Pennsylvania College of Technology

August 3, Pennsylvania College of Technology received your communication on July President G [redacted] communicated with you on July regarding the need for additional time, to which you responded on JulyWe have since received permission of the former student to share elements of his educational record relevant to this matterOn behalf of President Davie Jane G [redacted] , l offer the attached as the College's response to the complaint filed by D [redacted] , a former student at the College (Revdex.com case identification [redacted] ).The claims made by [redacted] are unsubstantiated as you can see in the College's response, I will be happy to provide further information should you desire.Best Regards,Paul SVice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  Ms. S[redacted] is incorrect as the organization is not doing business under that title in the State of Florida. While Ms. S[redacted] continues to provide unfruitful response I will escalate the matter through another channel. Ms. S[redacted] should know that her representation of the college is an absolute embarrassment. 
Regards,
[redacted]

August 3, 2015
Pennsylvania College of Technology received your communication on 10 July 2015. President G[redacted] communicated with you on 20 July regarding the need for additional time, to which you responded on 21 July. We have since received permission of the former student to share...

elements of his educational record relevant to this matter. On behalf of President Davie Jane G[redacted], l offer the attached as the College's response to the complaint filed by D[redacted], a former student at the College (Revdex.com case identification [redacted]).The claims made by [redacted] are unsubstantiated as you can see in the College's response, I will be happy to provide further information should you desire.Best Regards,Paul S.
Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:- Administrators responsible for Statistics and Accounting courses, as well as Division Deans, serving as the investigators into matters in these courses under their purview, is a clear conflict of interest- The school claims that the Accounting instructor responded to a due date inquiry.  I have a copy of the email, and a follow-up complaint to the Dean of The School of Business (attached,) stating that the instructor did not respond.  This can be clearly proven via a formal email discovery initiated by the Revdex.com.- At no point did the Accounting instructor communicate that the due date discrepancies spread across the syllabus, the College's online portal, and the College's 3rd party education provider site were intended to "give the student more time."  Again, no indication as to why the discrepancies existed was given, as can be found in a (timestamped) discovery of the online portal and college email system.  Again, the instructor didn't explain the due date discrepancies or announce additional exercises at all.  Knowing what was expected of you was all a roll-of-the-dice.  Knowing when an exam is due is the difference between a.) having adequate time to prepare for a exam and b.) completely failing the exam because you missed the deadline.  This is not a minor discrepancy.- The Statistics courses were not well organized and the instructor's poor use of the English language is disruptive.  This can be demonstrated through a formal audit of the course by the Revdex.com.  My complaint did not indicate a communications problem with the Statistics instructor.  The Statistics instructor made claims that the college overburdened him and made him late in the delivery of course materials.  He also provided [redacted] links in lieu of lectures, leaving it to the students to determine what content was applicable to the course vs. what was not.  He cited that he could not guarantee that the links were safe.   The college has not commented on these specific complaints and is attempting a smokescreen. I take issue with paying for this as an "education," and ask for an email discovery on behalf of the Revdex.com for record of email / [redacted] system communications from [redacted] to the [redacted] course in Spring 2015.
- Having an "A" in all courses at the time of withdrawal was 100% of my own accord and not due to the college's delivery of educational content. The course materials were either nonexistent (Statistics) or not updated for current course materials (Accounting.)  I had to teach myself everything using resources external to the college's materials, a method I could not keep up with.  Again, my attempts to reign the college in went unanswered or responded to with things like "potentially unsafe" links to online video sites such as [redacted].- The previous course withdrawals took place nearly 15 years ago, as a young twenty-something student.  I am now a 35 year old adult. A closer look at my later course performance at the school (2009) will show consistent performance and no similar pattern.  The courses I took in 2009 were  delivered well, applicable to my job, and quite enjoyable, which is why I returned to continue my studies (I cited this in my original letter to Student Affairs.).  Finding the courses in this particular program to be sub-par for the reasons cited above, I took proactive measures to alleviate myself of being stuck in an unproductive, poorly delivered degree program.I am confident that the Revdex.com has concerns for prospective students of the BDT and Applied Management Distance Learning programs at Penn College.  The College's conflict-of-interest approach to resolving matters, denial of events that can be clearly tracked via email discovery, and hiding behind "policy" are indicative of an unwillingess to admit and repair flaws in their grossly overpriced programs.  Of the two parties involved in this matter, I ask which party is showing a concern for the consumer?I am willing to accept a tuition balance of $0 at Penn College with the understanding that I pay the [redacted] Student Loan balance of $2382.17 through [redacted] Financial Services. 
Regards,
[redacted]

