Sessions College

I have reviewed the response 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.

 

 

What he says actually is inaccurate. To graduate for the coursework I paid for it will take me not 9 more lessons but rather about 40 lessons, or 1-2 years at the rate they slow you down with silly do nothing Teachers. The 9 more lessons is for the 4 month certificate but I went for a 1 year certificate which is much more advanced. I paid for a one year certificate with my hard earned Veteran's benefits and couldn't even finish a 6 month certificate because the program designs it that way so you have to keep paying monthly fees to keep trying to finish because all the Teachers are in collusion and are paid by the administration to give lower grades not passing you. 

Do a [redacted] search, it is all right there, easily surmised from others that experienced the same things. That is why they never assist you or answer your questions and when you follow the Syllabus to the T you still get D's and F's, for C and B work, because you are not meant to finish, the degree plan is a scam, no one finishes, no one graduates except the ones that have a lot of money to keep paying those that hold your degree or certificate hostage. These people are scammers, rip off artists that oversell what your getting and never let you graduate because certain gatekeeper Teachers will not let you through which were originally encouraged to grade that way. These characters should be charged for fraud and sued by the Veteran's Administration for the way they treat our Heroes. The public at large should not put up with these systematic discriminatory treatment of our Hero Veterans that are just trying to get into the workforce to support their families. 

What a bunch of gobble gook that is illegible and undecipherable. Just by reading this which is supposed be the highest in the Sessions Administration one can see the inability of Sessions to communicate and provide the education it claims it is providing. Can you see this ridiculous response? Does this look like a college you wish to give money to? 

At least 2/3rds of the coursework material of this school is extremely unedited with many many mistakes, so many even it is not clear what the assignments are assuming you even have a fair grading Teacher there in which 2/3rds of them have their heads so high up in the clouds they are completely out of touch with any form of reality as far as the material they are Teaching. Like I said I really doubt more than 5% of the Veterans that attend this online school graduate. Even by their own web site only 43% graduate which means they are ruining 57% of peoples lives with worthless expenses, unpaid student loans because of no jobs since they have no degree when they leave. 

This Sessions Veterans Liaison acts as if a 43% graduation rate is something to be proud of, what a bunch of nonsensical administration officials. I stand by what I stated, I hardly doubt more then 5% of the Veterans that attend this school online ever graduated. Notice how he blames the victims, the veterans, for not graduating as if it is their fault. I found most of the teachers at this institution prejudiced in their attitudes to Veterans and purposely giving them lower grades because they hate Veterans at this school. The Department of Education should investigate this school and its dismal treatment of Veterans that protect their freedoms. 

This school is a farce that pretends to provide an education but rather for most that attend it provides student loans and large debt. The teachers do not even know the material they teach most of the time, refusing to answer what should be easy questions on the material. I couldn't understand this at first but soon realized the Teachers did not even know what they were doing. . 

The teachers hardly ever help you when you ask them for assistance and ignore you requests as if they think they are not required to answer your questions. They do not grade according to the syllabus and hand how D's and F's because they know if you have to keep paying them they can keep charging more money. Most of the time the lower grades they hand out so willingly has absolutely nothing to do with the material being taught and has more to do with artistic differences. If you wish to learn web design attend the local community college and save all the money and it will be a much better value. This school rips people off by them thinking they are paying for credits but in reality they are paying by the month and the school charges more to finish a degree or certificate because of all the crazy teachers they have. For those that have had similar experiences as Veterans send an email to me at [redacted] so we may unite on this matter.

I noticed you put a whole lot of information that had absolutely nothing to do with the issues at hand. Are you just trying to confuse the investigation Lou? Lou also has difficult adding which is not unusual for this administration nor the Teachers and the lack of the material being edited by a copywriter. 11 months were paid, [redacted] is a twelve month program. My first month paid was 3/11/2013. You might want to count on your fingers for this one Lou. If you have to take your shoes off it is okay we do not mind. Counting months now from Mar 11-2013 till my last payment made which was 1-15-2014. Now count them Lou, slowly, that is 11 months. That means we are in dispute over one month until I graduate, but I cannot graduate because you guys blocked me from the web site. You guys are going to hold my certificate hostage so I am going to d the same and that puts us in issue doesn't it. But I also want a refund over the other 2/3rds of the over charges of the program because of over all incompetence of not only the teachers but the material not being copy-edited and full of many mistakes in the program. That means you owe me 2/3rds of what I paid in.

