Liberty University Online

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
That is not the objection I raised in my initial complaint.  By law, a contest cannot require a purchase first to be entered into a contest/sweepstakes/drawing/etc.  This is the complaint.  Yes, I seen all that you raised, and thus is why I've filed the Revdex.com complaint.  It is illegal for you to require a PURCHASE before entry into the drawing for the prize.
Regards,
[redacted]

The student was advised the terms of the agreement on
10-06-14, along with an acceptable payment amount and completed Financial
Check-in on 10-07-14. Once the student completed Financial Check-in a copy of
the Financial Check-in contract is emailed to their Liberty email account. The
contract is...

a copy of the terms and conditions the student previously agreed to
along with future draft dates and amounts. This student’s future drafts are
scheduled for the 11th of every month through August 2015.
On 1-09-15 the student contacted our office requesting their
upcoming draft date pushed back. This is a very common action student’s take
and our standard protocol is to advise students they should notify our office
at least five days before the scheduled draft.
We have approved an adjustment to the account in the amount
of $123. This will appear on the student’s account here at Liberty University
in the next few business days. The student will need to contact the student
accounts office to reduce the amount of the outstanding payments in their
payment plan to account for this change.

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
It it is hard to believe whoever is writing this because they were not on the phone with me and on several occasions when o talked to different people the notes pulled were inconsistent so they are not aware of what was said to me. I did not click any buttons during financial check in or anything this was all done over the phone. The first time I heard about the withdrawal cost was when I called because I needed to withdrawal that is when I heard about. This individual does not know what was said to me when I talked to student appeals about appealing the cost because I was told it could possible lower the balance or  wipe away the balance depending on evidence and circumstances. I feel that I was given false information and no one knows what was said except for myself and the other person I talked to. Of courses I am sure that every part of the conversation is documented because if it was then the inconsitency would be there. I think the cost is ridiculous and I don't feel all information provided is correct. The part of struggle with the most is that all communication was over the phone and I was told what I needed to do.  Regards,[redacted]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

At this point the initial response from the University will remain unchanged as no new information has been shared by the student in this response. Information was clearly outlined in the initial response to the student showing that the matter was discussed with the student on several occasions along with consequences. The student is advised to continue to correspond with the University's Student Accounts office to resolve the portion of the account balance necessary to roll over the remainder.

We are in receipt of your notice dated October 8, 2014 regarding the
complaint ID referred to above. In the complaint, the student states they were
told their finances for the Fall 2011 semester would be ensured by the
University since aid was not available for the Spring 2011 and...

Summer 2011
semesters. The complainant has also asserted that they were not informed that
beginning attendance in an online course would make them responsible for “an
entire semester’s fees”. The student has thus disputed the balance incurred on
their account after they ceased attendance in the middle of the Fall 2011
semester.
 
Liberty records show the student was first accepted to the University’s
online program on March 30, 2011, in pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in
Marketing. The student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for
the 2010-2011 school year was received the same day. That FAFSA was selected
for verification by the Department of Education. The student did not complete
verification and later dropped their summer courses. The complainant then
enrolled in the Fall 2011 semester and submitted a FAFSA for the 2011-2012
school year. The 2011-2012 FAFSA, received June 14, 2011, was also selected for
verification by the Department of Education.
 
There is no record of the complainant being told the University would
“ensure” they would have finances available for the Fall semester as a result
of not having them in the Spring or Summer of 2011. It should be noted that the
University does not have the authority to overrule or disregard the selection
of the student for verification by the Department of Education. The student was
selected, and thereby required to provide certain documentation to the
University in order to be eligible to receive financial aid (see [redacted]. Records show the student called the University several times and
was informed of the documentation required to complete verification on multiple
occasions. However, the student did not provide all the necessary
documentation—thus, the student did not complete verification and was not
eligible for financial aid for the 2010-2011 school year per federal
regulations.
 