August 3, 2015Pennsylvania College of Technology received your communication on 10 July 2015. President G[redacted] communicated with you on 20 July regarding the need for additional time, to which you responded on 21 July. We have since received permission of the former student to share elements of his...

educational record relevant to this matter. On behalf of President Davie Jane G[redacted], l offer the attached as the College's response to the complaint filed by D[redacted], a former student at the College (Revdex.com case identification [redacted]).The claims made by [redacted] are unsubstantiated as you can see in the College's response, I will be happy to provide further information should you desire.Best Regards,Paul S.Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

October 25, 2017Dear [redacted], Pennsylvania College of Technology certainly understands the financial investment our students make for their education, and we work diligently to help them succeed. It Is difficult when a student chooses to withdraw from school, and we make every ejffort to...

explain the ramifications of this action through face-to-face conversations and written notifications.Penn Coliege has a tuition-refund policy, which is explained to students several times throughout the matriculation process and again when a student is withdrawing from the College. In addition, when initially applying for financial aid, the student electronically agrees to the "Statement of educational purpose and crediting of financial aid funds for this and all future academic years at Pennsylvania College of Technology." Within this statement, the student acknowledges understanding, and accepts responsibility for, amounts due the College, as well as an understanding that, if payments are not made, an outside college agency will be utilized and fees assessed. When a student withdraws from the College, federal law requires that the College return loan funds to the lender based upon length of attendance. As a result of the return of Joan funds and the College's tuition-refund policy, an amount was due from the student.The student received nine billing notices over a nine-month period, including several notifications that the account would be sent to collection, and fees would be assessed by the agency. Over this nine-month period, the student never contacted the College; therefore, the account was turned over to collection in June 2016. The student contacted the College in May 2017, almost a year after the account had been sent to collection.The College adhered to policy and complied with federal regulations in this matter. The billing process at Penn College is very thorough, and students are given many opportunities to respond before we send accounts to the collection agency, which is what Was done in this case, to no avail.Sincerely,Suzanne S.Vice President for Finance/CFO

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
- Administrators responsible for Statistics and Accounting courses, as well as Division Deans, serving as the investigators into matters in these courses under their purview, is a clear conflict of interest
- The school claims that the Accounting instructor responded to a due date inquiry.  I have a copy of the email, and a follow-up complaint to the Dean of The School of Business (attached,) stating that the instructor did not respond.  This can be clearly proven via a formal email discovery initiated by the Revdex.com.
- At no point did the Accounting instructor communicate that the due date discrepancies spread across the syllabus, the College's online portal, and the College's 3rd party education provider site were intended to "give the student more time."  Again, no indication as to why the discrepancies existed was given, as can be found in a (timestamped) discovery of the online portal and college email system.  Again, the instructor didn't explain the due date discrepancies or announce additional exercises at all.  Knowing what was expected of you was all a roll-of-the-dice.  Knowing when an exam is due is the difference between a.) having adequate time to prepare for a exam and b.) completely failing the exam because you missed the deadline.  This is not a minor discrepancy.
- The Statistics courses were not well organized and the instructor's poor use of the English language is disruptive.  This can be demonstrated through a formal audit of the course by the Revdex.com.  My complaint did not indicate a communications problem with the Statistics instructor.  The Statistics instructor made claims that the college overburdened him and made him late in the delivery of course materials.  He also provided [redacted] links in lieu of lectures, leaving it to the students to determine what content was applicable to the course vs. what was not.  He cited that he could not guarantee that the links were safe.   The college has not commented on these specific complaints and is attempting a smokescreen. I take issue with paying for this as an "education," and ask for an email discovery on behalf of the Revdex.com for record of email / [redacted] system communications from [redacted] to the [redacted] course in Spring 2015.- Having an "A" in all courses at the time of withdrawal was 100% of my own accord and not due to the college's delivery of educational content. The course materials were either nonexistent (Statistics) or not updated for current course materials (Accounting.)  I had to teach myself everything using resources external to the college's materials, a method I could not keep up with.  Again, my attempts to reign the college in went unanswered or responded to with things like "potentially unsafe" links to online video sites such as [redacted].
- The previous course withdrawals took place nearly 15 years ago, as a young twenty-something student.  I am now a 35 year old adult. A closer look at my later course performance at the school (2009) will show consistent performance and no similar pattern.  The courses I took in 2009 were  delivered well, applicable to my job, and quite enjoyable, which is why I returned to continue my studies (I cited this in my original letter to Student Affairs.).  Finding the courses in this particular program to be sub-par for the reasons cited above, I took proactive measures to alleviate myself of being stuck in an unproductive, poorly delivered degree program.
I am confident that the Revdex.com has concerns for prospective students of the BDT and Applied Management Distance Learning programs at Penn College.  The College's conflict-of-interest approach to resolving matters, denial of events that can be clearly tracked via email discovery, and hiding behind "policy" are indicative of an unwillingess to admit and repair flaws in their grossly overpriced programs.  Of the two parties involved in this matter, I ask which party is showing a concern for the consumer?
I am willing to accept a tuition balance of $0 at Penn College with the understanding that I pay the [redacted] Student Loan balance of $2382.17 through [redacted] Financial Services. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: I am currently a student at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. During my time here I have learned not to purchase my books and supplies through the college book store because of the ridiculous amount they mark up their books. Being the sole person responsible for my mortgage and bills, as well as college education, I find it fits better into my budget to purchase the books online through site's such as [redacted] and [redacted]. In December I purchased my books for a Sociology class, only to find out when the class began that the books listed for the course by the college bookstore were incorrect. So after learning of the correct text I would need I went back online where I could purchase the book for $0.99 as opposed to the $10.00 the Penn College bookstore was charging. Well long story short, something happened with the shipping and three weeks into the semester I still had not received my book. Assuming that it was lost in the mail (nothing came up when I would enter the tracking number), I went to the college bookstore to purchase the book, only to go home that same night and realize that the book had been delivered that day. Within 24 hours I returned to the book store to return the book.