After weeding through all his nonsense, I mean goodness, is this guy like making any sense at all? I tried to answer his statement numbers one by one after the above statement. 

1.  This is silly and has nothing to do with the reason I am claiming you defrauded me and countless other Veterans because of structural problems with the programs themselves, this editing issues, insufficient teachers, graduation rates of Veterans throughout the year, last year in question. Just because a bank or stockbroker is pre-approved and licensed by the government or a government agency has absolutely nothing to do with what occurred or whether there were many defrauded. for example the Bernie Madoff investment Brokerage he founded was regulated by the government, they were a licensed brokerage firm that broke the rules in their licensing. Just because they are licensed or approved by the government does not predict future behavior and whether they will defraud or cheat those in the future. By his own admission tens of thousands of Veterans attended Sessions college in the last year. What are the graduation percentages of this particular group of Veterans only, not mixed in with all the other students? His answers in 1 have absolutely nothing to do with my accusations nor the facts and is nothing but a smoke screen to confuse those that read this. 

 

2.    Oh? Then why do you charge additional to complete the program after the 3 months which is completely useless if a person does not have the money to continue anyway. This is all semantics and once again another smoke screen to confuse the investigator. I call it tuition you call it a monthly Internet fee but the bottom line it all comes out of the students pocket and is a fee that must be paid to finish coursework to graduate. I feel like I am being taught by [redacted] and life is a bunch of chocolates. Tuition by definition is any fee that must be paid to graduate and get the degree, plain and simple.

3.    So this is where you tell the Teachers that to grade effectively they must give out D's and F,s Huh? This is the proof in the pudding so to speak. If they truly were skilled teachers they would not have to be told by the administration how they should grade. this is the proof of how this school has set the guidelines of how the Teachers grade resulting in a huge similar grading scale that results in a much more favorable larger percentage of non-graduates resulting in considerable more profit for the school and administrators. I would also guess these Teachers are paid a commission percentage of each student taught which would also encourage greed and corruption among teachers holding their students hostage to repeating coursework. It is amazing that always in organizations that claim they are good there always are systems that were placed that encouraged this same corruption. 

  

4.  I noticed you completely ignored the graduation rate of Veterans in this [redacted] program. Why is that? I think because you are hiding the truth on this. I stand by my statement that I doubt more than 5% of the [redacted] veterans graduated from your program because of you institutional incompetence.   

5.    No you did not address anything.  Once again lies and inconsistencies. Try about 40 lessons. Gosh your in the upper administration at the college and you really do not even yourself know what is going on. Also, even if it was 9 lesson which it is not it is 40 lessons, 9 lessons gosh is like 3 months or more in your very incompetent college. I remember one month I could only get one lesson complete and the Teacher would not even tell me how to fix it. Lies, more lies and deception of the weak veterans  stealing money from the Veterans Administration. What a worthless college you are. Also you have done absolutely nothing in any attempt to address the real issues at hand and you people are nothing but a bunch of fraudsters trying to get rich stepping on the backs of our hero Veterans in this country. If you were truly honest college you would allow those that did not finish on time giving them like 5 years to graduate. The reason you do not do that is because you all taught the teachers to give D's and F's even when not necessary to line your own pockets with Veteran gold. I am interested to see what happens in your next audit. I think Veterans will not put up with this nonsense when you stole millions from them over this last year.

 

6.    There were no fees, so he is adding on fees here too. Nothing but lies after lies at this College. what a joke. These Jokers  cannot even add properly, it is eleven months and there were no fees and 11 months were paid, last month withheld until graduation which is any reasonable person would do after eleven months of them ignoring complaints on many many incompetent teachers, ignoring many many complaints of substandard unedited not up to date lessons. what I am claiming is not fraudulent, in fact the Veteran's Administration gives Veterans the right to manage the payments for precisely these reasons. Before the VA would pay the college even if the veteran complained to the VA and then the VA's benefits would be wasted. They are doing it this way so the Veterans are empowered to hold the schools accountable to teh original agreement, for a reason such as this. This school defrauded me and countless veterans and I stand by my claims and hope to have my day in court in the State of Minnesota. Totally not redundant and NOT answered above.  

 

[redacted] (attended and paid 11 months with one month left held back until graduation, no fees due as originally agreed upon)

I apologize

in advance, but this response will be lengthy as a result of the seriousness of

the false accusations, the fact that Sessions College needs to provide much

information in defending its position, and the need for germane background

information on the VA program the student is currently enrolled, and the

credentials of the College.

Sessions College of Professional Design (Sessions)

Credentials

 

1.    

