Sign in

Virginia Western Community College

Sharing is caring! Have something to share about Virginia Western Community College? Use RevDex to write a review
Reviews College and University Virginia Western Community College

Virginia Western Community College Reviews (6)

Response rejectedMore run aroundPlease stop wasting my timeI met the requirements, VCCS does not compel VT to uphold their agreementYou have not provided the service advertised, I demand a refund

In response to the complaint, Virginia Western contracts with CDS to deliver our CDL classes.   Students in these classes, after consenting, are required to have a urine analysis drug screening at a third party medical facility when they enter the program. Upon notice of failure, [redacted], is...

required to have a Medical Review Officer (MRO) contact the student to discuss the positive result and steps moving forward.  In this situation, the MRO attempted multiple times unsuccessfully to reach this student, before contacting the program coordinator at CDS, [redacted].  The program coordinator attempted unsuccessfully to contact the student at the phone number located in his file on May 4th, May 5th and May 6th. Unable to reach him, the program coordinator had the instructor ask him in class on May 7 to contact her on Monday, May 9. At that time, she gave the student the notification of the positive drug screen and contact information for the MRO and DOT approved substance abuse counselor. Written documentation from a substance abuse counselor of completion of a DOT required treatment plan is required before students can be allowed back into the program. The MRO is the appropriate person with whom to dispute results, not the college or CDS.   Students who take loans with CDS to pay for the CDL program are required to sign a contract and consent to the drug screen. The loan requires a down payment with 50% of the cost repaid when 25% of the class is complete. Payments can be broken into 10 weekly payments of $150.  The tuition paid will stay on the student’s account for one year. Students may resume training at any time during that year once the DOT required documentation is received from the substance abuse counselor.

Due to privacy regulations outlined in the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Virginia Western is prohibited from disclosing personally identifiable information for students who have attended the institution. Therefore, the response to this complaint must remain general in...

nature.Guaranteed admissions agreements outline the specific requirements a student must meet in order to qualify for a guarantee of admission.  In the guaranteed admissions agreement between the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, the agreement states, “In order to meet the requirements of this agreement and be guaranteed admission for a Summer II or Fall Term, a student must have…achieved a cumulative grade point average of not less than 3.2 (in a 4.0 system) at the time of the degree award, at the community college awarding the Associate Degree, as determined by the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Admissions Office.”  The agreement goes on to note that “all course grades on the VCCS transcript, including repeated classes, may be used to calculate the overall GPA prior to degree being conferred.”Virginia Western does not calculate all course attempts in cumulative GPA calculations; only the most recent attempt is used.  As noted in the guaranteed admissions agreement, Virginia Tech differs in the methodology used to calculate cumulative GPA, incorporating all course attempts.  This may impact a student’s eligibility for guaranteed admission.Thank you, [redacted]Coordinator of Enrollment & Advising Services

Review: I signed up for the tractor trailer cdl class at Virginia Western, we took a drug screen on the first day and were told we would be notified of the results. Well 5 weeks went by and I had to pay $150.00 per week and the 5th weekend they tell me that I failed the drug screen I told them that couldn't be that I had been sick with the flu the week school started and that I had been on over the counter meds and then when that didn't work I went to the hospital and they put me on medication on with codeine in it and then they said it was positive for marijuana and I told them that I am on regular asthma meds, I had taken the mucinex dm, aleve and klonopin for panic attacks so I told the MRO about the drugs that I was on and that the doctor gave me a letter saying that could cause me to test positive or cause a false positive and they said "that wasn't true and that they could test the second sample from the same specimen and see if it showed a negative and I said that would be pointless because those meds would have still been in my system. I knew we were going to be tested so if I was on street drugs I wouldn't have taken the test. I have talked to the school and the MRO multiple times and to no avail about letting me re-test after being off of the medication and they refused the MRO said it was up to [redacted] and she said it was up to the MRO all I know is that I took another drug test 1 week later for an employer and it was negative and but by this time I was off all meds except that for my asthma. They told me I could pay $450.00 dollars to a doctor to see if I need rehab or if he would just clear me to come back but that is money I could use to finish paying for the class and I was told by Ms. [redacted] that if I got a doctor to write a letter stating it could have come from the meds then she would welcome me back well I got the letter and had a negative drug screen since then and I can't get any response all the MRO said about the letter is that they would put it in my file well what good is that going to do me. Those test results have a turn around time of 3 days why did it take 5 weeks and$750.00 later for them to tell me that I failed a drug test or 4 week $600.00 dollars of non-refundable money to tell me this, I feel like they wanted to get this money out of me knowing I couldn't get it back and that why they waited so long to tell me this I was passing all my test showing up every weekend and this was going to be a life career for me taken over the drug testing center not asking if I was on any meds and me not knowing to tell them. The bottom line is they had to have gotten those results back before 4 to 5 weeks out and kept taking my money then no one wanted to talk after that just giving me the run around from the school to the doctor's office that took the test to calling the MRO on the phone back and fourth and they wouldn't return my call and when I went to the doctor's office that did the test they kept telling me to talk to the school and so on and so forth and I am very frustrated over this matter that was medically induced.Desired Settlement: I would love to finish the class! If not I would want a refund because of how long it took them to tell me I failed which kept me paying them for 4 or 5 weeks and nothing to show for it.

