't want, and I don't need you - someone I don't even know - to tell me what is right for me."

He asked the same question except he added, "Is it because you enrolled into another school?" Extremely annoyed and hoping it would shut him up and never call again, I answered, "Yes. I enrolled in another school." I only said that because maybe I thought he would back off and never call again. However, with the nerve of him, he asked, "What school?" I answered, "It doesn't matter what school. Again, why do you need to know? Is it for the university's statistics? Or is it for a survey?" He said, "No. I just want to know." At that point, I was furious! I asked, "What's your name again?" He said, "Adam ** (if that's even his real name)." I said, "Adam **, don't ever contact me again! I am not interested in that school! Take me off of the phone list, email list, and any other contact list!" He hung up.

As a result, it seems as though this school, University of Phoenix, just wants your money. I've read some of the complaints above and they all exhibit some kind of anger and regret toward the school. I'm glad I didn't enroll as unfortunately some who've expressed they're rip-offs have. I already knew that this school was a scam from the very first conversation.

Their representatives are not admissions counselors. They are salesmen. This Adam ** guy was an incompetent salesmen. These salesmen might try to get you by making you feel guilty by asking, "Isn't your education valuable to you?" Well, I just wanted to ask him, "Did you stop at high school?" In my head, I was thinking, I graduated with honors bc of my over-the-top GPA; I have taken many leadership roles in student organizations, have given my time for voluntary work since high school all throughout college, and have actually managed to fit in a part-time job during all my years of college without it interfering with my grades, and you need to make me feel guilty about my education? This guy was a joke!

This school is a joke! It's probably not even a real accredited school! I read in a previous complaint that a university at New York would not even accept a degree from this school. Also, I keep seeing complaints about how people are getting overcharged. And I've read complaints about how professors don't get back to them. And then there are complaints of how people couldn't connect online to finish an assignment/test/quiz due to natural disasters (electricity outage bc of a flood or hurricane) and the school didn't care that the students couldn't log in! So they got bad grades and had to retake the class meaning pay even more money! Ridiculous!

So, unless you enjoy being ripped off and wasting your time, then enroll in the University of Phoenix. Otherwise, apply to a real school who knows how to speak to students over the phone.

This created much stress for me, which affected my work and I fell short of the 3.00 guideline they required by .13. (I had a 2.87 cumulative including the C for the first course. If that course was not included in the consideration process, I was above the 3.0 requirement.) I appealed, requesting to be able to submit the paper for the first course that was late for grade. It was denied. There is no exception to the policies for major life events or emergencies. ADA accommodation is the only exception that anything will be made on and that is only if they were made prior to an event happening. Even with ADA coverage, you are still expected to give 100% to online contributions and group work, regardless of how incapacitated the disability makes you. Now, I have invested money and time that I cannot transfer toward an MBA program at another university and a suspension from school on my record from the University of Phoenix for circumstance that literally were beyond my control. Due to the financial and time investment, I am considering reapplying in April.

I do have an additional concern about how long the re-admittance process may take after experiencing the amount of time it takes to go through the appeal process at Phoenix. The time it takes for the reapplication process may not make the program the best option for me afterwards. I will have to see how well the administration works with me on that. In any instance, I am going to research how to appeal to Phoenix to change this policy which puts students with unexpected circumstances at risk. I would like to say, as far as the classes, I do believe they are effective. It is just when an emergency arises, there is no flex or consideration for the student, which is highly concerning.

Today I found out that the school had decided to review my transcripts and I now need 15 units to graduate. I found this out by looking at the website - not a single person from UPO contacted me, ever. Today, a coworker who is a friend and fellow student came over to work on an assignment and we decided to compare transcripts - although several of our classes are the same, our credits were applied so that we each had several classes added to the program. Most universities have an across the board transcript eval process - but University of Phoenix evals transcripts so they can get the most money from you and then changes them over a year later to make sure you won’t complete your degree without paying several thousand dollars extra.

They now expect an unrealistic amount of work in only 5 weeks. They expect students to complete approximately 10 papers. In addition, I will be expected to grade and return all these papers within 1 week of their submission. I don't mean to sound lazy. But what professor would ever assign papers at the rate of 2 a week especially to working adults who have so much else going on in their lives? This simply is stupid, but I can only guess that the university believes this is necessary in order to change their image.

In addition, the university had some severe server problems causing the online classrooms to go down this fall. All the due dates for one week's assignments were pushed back as a result of this. Nevertheless, I got an email from a senior faculty liaison asking why I didn't turn in my feedback on time. I responded to him and also provided a list of complaints about how UOP was running things. His only response was that it was okay that my feedback was late because of the tech difficulties - thus completely ignoring everything else that I wrote. It is wonderful to see that UOP values the comments of the faculty so much.

As you can see from this money-grubbing institution, they are also much too cheap to do anything like paying a decent wage for the faculty. They are instead too concerned about buying naming rights of NFL stadiums. Now they have this new initiative to be a phoenix. My advice is to save yourself a ton of money, or go to a real college. You'll find that employers really will look more favorably on you with a degree from a real school. I also have discovered that it doesn't even make sense to put UOP on my resume as other colleges simply dismiss them as a fake school who will hire anyone.