Fully licensed in the State of Arizona as an Institution of

Higher Learning (IHL).

2.    

Regionally Accredited by Middle States.

3.    

Nationally Accredited by Distance Education Training Council.

4.    

Approved by the [redacted] as an IHL and a

Title IV school.

5.    

Approved by the Veterans Administration and the [redacted] to offer programs to veterans, active duty service members, spouse and

family members.

6.    

Member of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC).

Sessions College has been a member of this elite group of colleges &

universities since 2009. Currently there are only 1900 schools nationwide that

have been accepted into this Program.

7.    

Early signatory of the President’s Executive Order #[redacted] and

the Department of Defense’s Tuition Assistance Memorandum of Understanding.

8.     Any/all

information about the College, its programs, missions statements, students,

student galleries, etc, can be viewed by accessing the College’s website…[redacted].

 

[redacted] Program – Department of Labor program, administered by

the VA, that the student in question is enrolled. Link to the government

program the student applied for… [redacted]

 

The

following information was extracted directly from the landing page on the

VA.gov website that includes information on the [redacted] program.

What is the [redacted] Program?

offers up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed Veterans who:

Are at least 35 but no more than 60 years old

Are unemployed on the date of application

Received an other than dishonorable discharge

Are not eligible for any other VA education

benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill,

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Assistance)

Are not in receipt of VA compensation due to

unemployability

Are not enrolled in a federal or state job

training program

To

date, VA has received and processed more than 143,000 [redacted] applications. Of

over 126,000 approved applicants, more than 74,000 have enrolled in a training

program.

VA has paid more than $700,000,000 in [redacted] benefits to unemployed

Veterans, age 35-60.

Veterans who have already been approved for

[redacted] but are not currently enrolled in a training program can enroll and

begin receiving benefits from now until March 31, 2014.

Veterans who enroll in a training program

today will not receive the full 12-month training benefit. Training

benefits will be paid through March 31, 2014.

Participants

must attend full-time in order to receive up to 12 months of assistance equal

to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill–Active Duty

program ($1,564 effective October 1, 2012 and $1,648 effective October 1,

2013). DOL will offer employment assistance to every Veteran who participates

upon completion of the program. [redacted] benefits can only be paid for full-time

training. You will not receive benefits for any time period during which your

training drops below full-time. This includes situations in which one or more

of your classes ends before the others.

Participants

must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community

college or technical school. The program must lead to an Associate Degree,

Non-College Degree, or a Certificate, and train the Veteran for a high demand

occupation.

will provide training for programs of education that lead to a high demand

occupation, as determined by the Department of Labor.

How

student becomes [redacted] eligible?

1.    

Student

must apply directly to the VA to ensure that they meet the criteria for the

[redacted] program.

2.    

If

student is approved, they will receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from

the VA.

3.    

Student

evaluates colleges to attend, and once decided, completes a form, and submits

said form to the VA. Form will indicate the name of the College and the program

desired, including start and end dates and tuition for the program.

4.    

Once

student completes paperwork in #3, he/she notifies the College. The College

must complete a form identifying the student and the program to the VA, and

submit. Only Programs that are approved by the VA will be accepted.

5.    

If/when, #’s 1-4 are completed satisfactorily, the

student is now approved to proceed to Orientation.

In summary, the student only attends Sessions after

they have selected their College, selected their Program at said College, are cognizant

of the start & end dates of the Program, total tuition, and any fees

associated with their approved payment plan.

Certain factors germane to the Customer’s Statement of the Problem are critical as further

background information…

1.     Student only begins his/her Program after all of

the above is completed, and after he/she receives an Enrollment Agreement (EA)

from the College. Before the student can begin Orientation, they must read,

understand and accept the EA. The EA includes but is not limited to Program

details, schedule of classes, tuition, Refund & Withdrawal Policy (if

applicable), and Admissions Policy.

2.     Student receives a Student Handbook outlining

grading policies and criteria, expected behavior of student, etc.

3.     Student receives an Academic Policies Guidelines so

they know what is expected from them, on a month-to-month basis, as it relates

to academic progress.

4.     Critical in this [redacted] program…the students tuition

is FIXED, unless they withdraw or change their Program. This was never the case

with this student.

5.     Student is paid directly by the VA, usually the 1st

week of the month. Student must verify

by calling the VA on the last day of the month or the 1st day of the

next month, that they attended school full time.