According to Liberty records, the student did complete verification for
the 2011-2012 school year. Thus, the student had financial aid available for
the Fall 2011 semester, in which they enrolled in four classes. Of those four,
two started on August 22, 2011— [redacted] and [redacted]. However,
University records show the student stopped attending the two courses mid-semester,
[redacted] on August 28, 2011, and [redacted] on September 6, 2011.
Since the student did not resume attendance in the courses at any point, the
student was later assessed a grade of FN (Failure for Non-Attendance) in both
courses, and, in accordance with Liberty policy, two courses set to start later
in the same semester were dropped. As a result of this drop, the student ceased
attendance, and the student’s account was reviewed to determine how much of the
financial aid received for the semester they were eligible to keep. Since the
student attended less than half the semester, more than $3,300 was returned to
the federal government by the University in accordance with federal
regulations. This has left the student with a balance, which the University
attempted to collect before transferring to a collection agency.
 
In the student’s complaint—as well as in prior conversations with
Liberty staff that took place after the student had incurred the balance—the
student disputed the balance, implying that “e-mailing a professor” and
“completing a survey” had been the extent of their participation in the
courses. The student has also stated they were informed the University does not
have a “withdrawal program”.
 
Contrary to the student’s claims, records show the student completed
online discussion board posts on August 22, August 25, August 28, and August
29, 2011, for the [redacted] course, in addition to a report submitted
September 6, 2011. In addition, for the [redacted] course, the student completed
a discussion board post on August 22 and a quiz on August 28, 2011.
 
Liberty University defines attendance as “any submission to Blackboard
within the enrollment dates of the course (such as examinations, written papers
or projects, any discussion board posts, etc.) or initiating any communication
with the professor regarding the academic subject.” This information and more
can be found in Liberty’s Withdrawal policy, which can be viewed here: [redacted]. This policy,
which is similar to the one that was in affect for the 2011-2012 school year,
also states that “students who attend their courses but eventually cease making
submissions to their online courses or cease communicating with their professors
regarding the courses for a period of 21 consecutive days or longer, and do not
request a withdrawal, will be assigned a grade of FN for the course.” As
previously mentioned, the student ceased attending the [redacted] course
on August 28, 2011 and [redacted] on September 6, 2011, and received FNs for
both courses when no further attendance was noted for either course. As a
result, two courses set to start later in the semester were also dropped,
completing the cease of attendance.
 
Regarding the balance the student incurred as a result of this cease of
attendance, the policy states “when students cease attendance in all classes in
a given semester, they will be subject to a proration of all federal, state and
institutional aid. This proration takes into account the number of days that
the student was enrolled.” The complainant’s account was reviewed and the
amount of time in which they were enrolled was taken into account. A balance
was left on the complainant’s account because “all remaining aid is unearned,
and unearned portions of federal funds are required by law to be sent back to
the federal government ([redacted].”
 
This policy and others are available online to all students, but
students are sent reminders to take heed of policies that may affect their aid.
A copy of Liberty’s attendance policy is sent to all students each semester
before the start of class. Students are reminded during Financial Check-In
(which the student completed for the Fall 2011 on August 10, 2011) to check Liberty
policies for consequences of dropping, withdrawing from, or not attending
courses, and are provided links to follow to find any questions on those
topics. Liberty records also show that the student received a warning e-mail
during the Fall 2011 semester noting the lack of recent activity in their
courses, and a reminder that a continued lack of activity could lead to an FN
and financial consequences.
 
In regard to the complainant’s claim that they were told Liberty does
not have a withdrawal program, as mentioned, Liberty has a detailed policy
regarding withdrawals. Liberty records contain no attempt by the student to
withdraw, nor do records reflect a conversation between the complainant and a
Liberty employee about a desire to withdraw.
 
The student must satisfy the balance on their account. However, per
Liberty policy, the balance has been transferred to a collection agency at this
time due to a lack of activity from the student. The student has been provided
with contact information for the collection agency. If required, the student
can contact Liberty’s Financial Aid Office to receive this contact information
again.
 