I was due a $4,000 refund that I never received due to a missing FASFA signature. When in fact, I signed the FASFA and it was processed since August. The funds were sent to the school in September. They held my funds then sent them back to the provider in October. All of this happened without my knowledge. Their rational was that I dropped the class so I lost my money. I didn't drop the class until October. So why didn't I receive the funds as soon as they received them in September?

Now eight years later, I'm informed that I owe $12,000 and charged for an education (product/service) that I never received. I would have thought that the UoP returned that money to the lender as no service was provided on their part, past the first six-week class session. I'm willing to pay for that, but feel that UoP should be held responsible for the remainder of those funds. That, quite simply, is theft.

Instead they are telling me I have to pay the full $975 for the entire course. And to make this even better, I had previously gotten a private loan from Sallie Mae that I needed for personal reasons. I'm 23 making minimum wage on 2-3 days a week and pregnant. They just cut the last check of 2k and even had the gall on the phone to say I have 2k to pay for this class. I not so calmly explained to him that the money is for other obligations otherwise I would never have borrowed it, therefore they would not see a penny of it. Not lying to me and deceiving me as they did. I'm sick of them!

I got a letter in the mail on December 23 that said amount distributed to student $0.00. I spoke with a financial aid counselor who could not really help me because my own counselor is hardly ever available and no one else can seem to deal with her cases. This fill-in counselor told me that they usually hold any last distribution until 29 days after all courses are completed. This does not sound legal and everything they print says that the credits will be given to the student. If I am taking out loans to fund my education and expenses during school, what is the purpose of holding the money until I am done with school?

I am in week 2 of my last five-week class. I have 3 weeks to go and I need the money that is due to me now, not when they decide they want to give it to me. I am going to call the loan company and get their take on this because it does not seem right. I am also going to call the student aid commission to get further info. It is too bad because I wanted to jump right into my Master program but I will not be doing it at University of Phoenix if I conclude that their practices are not just.

They want us student to pay them in a timely matter, then we shouldn't have to sit and wait for them to calculate a refund and cut a check to us... It should not take more than a few days after it received for them to calculate and do refund check for the amount and get it out in the mail. I have had nothing but pure hell out of the Financial Aid Counselor and get nothing but the runaround every time I call or ask anything... They want their money in a timely fashion from work. Then they get bonus. On top of that, how would they like it if they had to wait up to 14 days to get their pay check and bonus to paid... I am very sure they wouldn't like. I think I will be finding myself another online school to attend to finish out my HCA degree. I am done with the runaround with this school. Then My FC told me once the check was cut, he was going to see if they could overnight to me so I would have it before Christmas. Like that is really going to happen so I am not looking for my refund to get here until Dec 30 or later which really sucks.

A couple days later I was informed that I was auto-dropped from the class and I will have to take it again, when I only had 3 more assignments and that was THEIR fault. When they informed me, I told them what happened. They said they would see what they could do and they would get back to me, never did. Today (Dec 9th 2008) they called me saying about me starting my algebra class in Feb. I told her what happened and she said there is nothing they could do. I will have to take the class again AND pay the $1000. I told her to please have someone else call me.

Tonight is my first DQ for my new (and last set of classes BESIDES the algebra I have to take again.) I tried to get the online books and it wouldn't let me, now it is doing the same thing it was doing. I have tried to get in there and get it done for 2 hours now. Now it will be docked 10% and I have stayed up way to late and I have a very busy day tomorrow.

They were trying to do everything they could to not mention that minor detail. I have now spoken with two financial advisers to get me into my final two classes and finish with an associates with them. They proceeded to put me in the wrong math class and now this will set me back from graduating and they'll probably try to get me to pay for their mistake. I cannot believe that I have wasted over $13,000 of my dollars on this school with a complete lack of credibility.

I was always being told something different. Never the same, the latest one has tore my family apart. I am an almost straight A student, I work hard to get the grades I get, no days off, no breaks and the class prices are insane. First few months, you get your books online that you can download and keep... This last semester, I took a science class, I didn't get to keep any of the book because it was all online and internet based and couldn't be kept or saved, but I paid for it anyway. My ethics class went fine. Well last semester, I took COM220 and I made it through the semester to finals,.I was hanging on to a C+ and would have walked away with a B- at least in my finals..

Well that's when the problem began to get even bigger, not to mention the grant and loan they pulled out to cover classes I was told at first would be covered. So I do my final assignment, I turn it in, the teacher claimed that because the plagiarizer checker said it was 12% plagiarized that she was not even going to read my paper and straight turned it in to the board. Well I checked the work and checked it again, words like the word (the) were considered plagiarized. Now I know that my grammar was not the best and I had forgotten to use quotation marks twice, but in those two times I had made sure as well that the names of the authors were in the paragraphs as well.