6.     Student pays in the arrears. So, student is always

ahead of the College as it relates to tuition payments. Example, student attends

classes the month of January 2014…student verifies at end of January, VA pays

monthly stipend to the student during the 1st week of February.

Student pays the College on or about February 10th. In summary, the

College is always chasing tuition.

7.     College provides every [redacted] student a payment plan

so that they never have to pay money “out-of-pocket”, but only after they

receive their stipend from the VA.

8.     Stipend as noted above in the “What is the [redacted] Program” is a monthly stipend. Tuition for this

student is $965 per month. Following is the actual invoice and payment plan

presented and paid by the student. Student elected to pay by credit card…

·       

Paid $965 on 3/11/2013

·       

Paid $200 on 4/11/2013 – refused to pay tuition. Needed the

money for other things. Allowed him to continue and make payments over the next

couple of months.

·       

Paid 1347.50 on 5/8/2014

·       

Paid 1347.50 on 6/8/2014

·       

Paid $965 on the following dates…7/12, 8/10, 9/13, 10/12,

11/12, 12/10, 2013

·       

Paid $965 on 1/15/2014.

·       

Student

refused to make tuition payment in February even though her verified for the

month and collected his stipend from the VA. If student does not pay by e-o-w,

student will be terminated for “non payment of tuition”.

·       

Total collected for tuition = $10,615.00

·       

Student

by contract owes two (2) additional tuition payments.

 

Customer’s

Statement of the Problem.  I have

determined that the only way to effectively answer the student’s “complaint” is

to dissect his statements, and respond to each line item.

1.    

Sessions.edu is stealing money from Veterans by aggressive marking

tactics and tuition charges that are not considered standard for colleges

across the country. All military programs, including [redacted] are preapproved by the

VA, and contained in a document that the VA representative checks prior to

approving the students’ education. Tuition for all military students is

consistent based on the category of the benefit and the specific Program. In

this student’s case, the tuition is the same as every [redacted] student of like

program, is provided as part of their EA, and cannot and never is the student

charged more than that which is outlined and approved on VA Form 22-1999.

2.    

They have many teachers that give D's and F's when passing work

has been done to delay graduation and advancement so they can make more money

by charging a monthly fee the longer it takes to graduate. I thought my [redacted]

benefits covered the entire certificate only to find there a monthly fee

($1000) to continue and finish the program that would have been finished if

they were grading properly. Grades have nothing to do

with tuition unless the student is dismissed for Academic Reasons. As it

relates to this student, this is not the case. Further, any extension beyond

the term of the Program defined in the EA, would not warrant any additional tuition

for [redacted] students. This particular student is only 9 lessons from graduation.

His Program ends on 2/28/2014. We have offered and he has accepted a three (3)

month extension (thru 5/31/2014) and no cost, so that he can complete his

Certificates. Why his complaints so close to graduation is perplexing. Btw, all

[redacted] students are offered a three (3) month, no charge extension, if needed, to

complete their Program.

3.    

So 2/3rd's of their

teachers and lessons are incompetent and unedited to the point that there are

numerous mistakes and great confusion in their lesson plans. Veterans think

they are paying by the credit but in fact graduation is held hostage by a bunch

of corrupt teachers that support the institution by handing out unfair grades

not allowing one to pass. All instructors are

evaluated on an ongoing basis by a Sessions’ executive. Sessions instructors

are evaluated and meet the criteria of excellence as defined by the Department

of Education, and/or our accreditors. Sessions instructors must also complete

& pass a rigorous “in-house” course as to “How to Effectively Teach

Online”. In addition, all instructors are evaluated by the College on a

semi-annual basis, and by each student on a course-by-course basis. All of

these evaluations become part of the Instructor’s file and If the instructor(s)

does not meet the guidelines for excellence as defined by the College, the

instructor is warned, and if the issue is not cured, they are released.

Incidentally, our instructors are paid by “lessons graded”. It does not behoove

the instructor to fail someone, as a failing grade is not considered a “lesson

graded”.

4.    

I doubt more than 5% of Veterans graduate in this institution. So false, and no basis for his 5% graduation rate comment. that steals [redacted] funds The fact remains, the Collect collects tuition in the arrears. [redacted]

students are always paid in advance of the College receiving payment. Tuth be

told, Sessions has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on students that “verified”,

were paid by the VA, and did not pay the College.

5.    

