Patten University/University Now

Initial [redacted] Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/06/09) */ As an open admissions institution, Patten University charges an enrollment fee rather than an application feeThis $fee is non-refundable The student signed an Enrollment Agreement with the University on January 9, The Enrollment agreement displays a personalized Withdrawal and Refund Schedule according to the student's tuition planPer the student's personalized schedule, the student would owe $for withdrawing anywhere between the enrollment date and week of the term The student started her term at Patten University on February 2, and withdrew on February 9, Patten University's refund policy is to refund / waive 100% of the tuition, so the entire tuition due for the academic term was waived from the student's accountThe student made one payment of $but it was returned, therefore, we waived the tuition from the students accountThis waiver was processed in a timely mannerHowever, the enrollment fee is not subject to the refund policy Additionally, there are several notes from both the Onboarding Advisor and the Academic Advisor that show correspondence with the studentShe also received messages from the Registrar's [redacted] who worked with the student in order to obtain previous transcripts and apply transfer creditFrom these instances, it seems that the student was aware that she was enrolled in the University All tuition costs have been waived, but the University does not agree to waive the enrollment fee of $ Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2015/06/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the [redacted] .) The repTold me to sign that so that I can view the site I never started any classAudrey Cortes Told me I would not be billed

Initial [redacted] Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/09/24) */ The former student's claim that Patten's courses are "void of any information needed to pass [redacted] and exams, in order to prolong your attendance" is without merit as demonstrated by the student's own behavior and external review of Patten's academic programs The individual had in fact passed [redacted] courses at Patten in one term and was attempting a third one in the same 16-week termthe Introduction to Film referenced in the letterShe had one month in which to finish this courseStudents working full-time jobs (most of Patten's students) complete two courses a termWe also know from matriculation rates that Patten students who dedicate a full-time student effort to their courses complete on average between three and four coursesThe claim that our online courses work to extend a student's time do not match either this particular student's pace or the average pace of students at Patten, per the university matriculation rates shared with our accreditor In this case, the student scored 52% on the initial assessment, which is taken at the beginning of the course to help the student understand how well he/she may know the general subject matterThe student's pre-final score was below passing [redacted] attempting only of itemsThe student is correct that she had to pass [redacted] pre-final in order to unlock the final exam, but that function is intended to make sure a student is ready to take the final examIn this case, she clearly was not, due in large part because she had spent very little time studying course materials She never took the final exam in the film course, so her claim that the course resources are not related to this exam is not based on experience in this coursePatten's learning platform tracks a student's progress through the resources, and in this case, the student did not complete one graded course exercise or master any of the flashcards, and she accessed only a few unit resources The student and his/her instructor can see the "readiness bar" on the course dashboardIt helps a student know how prepared he/she is before attempting a summative assessmentIn this case, she had done so little work that the algorithm indicated insufficient preparation across all eight units of the courseThe only graded assignment she attempted was the final projectSo claiming that the course resources are not connected to this summative assignment is not made from having actually studied the course resources It is also important to know that an instructor is not the person who evaluated a student's final projectPatten uses a blind review process for grading final projectsThe evaluator did not have the student's name or know how little work she had done in the courseThe evaluator follows a rubric which the instructor had encouraged the student to followThe student expressed anxiety with writing a final paper after having not done so for many years and having no familiarity with APA styleMany returning students have this experience, and the instructor addressed it, as well as shared a resource on proper use of APA formattingThe student unfortunately failed the final projectTo put her grade in perspective, the average final project grade for this course is 85.3%Ninety-one percent of students pass [redacted] course with an average percentage grade of 82.6% (n = students) Patten's course development model systematically links course learning objectives to resources and summative assessments (e.g., final exams and final projects)As recently as June 2015, an external review by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), Patten's accrediting body, noted the quality of our course design process, student progress rates, and learning model mediated through our proprietary learning management systemThe documentation also shows how Patten's student retention rates and satisfaction rates are above average for online university programs As noted above, and as her official Patten transcript will always show, the student passed [redacted] three-credit courses at PattenShe simply did not do the work sufficient to pass [redacted] third courseShe could have appealed her final project grade, as any student has the right to do, but she chose not toThe student withdrew from the university on her own, not for cause for unsatisfactory academic progress because that standard did not apply According to the student's enrollment agreement, the student opted for the Undergraduate monthly planShe agreed to pay a total of $1,for the term in four equal installments of $eachThe withdrawal and refund schedule is clearly laid out in the enrollment agreementThe student was eligible for a prorated refund through Week of the week termAfter Week 5, the student is not eligible for any type of refund or tuition adjustmentsThe student started her term on 4/20/and withdrew from the University on 8/9/(Week of 16)This date is clearly outside of the time frame for any refunds or adjustmentsThe student paid all four installments of $and her account with the University is clearIn accordance with our withdrawal and refund policy, the University does not agree to refund any of the payments

