I'd like to add to the realization that the University of Phoenix conducts unethical and unprofessional operations, which leaves a student vulnerable to rapid failure in their courses.
Let me start by acknowledging that I am presently a student of the University of Phoenix - Online Campus. I enrolled back in April 2008, as I was eager to pursue a rewarding degree in these tough economical times. My course of study is in IT.
I was lead to believe, by an enrollment counselor of the University of Phoenix/Axia College, that the course that I was interested in, deeply involved my career pursuit. I relied on my enrollment counselor to sort of "coach" me into taking the right path to substantiate my course of study and my career goals (big mistake).
After lengthy paperwork, heavy processing and identification delays, I was finally admitted. It took about a month for all of the requested paperwork to be processed, as the University of Phoenix/Axia College treated me like a criminal with a record. I was forced to go through extensive measures to prove my identity (and this was beyond normal measures of driver's license and social security card). I do understand the concern for potential fraud, but believe me when I tell you that I was very thorough in presenting my information to the University of Phoenix from the very beginning. I have always been good with organization and providing hard documentation.
Prior to my being admitted, my enrollment counselor advised me of the "financing options" of my education. I was reluctant to pay for the course up front, due to my not being able to afford it. Like most people, I took the financial aid avenue to pay for my tuition. I chose Sallie Mae as my financing option.
In conjunction to my financial aid, I was told by my enrollment counselor that I was eligible for a grant as well. The grant was said to allow me to pay for some of my schooling (books and such), as well as living expenses, since I would be attending the online campus. I figured, "Great, it could have proven financially difficult for me to sustain school otherwise." I live alone and I have no assistance from anyone. Therefore, I have been pretty much forced into a life of being independent and truly earning a living.
I explained all of this to my enrollment counselor, as she seemed to sympathize with my situation (I now realize that it was just an act to get me to enroll). The enrollment counselor assured me that they would make certain that I was properly enrolled and that I would receive the promised grant, to assist me throughout my schooling with the University of Phoenix/Axia College. I unfortunately fell for it, and things quickly began to turn around for the worst...
After my successful enrollment, I began my classes around the end of April or beginning of May. I received my first block of classes and I endured my first nine weeks of two classes that I was setup to take at a time. I was never initially consulted about my taking two classes at a time, so this was one of my first negative experiences in a series of them.
It was a struggle for me to keep up with all of the work for two classes at once...especially the classroom "Discussion Questions," that each student is "required" to participate in, or it will affect their grade. Also, the instructors were very distant with supporting me as a student and truly being there for me and my new experience with online schooling. When I sought guidance and assistance from instructors, I would be given answers that I didn't understand. When I would attempt to get clarity, I would be directed to a "course syllabus," (which many times proved to be vague) or I didn't receive a response at all. Of course, time would pass and I would end up being "hard-pressed" to get my schoolwork completed and turned in to avoid loss of points against my grade. This became a daily and typical classroom actuality. It was to my understanding, that an instructor is supposed to assist a student with understanding what the student is learning; that's the traditional student and teacher/instructor relationship. What are they really being paid for if an instructor insn't completely helping a student with learning?
I found out the hard way how non-caring and unconcerned a good majority of instructors are in connection with students. I soon discovered that all of the responsibility of understanding the class, materials, assignments, policies, etc, ultimately falls on the student. How's that for a setup of an accredited education institute? Well, at least I've been learning something of real value...The University of Phoenix/Axia College is a scam that seems to evolve only around monetary gain and playing a numbers game with students. If one student fails because of the harsh policies and procedures that are implement to work against the students of the University of Phoenix/Axia College, then there will be other unsuspecting students waiting in line to get in and the process starts all over again.
The harsh policies for students of the University of Phoenix/Axia College can easily cause a student to be "dropped" from the course, while the school still tries to hold a student liable for schooling costs for the entire cost of the course. The enrollment counselor, academic counselor and other staff then "team up" and make an extreme effort to make the student suffer a burden of responsibility, regardless of what the student may be experiencing in their real life.