Sessions is also using unfair aggressive marketing tactics where

most students that go through their doors believe they are paying by the credit

but in reality once everything s pushed past the graduation dates the student

must pay a monthly fee to continue the education at their college. Addressed in #2 above.  This unfair fraudulent technique of charging

students is not used in general across the country by most colleges. This

unfair practice results in Sessions as holding the students as hostage to have

to keep paying them to obtain the proper credentials to gain equal access to

the employment process of obtaining a job. This

statement is especially upsetting since the student is only 9 lessons away from

completing his Program. That is approximately 45 days of work. I personally

have repeatedly asked him to stop this crusade, complete his education, graduate

& receive his Certificates, and if he still wants to make issues, go ahead.

And again, the extension beyond the end date of his Program (2/28/2014), is

offered at “no cost”.  This is a violation of

the civil rights of Veterans and those they choose to block as they are not

allowed the liberty to compete in the market place being blocked so this

college can line their pockets with monies on the backs of the poverty stricken

and veterans in this country. As part of being a college

that is entitled to offer Programs to VA students, we are audited on an annual

basis. The VA audit Sessions annually.. including, but not limited to Program

terms & conditions, web site materials, tuition rates, student EA’s, VA

forms, Learning Management System, education records, etc. The due diligence

completed by the VA, and the College’s desire to remain an elite art &

design school make this accusation absurd.

6.    

Sessions college is encouraging its teachers to issue lower grades

to block and delay graduation rates so they can charge and make more money

forcing students to pay a monthly fee to continue taking the coursework to

graduate. This is unfair and deceptive business practice since it does not

follow the norm in society at large when compared to colleges across the united

states, most charge no monthly fee and charge by the credit. Totally redundant and answered above.

 

Purchase Price: $12000.00. Amount is incorrect, total tuition = $11,350. With fees the

students total = $11,580. Student has only paid to date = $10,615.

Disputed Amount: $8000.00. Please be advised that what the student is requesting is fraudulent.

The student has collected $17,456 from the VA, and any refund that is deemed

required would be made by the VA, and repaid to the VA. To request additional

money from the College actually shows the Revdex.com and anyone else looking at these

documents, where the fraudulent behavior lies.

Note: only 9 lessons short

of completing and he refuses to do any work. He refuses to pay last month’s

tuition. He was given a free 3 month extension to complete. Who is holding

“who” hostage. VA is receiving no value for their dollar.

Desired Settlement: 2/3rd's of amount paid

in tuition over the last year should be refunded. Again, fraudulent request. Incidentally, all of this response and

the Revdex.com inquiry will be forwarded to the VA and Department of Justice for their

action.

The Better Business B should issue a scathing report

exposing these unethical practices being used against these poor unemployed

Veterans, and those using public monies like Pell Grants, Student loans as

such, who are also using using VA benefits, and these other public monies to

attend school thus allowing open public scrutiny by past and present students

in the grading process, complaint process, charging process, graduation rates,

and all statistics that the public can learn from to correct incompetent institutions

and teachers that steal from the public dole in various ways by allowing

institutional corruption to continue that increase student loan defaults

dramatically as becoming heavy weights upon the poverty stricken class of

society as a whole. I am a veteran, taxpayer and an educator, and I applaud

Sessions College for consistently passing their many annual audits by AZ state,

our accreditors, the DoD, the VA and the DoE. All the statistics that the

student mentions above are required by law and are available on our website…if

he only took the time to review…

Sessions.edu should be investigated on their [redacted]

graduation rates in the last year, and the overall graduation rates over the

last 5 years. Prior veterans students that did not graduate should be

interviewed to determine the cause of the low graduation rates of this college.  As mentioned above, we are

audited annually. In addition, our Certificate graduation rates are published,

as are all of our Title IV students that receive funding from DoE.

Apologize for the length of this response, but I feel that I cannot

effectively tell our story without the detail. It is also important to note,

that any/all conversations that the student had with Admissions prior to his

signing his EA are archived. In addition, all phone calls made to Student

Services are also logged, as are a plethora of e-mails penned between the

student and various employees of the College, including myself.

Finally, you have requested in your letter that…”If you prefer, the customer may be

contacted directly to resolve this matter”… I

have tried repeatedly. I have the e-mail documentation to prove it. I would

much rather you spend your time on other matters, and the student on his

finishing his Program. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a positive

resolution…too bad he is so close to graduation.

 

Best Regards,

 

EVP & Military Liaison

Sessions College for Professional Desing

Ms. [redacted],

Please allow

me to respond to complaint ID#:[redacted].