Well needless to say I fought it, and refused to take a full F for a grammar error that they claim was plagiarized and which is a criminal act. Then it comes to time that they finally got my check ready to send out, I get half of it instead of all of it, and they tell me that I have to pay for the class again and had me scheduled for the class already before they had even given me a chance to fight it or even submit the final decision to me. I told them no way would I take that class again, I was fighting it and refused to lay down and take it and get my good grades smeared over something I didn't do. To this day, I still have not been answered. I wrote a letter the first time around and was told no way in hell would the grade be changed, and that this person was the last and final word on it and that I could not fight it any longer.

I never got a chance to fight it to begin with. I was only allowed to submit a paper. How do I know they even bothered to read it? My teacher refused to change the grade or even read the paper. Now they tell me I have to pay for the class and the book , which I have already. And until it is resolved, I can do two things, I can pay for the book and the class again, and lose over 1,000 dollars and never get it back because I would be taking an extra class basically, or wait and get to take no more classes till it is resolved, if ever. This is what I have dealt with and so much more since after the first semester. The incompetency of this school is insane and they have already maxed out my loans and all to tell me that each class costs almost 1,000 dollars, for a 9 week class, and that's not including the book.

It doesn't cost that much for each class at an online campus college when you take 5 classes a semester. No one will talk to me about it, no one will give me any information. They all tell me the same thing; it's out of their hands, but they can't tell me whose hands it's in now.

I have had excellent enrollment counselors who have called me to check up on me, make sure I'm posting attendance, and answered any questions I have had as well keep me motivated through out my schooling. I have had many instances where the financial counselor doesn't return my call or takes days, sometimes weeks, to return my call. However, this is a minor annoyance since my enrollment counselor will do the things I need and follow up. I have recommended people to UOP and they are happily enrolled in college with no complaints.

Students who thought they were going to log on to a computer and receive a degree were in for a rude awakening. They (the students) thought the online degree was going to be easy, so most complained about other minor things to belittle the university. Students need to study very hard and submit the required research papers to be successful. Many students were not up for that type of training, so they dropped out. Those of us who are persistent will have a success story to tell.

I'm tired of listening to them that say that you cannot get a quality education from the UOP. The school is ideal for students who work very busy hours, manage families, run companies, or just want to learn. If it were not for schools like the UOP, where would these students attend? Who has time to manage families and attend school physically for hours each week? Let's face it; the invention of the UOP was a phenomenal idea. It has revolutionized the way one is taught as did the Google creators when they discovered a new way to search for information.

UOP has problems like every other educational institution. 300,000 students cannot all be wrong in their decisions. I consider myself to be a very open-minded individual. I can identity students who are trying to get a free ride and those who want an education. Believe me; the school will expose those students who are not there for a serious education because they cannot keep up with the more focused students and will eventually drop out.

So keep in mind when degrading the UOP, this school has built a level of confidence in students who want to succeed in life. Everyone cannot go to private universities due to their personal responsibilities. If you cannot attract the number of students you need to impress your stockholders or create a successful program to compete with the UOP, then you should give the leaders of the UOP the credit they deserve. We are the university that is innovative and transformational and that's what is attracting over 300,000 students.

Task Stream is a personal portfolio of the work I had to complete with the college. I had the head of internship placement the class before and he never stated that I posted on the wrong account before. Why all of the sudden am I being told this now? I find this to be another technical issue on the University side and I should not be penalized for this. I would appreciate any assistance you may give to me. I am a minority being a woman whose rights are clearly being violated against. How can they justify their rules when there is no one who represents students and their rights? They only provide an academic counselor who has no power to represent our complaints. They can only issue a grade dispute and then it is out of their hands.

Now they want me to state everything once again and say they need this with a wet signature. When do their games stop and will professionalism begin? I would like to continue my education and this university has it on hold. I contacted counsel here in Michigan and clearly students are at the mercy of the University and students have no one to represent them. I feel that this harassment against my constitutional rights for fair representation when clearly there is not any fair rights for students.

In closing, I am asking for representation and the right to obtain the degree that which was paid by a federal loan. I can state the other 2 incidents as well and I have proof of all them. First was a measurements class when the instructor would not even give me an opportunity to explain my opinions. She failed me and I took a class in between before retaking the class. I received an “A” from the next instructor. Next was the Financial Aid department sent me an extra $7068.00 with my excess funds from my federal loans. They wanted my personal information so they could retrieve the funds from my personal checking account. I sent the money back and I am still waiting for the postage money when I sent the check back to them in July by certified mail. I faxed them the total amount when I sent the check back. The final two incidents are my final class grade and Task Stream which I have mentioned above.

Economically speaking, I am $40,000 in debt with a student loan and I have nothing to show for it. They waited for the last class to play dirty pool against a woman trying to better her economic status. Physical damage is the mental anguish that they are causing me to go through. There needs to be a limit on how universities can call the shots against their students.

Of the total funds received - $5850, I had only two classes left which was clearly posted on my program summary. The cost of tuition for these two courses was $3550, this left a credit balance of $2300. Very basic math. I called and emailed my fourth financial counselor since beginning the program asking when the credit of $2300 would either be returned to the lender or sent to me. Should be soon I was told. I heard this same response for a few MONTHS. Financial Aid was very busy, etc. I couldn't imagine the delay in such a basic transaction and keep in mind this entire time, I am paying interest on the $2300.00 while they are earning interest keeping it in their account.

