U.S Career Institute

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms***’s complaintMs*** enrolled in U.SCareer Institute’s Medical Coding and Billing program on June 24, and has completed out of assignmentsSuccessful completion of this course prepares students for entry level billing positions
and entry level coding positionsShould Ms*** choose to search for entry level coding positions, she will be eligible to take the Certified Professional Coder Apprentice (CPC-A) exam through the AAPCUpon successful completion of the exam, Ms*** would earn the CPC-A designation and after one year of verifiable coding work experience, she may have the “A” status removed from the designation by submitting a request to the AAPCTwo years of experience is required to have the “A” status removed for anyone taking the exam; however, our course counts as one of the two years of experience necessary to have the “A” status removed, which we feel is a wonderful benefit for our graduatesMs***’s complaint claims that we do not advise students of the Apprentice status, but U.SCareer Institute strives to educate students in regards to certification options and provides this information in several placesThe Apprentice status information is listed on our school website under the “Career and Certification” section, in Lesson under the header “AAPC Apprentice Certifications” (Lesson is located in the first set of lessons which is delivered electronically upon enrollment), in a letter titled “AAPC Notice” delivered electronically with the last set of lessons, and in our extensive Career Starter Guide delivered electronically with the last set of lessonsIn general, certification is not necessary to work as a Medical Biller, but is more often necessary to work as a Medical CoderRequirements vary by employer, and some graduates have been successful in securing positions before becoming certified, while others may find local employers prefer certification be earned before a job offer is extendedWe encourage students to do research in their area to determine common requirements found in local job listingsMs*** has completed 95% of the Medical Coding and Billing course, is not eligible for a refund, and is responsible for her $monthly payments until her remaining tuition balance has been satisfiedWe are interested in helping Ms*** reach the goals she had in mind when she enrolled with our school and have resources to help her be successfulIn addition to referencing the Career Starter Guide and taking advantage of our Career Coach Program, we encourage her to reach out to our Graduate Services departmentOur Graduate Counselors have assisted many graduates who attained a CPC-A credential and were searching for entry level positionsOur records show Ms*** has not yet spoken with Graduate Services, and we believe doing so will greatly benefit Ms***

In response to Case ***, Ms*** enrolled in theMedical Billing and Coding program on 6/18/She completed out of 39quizzes, the last quiz on 2/15/We talked to Ms*** on 3/11/2015,when she explained she did not want to do the Medical Billing and Coding programanymore
and wanted to take the Medical Assisting ProgramThe school accommodatedMs***’s request by enrolling her in Medical Assisting and transferringa portion of her money to the new program. Ms*** indicated on 4/24/15, talked with student services she didnot plan on finding a job she will need clinicalMs*** graduated fromthe Medical Assisting program on 5/20/Ms*** phoned student servicesthat went over the requirements of the Success Promise programThe SuccessPromise Program is explained on the website and on the student webpageItreads on the webpage under Requirements and Guidelines, sign up within daysof enrollment, complete the course in months, and pay 50% of tuition at thestart of the Success Promise ProgramThe program is free and it’s up to thestudent if they want to participate but they must meet the requirements to bein the program which includes completing assignments on timeMs***signed up to participate in the program on July 15, 2015; Ms*** then didnot complete her first assignment of the Success Promise program and wasdismissed from the optional marketing programMs*** is not eligiblefor a refund as outlined in the program and the enrollment agreementMs.*** is however eligible to receive assistance from our graduate counselingdepartment on how to market her new skillAlso, Ms*** can pursuenational certification is she chooses to do so through the NHAIt is our hope Ms*** will contact our graduate servicesdepartment for more information.Thank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Regarding this case, we will request to remove Ms*** account from credit history collection efforts Please allow up to days for this to show up as removed on the report.Thanks,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Desired settlement was cost of books removed from bill, a second CPT book was sent to Ms*** on 4/5/at no-chargeWhen Ms.*** completes more quizzes she will be mailed her HCPCS book at no-chargeThere are no books costs to be removed from bill.Thank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Thank you
for the opportunity to respond to Case ***Ms*** *** enrolled last
January when the coding manual being used in the United States was ICD-The government
approved a change on October 1st to the ICD-
There will be a transition period for many offices around the country
switching
to ICD-The coders who understand ICD-will be able to transition to ICD-
because the process of coding is the same; it’s the codes themselves that will
primarily be differentIn preparation for this change an ICD-supplement was
provided with the coursework for students enrolled in ICD-Our team of
instructors we will be happy to assist Ms*** as she goes through the supplement
if she has questions regarding ICD-Our graduate department will be available to assist Ms*** when she
completes her programThe counselors can provide grad referral contacts who
are working at home, the counselors will also be able to help with marketing
techniquesThe refund policy is outlined in the enrollment agreement and in
the school catalogMs*** has completed 91% of her studies and is
responsible for 100% of her tuitionThank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Documentation in Ms***’s school records indicate the Success Promise instructor received notice from Ms*** regarding Assignment Ms*** mentions she was having trouble submitting the assignment so the instructor encouraged Ms*** to email the first assignment if she could not submit thru
the online portalMs*** did email her assignment; however, the school also received Assignment and Assignment through the online portalThe second week, the school has record of Ms*** logged into the online portal on July 27, at 7:55pmAssignment was due by 11:59pm (MT), on Friday July 29thWe did not receive Assignment If Ms*** was having trouble on the 27th, the instructor did not receive an email from Ms*** before or on the 29th indicating she was having an issue nor did she submit her assignmentThe Success Promise Program is an optional program, there is no charge for the program and in the guidelines it states you must submit your weekly assignments on time or you will be dismissedMs*** did not submit thru the portal or email the instructor regarding Assignment before or on the due date, therefor, she was dismissed from the program on Sunday, July 31stMs*** is not eligible for a refund as graduate of the Fitness Trainer and Nutrition courseThe school has a graduate counseling department available to Ms***The counselors can go over marketing strategies with Ms***I would encourage Ms*** to set up a time she can meet with a counselor to discuss how to promote her new skillThe graduate counselor number *** ***, Ext ***, please leave a message when a time works best so the counselors can work around your work schedule to meet with youThank you, Joyce L*** Director of Student Services

