Posts Tagged ‘United States’
University of Phoenix Sucks
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
One Student’s Account:
“In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education provided a preliminary report to the university that cited untimely return of unearned Title IV funds for more than 10 percent of sampled students. The report also expressed a concern that some students enroll and begin attending classes before completely understanding the implications of enrollment, including their eligibility for student financial aid. As a result, in January 2010, its parent company, Apollo Group Inc., was required to post a letter of credit for $125 million by January 30 of the same year” –BusinessWeek
Subject: University of Phoenix Business Practices
I enrolled in the University of Phoenix in November of 2009 in its Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership program. At the time, the intake counselor (let’s call him salesman) advised me that the program entailed residencies that were held at various points around the United States. Additionally, he stated that if I could not make one then I could schedule an alternate residency. I explained to him that this was important as I travel internationally quite often and, of course, this would be a logistical problem. Again, this was BEFORE I agreed to register in the program. I completed several courses in the program and my residency was coming up for March of 2010 and informed the salesman that I would need to reschedule my residency as I would be overseas at that time.
Suddenly, rescheduling the residency was a problem. Several parties told me that I could not do it. Finally, when I threatened to quit the program they said I could do it. This was after being brow-beaten by my academic and financial aid counselors on a conference call wanting to know why I could not cancel my travel plans and attend the original residency. At any rate, they finally said I could reschedule but that I would need to WITHDRAW from school and start up again with my regular schedule after the residency.
Let me re-emphasize that rather than simply letting me take another course on the curriculum which, I might add, not every course is a pre-requisite for the next, contrary to what these sales people say, they told me that I would need to withdraw. Any other graduate school worth the appellation would have just let me take another graduate level course however the University of Phoenix forced me to withdraw. The school was stating that I would need to withdraw (fall out of compliance with financial requirements regarding full-time attendance) because the school would not allow me to take another doctoral course instead.
Rather than go through this ordeal every time I might need to reschedule a residency I chose to withdraw. Thus, since the University of Phoenix was forced to return some of the financial aid monies that it received from the government it is now stating that I owe tuition for a course which was supposed to have been paid for and for which this entire ordeal started because the salesman told me that I could reschedule residencies “no problem.” Of course, he disputes this now as one would expect but I can tell you that this institution is driven purely by the amount of churn it can generate through billing the federal government for federal financial aid funds. The actual treatment and outcome of the students is purely secondary which is why the graduation rates are so pathetic.
While I am certain the University of Phoenix might be able to rationalize its billing me for $2,301 in tuition in spite of it being the reason I withdrew, I am just as certain that there are inconsistencies in its accounting of my financial aid application, dispensation, and adjudication through this process. Please look into this particular case and add my official complaint of this University’s practices to the long list I am sure that you have already compiled.
My chief complaints are the following:
The school required me to withdraw to change my residency date
The school “auto-withdrew” me from a course-whatever that is but I question the methodology because the school uses something it calls the “Course Exit Tracking Checklists” to determine attendance or withdrawal apparently which I neither signed, approved, or was made aware of in advance
The salesman than enrolled me in the program ensured me that I could change my residency dates yet never mentioned that I would need to withdraw in order to do so
These and other issues are why the University of Phoenix Sucks.
