University of Phoenix Online Should Allow Me to Continue My Education

Wow I am going through much the same thing. I didn't even submit all
my information when I was researching colleges. I got a call 5 minutes
later from an AC of UOP rep. I rolled my eyes but listened to what she
had to say. She also told me that my tuition and books would be
totally covered in financial aid. I wanted to wait until I was
approved for my grants before enrollment. She said that was fine and
asked for my information so she could have everything ready for when I
was ready to enrol. I naively agreed and felt I was forced into class
before my financial aid forms were returned. I started class before my
high school transcripts were transfered! I was approved for the
Academic Competitivness grant but never recieved it. After my last set
of classes that ended on July 22, I never had new classes available. I
called every councelor I have talked to with the school. No one
answered my questions or returned my calls. Finally I found someone to
talk to and he informed me that I was losig my financial aid and it
had been labeled return to lender that day and would be sent at the
end of the week if we did not start the process of getting the money
back. Later he said that it had been sent the day before I talked to
him. now I must get a personal loan just to get back into class and
finnish the year. If I do not finnish these classes I can not get
financial aid for next year and so forth. I don't think I should be
disallowed into class and my funds revoked because they would not post
a class for me to attend. I should be allowed back in class imediately
with all funds returned and not have to pay "out of pocket" for any of
it. It seems this is a common problem and maybe the school needs to be
sued in order for students rights to be respected.
Renee Rounds

I have been going to Axia College for a while now. I've just started
my 8th block of courses. Iv'e never had any of the problems Iv'e read
about on the internet regarding the school. The classes are what you
make of them... you can be a complete slacker and not participate..
just like you most likely did in High School.... OR you can dive in
and learn. Education is what you make it. Regardless, if it is in a
traditional classroom or internet classroom. You get out what you put
in, period.

On another note. I dislike my financial advisor because she is
horrible at follow-up and communication. However, no paperwork has
been messed up yet. I also ask for time off after each class for 1-2
weeks (you are allowed up to 4 weeks) to make sure my loans catch up
and things are paid for :)

I thought I was reading our own story. My husband's experience is
EXACTLY what yours was. He was told to apply for FAFSA and whatever
government grants and loans would not pay for he could get from
student loans. He started at UofP in June '06. In February he was
told to pay $400 and something as his financial aid was not in full
because he "wasn't able to transfer as many credits as they thought he
could and so entered as a Level 2 student" WHATEVER THAT MEANS??!!

So we paid the money and then this last week he was told via email
that we owe the entire amount of the next course before we start in
two weeks. $1500 yeah right!! We are 9 months away from graduation
and can't pay that so I dont know what to do. I thought a finanical
aid counselor was to help you attain financial aid not email you and
throw a surprise bill your way. They were deceptive and dishonest
during the enrollment process promising that we wouldn't have to pay
anything out of pocket and now we're stuck.

Let us know what solution you come up with.

C. Walker, Arizona

David, I attend the UOP and quite clearly remember e-signing an
enrollment form that stated that your financial aid may not cover all
of your expenses. I have not had any problems with this school and
feel that you may have misunderstood or not read all of the paperwork
completely.

As for everyone else talking about online colleges giving poor
educations to ignorant people, I resent that! I work hard at my
classes and maintain a good GPA while working full time and raising my
son. There are alot of us out there that do not have the time to
attend classes at specific times and on specific days and online
colleges work well for us. You should walk a mile in our shoes!

Financial aid is a combination of loans, grants and work-study
programs that provide for your education and living expenses. The
amount of financial aid you are eligible for is determined by your
prior year's tax statements (in other words your income). From there
the government decides how much they will aid you with and how much
you need to pay out of your own pocket. Student loans that are
received through your FAFSA application are backed by the government.
That basically means that regardless of your credit worthiness you
will receive the money necessary to attend school so long as that is
your need.

It seems to me that due to your income you are not eligible for enough
financial aid to cover all of your costs. The school has no idea what
will come back from your FAFSA until they get those numbers... then,
and only then can they tell you whether all your expenses will be
covered for sure. They have ways of figuring it out before hand but
I've been told that my financial aid will cover it and then have
received a bill (at a different school, not UoP)... it happens
sometimes. And it sucks. Boy do I know it sucks but you move
forward. You pay the remainder of the bill and get it done with. It
really is a small amount when you consider UoP is around $14,000 for a
4 year degree. BTW, I WISH my tuition was that low...