Initial [redacted] Response / [redacted] (1000, 7, 2015/10/05) */ Patten University received two email requests from the student on 7/7/and 7/9/respectivelyThe Registrar's [redacted] replied to the student on 7/10/notifying her that all ID card requests are processed in a batch at the end of the month On 7/24/the administrative offices, including the Registrar, were moved from Oakland to San FranciscoIn addition, several members of the Registrar team left the UniversityThe Registrar did receive emails from the student on 7/31/and 8/27/15, but unfortunately,there was not enough staff to field all student requests in this period and some items went into a queueAt this time, the ID card machine had been packed and sorted for the moving companyDuring the move, the machine was damaged and replacement parts had to be orderedThe replacement parts arrived on 10/1/and the machine was operationally restored.The Registrar then processed the ID card requests and mailed the ID card to the student via FedEx overnightThe shipment is showing as received and the situation has been resolved directly with the student Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (2000, 9, 2015/10/09) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the [redacted] .) The ID has been receivedThank youI would just say that, in the future, communication should be a little better

Initial *** Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/07/30) */
Patten University is a self-paced, competency based universityIn order to be admitted to the University, the student must sign an enrollment agreementThis agreement details the student's tuition responsibility with standard and personalized
withdrawal schedulesBy signing the enrollment agreement, the student agrees to the withdrawal schedule and to their tuition responsibility
During summer break, the billing department is available to assist students with any billing needsDuring this time, we did not receive any notification from the student regarding his intent to withdrawAs such, we have processed the withdrawal request according to the policy that was agreed to in the enrollment agreement
The University has been in direct correspondence with this student concerning the withdrawal from the UniversityWhile the University does not agree that the balance should be waived in full, we have come to an amiable compromise

Initial [redacted] Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/09) */
As an open admissions institution, Patten University charges an enrollment fee rather than an application fee. This $100 fee is non-refundable.
The student signed an Enrollment Agreement with the University on January 9, 2015. The Enrollment...

agreement displays a personalized Withdrawal and Refund Schedule according to the student's tuition plan. Per the student's personalized schedule, the student would owe $100 for withdrawing anywhere between the enrollment date and week 2 of the term.
The student started her term at Patten University on February 2, 2015 and withdrew on February 9, 2015. Patten University's refund policy is to refund / waive 100% of the tuition, so the entire tuition due for the academic term was waived from the student's account. The student made one payment of $299 but it was returned, therefore, we waived the tuition from the students account. This waiver was processed in a timely manner. However, the enrollment fee is not subject to the refund policy.
Additionally, there are several notes from both the Onboarding Advisor and the Academic Advisor that show correspondence with the student. She also received messages from the Registrar's [redacted] who worked with the student in order to obtain previous transcripts and apply transfer credit. From these instances, it seems that the student was aware that she was enrolled in the University.
All tuition costs have been waived, but the University does not agree to waive the enrollment fee of $100.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/06/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the [redacted].)
The rep. Told me to sign that so that I can view the site . I never started any class. Audrey Cortes Told me I would not be billed.