I encountered some unfortunate events in my life, which caused my Internet to be turned-off for a considerable amount of time, I oftentimes had trouble with the virtual classroom (i.e. applications not opening, student assignment and research sites being inoperative, instructors not responding to posted threads and all types of other things). On top of everything, I worked full-time. There was even a death in the family most recently, that was treated by my enrollment counselor, academic counselor and other staff, as if they could care less and that I still needed to maintain my classes and assignments, or be "failed." It seems that no room was even being allowed to mourn for the loss of a loved one. It has been horrible...
These circumstances are not supposed to be held against a student. However, it is most likely somewhere "worded" in their policies that a student has to accept all of the responsibility of such occurances. Therefore, no matter what a student reports, to justify a late assignment, PC downtime, faulty assignment applications, a death in the family or whatever, the University of Phoenix/Axia College will still try to make the student take all of the responsibility. I find this to be one of the worse scams out there.
After lengthy battles with my enrollment counselor, academic counselor and even instructors, they all seemed to know how to come together and support each other to ultimately "blame" me, even though I experienced poor treatment, continous frustration due to lack of support and my potential failure of class. I again found out the hard way, that there is no real support once a person becomes and official student of the University of Phoenix. The rules and policies of the University of Phoenix/Axia College are setup to completely "abandon" a student once they are enrolled. The sad part is students that are enrolled are paying thousands of dollars of tuition fees and book costs (even though it's all online), only to be abandoned.
Another reality, is that once these con-artists have all of a student's personal information, they try to take advantage of a student. They use threats of the student potentially being dropped from their course and still having to pay back the student loans. They also use threats of the student potentially not being allow to apply for financial aid again in the future, or for a considerable amount of time (years).
I honestly wish I never got involved with the University of Phoenix/Axia College. The staff of the University of Phoenix have proven to be focused only on getting their money from a student and they do not care if the student fails.
The bottom-line is, they've done their job by fooling a student into enrolling, and once this is accomplished, they can potentially manipulate any of the students' issues, concerns or problems to their financial gain and advantage.
I'm sure I am not the only one who has experienced the University of Phoenix/Axia College scam. Hopefully, others can read this and learn from the experiences of myself, and others, who fell for this scam. I urge a potential student to stay away from the University of Phoenix/Axia College, as they do not truly care about their students, nor do they really care about the success of their students. I say this with confidence, and even though there may be some good staff or maybe even good operations of the University of Phoenix, their predominant operation is to make money off of a student and move on to the next.
I hope to take part in a class-action law suit against the University of Phoenix/Axia College, to get my life back from the University of Phoenix. I made an unwise investment into their scam. I simply want out of the University of Phoenix/Axia College, without the loss of my financial aid (or future financial aid), and definately without any penalty or financial loss against me.
I will be initiating an email mini-broadcast to some of the executives of the University of Phoenix/Axia College. My email will address my concerns and it will request immediate resolve. If I come across anything worthwhile for others, who have experienced this scam, I will gladly update you on this site.
Consequences:
The emotional damage that I have suffered as a student of the University of Phoenix/Axia College, and potential financial damage that I could suffer from the student loans that are tied to my foolishly schooling with the University of Phoenix/Axia College, has been overwhelming. Now the student loans show on my credit report and could potentially affect my credit if it's not resolved properly. This is how many companies, institutions, etc, attempt to control individuals. No one wants bad credit, and unfortunately, the credit system is a system that is pitting economical difficulty against consumers. The credit system is becoming more and more popular with controlling and labeling consumers.
I don't totally agree with with UOP does, but people let's be honest with ourselves. Any school that you go to you are going to have to work hard as *** to earn that degree. I went to a state school and had to take 6 classes one semester and 5 every other semester. I was writing 20-30 page papers at 19 or 20 years old, and my professors didn't give a *** what happened in my life, I just better had turned my assignment in. Many universities are incorporating learning teams into their cirriculums because of the nature of today's workplace environment. To the original poster, if your student loans are on your credit report, you need to contact your lender, Sallie Mae. Their number is 888-272-5543. They put that on your credit, not the school. I'm sorry about your experience, but we can't blame other people for when we don't read policies and procedures. The complaint that you were rushed thru the policies will not hold up in any court of law. Many of the people on this website have illegitimate issues. People want to blame the school for their lack of follow-up. You're an adult now, you have to take some responsibility for your won actions, or lack thereof.