Good luck with your education.

David, when you signed the contract, did you get a full disclosure of
what your financial aid covered? Sometimes it would not cover the
whole thing but with this being an online university you would think
that they would not have as many expenses as say a traditional four
year institution.

As others have said I'd look into what your state Attorney General has
to say....also take a peek at the Better Business Bureau for Phoenix
University....if they have a lot of complaints lodged against them,
then I would say quit while you're ahead and find a local
college/university where you could take classes online and in person.

I still have not quite figured out why people spend so much time (and
money) to "attend" the University of Phoenix Online - especially for a
graduate program.

I have a graduate degree and work in government, but in a field that
has a lot of interaction with the private sector. I have not yet seen
a hiring manager who actually takes online degrees seriously -
especially degrees from places well known to be almost exclusively
online, like UofP.

That does not mean the education isn't of good quality - but on the
whole, people do not take it seriously. I can't understand why people
just don't go to a "normal" graduate program that offers night or
weekend classes.

While I agree that the UOP is technically a legitimate school, I think
you, the OP, should proceed with caution. Check out
http://www.ripoffreport.com and search for complaints regarding UOP.
Some schools and employers look down on the program, thinking that the
classes are inferior to those of a "brick and mortar" institution.
I'm not saying that assessment is correct, but I think you should
consider the possibility. I've worked in the college field for three
years now as an instructor, and there are critics, as well as
apologists, for online programs such as UOP. Perhaps I am biased
because I taught at a state school.

If you need to do your education online, many state schools offer
distance learning at a cheaper cost (for some classes...others usually
are held on campus). However, this will vary depending on where you
live. On another note, for people in the business world, UOP could be
the best thing since sliced bread. My intent is not to trash UOP.
Rather, I want to provide my opinion. I do think that their billing
practices are suspect at times, hence the reason I think you should
research on ripoffreport. This "school" might be your best option,
depending on your personal, unique circumstances. Whether or not this
is true, check all of your correspondences to/from the school. Bring
everything to an attorney if need be. It's possible that certain fees
were not covered by financial aid. To be frank, some of the complaints
on ripoff were disturbing. People were lied to when enrolling, billed
for classes they didn't take, were told they needed certain
prerequisites when they did in fact not...the list goes on. As a
final note, research. I hope the issue is resolved.

I attend Saint Leo University's online program. I recieve the maximum
finaancial aid allowed. Unfortunately, this amount does not cover 2
semesters out of the six that are offered per year. I can either pay
out of my on pocket or take two semesters off. Even if you attend a
college as a four year student financial never covers everything. I
am sure you were told financial aid will pay for your education,
because it will, just not all of it.

You have to be careful. I went to one school where every year I would
get $xxxx.xx in financial aid, and then every semester they would say
my parents made too much money and took back the "State Competitve"
scholarship, even though I paid everything myself on about $15000 a
year.
I spent another year at a college where I went in and asked them to
remove this same scolarship upfront so I did not have to send money
back when they took it back, and it turned out they figured financial
aid differently and I got to keep it, and was paid $500 each semester
to go to school.
Financial aid is tricky.

After doing a little research I'm convinced that the OP is confused
about the difference between financial aid and a student loan - - and
I'm very concerned that he now owes a ton of money to someone and
doesn't fully realize it.

As stated before, the University of Phoenix Online is a very expensive
way for working adults to obtain degrees and so far I haven't been
able to dig up anything that says they provide financial aid, aka,
financial assistance that does have to be paid back.

I worked in the private college sector for many years and there are
other costs related to education that are not covered by student
loans. Matriculation fees, etc. are out of pocket expenses. Books
and supplies are covered. It's law that any college disclose this to
the student or they are in violation of Federal law and lose their
license to distribute Federal funds.

Sure there are some low life schools out there that are scamming for
the money and don't care about providing the education, but for the
most part, a rather high percentage of colleges abide by law or they
wouldn't be in business.

Perhaps you didn't hear or want to hear the part of the costs that
would be out of pocket. Or perhaps you did and just forgot. But if
you're attending a legitimate school, I can assure you they covered
that aspect of the fee arrangement when you enrolled. They also
continuously counsel you as you move through the quarter or semester.
They have to because you have to go in and sign over your Federal
checks to them. They can't cash them unless you sign off on them and
receive the counsel. So the message is repeated a lot. Repetition is
not only the best teacher, it's the best form of information that we
receive so we're informed.