The complainant is welcome to contact Liberty’s Financial Aid Office
with any other questions about their cease of attendance and the balance on the
account.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
Liaison/Compliance Analyst
Financial Aid Office

At this time there are holds on the student's file that will prevent registration into additional courses. The student has been informed of these holds that are present as a result of not submitting an official transcript beyond the completion of their first semester of coursework with the University. If the student wishes to discuss this matter further due to the confidentiality of their student file they should contact the Academic Advising staff directly at [redacted]

The student is overlooking an important portion of the grade
appeal policy as it is presented in the previous Revdex.com
complaint response as well as the information presented on the university website:  [redacted]   Only
final posted grades may be appealed beyond the professor.
Appeals are accepted only when the grade assigned conflicts with:
    The published grading
rubrics for the course assignments
    Written communication (i.e., email, announcements, etc.)
    Calculation error on an assignment (resulting in a change to
the final grade)
Appeals, other than those mentioned above,
will not be reviewed.  The student is encouraged to follow the university
policies as presented and may appeal the final posted grade of his course at
the end of the term on the grounds that the published grading rubrics for
course assignments were not followed at that time.  At such time the student should include the completed/filled in rubrics reflecting the grade that was assigned to his assignments to support his appeal. This appeal would then be
reviewed by the Online Chair.

December 11, 2015
RE: Revdex.com ID
– [redacted]
 
We are in
receipt of your notice dated December 04, 2015 regarding the complaint number
referred to above. 
The
student was registered for the following classes in the 2013 Fall semester:
BUSI 520, BUSI 530, BMIS 501,...

BMIS 520, and BUSI 561. On October 14th,
2013 the student contacted the Liberty University Online Academic Advising
Department requesting to be dropped from BUSI 520 and BUSI 530 and the request
was processed the same day it was requested. The student then contacted the
Academic Advising Department on October 21st through the Live Chat
function, and requested to be dropped from BMIS 520. On October 23rd
they emailed the Academic Advising Department and also chatted with an Academic
Advisor through the Live Chat function requesting to be dropped from BMIS 501.
Our records indicate the student stated the following: “I would like to drop
BMIS 501 D02. I realize that I will lose my financial aid and will be
financially responsible for BUSI 561, the course I am currently taking.” The
drop for BMIS 501 was processed immediately following this request.
The
Liberty University Student Accounts Office updated the student’s account once
the drops were processed, and sent the student emails regarding their
outstanding balance on October 28th, November 26th,
December 23rd, and January 27th. The student was also
mailed an Urgent Final Notice Letter on December 23rd, and again on
January 20th. Both of these final notice letters were mailed to the
address the student has on file with Liberty University. In addition to
receiving these emails and final notice letters, the student also received a
phone call from the Student Accounts Office on December 17th. The student
did not answer this call and as a result a voicemail was left regarding the
outstanding balance. Due to receiving no response from the student regarding
the balance and the aforementioned notifications, the account was assigned to
[redacted] Collection Agency on February 28th. The
student contacted the Student Accounts Office on May 2nd to request
a payment plan, but was directed to contact [redacted] as the
account was no longer with Liberty University. The student was contacted by the
Student Accounts Office once again on December 4th, 2014, and was
informed of the current collections status and of the amount owed. We have
reviewed this situation and can attest to having applied accurately the
institutional and federal policies in this case.
Liberty
University has communicated in detail with the student regarding this response.
  Sincerely,

We are in receipt of your notice dated May 8, 2015,
regarding the complaint ID referred to above. In the complaint, a former
Liberty student indicated that they were aware they owed a balance to the
University, but were not asked about potential payment arrangements nor were
they advised that...

their account could potentially be referred to a collection
agency. The complainant is upset because their balance is now larger plus collection
fees and they are willing to discuss payment arrangements but have been told it
is too late to pay Liberty.
 After review, the complainant’s request has been granted.
The account has been withdrawn from the collection agency to which it had been
referred, and is now solely in the hands of Liberty University. Thus, the
complainant can now discuss payment arrangements with Liberty and make payments
directly to the University. In addition, the owed amount is again $3,500, the
balance the complainant owed after ceasing attendance during the Fall 2014
semester—the additional $1,045.45 collection fee noted by the complainant
previously has been cancelled. The complaint is encouraged to contact the
Student Accounts Office at ###-###-#### to discuss payment arrangements.
 Representatives from the Student Accounts Office will be
contacting the complainant shortly to confirm this information and to discuss
payment arrangements.