I wish you better luck next time, but remember that you need to read ALL literature that your signature goes on. Whoever is sitting there with you can wait until you fully understand what you are doing. Call Sallie Mae and see if you can get an economic hardship deferment, or a forbearance. For the loans being on your credit report, your beef is with Sallie Mae, not the school.
Now the school was wrong for not telling you everything, but keep in mind that all of that was in the forms that you signed electronically.
When it comes to any college, especially one that is completely done online, you MUST gather all the information you can possibly get, and read the Terms and Conditions, whether rushed or not.
I filled out my application for The University of Phoenix earlier today, and while the counselor told me I could click through everything and read later and I done so, I always had every intention of reading the fine print.
I have yet to start the financial aid process and will not until I get all the information I need to make me feel comfortable about the school, and this means checking accreditation by all the possible departments I may need to have on my side in getting a bachelor's degree in Psychology. This is why I am here and have also been on the US Dept. of Education website, the American Psychological Association, etc. I've been on the phone with someone from Eastern Kentucky University and left a message for someone at Kentucky State University because I must know if a bachelor's degree in Psychology from this college will be good enough to get me into grad school once I am finished. NEVER take a chance, especially when it could be a waste of your effort, time, and money.
My point, when it comes to something as important as college and finances, one should be as educated as possible on the institution he or she is considering furthering their education with. I had major concerns and called my counselor back and spoke with an adviser. Of course, he assured me that all was good, but here I am still seeking information and truth. It's terrible that you had such an experience and I am sorry you had to endure it, but it's a situation easily avoided if one does his or her research.
Unfortuntely school can be difficult no matter where you go when you have a family and a full time job. I went to a traditional school with the same financial aild issues but you have to understand college is not easy whether it is UOP or any college. The idea is that you have to commit to it. You can't blame others for your lack of commitment and you have to read the fine print before you agree to doing anything.
Sorry to break it to you, but 2 courses in a semester is NOT an impossible load. In any real university, it's purely your responsibility to handle your emotions/whatever in case of a death in your family. No prof cares about your excuses or anything - you either suck it up and do work, or fail. It's life. No one will run after you trying to help you with your assignments, university/college isn't high school.
I attend axia college and I really like it. I have never had a problem. I feel sorry for you because that happened. However online coarses are a lot harder, because you are on your own. I take two classes and it's not really hard to keep up. They say to do online classes you have to be really focused on your studies. It is hard sometimes. I have 5 kids but i find time for school too. I wish you luck.
Umm..Good for you. I'm glad that someone has been treated fairly and did not have to go through the aforementioned problems that others have already experienced at the University of Phoenix/Axia College.
Anyways, I'm done responding to non-supportive comments. In fact I'm done with any correspondence whatsoever.
Thanks to all who have shared their stories from their experiences at the University of Phoenix/Axia College. I hope that you find some closure to all of the hardships that you've suffered by attending the university.
If you don't want to write papers, attend class and work with other students, do not go to University of Phoneix. In my experience (I am currently attending) the University of Phoenix is much tougher than the state schools I attended. I am learning more now then at the state schools.
Thanks for your genius comments and your efforts to try to make someone look stupid for something that they've never experienced before. Apparently, the University of Phoenix/Axia College has many "kinks" that need to be worked out of their schooling system, as MANY students have experienced similar (or the exact same scenarios as me). So, when you speak in your arrogant tone by saying things like, "DUH" to me, you are saying this to the hundreds to thousands of others who have been through it with the University of Phoenix/Axia College..When you become that Perfect Being, who knows all and makes NO mistakes, then I'll give up my faith and worship you, lol.
In addition, if you don't have anything positive or supportive to add to a website that is for PISSED CONSUMERS, who have been scammed, then don't say anything at all..move on and remain in your fantasy reality. Please don't add to the crap that myself or others have already endured.
P.S. Take the silver spoon out of your mouth when you speak, so you can be heard better.
You are out of your mind! Did you really think that ANY college isn't going to be tough? First you're going to complain about taking 2 classes at once? What do you think would happen at ground campus if you missed classes and you didn't do the work? DUH...you would be dropped and fail. The only thing that is different about Axia college is that a lot of the responsibilty is put on you. Deal with it. As far as financial burdens go, you took out a FEDERAL loan. This means that the chool has nothing to do with that loan...it's the government that you should be bashing. UNBELIEVABLE!!!
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