Tags: apollo group, apollo group inc, class action, course, department of education, financial aid, financial aid counselors, financial aid practices, fine, guilty, I, intake counselor, lawsuit, organizational leadership program, Phoenix, residency, school, settles, Taiwan, U.S. Department, United States, University, university of phoenix, university of phoenix settles, university of phoenix sucks, university of phoenix sued, uofp
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The Yuan & Dollar Exchange
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
The exchange rate of the Chinese Renminbi or the Yuan has always been a point of contention between the United States and China and even between China and the European Union. Thus, within business schools and political science programs this exchange rate issue and trade deficit concern has now become a hot topic for research papers. The reason for this is manifold but in essence China keeps its Yuan or RMB undervalued in order to bolster its export market. By keeping the Yuan undervalued compared to foreign currencies a country’s export market benefits because its products that are manufactured in its borders and then sent overseas are cheaper than those of its trading partners. However, what makes this exchange rate issue even more contentious is the manner in which China keeps its Yuan undervalued and the outcome of this strategy. China keeps its Yuan undervalued by purchasing foreign debt or, with respect to the US, treasury bills which in turn has funded the US’ massive debt load and recent credit binge. Because China owns so much US currency it now has a great stake in how the US manages its economy but it also becomes dependent upon the US’ continued purchasing of its low-cost goods. Should the US government slap trade tariffs of any kind on Chinese goods this removes the benefit that China gains from undervaluing its currency. Presently China manages its exchange rate through a process called a managed float in which it keeps its Yuan pegged to a floating exchange rate that is pegged to a basket of currencies rather than pegged to a single currency. However, since China only publishes some of the specific currencies it includes in this basket of currencies it is difficult for outside markets to gauge currency movements. All of these factors ensure that the current Yuan exchange rate and trade deficit spat with the US will remain a complicated and complex foreign relations as well as economic issue. This is why the US-China exchange rate issue is such a popular topic not only in economics classes but also in foreign relations, international relations, as well as finance and business strategy courses. Presently many professors and instructors are assigning essays, term papers, and even theses and dissertations that discuss some aspect of the Yuan or RMB and US dollar exchange rate issues.
Tags: basket of currencies, business school, China, china's foreign debt, chinese renminbi, currency, currency peg, deficit, economics essays, economics papers, exchange, exchange rate, foreign debt, issue, managed float, peg, political science programs, rate, renminbi, rmb, tariffs, term papers, trade deficit, trade dispute, trade tariffs, United States, US, us china trade, us treasury bills, Yuan, yuan exchange rate
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Gun Control Essays
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Gun control and gun regulation in the United States is a hot-button issue. Gun control advocates argue that the Constitution does not protect gun ownership for individuals but rather argue that it supports a well-armed militia organization. Not surprisingly, gun advocates argue that the Constitution does protect gun ownership for individuals. Colleges and universities often use this topic for assignments in ethics, philosophy and law classes as an exercise in rights or Constitutional studies among other topics. In fact, this is such an important issue in the US that Starbucks has recently been drawn into the battle because in the US common citizens can receive conceal to carry permits to carry concealed weapons and, in many states, citizens are allowed to go out openly armed. If you need an essay, research paper, or even a thesis or dissertation on this topic let us arrange a model project for you.
Tags: Constitution, constitutional studies, control, ethics, gun, gun advocates, gun control, gun control advocates, gun control essays, gun regulation, issue, militia organization, ownership, philosophy, right to bear arms, rights, supreme court, u.s. constitution, United States, US
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Military & Education Assistance
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
The military in the United States has seen a huge influx of service members over the past 6 and 7 years and these service members are qualifying for educational assistance with the GI bill and other programs to pay for their higher education after they leave the military. Additionally, the military also pays for school while service members are in the military and this provides an enormous opportunity for military personnel to complete their tours of duty with college degrees or advance training or both. Military personnel and people leaving the military have the opportunity to attend college and university in a way more than at any previous time in the past and there are a host of online tutoring and research companies such as ours and others that can make this transition easier.
Tags: advance training, College, educational assistance, financial aid, gi bill, influx, life after the military, military, military education benefits, military personnel, online college courses, opportunity, service, service members, tours of duty, tuition assistance, United States
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Administrator Pay-Outrageous!
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education in the United States (US) discusses the level of pay for many of the nation’s top private universities. In this global recession when many families the world over a struggling to simply purchase food and many of people are returning to school in order to improve their economic outlooks, the barriers to gaining a better education or new job skills through training are constantly going up. The article notes that university presidents such as Rensselaer’s College President, Shirley Ann Jackson, receives more than $1.6 million annually. I’m sorry, and what the hell does a college president do that’s worth $1.6 mllion annually–provide strategy? This is ridiculous and people wonder just why college and university tuition rates are skyrocketing in a manner that is far outpacing inflation. Until the egregious (some might say almost fraudulent) salaries of these top university and college administrators are reigned in the cost of higher education will certainly continue to rise at a rate higher than inflation making it far more difficult for people to begin or complete the higher educations.
Tags: article, chronicle of higher education, College, college administrator, college education, college expenses, college president salary, economic outlooks, Education, global recession, President, rising costs of college, Shirley Ann Jackson, tuition and inflation, United States, University, university administrator, university education, university president salary, university presidents, US
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