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
According to their request, here is the website I am speaking of:[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

We are in receipt of your notice dated July 22, 2015, regarding the
complaint ID referred to above. In the complaint, a Masters-level Liberty
student states that, midway through their first semester, they were selected
for a Fraud Prevention review. Though the complainant states they turned in...

all
required documentation, their federal financial aid was returned to the
government on the basis of Liberty’s findings in the review, leaving the
complainant with a balance. The complainant has stated that they have contacted
the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group and been informed Liberty should return
their financial aid as no fraudulent information was found. The complainant has
asked that their financial aid be returned to their account to cover the
balance for which they are being billed.
Liberty records show that the complainant was accepted to the
University’s online program on July 24, 2014, in pursuit of a Masters of
Business Administration. Their only semester of enrollment was the Fall 2014
semester, in which the complainant was attending classes from August 18 to
December 12, 2014. However, on October 16, 2014, the student was selected for a
Fraud Prevention Review by Liberty’s Financial Aid Office’s Program Integrity
team after inconsistencies were noted on the complainant’s account,
inconsistencies that appeared to be conflicting information which may have been
potential fraud. Per federal regulations (see 34 CFR 668.16(g)), universities
are required to have a system in place to review any accounts on which there
may have been potential fraudulent activity. Thus, the Financial Aid Office
requested the complainant provide certain documentation for review. While the
complainant did provide the requested information, it did not clear the
conflicting information noted on the complainant’s account.
As the complainant has previously been informed, institutions are
encouraged by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General
(OIG) to not divulge the exact information or reasons for their account
reviews. This may be an attempt by the Department to avoid informing those who
wish to commit fraud on the ways in which universities and other institutions
detect potentially-fraudulent activity. Thus, the complainant has not been
informed of the nature of the conflicting information on their account via
e-mail or phone by University representatives, in accordance with federal guidance.
Since the complainant’s account was flagged for potential fraud, the
federal student loans they had been originally projected to receive while
attending the University were returned to the federal government. This is also
in accordance with federal regulations. Thus, the complainant has a balance at
the University due to having attended four courses without payment being made
toward the tuition.
In the complaint, the complainant indicates that they have communicated
with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group which informed them there was
“nothing fraudulent” on their account. Liberty has not received any
communication from that organization in regard to this student’s account.
Additionally, Liberty has forwarded its findings regarding potential fraud on
the complainant’s account to the OIG, in accordance with federal regulations. Recent
correspondence from that office to the University has indicated that the OIG
noted evidence of potential criminal violations on the complainant’s account.
However, due to the minimal dollar loss to the Department of Education and
other factors, they have decided not to conduct an investigation. The OIG has
indicated that it is up to Liberty University to take further action on this
matter.
Liberty University has noted that the OIG’s investigation disclosed
evidence of potential criminal violations that were brought to their attention
by the University. The University does not consider the decision by OIG to not
pursue a further investigation as clearance of wrongdoing in this case.
Therefore, Liberty will not be reinstating the financial aid that was
previously removed from the complainant’s account for the 2014-2015 school
year. This matter is therefore closed unless the University receives additional
instruction from the Department of Education.
As stated above, Liberty does consider the complainant responsible for
the balance remaining on their account, as the balance stems from tuition for
courses the complainant completed at the University. Additionally, as the
complainant stated in their complaint, their balance could be sent to an
outside collection agency if the complainant does not make payment arrangements
for the balance with the University’s Office of Student Accounts (which the
complainant can contact by phone at ###-###-####). The complainant will not be
required to pay the entire balance in full but will need to make payment
arrangements to avoid the balance being sent to a collection agency. It should
be noted that collection agencies often charge an additional percentage for
collecting, which would increase the overall amount the complainant would need
to pay.
Sincerely,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. Has been resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

Re: Revdex.com ID – [redacted]
 
We are in receipt of your notice associated with the
complaint ID above and have the following response to the complainant.
 