I finished my last class with them Sept 29th. Still, the credit remained on my account. By the end of October, I was more than frustrated and felt the manner in which my funds were becoming unethical and possibly illegal? Not until Nov 11 did they return the funds to the lender, in the amount of $2625.00. Why that amount is beyond me. Now they are asking for the difference of $325 from me! First I had an extra $2300 and now because they can't get their crap together, I am supposed to pay them a balance. This does not include the fact that I never received a student aid report for the disbursement showing what I was eligible for, which should have included a Pell Grant that I never received or heard a single word about. When I email my financial aid counselor, he never addresses that question. I intend to take this matter up with whomever I believe needs to be aware of UOP's financial aid practices.

One overly pushy UOP sales rep contacted me by phone before 8 a.m. this morning! They are not abiding by my wishes to quit contacting me. With the economy in such a lousy state, I suspect these folks are desperate for students and end up hounding each and every person who inquires about their programs. Enough is enough. Their tactics are to dangle bait in front of each potential student and hope that we bite so that they can reel us in to an extremely expensive and not always effective or useful degree program. I'd say run the other direction. There are plenty more qualified, accessible and professional degree programs around. Don't jump at the first degree opportunity. Investigate your options. Good Luck.

Shortly after all that transpired, I receive a bill from collections stating I owe $1700.00. I informed the financial department and the collections department that I would not pay for classes that have already been paid for by my company, and that I would not continue schooling with them or any of their associates. My wife, however, continued with the degree program with Phoenix for more than a year after my complications with them, until today (11/11/2008). She had failed a class and was told she had to pay for this class because the federal loan would not cover a failed class. Not having $975.00 to just shell out, my wife asked her financial counselor what she could do. He said that he would put in for a loan for her to cover the cost and she would be able to make payments after she graduated, like with the federal loan.

Well, that was two weeks ago, today, she gets a e-mail from a new (and this is the 4th counselor so far in less than two years) financial counselor that she could not continue classes until this payment was made. My wife phoned him and asked him about the loan the last counselor applied her for, and this counselor knew nothing about it, then told her that the bank the loan was for went under, and she cannot continue her classes next week and must pay the $975.00.

I went on to my next classes - getting A's of course, still fighting with my counselors until I finally had enough and 'fired' them, getting another 'team'. But I found I still was not getting the waiver from Jared **, my new financial counselor. Nor was I getting anywhere with my loan limit increase. Eventually I found I had to get very sharp with them on the phone and via e-mail regarding these issues. But this was not hard to do as I was becoming SO disgusted in my classes with the quality of teaching I was paying for!

I had ONE "real" class with ONE person who deserved to be called a teacher. But they skirt that by calling them "facilitators" not teachers! But that is not the real issue. I was in what should have been UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES with people (no personal offense to them) who had no business being there - they could scarcely compose complete sentences, let alone string 4 or 5 of them together. My last class was called "Essentials of College Writing" and I will spare you the details of my issues with that "facilitator! " Suffice to say that was the last straw and I had enough. I dropped out in the middle of the class. I chose to enroll in Regent University. However here I am three months later unable to attend Regent because UOP refused to send my transcripts, then refused to respond to my requests, then listed me as "Not in good standing"?!?!

First, they stole the $1500 (approx) I was promised by the financial counselor for the first class I failed due to their inept academic counseling. Then, that cost of living loan increase, when it FINALLY came through I get a letter from them saying I'm not getting any of it?!?! Well, my new financial counselor announces rather matter-of-factly, "oh, tuition has gone up." SO THEY KEPT MY LIVING EXPENSES MONEY FROM MY STUDENT LOAN?!?! For the first half the year was half the $2000, so they got $1000!! OF MY MONEY!!

To date I am still fighting to get written confirmation of my waiver they 'claim' I received, but even with UOP having their own 'division' of people you have to talk to at Sallie Mae, I still don't understand what happened. This is what I know - the way I see it, UOP ripped me off for $2500, had me in ridiculous classes with high school equivalent students, taught by about the same level "facilitators." BUT NOW THEY ARE BILLING ME FOR $1000?!?!

A couple of weeks went by and there was still no check in my mailbox. I wrote to him several more times, rather frantic, because I was counting on that money and had bills that were either coming due or overdue. I kept being reassured that it was being taken care of and I should have my money soon. It never came. By the time my classes had ended, not only had I NOT gotten my disbursement, it turned out that the school hadn't processed my application at ALL. So now, in addition to having other debts that I was unable to pay, I owed the school $2,015!! I was told that my application had, basically, been forgotten about.

I was also told that the debt would be written off by the school because it was their fault this had occurred. Well, my last day of classes was October 19th. Today's date is November 7th and my account summary still shows a balance of $2015. I can't even get a copy of the diploma I earned until that's zeroed-out! I'm supposed to be taking classes with U of P for my Bachelor degree (can't start those until this dilemma is resolved). I'm considering withdrawing now, though. Especially after seeing this website and the long list of complaints... How can I expect anyone to take my degree seriously when it comes from an organization that can't manage something this basic??