The account was requested to be removed from collections on 8/27/The agency will update their record of collections which may be reflected on the reportsPlease allow up to days to show a revision to your account status.Thanks,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Case *** *** ***Mr*** enrolled 9/25/and has completed quizzesOn 1/14/15, the school offered Mr*** an option to stop at the end of the billing portion and receive a Billing certificate, he was going to let the school know what
he decided to doWe did not hear back from Mr*** until 7/10/15, when he was going to complete more quizzes and send them in and at that time wanted to know what the next course was, then it was left at thatThis is the first time Mr*** indicated he did want to cancel the courseThe cancel policy is outlined on the enrollment agreement and in the school catalogCurrently the tuition obligation is 71% of the course which is $Mr*** has paid $and owes a cancel balance of $I am going to waive the balance due of $so no more payments are due on Mr***'s accountHis account is cancelled no more payments or assignments are due on the account as of today, January 7, We wish Mr*** the best of luck in his future endeavors.Thank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

In response to Case ***, Ms *** account was cancelled on 10/7/15, all money was refunded on 10/and 10/9/No more assignments or payments are due on Ms *** account as it is closed.We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors,Joyce L***Director of Student
Services

In response to this complaint, Ms***s has completed 90% of the Medical Coding and Billing CourseAccording to the enrollment agreement she is responsible for 100% of her $2,tuition; however, I waived the cancel balance due on her account of $leaving her with a zero balanceMs***s did not take advantage of the 5-day review period, did not participate in the Success Promise Program and has not worked with graduate servicesThe school did not have ICD-available when she enrolled because the government released their decision to implement on October 1, The school did offer their ICD-students an ICD-supplement in order to prep for the upcoming changeMs***'s program offered two skills to market for job opportunitiesThe school waived the balance due of $871, the tuition Ms***s paid toward 90% of her course completion in the amount of $has been accepted to cover material and administrative costs.Thank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

U.S.Career Institute's programs are self-paced and depending on the hours a student dedicates to their studies will determine how quickly they will finish with their programThe school has graduates who complete in months or longer and then go on to work with our graduate counselors to work on their marketing strategyThe school does have graduate referrals who are working from home and they will talk with our students to share their experiencesMs*** enrolled in January and has not completed her studies and has not worked with our graduate counseling department so we cannot determine her employment outcomeAfter careful review of this case, I am going to make an exception and cancel Ms ***'s course and waive the balance due of $1,No more assignments or payments will be due on her accountIt is cancelled as of today, December 4, 2015.We wish Ms*** the best of luck in her future endeavors.Thank you,Joyce L***

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Case #***Ms*** *** enrolled 2/18/Ms*** is payments behind in her tuition with the last payment she made on her account 11/20/She is enrolled in the Coding and Billing program with an outcome of two skill setsWhen Ms
*** enrolled the manual used for the codes was the ICD-9, the government mandated switch to ICD-was not until October 1, Therefor to prep for this change, we included an ICD-supplement with her course to help the student gain confidence about the upcoming coding manual changeMs*** is encouraged to review the supplement and work with instructors as questions ariseThe coding process is the main goal of the course, once a student has that knowledge they can code from the different manualsThe certification Ms*** refers to is a national certification which graduates of our course can sit for the certification exam if they choose to do no matter what state they reside inThe $charge Ms*** references was if she wanted to cancel her current course and re-enroll after the October 10, date with the ICD-manualThe school does not promote you can use a 1098-T form for tax purposeThe school is not a Title IV school and we do not offer government funding so students are unable to claim the tuition on their taxesAccording to the school catalog and on the enrollment agreement, Ms*** is obligated to her tuitionCurrently she owes $1,159; however, after careful review of her account and this complaint I will make an exception and waive the balance due to cancel her accountAs of today, no more payments or assignments will be dueI will ask to remove her account from collection efforts, please allow up to days for collection efforts to stopToday, April 29, 2016, Ms***’s account is cancelled with a zero balance dueThank you, Joyce L*** Director of Student Services