Business

Response:

In response to the complaint, Virginia Western contracts with CDS to deliver our CDL classes. Students in these classes, after consenting, are required to have a urine analysis drug screening at a third party medical facility when they enter the program. Upon notice of failure, [redacted], is required to have a Medical Review Officer (MRO) contact the student to discuss the positive result and steps moving forward. In this situation, the MRO attempted multiple times unsuccessfully to reach this student, before contacting the program coordinator at CDS, [redacted]. The program coordinator attempted unsuccessfully to contact the student at the phone number located in his file on May 4th, May 5th and May 6th. Unable to reach him, the program coordinator had the instructor ask him in class on May 7 to contact her on Monday, May 9. At that time, she gave the student the notification of the positive drug screen and contact information for the MRO and DOT approved substance abuse counselor. Written documentation from a substance abuse counselor of completion of a DOT required treatment plan is required before students can be allowed back into the program. The MRO is the appropriate person with whom to dispute results, not the college or CDS. Students who take loans with CDS to pay for the CDL program are required to sign a contract and consent to the drug screen. The loan requires a down payment with 50% of the cost repaid when 25% of the class is complete. Payments can be broken into 10 weekly payments of $150. The tuition paid will stay on the student’s account for one year. Students may resume training at any time during that year once the DOT required documentation is received from the substance abuse counselor.

Review: In 2012 I made the decision to go to school and earn a Bachelors of Science (BS) degree. When I did so, I had two primary concerns relating to post-secondary attendance: the exorbitant costs of doing so, and my ability to gain admittance to a four year university after having been out of school for a period longer traditional students. In the process of researching the most efficient manner to accomplish my goal while addressing those concerns, I became aware of Virginia Western Community College (VWCC). VWCC run a number of advertisements, such as [redacted] and the general content is always the same, attend VWCC, save money, guaranteed transfer. Upon inquiring with VWCC I was informed the specific requirement was completion of an Associates Degree with a 3.2GPA to guarantee transfer to the Engineering department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT). As my specific goal was education in Chemical Engineering, and VT has a good ChemE program, this then seemed to have been exactly what I needed.

With my concerns specifically addressed, in June of 2012 I began attending VWCC in the Associates of Science (AS) program, specializing in Engineering. In early 2014, even though I would not have completed my AS by the commencement of Fall 2014 semester at VT, I made the decision to apply to VT. My reasons for doing so were simple, in the course of pursuing a VWCC AS degree, there are certain elective choices a student may take. In order to streamline my education at VWCC, transfer, and education at VT I made the decision to contact VT in order to determine which electives would be most applicable to a BS degree in ChemE at VT. Following communication with VT, I was informed that even though a transfer from VWCC is admitted as a junior, the programs do not align precisely, and that person would effectively be a sophomore regardless of the number of credits they possessed, as VWCC's program does not contain the necessary elements to fully cover the first two years of VT's program. That necessarily implies that at a minimum a four year degree from VT would take five years to complete when going through the VWCC program. As the costs of attending college are always given on a yearly basis, then coinciding with that fifth year would be a fifth year's worth of costs which would directly contradict VWCC's advertising regarding the reduction of cost associated with attending VT.