Sorry about your situtation. Find the money to pay your dues. Then
continue your education. You'll be better off with the education than
the excuse as to why you didn't complete it. You're only holding
yourself back by choosing that path. Not a wise move on your part.
Empower and dignify yourself and move forward.

Good luck!

David has been scammed. I used to work in the college financial aid
industry, for what was then the largest government contractor in the
field. I processed Pell Grant applications, SARs, defaulted GSLs,
etc. I also wrote, all by myself, the entire set of user manuals
(like 20 huge binders) for the entire Guaranteed Student Loan
program's software system, for the government's satellite offices
throughout the nation.

So I think I have some experience and expertise in this area.

Simply put, these schools make their money by taking advantage of
naive, undereducated people. Puerto Rico was a huge pool for them, as
were the high school seniors of big city school systems (Chicago, New
York, etc.). These schools also will claim they are "accredited"
(which gives them an air of legitimacy), but they are accredited by
organizations that aren't recognized by any legitimate educational
authority.

There are a lot of adult education programs out there that are nothing
but money factories. They lure in naive people (often poorly educated
citizens and new immigrants), entice them with a "free" (or incredibly
cheap/affordable) education, get the person to sign some forms for
financial aid, completely hiding the fact that the person is actually
applying for loans and signing the money over to the school, but
keeping all responsibility for repayment of those loans on the
shoulders of the student.

A certain dog grooming school in Colorado, a certain cosmetology
school in NY, and a certain "learn to drive a tractor/trailer" school
were especially guilty. They lured students in, got their money, then
provided NO EDUCATION. Oh, there may have been classes, but they were
poorly taught, far too few, far too short, and in no way prepared the
students for any job whatsoever. Fraud is rampant because there is
too little oversight of literally thousands and thousands of
fly-by-night schools.

David, your best bet is to contact your state's attorney general's
office and find out which government agency deals with student loan
fraud (I can't remember, or I'd tell you).

It's a shame when this happens, because the student loses (has to pay
for receiving no education, and often defaults, leaving him/her
ineligible for further financial aid, hurting their credit rating,
etc.), other students lose (because there is no more available aid for
them), taxpayers lose (because Congress lets us bail out the
programs).

I think the key here might be "The Student LOAN Corporation" with LOAN
being the operative word. I Googled The Student Loan Corporation and
all that comes up are companies that are in the business of funding
student LOANS - - not providing 100% free educational funding.

On the University of Phoenix Online website it states that they
"participate in financial aid programs" including Federal Stafford
Student Loan, Federal PLUS Loan and Federal Pell Grant. Nowhere does
it say they are in any way affiliated with The Student Loan
Corporation. It appears pretty clear that they only refer prospective
students to outside resources to apply for financial aid and do not
provide aid themselves.

You need to contact the company or organization that claimed they
would pay 100% of all of your education costs and it does not appear
to be the University of Phoenix Online's responsibility to solve this
problem.

David,

I have to agree with S. Brown on this one - the burden of proving you
had 100% tuition coverage is on you.

If you can't come up with the difference, you may have to forego your
courses until the next disbursement of financial aid (which might be
limited to a certain amount per year.).

You need to re-read your documentation - your tuition could be covered
100% (as it would need to be for you to continue to go) but typically
a financial aid package includes some portion of cost being paid out
of pocket by the student.

I have never heard of Phoenix having 100% tuition coverage unless your
employer subsidises the remainder and I have never heard of any
scholarships or other non-reimbursable forms of aid being included.

Please let us know what happens as I am interested whether they
miscommunicated the terms of your package or whether you didn't fully
understand your obligation in the agreement.

The fact you were "told" that financial aid would pay for your
education and the fact that on your enrollment form you selected
financial aid as the only form of payment does not prove that you
don't owe any money. It appears that you received financial aid from
The Student Loan Corporation so you need to direct your complaint to
them. You also need to produce signed documentation that states that
there would be absolutely no out-of-pocket expenses required to be
paid by you.

The University of Phoenix Online is a very expensive school and is
designed for working professionals to earn degrees while continuing
with their full time careers. I have never heard of anyone getting
100% financial aid to attend this school.

The bottom line is the burden of proof lies with you.

My first thought on reading this was that you must have been mistaken
to believe that your financial aid would cover all your expenses. As
Jeffrey has said, there are an awful lot of expenses that are not
fixed, including some where you can influence how much they cost --
like whether you buy new or used textbooks, whether you go through the
school bookstore or eCampus, and so on.