Thank you
for the opportunity to respond to Case ***In review of records for
*** *** her account is noted she is not eligible for Success Promise
due to delinquent payment issues for her Medical Coding ProgramThe Success
Promise program is free and is available to graduates who
meet the guidelines
of the program as stated on the school website and on the student login
webpageMs***
account is late in payments and after several unsuccessful attempts to collect
payment her account was transferred to an outside collection agency on 10/2/
Ms*** has a balance of $due on her accountShe graduated in
12/10/and owes 100% of the tuition per the enrollment agreement and as
stated in the school catalogTaking into consideration her school records and
account information, I am going to waive the balance due of $87.00, and I will
request to have her account removed from collection effortsPlease allow up to
days for collection efforts to stopI would encourage Ms*** to
contact our graduate services department for assistance on how to market her
new skillWe wish Ms
*** the very best of luck in her future endeavors.Thank you,Joyce
L***Director of
Student Services

The school implemented the ICD-curriculum when the government mandated the change in the medical field October 1, We provided ICD-supplements to our students who were in the ICD-programThe school has graduates working at home doing Medical Billing who are willing to talk to graduates on how they got startedThe information regarding grad referrals are provided through are graduate services departmentThe school also offers the Success Promise program that teaches graduates strategies on how to market their new skillsMs*** has not graduated nor has she taken advantage of these servicesMs*** is claiming she cannot be successful before completing her courseworkAfter review of all the documentation, I am going to cancel Ms***'s program and refund her paid tuition of $I have now waived the tuition balance due of $and will refund $No payments or assignments are due on the accountMs***'s school records have been cancelled as of today June 8, Please allow up to days for the refund to be processed.Thank you,Joyce L***Director of Student Services

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
II know for sure I submitted the assignment that day and so does my friend who was there trying to help figure out why it was not submittingI also sent the email, maybe the enail system is having issues along side with your upload featureLike I said I take education serious I know how serious it was to send the assignments on time which in fact is why I tried to submit everything ahead of time
Regards,
*** ***

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms***'s complaintUSCI reviewed the phone call on January 20, 2017, between the USCI representative and Ms***In addition, we reviewed all notes and payments for the enrollmentThe review indicates the confusion revolves around the fact that
Ms*** was $late in payments when she called on January In addition to paying 1/of the tuition, students entering the Success Promise training titled "Career Development" must be current in their tuition paymentsMs*** indicated she could not pay the late amountAs a courtesy and attempt to keep Ms*** from being sent to collections, USCI moved the late payments to the end of the payment cycleWhen Ms*** subsequently called in March, her tuition was even more past due since she did not make a payment after January 20, In July, a USCI graduate counselor told Ms*** that she would need to apply for more than jobs in order to find a position and advised Ms*** to identify potential jobs in order to have greater success in finding a jobUSCI will be happy to allow Ms*** in the Success Promise training provided she meet the requirement to be current in her paymentsTo make sure Ms*** has the most current late payment balance (which changes each time another payment is missed), she should contact the Student Services Department when she is readyAs she works through the Success Promise training, she will learn how to identify and make contacts for employment, how to write an effective resume and how to follow up on job opportunities

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms***’s replyThe most recent response has been reviewed and it has been determined that U.SCareer Institute will make an exception by closing Ms***’s account and refunding the total amount paid of $Please allow up to days for a check to be issued and the account to be removed from collectionsWe wish Ms*** the best in her future endeavorsTell us why here

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Case *** for *** ***I have carefully reviewed all the notes on *** ***’s account regarding the Medical Billing and Coding program*** enrolled on 2/19/16, and has completed out of assignmentsThe tuition balance due on
the account is $Notes on student record 9/30/16, discussed a declined payment, and again on 11/15/discussion regarding days past due on the accountAfter unsuccessful attempts for payment the account was going to be transferred to outside collections; however, a payment was made on the account to bring it currentThere is no discussion on the account regarding accreditationThis complaint is the first inquiry the school is aware of about accreditationThe complaint states the school is not accreditedThis is an inaccurate statement because the school is accredited thru the DEACThe Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council is listed by the U.SDepartment of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agencyAfter review of the account and complaint, the school is willing to waive the balance due of $on the *** *** accountThe account will be cancelled at amount paid, no further payments or assignments will be dueThank you, Joyce L*** Director of Student Services