Now I understand that every store, including the college book store, has a return policy that is to be upheld, after all I have worked in retail management for over 10 years and I am very familiar when it comes to return policy issues. That is not necessarily what my complaint is about. My complaint is the way that the bookstore manager, [redacted], handled the issue. Instead of simply coming out and explaining the return policy to me, he more so went on a rant talking down to me as if I were simply too stupid to understand the policy. He immediately accused me of holding him responsible for [redacted]'s actions after I merely explained to him the situation. He then proceed to compare the book store to a library asking me why I did not just go to a library if I were looking for a place to lend the book out to me. Again, I felt as though rather than trying to understand my situation he was simply talking down to me as if I simply was not on his level of intelligence. I then asked him if I could simply sell the book back since I had no use for two copies of the same text and he responded that it would not even be worth his time based on the subject matter of the book and the fact that the book was a paperback edition.

I feel as though his actions and demeanor were not only very inappropriate, but also greatly conflicting with the mission statement of the Penn College Bookstore that states:

"The mission of the College Store at Penn College is to provide outstanding value through the products and services we offer to our students while following sound business practices and to promote the positive image of the College and its students."

In no way shape or form did this individual follow a sound business practice. In all of my experiences with other businesses, the customer is given the opportunity to be heard without being ridiculed immediately. In any other business setting, behavior like this by any sales associate or manager would be completely unacceptable. In no way is this individual promoting a positive image of the college and it's students. I know that I, as a student am completely embarrassed if this is the type of individual that the college finds acceptable in representing them.Desired Settlement: Again, my complaint here is really not about the return policy, but the absolutely disgusting behavior of the individual that is supposed to be promoting a positive image of the college and the college bookstore. If he was so quick to talk to me in this manner, I cannot imagine how he interacts with other individuals that may come to him with other issues. I feel that not only as a student, but as a person I should not be talked to in this manner, nor treated with such disrespect. A simple explanation of the policy as well as an apology for not being able to do anything would have sufficed.

Business

Response:

February 18, 2014

Dear [redacted]:

Thank you for following up with complaint ID [redacted]. I have attempted to contact the customer by phone five times; 2/10/14 a.m., 2/10/14 p.m., 2/11/14 p.m., 2/12/14 a.m., 2/18/14 a.m. and also by email on 21/14/14. I have not received a response from her. I will

continue my attempts to contact her for resolution.

Sincerely,