I apologize

in advance, but this response will be lengthy as a result of the seriousness of

the false accusations, the fact that Sessions College needs to provide much

information in defending its position, and the need...

for germane background

information on the VA program the student is currently enrolled, and the

credentials of the College.

Sessions College of Professional Design (Sessions)

Credentials

 

1.    

Fully licensed in the State of Arizona as an Institution of

Higher Learning (IHL).

2.    

Regionally Accredited by Middle States.

3.    

Nationally Accredited by Distance Education Training Council.

4.    

Approved by the Depart of Education (DoE) as an IHL and a

Title IV school.

5.    

Approved by the Veterans Administration and the Department of

Defense to offer programs to veterans, active duty service members, spouse and

family members.

6.    

Member of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC).

Sessions College has been a member of this elite group of colleges &

universities since 2009. Currently there are only 1900 schools nationwide that

have been accepted into this Program.

7.    

Early signatory of the President’s Executive Order #[redacted] and

the Department of Defense’s Tuition Assistance Memorandum of Understanding.

8.     Any/all

information about the College, its programs, missions statements, students,

student galleries, etc, can be viewed by accessing the College’s website…[redacted].

 

[redacted] Program – Department of Labor program, administered by

the VA, that the student in question is enrolled. Link to the government

program the student applied for… [redacted]

 

The

following information was extracted directly from the landing page on the

VA.gov website that includes information on the [redacted] program.

What is the [redacted] Program?

offers up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed Veterans who:

Are at least 35 but no more than 60 years oldAre unemployed on the date of applicationReceived an other than dishonorable dischargeAre not eligible for any other VA education

benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill,

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Assistance)Are not in receipt of VA compensation due to

unemployabilityAre not enrolled in a federal or state job

training program

To

date, VA has received and processed more than 143,000 [redacted] applications. Of

over 126,000 approved applicants, more than 74,000 have enrolled in a training

program.

VA has paid more than $700,000,000 in [redacted] benefits to unemployed

Veterans, age 35-60.

Veterans who have already been approved for

[redacted] but are not currently enrolled in a training program can enroll and

begin receiving benefits from now until March 31, 2014.Veterans who enroll in a training program

today will not receive the full 12-month training benefit. Training

benefits will be paid through March 31, 2014.

Participants

must attend full-time in order to receive up to 12 months of assistance equal

to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill–Active Duty

program ($1,564 effective October 1, 2012 and $1,648 effective October 1,

2013). DOL will offer employment assistance to every Veteran who participates

upon completion of the program. [redacted] benefits can only be paid for full-time

training. You will not receive benefits for any time period during which your

training drops below full-time. This includes situations in which one or more

of your classes ends before the others.

Participants

must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community

college or technical school. The program must lead to an Associate Degree,

Non-College Degree, or a Certificate, and train the Veteran for a high demand

occupation.

will provide training for programs of education that lead to a high demand

occupation, as determined by the Department of Labor.

How

student becomes [redacted] eligible?

1.    

Student

must apply directly to the VA to ensure that they meet the criteria for the

[redacted] program.

2.    

If

student is approved, they will receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from

the VA.

3.    

Student

evaluates colleges to attend, and once decided, completes a form, and submits

said form to the VA. Form will indicate the name of the College and the program

desired, including start and end dates and tuition for the program.

4.    

Once

student completes paperwork in #3, he/she notifies the College. The College

must complete a form identifying the student and the program to the VA, and

submit. Only Programs that are approved by the VA will be accepted.

5.    

If/when, #’s 1-4 are completed satisfactorily, the

student is now approved to proceed to Orientation.

In summary, the student only attends Sessions after

they have selected their College, selected their Program at said College, are cognizant

of the start & end dates of the Program, total tuition, and any fees

associated with their approved payment plan.

Certain factors germane to the Customer’s Statement of the Problem are critical as further

background information…

1.     Student only begins his/her Program after all of

the above is completed, and after he/she receives an Enrollment Agreement (EA)

from the College. Before the student can begin Orientation, they must read,

understand and accept the EA. The EA includes but is not limited to Program

details, schedule of classes, tuition, Refund & Withdrawal Policy (if

applicable), and Admissions Policy.

2.     Student receives a Student Handbook outlining

grading policies and criteria, expected behavior of student, etc.

3.     Student receives an Academic Policies Guidelines so

they know what is expected from them, on a month-to-month basis, as it relates

to academic progress.

4.     Critical in this [redacted] program…the students tuition

is FIXED, unless they withdraw or change their Program. This was never the case

with this student.