But then I read BellaSera's post, and if that's actually something
that is fairly common, maybe you believed what you were actually told
and I've made some unfair assumptions.

So I'm now wondering who told you that all your expenses would be
covered. First, if it's someone not at the University of Phoenix
Online, I think the school is within its rights to drop you for
non-payment, because they have contracted with you to give you the
education in return for your tuition and fees and you have contracted
with someone else to give you money for your tuition and fees, and I
don't think this letter should be addressed to the University of
Phoenix.

But then there's BellaSera's post which, along with your sending this
to the university, makes me think that it was a university official
who made this promise to you. In that case, I'm with Ryman in wanting
to know whether you have proof. Not because I'm calling you a liar,
but because whoever told you that every expense will be covered is
going to call you a liar. I don't think you're going to be believed
on the strength of your word, whether or not you are actually telling
the truth.

I'm also with Jeffrey in urging you to follow up with the Student Loan
Corporation. Assuming you're telling the truth (again, I'm not
calling you a liar), you know that school employees lie; so why would
you let them be the ones telling the story to the Student Loan
Corporation?

And I'm with Jeffrey again in hoping that you'll let us know what
happens with this, because I really want to know.

Good luck.

I have never had to be on finincial aid.. but my understanding is that
it pays for most of it, but mostly not ALL of it... but again... I
woulnd't really know.. never been on it.

It's been a while since I was in college, but...

A financial aid package is a formal offer, typically with funding from
several sources. These sources can include grants/scholarships and
loans. Some are from the school. Some are from the state. Some are
private sources. Some are from the Federal government.

The package does not always include scholarships and other funding
sources that you've acquired on your own.

Bottom line is that it's a dollar figure. It's never "whatever the
expenses may be." While tuition is typically known and fixed, at
least for an academic year, there are many expenses which are
estimated. Books, materials, and "fees" being the key ones.

What's happened to you (as far as I can tell) isn't all that uncommon.
Too many students assume that they won't need to open their wallet,
and then are surprised when the cost of books/materials exceeds the
estimate (it always does!). And where there are fees that were never
mentioned.

Now, given that you're at an online university, it SHOULD be easier to
get a good estimate of the total costs. However, if you financial aid
package didn't take into consideration that you'd be taking an online
course that required extra materials, for example, that's where you
can end up needing to open your wallet.

This $1750: what did they tell you it was for? A shortfall between
your aid package and tuition? Books and materials? A hidden fee?
Surely, they can provide you with a breakdown of your "bill." Being
able to look at that will help you determine if the problem is a
tuition increase, extra materials, or a fee they neglected to
mention.

I, for one, would be interested in hearing back from you about how
this went. And, specifically, what your itemized bill and official
aid package look like.

.

You may have been "told" or at least, understood them to say financial
aid would cover all of your expenses, but if it is not, $1,750 is a
minuscule amount to pay.

There is nothing to say that tuition cannot increase, requiring you to
pay further.

If the Student Loan Corporation needs to be notified, you should do
so, as the communication the school has with them may not be what you
wish.

If I'm not mistaken, most student loans require payment within a
certain time frame of graduation or leaving school. Unless you
continue your education, the only requirement the university has is to
notify your lending institution that the the loan, which you have used
both last year and this year, is now payable in full. I'm sure this
could calculate to thousands of dollars, even for the last school
year. It would seem a difficult amount to pay considering your having
a difficult time with far less than that.

Best of luck and keep us informed.

I agree with Ryman: unless you have it in writing that financial aid
would cover all expenses, you may be out of luck. There are a lot of
reasons why financial aid might not have gone completely through, and
it's not just limited to Phoenix Online; it happens at
brick-and-mortar universities too.

My sister used to work in the financial aid office at an online
university (not this particular one). She said the reps would lie to
applicants all the time about financial aid, and then her office would
be forced to take the eventual angry call. She complained to the
higher-ups many times, but to no avail.

Anyways, good luck getting this straightened out.

After all this, why would you want to keep going there?

I know that if you drop your classes early, you're charged the
Financial Aid cost for the rest of the classes. That still doesn't
explain though why you had to pay out of pocket up front after being
told you wouldn't have to.

That sounds frustrating.

Do you have something in print stating that you would have no out of
pocket expenses? If not, you may be out of luck, because it then
becomes your word against their's.