I adore my academic counselor and my financial aid counselor is a nice guy, too, but I'm rapidly losing respect for the school they work for. It's especially frustrating that this happened at the end. I'm supposed to be happy about graduating college and all I can think about is how ticked off I am!

My advisor assured me that if I decided after taking classes that I didn't want to continue University of Phoenix all of the credits that I had earned would transfer to any school or University as long as I was sticking with a career in Human Services. So I signed up, and held a 4.0 GPA the entire time I was going to University of Phoenix. Upon enrolling, I was told that they would get me the student loans and financial aid that I needed and they would help me through this process. I got all of the paperwork done for financial aid with no help from my advisor and was still waiting on the loans all while accumulating a balance with UoP.

When I asked why there was still a balance on my online statement, I was told that the loans just hadn't been applied yet but they would come so not to worry about it. So I continued going to school. In my learning teams I started to become suspicious when many of my fellow team members seemed to lack the ability to even write an essay much offer assistance in completing a decent project. All but one team member didn't know what they were doing so the two of us finished the projects almost on our own so as to save our grade. I felt like I was doing everything by myself and my team members were just along for the ride.

However I was determined to finish school with my 4.0 so that I could have the career that I wanted. Come to find out after receiving letters from the loan companies, I didn't qualify to receive any loans and definitely not in the amount I needed to pay for school. At the end of my 5th class, I asked my financial advisor if I should just take a break before starting the next class to make sure that I could get that paid before it racked up as I was on a budget and couldn't afford another class added on. She told me not to worry about it, that I was scheduled for the next class and might as well take it and learn. She also said that since I had a 4.0, I would qualify for a school scholarship and she would email me the application.

After that meeting, I called back because I never received an email, and never heard anything back. At the end of my class, my financial advisor finally was magically able to find me... to inform me that I was suspended until everything was paid. She said that she would contact the University about my scholarship and to sit tight. Again she told me no worries. That was the last time I ever heard a word from UoP. I called, emailed my advisors, nothing. Until of course I was contacted by Corporate because I was in their collections for $3400. For the 3 classes that my financial aid hadn't covered.

Am I the only one that thinks this didn't add up? I was told that 15 classes would be $10,500 but 3 classes alone were $3400. When I tried to ask what to do to get this resolved, the lady in collections was extremely condescending and told me that I would need to pay the full balance. I asked if there was a way to make payments and she said that was unacceptable - I would need to pay the full balance and had 15 days to do it or they would sell my account, Which they did. As for my credits that I did get that should have transferred, I was told by 3 local colleges and universities that they do not accept credits from UoP. One advisor told me that she dealt with this a lot and I probably got scammed along with many other people that wasted their time at this school.

In the meantime she instructed me to just disregard my bills. I of course did as she instructed. I later find out (when I mentioned that I wanted to withdraw from the university for personal reasons... and was informed that I didn't have my priorities straight), that I actually owed the university just under $4000 for only 2 classes (one in which I hadn't completed yet), and that I owed them the money immediately or it would be sent to collections. I attempted to explain to them what I had been told on other occasions by 2 other people, and requested to be withdrawn immediately as I had informed them also at the beginning that I did not want to attend their university if I would not be receiving financial aid. Since then (about a week ago), I have noticed that I have not been withdrawn as I can still access the class, and have not received an answer back from either the academic advisor or the financial aid advisor, in which they were so quick to address my problem when they thought that I would still be attending their university.

Well it didn't take long for me to get Sallie Mae's # and I called them. I talked to one of their loan specialists and she said their story was nonsense. The school has complete control over disbursements. When I called to speak to a financial aid manager, Robin, she was supposed to call but didn't. I asked for a copy of the code that said Federal Stafford Loan wouldn't allow... I was denied. It seems they flat out lied to me. Maybe to make sure I was in the next class? That would be really stupid as I only have 2 classes left after this one. I will have earned my MBA then. I'm not at all irresponsible in paying them and currently have a 3.9 GPA. This sounds very suspicious.

Furthermore, I believe I have been in classes where the instructors are knowledgeable. They have given me constructive criticism and direction. I do believe the tuition is high compared to local colleges, however, the cost of tuition offsets the convenience of online learning. I will be receiving my A.S. in Business in February, although, I do not believe I will be continuing on for my B.S. with U of Ph. I am not fond of the learning teams and am looking for a more cost effective approach for my last two years of school. Regardless of where I will be attending school in the future, I believe my time spent at U of Ph has not been wasted and that I have mattered to the staff.

I then contacted the Bank to see if they had received any information or documents from UOP and they said that they were still waiting for the school to submit my information after waiting two months. The financial aid department (Debbie **), who is quite unhelpful, claims that the school's policy is to have students attend at least three classes before financial aid is completed. This policy, in my opinion, is so that UOP can bill students and continue to get money from them for each class!

The financial aid counselor never responded to my last email asking her why they never sent my documents to the Bank for processing. And the Enrollment Counselor, Chase **, was helpful at the beginning, but after I told him that I had withdrawn from the school, he tried to pressure me to continue with my second class. He told me that even if I got a C grade in the second class, that'll be OK, because I got an A in the first class.