5.     Student is paid directly by the VA, usually the 1st

week of the month. Student must verify

by calling the VA on the last day of the month or the 1st day of the

next month, that they attended school full time.

6.     Student pays in the arrears. So, student is always

ahead of the College as it relates to tuition payments. Example, student attends

classes the month of January 2014…student verifies at end of January, VA pays

monthly stipend to the student during the 1st week of February.

Student pays the College on or about February 10th. In summary, the

College is always chasing tuition.

7.     College provides every [redacted] student a payment plan

so that they never have to pay money “out-of-pocket”, but only after they

receive their stipend from the VA.

8.     Stipend as noted above in the “What is the [redacted] Program” is a monthly stipend. Tuition for this

student is $965 per month. Following is the actual invoice and payment plan

presented and paid by the student. Student elected to pay by credit card…

·       

Paid $965 on 3/11/2013

·       

Paid $200 on 4/11/2013 – refused to pay tuition. Needed the

money for other things. Allowed him to continue and make payments over the next

couple of months.

·       

Paid 1347.50 on 5/8/2014

·       

Paid 1347.50 on 6/8/2014

·       

Paid $965 on the following dates…7/12, 8/10, 9/13, 10/12,

11/12, 12/10, 2013

·       

Paid $965 on 1/15/2014.

·       

Student

refused to make tuition payment in February even though her verified for the

month and collected his stipend from the VA. If student does not pay by e-o-w,

student will be terminated for “non payment of tuition”.

·       

Total collected for tuition = $10,615.00

·       

Student

by contract owes two (2) additional tuition payments.

 

Customer’s

Statement of the Problem.  I have

determined that the only way to effectively answer the student’s “complaint” is

to dissect his statements, and respond to each line item.

1.    

Sessions.edu is stealing money from Veterans by aggressive marking

tactics and tuition charges that are not considered standard for colleges

across the country. All military programs, including [redacted] are preapproved by the

VA, and contained in a document that the VA representative checks prior to

approving the students’ education. Tuition for all military students is

consistent based on the category of the benefit and the specific Program. In

this student’s case, the tuition is the same as every [redacted] student of like

program, is provided as part of their EA, and cannot and never is the student

charged more than that which is outlined and approved on VA Form 22-1999.

2.    

They have many teachers that give D's and F's when passing work

has been done to delay graduation and advancement so they can make more money

by charging a monthly fee the longer it takes to graduate. I thought my [redacted]

benefits covered the entire certificate only to find there a monthly fee

($1000) to continue and finish the program that would have been finished if

they were grading properly. Grades have nothing to do

with tuition unless the student is dismissed for Academic Reasons. As it

relates to this student, this is not the case. Further, any extension beyond

the term of the Program defined in the EA, would not warrant any additional tuition

for [redacted] students. This particular student is only 9 lessons from graduation.

His Program ends on 2/28/2014. We have offered and he has accepted a three (3)

month extension (thru 5/31/2014) and no cost, so that he can complete his

Certificates. Why his complaints so close to graduation is perplexing. Btw, all

[redacted] students are offered a three (3) month, no charge extension, if needed, to

complete their Program.

3.    

So 2/3rd's of their

teachers and lessons are incompetent and unedited to the point that there are

numerous mistakes and great confusion in their lesson plans. Veterans think

they are paying by the credit but in fact graduation is held hostage by a bunch

of corrupt teachers that support the institution by handing out unfair grades

not allowing one to pass. All instructors are

evaluated on an ongoing basis by a Sessions’ executive. Sessions instructors

are evaluated and meet the criteria of excellence as defined by the Department

of Education, and/or our accreditors. Sessions instructors must also complete

& pass a rigorous “in-house” course as to “How to Effectively Teach

Online”. In addition, all instructors are evaluated by the College on a

semi-annual basis, and by each student on a course-by-course basis. All of

these evaluations become part of the Instructor’s file and If the instructor(s)

does not meet the guidelines for excellence as defined by the College, the

instructor is warned, and if the issue is not cured, they are released.

Incidentally, our instructors are paid by “lessons graded”. It does not behoove

the instructor to fail someone, as a failing grade is not considered a “lesson

graded”.

4.    

I doubt more than 5% of Veterans graduate in this institution. So false, and no basis for his 5% graduation rate comment. that steals [redacted] funds The fact remains, the Collect collects tuition in the arrears. [redacted]

students are always paid in advance of the College receiving payment. Tuth be

told, Sessions has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on students that “verified”,

were paid by the VA, and did not pay the College.

5.    