Though I had not yet completed my AS at VWCC, my GPA was well above the required 3.2, being at the time 3.870; however, my application was denied. I was very surprised in that denial, for though I had not finished my AS, I had spoken to a number of other students who had not either, yet were admitted anyway, and with lower GPAs than I had. Following my denial, I then met with [redacted], Dean of Student Services at VWCC. I expressed my concerns, and was told that I should not be concerned, that if I finished my AS I could not be denied as long as I met that GPA requirement.

Following that meeting, and guarantee, I continued attending VWCC. In January of 2015, poised to complete my AS and meet the GPA requirements, I again applied to VT. I also signed up for the VWCC onsite admissions process, which was advertised as eliminating the wait in knowing the results of application to VT. Unfortunately on January 14, 2015 I was informed by [redacted]. VWCC counselor, that due to school closure because of inclement weather, onsite admissions were also canceled. Mr. [redacted] further explained that those applications in the onsite admissions process would submitted for, "priority review" by VT.

"Priority" was perhaps not the best thing to call it, as my application was then put on hold for over three months until April 28, when I was again denied. Unfortunately the denial letter was only a form letter, in fact it was the same one I had received in 2014, and did not contain any information about why I was denied, nor about how I had failed to meet the terms of the "guaranteed" transfer. I contacted VT a number of times, but unfortunately they would never provide such information.

In response to that denial, I initiated the appeals process at VT on the grounds that my denial was a mistake in accordance to the "guaranteed" transfer. I also began the process of contacting individuals at VWCC to try and find someone who could explain this. In the course of that I spoke with both [redacted], STEM program advisor, and [redacted], Dean of STEM. Ms. [redacted] could not offer an explanation as to how with my GPA I could be denied. Mr. [redacted] claimed that I was denied because I had not filed a certain form which was a requirement to have my admission guaranteed. I asked Mr. [redacted] if he could produce that form, he said he could not. I asked Mr. [redacted] to show me where that form was referred to in any of the documentation pertaining to the admissions process, and again he could not do so.

Having lost all faith in any person working in the administration of VWCC, my father took over communicating with them. On May 18. 2015 he emailed the President of the school, [redacted]. On May 19 Mr. [redacted] responded stating that he would "get his transfer counselor to look into this."

On May 26, [redacted], VP of Academic and Student Affairs, contacted my father. Ms. [redacted] stated that the reason for my denial was not having participated in the onsite admissions program. This was really the ultimate in disgraceful behavior for the VWCC administration. Mr. [redacted] obviously cared to look into this very much, which is why he put someone on it who had so little idea what is going on around VWCC that she didn't bother to investigate to see that I had in fact accessed that program, or that the program didn't happen because VWCC had closed on that day. When my father then provided Ms. [redacted] with evidence of that, she became very defensive, and nothing important was communicated between her and my father from that point.

Around June 26 my appeal with VT was also denied. Again I was provided with no information regarding how I had failed to meet the terms of the "guaranteed" admission despite completing my AS and having done so with a 3.625 GPA (Magna [redacted] laude) at VWCC. All further inquires with VT resulted in the same result as they had previously, obfuscation.

Due to the first denial, and never having been completely convinced about the integrity of the VWCC administration following that, when it was time to apply to four year universities again, I made the decision to apply to additional schools outside of the state of Virginia. Thankfully I was accepted to a number of programs.

Unfortunately the costs of those programs grossly exceed that advertised by VWCC. Just in relocation costs associated with attendance I have spent thousands. Additionally I have to pay out of state tuition. I have further lost access to the Virginia Commonwealth Scholarship Grant which would have provided an additional $3000/year towards my education.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund.

While the damages done to my finances because of VWCC's falsehoods very much exceed what I paid to them in tuition, it should not be the burden of the community to foot responsibility for them. I only ask back for what I paid.

