Trident University International LLC

Ms. [redacted] attended Trident University and did receive Pell Grant funds from the US Department of Education.  She also did use VA benefits.  Since she withdrew from the university, under federal regulations, she did not earn all of the financial aid she received and as such a return...

calculation was required.  Under federal regulations the university was obligated to return $1,832 in unearned funds to the Department of Education.  Since she had a $1000 credit on her account, the balance she now owes is $832.

The complaining party graduated
from our Master of Arts in Education program in early 2013 and...

entered the PhD
in Educational Leadership program in July 2014. 
As we advised her, we take allegations and complaints such as hers very
seriously and will work diligently to address any deficiencies. Upon receipt of
notice of her complaint we immediately investigated the allegations and
attempted to contact her with an ultimate goal of resolving her complaint and
ensuring her experience at the university continues to be a positive one.  Our request/invitation to discuss the matter
was not accepted.
The student’s main allegation is that she was enrolled for a
course without her consent.  Had this
student contacted us pursuant to our published policy on grievance resolution before
posting her complaint alleging wrongdoing we would have provided clear
explanation of applicable policies and procedures and provided proof that in
fact she was informed of the course registrations on April 13, 2014 in reply to
which she emailed: “I approve. Thanks”. 
Simply put, no action was taken by the university without the
student’s consent. It is unfortunate that rather than contacting us for an
explanation and resolution, this student opted to post a complaint with serious
allegations and name an individual staff member who engaged in no wrongdoing
and was merely following our published policies and procedures.
The student also complains about the lack of sufficient detail
in documentation and her record regarding tuition payments, financial aid
disbursements, courses, etc…
Again, had the student contacted us with her concerns before
posting such serious allegations, we would have gladly provided her more detailed
information regarding financial aid and her courses.
In spite of our subsequent response to her
allegations clearly showing that her consent had been received for enrollment,
the student opted to withdraw from the university effective immediately.  Accordingly, we have processed the withdrawal
as requested.  We have also informed her
that her financial aid file is being processed to determine unearned financial
aid funds that will have to be returned pursuant to federal regulations as well
as any remaining balance on her account.

Mr. [redacted] is correct in that he executed a promissory
note in January 2008.  By executing the
promissory note Mr. [redacted] agreed to be responsible for the course tuition in
the event that his request for tuition assistance through the military was not
approved.   Unfortunately,...

we have
nothing in our records indicating that Mr. [redacted] requested to drop the course
or that a course drop was processed.
This notwithstanding, and in light of Mr. Oriona’s
otherwise good standing with the university, in a good faith effort to resolve
this matter we have decided to recall the debt and waive the obligation for the
tuition for Winter 2008. We will make no attempt to collect on the obligation.

[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]  [redacted]
August
1, 2014
Dr. [redacted],
Sr.
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer
Trident
University International (TUI)
5757 Plaza Drive, Suite 100
Cypress, CA 90630
 
Dear Dr. [redacted],
This misconception of enrollment and
tuition policy could have been avoided if TUI’s tuition accounting practice
included students' tuition statements or tuition summaries (what, where, how, when, and to whom [financial
aid or private funds]) either online access or via US mail as other online
and on-campus schools do (Capella; American Public University, APU;Walden; all state colleges and universities, University of Phoenix, Drexel University, North Central University, Argosy University, Liberty University, Grand Canyon University, New York University, City College of San Francisco, Long Beach State University, University of Southern Californai, University of San Francisco, UC Davis University, and UC Berkeley, among countless others). 
In contrast, TUI provides an electronic
fund transfer notice, which shows only dates, and amounts of financial aid
disbursed by the Department of Education to TUI.  However, no details regarding distribution of
fund are included.  For example, what
amounts apply to which courses, disbursement dates, remaining balance [s], and
disbursements sent to students. 
Not having access to this information is
an unfair disadvantage to students.  To
clarify my assumption, I searched throughout the online database but found no students’
tuition summaries or statement pages.  Had
I found such information it would have, therefore, been clear that $3600.00 had
or would be applied to the second core course within the Ph. D. program.  Although as an adult, I prefer to enroll myself in programs and courses rather than assign such an important financial  task to a computer generated online database. 
My assumption, however, was that this course
was scheduled for winter 2015.  Sometimes
in the mist of our busy lifestyles, relevant information is overlooked, but a
tuition summary would have alleviated this situation and/ or similar ones
(tuition accounting). Nonetheless, I share consensus with my family that I withdraw from the university; as such, any remaining financial aid funds should be handled according to the  Department of Education policies and procedures. 
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
[redacted]