Sessions is also using unfair aggressive marketing tactics where

most students that go through their doors believe they are paying by the credit

but in reality once everything s pushed past the graduation dates the student

must pay a monthly fee to continue the education at their college. Addressed in #2 above.  This unfair fraudulent technique of charging

students is not used in general across the country by most colleges. This

unfair practice results in Sessions as holding the students as hostage to have

to keep paying them to obtain the proper credentials to gain equal access to

the employment process of obtaining a job. This

statement is especially upsetting since the student is only 9 lessons away from

completing his Program. That is approximately 45 days of work. I personally

have repeatedly asked him to stop this crusade, complete his education, graduate

& receive his Certificates, and if he still wants to make issues, go ahead.

And again, the extension beyond the end date of his Program (2/28/2014), is

offered at “no cost”.  This is a violation of

the civil rights of Veterans and those they choose to block as they are not

allowed the liberty to compete in the market place being blocked so this

college can line their pockets with monies on the backs of the poverty stricken

and veterans in this country. As part of being a college

that is entitled to offer Programs to VA students, we are audited on an annual

basis. The VA audit Sessions annually.. including, but not limited to Program

terms & conditions, web site materials, tuition rates, student EA’s, VA

forms, Learning Management System, education records, etc. The due diligence

completed by the VA, and the College’s desire to remain an elite art &

design school make this accusation absurd.

6.    

Sessions college is encouraging its teachers to issue lower grades

to block and delay graduation rates so they can charge and make more money

forcing students to pay a monthly fee to continue taking the coursework to

graduate. This is unfair and deceptive business practice since it does not

follow the norm in society at large when compared to colleges across the united

states, most charge no monthly fee and charge by the credit. Totally redundant and answered above.

 

Purchase Price: $12000.00. Amount is incorrect, total tuition = $11,350. With fees the

students total = $11,580. Student has only paid to date = $10,615.

Disputed Amount: $8000.00. Please be advised that what the student is requesting is fraudulent.

The student has collected $17,456 from the VA, and any refund that is deemed

required would be made by the VA, and repaid to the VA. To request additional

money from the College actually shows the Revdex.com and anyone else looking at these

documents, where the fraudulent behavior lies.

Note: only 9 lessons short

of completing and he refuses to do any work. He refuses to pay last month’s

tuition. He was given a free 3 month extension to complete. Who is holding

“who” hostage. VA is receiving no value for their dollar.

Desired Settlement: 2/3rd's of amount paid

in tuition over the last year should be refunded. Again, fraudulent request. Incidentally, all of this response and

the Revdex.com inquiry will be forwarded to the VA and Department of Justice for their

action.

The Better Business B should issue a scathing report

exposing these unethical practices being used against these poor unemployed

Veterans, and those using public monies like Pell Grants, Student loans as

such, who are also using using VA benefits, and these other public monies to

attend school thus allowing open public scrutiny by past and present students

in the grading process, complaint process, charging process, graduation rates,

and all statistics that the public can learn from to correct incompetent institutions

and teachers that steal from the public dole in various ways by allowing

institutional corruption to continue that increase student loan defaults

dramatically as becoming heavy weights upon the poverty stricken class of

society as a whole. I am a veteran, taxpayer and an educator, and I applaud

Sessions College for consistently passing their many annual audits by AZ state,

our accreditors, the DoD, the VA and the DoE. All the statistics that the

student mentions above are required by law and are available on our website…if

he only took the time to review…

Sessions.edu should be investigated on their [redacted]

graduation rates in the last year, and the overall graduation rates over the

last 5 years. Prior veterans students that did not graduate should be

interviewed to determine the cause of the low graduation rates of this college.  As mentioned above, we are

audited annually. In addition, our Certificate graduation rates are published,

as are all of our Title IV students that receive funding from DoE.

Apologize for the length of this response, but I feel that I cannot

effectively tell our story without the detail. It is also important to note,

that any/all conversations that the student had with Admissions prior to his

signing his EA are archived. In addition, all phone calls made to Student

Services are also logged, as are a plethora of e-mails penned between the

student and various employees of the College, including myself.

Finally, you have requested in your letter that…”If you prefer, the customer may be

contacted directly to resolve this matter”… I

have tried repeatedly. I have the e-mail documentation to prove it. I would

much rather you spend your time on other matters, and the student on his

finishing his Program. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a positive

resolution…too bad he is so close to graduation.

 

Best Regards,

 

EVP & Military Liaison

Sessions College for Professional Desing