Business

Response:

Due to privacy regulations outlined in the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Virginia Western is prohibited from disclosing personally identifiable information for students who have attended the institution. Therefore, the response to this complaint must remain general in nature.Guaranteed admissions agreements outline the specific requirements a student must meet in order to qualify for a guarantee of admission. In the guaranteed admissions agreement between the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, the agreement states, “In order to meet the requirements of this agreement and be guaranteed admission for a Summer II or Fall Term, a student must have…achieved a cumulative grade point average of not less than 3.2 (in a 4.0 system) at the time of the degree award, at the community college awarding the Associate Degree, as determined by the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Admissions Office.” The agreement goes on to note that “all course grades on the VCCS transcript, including repeated classes, may be used to calculate the overall GPA prior to degree being conferred.”Virginia Western does not calculate all course attempts in cumulative GPA calculations; only the most recent attempt is used. As noted in the guaranteed admissions agreement, Virginia Tech differs in the methodology used to calculate cumulative GPA, incorporating all course attempts. This may impact a student’s eligibility for guaranteed admission.Thank you, [redacted]Coordinator of Enrollment & Advising Services

Consumer

Response:

Response rejected. More run around. Please stop wasting my time. I met the requirements, VCCS does not compel VT to uphold their agreement. You have not provided the service advertised, I demand a refund.

Review: Virginia Western Community College has partnered with Botetourt County School Systems to offer the CCAP scholarship program to Botetourt County graduates. At the informational meeting, parents were instructed to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to meet the application deadline. When asked if parents should file their taxes early in order to complete the FAFSA, parents were told that they did not have to complete their taxes early, that they should do their taxes as they normally would--that an estimation from the previous year would be sufficient to meet the deadline. It was stated that the FAFSA should be updated after the 2012 taxes were filed. My son completed all applications and paperwork ahead of the deadline. My son even took a copy of everything to a Virginia Western CCAP representative to ensure compliance. I received an email from FAFSA on 5/10/13 that I should update the FAFSA to reflect the filing of our taxes. Virginia Western had printed on their instruction sheet that requests for additional information should occur within 1 week or students would be ineligible for CCAP. I updated the FAFSA on 5/14/13. When my son was not awarded the CCAP, I started to inquire about what went wrong. I was notified that an email was sent to a student email account at VWCC (an account that we were never told to set up or check for notifications) asking us to update the FAFSA on April 3, and because we failed to respond to the email within one week, my son is ineligible. This is an unethical way to do business and eliminate candidates from the CCAP program. We were assured the taxes did not need to be completed early--which this clearly did require. We had received other email correspondence regarding the CCAP program through my regular email account--however, this critical email was sent to a student account for a student who does not yet attend the college. There was absolutely no communication to alert us to the fact that we should set up the student email account at VWCC and monitor it for requests for additional information. Being entrusted with such large sums of money and accepting the responsibility for making consistent and fair decisions regarding the awarding of those funds carries with it the accountability of fully disclosing all information the applicant needs to know in order to fulfill the terms. VWCC clearly misrepresented itself when communicating information to the applicants.Desired Settlement: My son met all of the requirement set out by VWCC to be awarded the CCAP scholarship, and should be allowed to participate in the program.

Business

Response:

The Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation (VWCC Educational Foundation) is required to adhere to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Therefore, the VWCC Educational Foundation cannot respond to the present complaint in a public forum. The VWCC Educational Foundation is committed to, and in the process of, assisting the concerned student.

Consumer

Response:

VWCC has contacted me in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. VWCC has resolved my complaint in a way that is very acceptable to me.Regards,[redacted]

Check fields!

Write a review of Virginia Western Community College

Satisfaction rating
 
 
 
 
 
Upload here Increase visibility and credibility of your review by
adding a photo
Submit your review

Virginia Western Community College Rating

Overall satisfaction rating

Description: SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

Address: 3095 Colonial Avenue, Roanoke, Virginia, United States, 24038

Web:

www.vw.vccs.edu

This site can’t be reached

Shady, yet now dead: once upon a time this website was reported to be associated with Virginia Western Community College, but after several inspections we’ve come to the conclusion that this domain is no longer active.



Add contact information for Virginia Western Community College

Add new contacts
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | New | Updated