He was only concerned about me logging in to the second class,so that I would then be charged for that second week of the second class also. He also told me that the University may charge me for the complete second class, even though I only attended one week, because that's their policy. I told him that I received an email from Financial Aid stating that I would owe for the first class that I completed and the first week of the second class.

He also said that he thinks that's incorrect. I've got the email as proof and I plan on taking legal action against UOP if I receive a bill outside of what I'm supposed to pay. This school is a total scam and they are out to get people's money at any cost possible. I have never heard of a school that admits students prior to getting financial aid in order. UOP basically lets students hang themselves without them even knowing it.

To date, they are still billing me for classes I did not attend or sign up for. The attorney service has run out. I am seeking a refund for the difference in what I agreed to have charged to my credit card and the charge that occurred in the amount of $198. I also need them to stop billing me as this may result in damage to my credit report. Of course its stressful and annoying to not be getting anywhere, but I am just looking for any help to just get some answers.

Yesterday I receive a call from Sherry in the collections department. She states that I owe a balance of $2,888.90 and it is due immediately. In addition to being very rude during the entire course of the conversation, she told me that I had incurred extra fees over 1,000 dollars in extra fees, yet she would not tell me why or what for. I then explained to her what Alicia had told me about paying in steady amounts until the balance was paid and she told me that the financial advisor had no idea what goes on in the collections department and she was giving me false information.

When I explained to Sherry that I do not have almost 3,000 dollars just lying around, she suggested I apply for a credit card to pay my balance or start begging family and friends for the money. I gave her an amount of money that I could pay immediately and then make a monthly payment every month. She then told me that was not acceptable and that the amount was due in full. She also told me that they had sent me a bill in the mail in July and received no response. Having gotten nothing from them, I asked her how exactly I could have responded. She replied with "Unfortunately, that is your problem." She then informed me that I had 48 hours to contact her back with payment or they would proceed with legal action against me. She gave me her contact information and hung up.

After thinking for a few minutes about how I was going to deal with this woman and get her to understand that I realize I am responsible for the bill and have full intention of paying it, I decide to call her back and speak with a supervisor. I was hoping to speak with someone who was not so rude and to understand my financial situation (I am a single mom living far below the poverty line). Well, I attempted to contact Sherry again at the phone number she provided only to hear the message that the number has been disconnected!!

If I don't take the class, I lose my financial aid and have to start making payments immediately. I was also told by the sales guy that I could easily transfer credits from my former master's program to this program. I spent months waiting for an answer about which classes I'd be allowed to waive. I finally called and was told only classes in which I earned an 'A' would qualify to get the course waived. Yet 4 of the 6 transcripts I submitted were for courses in which I DID earn an 'A'. So I still don't know why I can't transfer credits. This wouldn't be quite the financial strain if I could actually work and earn an income. However, as others here have noted, I cannot afford to take anything for granted when it comes to Learning Teams and so I have to be prepared to do all the work myself.

In my first five classes, about 75% of the students could not construct simple sentences, let alone be trusted with master's level assignments. I had to re-write an entire assignment for a teammate because it was unintelligible. Finally, despite competitive tuition (higher than any other school I considered), UoP seems to have chronic server problems. Of course, these only occur near the end of the academic week, when students are trying to log on to submit their assignments! Thankfully, at least two of my instructors have been understanding about the problem, but not all of them are. You'd think that with the money UoP is charging, it could afford a better server or at least an IT person to keep it running.

I had some issues with a teacher that kept giving me a bad grade due to my assignments not being turned in on time. They were in on time and I spent many hours on the phone with tech support that gave me a ticket number to give to the teacher and to tell the teacher it was on the teacher server end. Well about 2-3 weeks later that got cleared up, then I started my other classes three weeks into the classes we had I believe 2 teachers and in my work and trying to understand the work and the teacher not responding to my question. She started giving me bad grades.

And the calls to my advisor Michelle, that half the time never got returned when I finally did hear from Michelle. I at that time told her I wanted to withdraw from school, she urged me to hang on I only had X amount of weeks left in class and because I had signed into class they couldn't drop me. As she was busy reassuring me that things would get better (they did not, they got worse). I wanted to change from Health Care Administration to Pharmacy, if I decided to stay in school. She sent me an enrollment form and told me as soon as she got it back she would enter it into the computer. And it would change immediately to reflect the Pharmacy tendencies. When it was getting time to start more classes, I contacted Michelle ** several times and I had not heard back from her so I did contact Dan ** in finance and request a withdrawal form, he faxed me a form.

I signed, dated and mailed the form back with a letter informing him why I was withdrawing from school. I received a call from Michelle ** stating they were dropping me from class because of lack of participation. I sent her an e-mail back asking her if I was missing something, that I had withdrawn from school and that I owed no money as my founder had paid and I had also taken copies of all financials on the site (I did all that the day I withdrawn from class) ** was aware of that. Then I started getting the letters from Dan **, when I received the letter from Dan, I wrote him back and I also contacted my founder via mail and asked them both Dan and the founder for a breakdown and dates of all monies paid.