After review of the stated issue on the referenced complaint
submission we searched to see what action was taken by the...

complainant with us
directly while going through this issue. At this point no formalized complaint
has been submitted to us directly so that the issue can be further researched
and escalated to our IT staff for resolution as needed. Regarding the final
grade in the course  no steps were taken at the time of the issue by the complainant to pursue a
formal grade appeal review to be done. Due to the amount of time that has
passed this is no longer possible. This would have been an option for the student
within 30 days of the stated end date of the course per our stated policy made
available to students on our website.
 
At this point if the complainant is continuing to experience
the same technical issues they have had previously we would request they reach
out to us directly at [redacted]
to investigate the issues they are seeing.
 
Sincerely,

I think that Liberty U offered me nothing but stuck to a policy that allowed others to recurve credit prior to changing their policy in 2010.   I am disappointed.

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Due to my being defrauded by [redacted], and [redacted], as well as had my civil rights violated and have been illegally criminally harassed out of Liberty University by the three aforementioned individuals, then this complaint is being handled by the Office for Civil Rights and the respective Police Departments in two different states. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]

The student is currently in communication with the Student Advocate Office for Liberty University Online in regards to these same complaint details. It is our recommendation that the student continue to work with them in order to seek an amicable resolution for the complaint. They have contacted the...

student to request documentation to support their appeal and are currently awaiting a response from the student.

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I registered and attended Liberty University. I was informed that they needed my transcripts. The admissions office never told me that I couldn't send in my transcripts myself. I sent in official transcripts that I purchased. they have the school seal, stamp, registrar signature and watermark and on watermarked school paper. Now that I owe a balance to my school. I cant get another copy without paying $1400 first and I can not register for the next term at Liberty until I send in another transcript. on top of that, I asked for them to send me back the documentation I sent because I paid for it and they told me they couldn't. I asked why not because they couldn't use it so why would they keep it? So now that they cant use the transcript, I can not attend and had no other choice but to withdrawal from LU because I am trying to finish my degree asap.I would like the copy of my transcripts that I sent in sent back to me so that I can keep for my records and or potential employment verification to show completion of my degree.

We are in receipt of your notice dated November 7, 2014, regarding the
complaint ID referred to above. In the complaint, the student claims that they
were selected for verification by Liberty University’s Financial Aid Office in
January 2014 and completed it, and were then re-selected...

recently after their
spouse applied to the school. The complainant has asked that their verification
be expedited since the date for loan disbursement is approaching. The
complainant has also stated that this selection of verification feels like
discrimination. The complainant has also stated that they have tried to get
call backs from managers in the Financial Aid office and are unable to.
 
At this time, the complainant is encouraged to note that their
verification for the year has been completed. This has resulted in the
complainant’s financial aid being reinstated to the account. It will disburse
and be refunded in accordance with Liberty’s usual timeframes.
 
 It should also be noted that the
complainant was not selected for verification twice in the same school year.
The complainant’s 2013-2014 FAFSA was received by Liberty University on
December 10, 2013, having been selected for verification by the Department of
Education. That verification was completed on January 28, 2013. When the
complainant submitted their 2014-2015 FAFSA (first received on April 13, 2014),
it was not initially selected for verification. However, when the complainant’s
spouse applied to Liberty and their FAFSA was selected for verification, the
complainant’s FAFSA for the 2014-2015 year was also selected. This is in
accordance with Liberty policy, in which members of the same family will all be
required to undergo verification if one of the members is selected, in order to
verify the household’s income, estimated family contribution to their
education, and remaining financial need. Liberty’s authority to select a
student for verification is based on 34 CFR 668.51-61. There is no regulation
in place that states that a student cannot be selected for verification for
more than one school year.
 
As stated above, Liberty’s selection of the complainant for
verification was based on federal regulations and institutional policy. The
University thus denies that the selection or the second select was an act of
discrimination. Also, Liberty records show that, while the complainant had, at
one point, requested a supervisor callback, the complainant later declined to
have the callback take place upon receiving better understanding of the
activity on their account.
 
As previously noted, the complainant’s verification has been resolved
and their financial aid reinstated and set to disburse in accordance with the
usual timeframes. Any further questions the complainant may have about their
financial aid should be directed to the University Financial Aid Office or
Student Accounts Office.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
Liaison/Compliance Analyst
Financial Aid Office