Initial [redacted] Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/09/24) */
The former student's claim that Patten's courses are "void of any information needed to pass [redacted] and exams, in order to prolong your attendance" is without merit as demonstrated by the student's own behavior and external review of Patten's...

academic programs.
The individual had in fact passed [redacted] courses at Patten in one term and was attempting a third one in the same 16-week termthe Introduction to Film referenced in the letter. She had one month in which to finish this course. Students working full-time jobs (most of Patten's students) complete two courses a term. We also know from matriculation rates that Patten students who dedicate a full-time student effort to their courses complete on average between three and four courses. The claim that our online courses work to extend a student's time do not match either this particular student's pace or the average pace of students at Patten, per the university matriculation rates shared with our accreditor.
In this case, the student scored 52% on the initial assessment, which is taken at the beginning of the course to help the student understand how well he/she may know the general subject matter. The student's pre-final score was below passing [redacted] attempting only 36 of 50 items. The student is correct that she had to pass [redacted] pre-final in order to unlock the final exam, but that function is intended to make sure a student is ready to take the final exam. In this case, she clearly was not, due in large part because she had spent very little time studying course materials.
She never took the final exam in the film course, so her claim that the course resources are not related to this exam is not based on experience in this course. Patten's learning platform tracks a student's progress through the resources, and in this case, the student did not complete one graded course exercise or master any of the flashcards, and she accessed only a few unit resources.
The student and his/her instructor can see the "readiness bar" on the course dashboard. It helps a student know how prepared he/she is before attempting a summative assessment. In this case, she had done so little work that the algorithm indicated insufficient preparation across all eight units of the course. The only graded assignment she attempted was the final project. So claiming that the course resources are not connected to this summative assignment is not made from having actually studied the course resources.
It is also important to know that an instructor is not the person who evaluated a student's final project. Patten uses a blind review process for grading final projects. The evaluator did not have the student's name or know how little work she had done in the course. The evaluator follows a rubric which the instructor had encouraged the student to follow. The student expressed anxiety with writing a final paper after having not done so for many years and having no familiarity with APA style. Many returning students have this experience, and the instructor addressed it, as well as shared a resource on proper use of APA formatting. The student unfortunately failed the final project. To put her grade in perspective, the average final project grade for this course is 85.3%. Ninety-one percent of students pass [redacted] course with an average percentage grade of 82.6% (n = 377 students).
Patten's course development model systematically links course learning objectives to resources and summative assessments (e.g., final exams and final projects). As recently as June 2015, an external review by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), Patten's accrediting body, noted the quality of our course design process, student progress rates, and learning model mediated through our proprietary learning management system. The documentation also shows how Patten's student retention rates and satisfaction rates are above average for online university programs.
As noted above, and as her official Patten transcript will always show, the student passed [redacted] three-credit courses at Patten. She simply did not do the work sufficient to pass [redacted] third course. She could have appealed her final project grade, as any student has the right to do, but she chose not to. The student withdrew from the university on her own, not for cause for unsatisfactory academic progress because that standard did not apply.
According to the student's enrollment agreement, the student opted for the Undergraduate monthly plan. She agreed to pay a total of $1,400 for the term in four equal installments of $350 each. The withdrawal and refund schedule is clearly laid out in the enrollment agreement. The student was eligible for a prorated refund through Week 5 of the 16 week term. After Week 5, the student is not eligible for any type of refund or tuition adjustments. The student started her term on 4/20/15 and withdrew from the University on 8/9/15 (Week 16 of 16). This date is clearly outside of the time frame for any refunds or adjustments. The student paid all four installments of $350 and her account with the University is clear. In accordance with our withdrawal and refund policy, the University does not agree to refund any of the payments.

Initial [redacted] Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/10/05) */
Patten University received two email requests from the student on 7/7/15 and 7/9/15 respectively. The Registrar's [redacted] replied to the student on 7/10/15 notifying her that all ID card requests are processed in a batch at the end of the month....

On 7/24/15 the administrative offices, including the Registrar, were moved from Oakland to San Francisco. In addition, several members of the Registrar team left the University. The Registrar did receive emails from the student on 7/31/15 and 8/27/15, but unfortunately,there was not enough staff to field all student requests in this period and some items went into a queue. At this time, the ID card machine had been packed and sorted for the moving company. During the move, the machine was damaged and replacement parts had to be ordered. The replacement parts arrived on 10/1/15 and the machine was operationally restored.The Registrar then processed the ID card requests and mailed the ID card to the student via FedEx overnight. The shipment is showing as received and the situation has been resolved directly with the student.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 9, 2015/10/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the [redacted].)
The ID has been received. Thank you. I would just say that, in the future, communication should be a little better.