I had not yet received anything from the school except a letter from a Ms **. They are now threatening to send me to collections if I do not pay $1,823.12 by October 20th 2008. As I told my Scott in my letter today October 14th 2008, if she sends me to collections before I get the statements I will contact the Attorney Generals office for unfair practices and whom ever else I can contact. In my opinion University of Phoenix is bad, bad news and I have never in my life been lied to so much as certain individuals at the school. I do have all documentation and all from my correspondence with them. There is more but,..........................

What an insult to one of the University's finest students. I would not recommend one student to the University if this is the way they treat students during a catastrophe. There was inconsistencies in faculty grading as some members averaged out the students' 3 weeks and grading them accordingly. How inconsiderate and uncompassionate. I was without lights for 13 consecutive days. Sleep deprived and food deprived. All other resources such as libraries and forms of communication were shutdown for weeks after this storm. In order to qualify for certain loans and grants, a C average is needed. The university took my money and issued a failing grade. The emotional and physical damage in working hard to achieve success in Finance for 3 weeks and then given a D+. One word for an A-B student: Insulting.

This instructor, has no clue of what she is doing, therefore I told her so - and sent the required documents. I told her I was the customer, racking up financial aid bills. I have had several instructors who do not have a clue of what they are teaching, therefore no response is possible, if you ask them a question about the subject. These instructors want to charm them with nice words for their inability, and unqualified instructors, using the name as a facilitator.

This University must have a high turnover. It is consistent to receive 'INCORRECT INFORMATION’. For example, I was told, I must take the GACE Test by Fall, 2009, by the Academic Advisor (no longer employed). I took her advise, yet, advised her in the documentation, stated you must take the test by the time you complete Course MTE/561. Therefore, I wrote down the information. The same Advisor told me not to worry, as the rules have been changed, so I don't take the GACE Test, knowing i have until Fall, 2009. All of a sudden I must PASS the GACE Test NOW and had to submit a REQUEST of ABSENCE till 12-08.

Also, my financial aid for 2008-2009 - NO REFUND for dollars sitting on my account. I spoke to a FAF Representative. I was told the school is in control of the dollars, and I could not get any help from them. This school allows you to teach yourself!! They teach you NOTHING!!!

This is a direct quote from my group member who was supposed to give an actual website for her part of the project. I am still in classes with people who are not at my level in 300 level classes. I had an argument with a student who incorrectly criticized my discussion question in an offensive manner. She clearly did not know anything about what I had posted (which had to do with the previous weeks assignment). I am not in the mood to deal with ignorance at this level. Half of the discussion question answers this week did not answer the instructor's question and were hard to understand. I had a 99% average in my class when the college changed ways files should be attached and had been having problems. My instructor graded the assignment, which I had believed was posted, a week after.

I received a 0 and went down to an 82 in that class. I spoke with her and she said, "I'll see what I can do" which she did nothing and did not speak with me again. Needless to say I received a B where I clearly did the work on time and deserved an A. I receive tuition reimbursement from my employer 100% for an A and I had to pay for this course. The classes are very overpriced and there are not a lot of options when applying for aid other than student loans. I'm not happy with how things have gone so far, but I don't have a lot of options because these classes will not transfer and all I need is a piece of paper stating I can do what I'm already doing. If you're going to start down this path, you have to be very organized and on top of things because there is no room for error in this school.

I never received the letter and my grade was not overturned. I was put on academic probation. I had to maintain my grade point average four classes which I did but by the fourth guess what I have another D-. I was caught in a hurricane and I couldn't post. The instructor refused to work with me but even before that I was receiving bad grades. The other students did about the same work and passed.

I received a posting to my personal area in the classroom, where no other student can see today, that I was threatening other students and making it so that they could not share their opinions. I have a disabled son and spoken about him in class giving examples of nursing values for discussion. My teacher, the very one who sent me a posting to stop my postings, asked this of me in the main area of the class for all to see. This is not an ethics class, but economists will tell you that every dollar spent on health care is a dollar less we have to spend on other social issues. Should your developmentally challenged child get one on one care while my genius child languishes in a class of 35? This is in a nursing theory's class.

My last class, another nursing 400 level class, the teacher did not monitor the learning team. While all other teams were assigned 4-5 people, we started with 3. Then one member in my team posted for all to see that asking of the teacher if she should withdraw from the school, because she lived in Texas in the Gulf Coast and it was expected that she would be without power for numerous days when hurricane Ike hit. The teacher never responded for anyone to see. However, the student never returned to school or the learning team. The teacher did not say she had disenrolled.

This meant for my learning team, we now had 2 members to do the entire learning team assignment. This was the 3 class I had been in with this other classmate. Each team she told how she could not complete the assignment as she was called to duty and couldn't get to a computer. Well, this was no different. What she did turn in was horrible and I could not use it. I ended up doing the entire project myself. I complained to the teacher who in turn attacked me. I explained in the learning team evaluation what happened, although if she was monitoring the teams, she should have known what was happening, and answered the question on the evaluation as to what I learned from the learning team. I answered that I learned nothing from the team. She responded to me that it seemed I was more interested in my unfair burden I had in the class than learning. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I went to make an official complaint and was encouraged by my counselor to wait and try to call the teacher and speak with her. I was worried as I had not received my grade for the team project. I called the teacher and she never responded to me. I again went to my counselor to lodge an official complaint and he said that I really should give her 24 hours to call me back. I was 3 hours short of the 24 hours. How he knew exactly what time I called the teacher I don't know. Well, the next thing you know, my grade was posted, 3 days earlier that she said she would post it, and I got a 100%. She never called me. This school is horrible, I want my degree but do not know how much longer I will be sticking it out at UOP. I may be out all of my money because I am in the last 1 1/2 year of my B.S. in Nursing and most schools will not let you transfer in these credits. So I will be out thousands of dollars. Also, mental cruelty.

my wife is emotinally sad and fears for work retaliation

During my tenure as a lawyer, I have never come across anyone as hard to get along with as the instructor in my very first class. It was so bad and she was so unprofessional that I had to get out before the end of 3 weeks. Honestly, it is easier being a lawyer. My areas of practice include criminal law (felony), family law, custody, bankruptcy, personal injury, appellate practice, Guardian Ad Litem for the Department of Human Services. If you care about your education, don't even waste your time. Law school was a day in the park compared to the frustration with this school.

The problem with UOP I think is the fact that they have no policies and the part-time instructors are simply flying by the seats of their pants. When someone with a brain questions them, they get defensive and argumentative. Here is just one example of a problem I had: The instructor allowed my learning team to basicaly become a teleconference class. You see, my team did not know how to get around on the computer. The instructor called me on the phone and told me that my teams was having trouble contacting me on the phone and that I needed to be available for a telephone conference Wed night at 8:00 and I needed to give her a good number for where I could be reached. When I wouldn't answer, she posted what seemed like a treatise in the learning team forum directed at me about being a team player and about being professional. We were 3 weeks into this class and no one in my team had even completed the charter, well except for me....and this fact did not seem to bother the instructor. I had written everything in the learning team forum as to what all we needed to do. for the next assignment (due in 5 days). I had it all broken up into parts. The teammates just needed to pick a section and do it. Since no one had gone into the forum to do anything I had everything ready for them and I had talked to two of them on the phone already and they knew they could find me in the forum at 8:00 each night. I told them to check it out. They said they would tell the other two.

But these girls were not comfortable with the online environment so they called the instructor and told her they wanted to do it by phone. They complained that I was never available by phone, so she decided that she would try and call me. She was mad that I would now answer her call so she left me a post in the team member forum telling me to call her. I didn't. She read my posts to the girls but she didn't care. She wanted me to do it by phone. I tried to remind her that this was an online school and that I felt that she should have referred the team to meet me in the learning team forum, not refer me to a teleconference.

Problem is, I talk on the phone all day long and I don't want to talk on the phone while at school. I took an online course, not a telecourse. She got so mad at me!!! And frankly just had no use for me. She felt sorry for the other girls. She was going to get back at me by making me do the whole project I think. There simply was no reason for not placing me in another group right off the bat. All of those girls were not comfortable with the computer, okay no problem...I don't hold that against them. So let them work together. Why does she have to hold me back because of it. None of them had ever heard of powerpoint presentation, which meant that I had to do all of that as well. I felt that she knew that without me, they would be in trouble and might not make it through the class. This is not my problem.

Is this the reason they force the Learning team environment? So the best can take up the slack for the slowest? My best friend is a PhD in Psychology who graduated from a very high ranking University. She stated that she cannot ever remember one single team project throughout her entire program. If UOP has only a 16% graduation rate, I would have to say that the learning team project is not working anyway. Even though it was the Instructor that ultimately caused this dismal failure, it was the learning team that was the actual problem. Had it not been the University's requirement to participate in Learning Teams, the Instructor would have, in my opinion, never become the cause for failure.

In a nutshell, she didn't see it my way. Things got worse, I told her I was going to quit. I talked to my advisor who advised me not to quit so I went back to class and told her I was going to stay in the class. She said she didn't think so and she was going to talk to her chair; they came up with the idea that I could do the entire assignment myself!! Clearly not fair. I said, how is that fair? How can you punish me when it's the other teammates who are not going about this the correct way? And by the way, I am not doing the entire assignment by myself since the teammates only have to each do a portion of the project. I asked her why she was insisting on being so difficult? I asked her to put me in another group...she wouldn't do that. The next day, I was locked out of the forum.

They have not billed me yet, but I have no doubt they will. We shall see.

I have been unable to meet other financial obligations on my salary trying to maintain my computer to further my education. I have physical limitations that make it almost impossible to get my degree in a traditonal classroom setting. I am about to be evicted waiting for the funds.

University of Phoenix is completely responsible for the miscommunication and misplacement of my records causing a crazy balance due. Had University Of Phoenix been more clear on what was needed from the beginning instead of providing me with several different excuses, and losing my transcripts, my papers would have been certified accordingly and I could have proceeded with my education.

As a result of UOP's mismanagement and negligence, my education has been put on hold and my finances are in jeopardy with a possible collection. I am fighting the collection action now. There is a collection/account balance due and my transcript with University of Phoenix can not be sent to another school until resolved.