Ashford University : Bachelor of Arts Reviews
5
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on May 7, 2012
(email verified)
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Discouraged even before enrollment
The reps from this school will not leave me alone! I requested information about this school online and received a phone call 5 minutes later. I was busy at that moment, so I turned my phone off so I could call back at my own convenience. I check the phone 2 hours later and saw 4 missed calls from the same number. So finally he calls back for a 6th time and I pick up. The representative started blabbing on and on about the school and then forced me to go through the sign up process right then and there. I was on the phone with him for a hour. He already started talking about payment options and it was all just going way too fast. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to enroll but he kept giving me all these deadlines about paperwork and financial options. I decided to read reviews like on this site and found many people had the same complaints. Then I learned that their reps work on commission would would explain the pushiness of the rep I talked to. They try to get as many people signed up every day as they can. The more I read about this school, the more I was sure I didn't want to enroll.
So I emailed the guy I talked to politely letting him know I was no longer interested. He emails me back saying, "Whenever you are ready to get serious about your education, call us back." Um, like I wasn't already serious about my education before? That type of comment from him was so inappropriate!
A few days later, I got 3 calls from them in one day, and then the next day and then the next! Seriously, Ashford University will blow up your phone with their begging you to join or reconsider your decision about declining. A month later, they were STILL calling me every day...I finally had to BLOCK their number. It's really ridiculous for any company to call anyone that much!
9
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Jayrob1974
(In Progress) on January 29, 2012
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High quality instruction that is user-friendly
I am on my 5th course with Ashford University and I have very few complaints. My courses are challenging and interesting and taught by qualified folks who know their stuff. Financial aid funding happens for me the way it is supposed to, though I have had to wait a few days for a reply to an email or voicemail from my FA advisor a couple of times. My new advisor takes an average of 2 days to get back to me, but I am sure I am sharing him with a zillion other students, so I understand. If you are a high maintenance type, or are just impatient by nature, this will not work for you. I will get into that and more later; for now I want to focus on the goods, which, in my opinion, are the academics.
The texts so far have all been ebooks and of high quality. I like that we don't just cover selected chapters of a text in any given course, as was my experience in the 2 schools I attended prior to Ashford. Ashford texts are custom editions and the entire book is used in a course, and courses are only five weeks long. In addition, there are supplemental readings and multimedia resources that contribute to learning. The online learning platform is user-friendly, and so far I have had no technical issues with it. There have been a couple of site maintenance incidents that did not affect me at all though my instructor was alerted of the situation and gave us an extra day to turn in assignments with no point deductions. Oh, and speaking of time, we get a 2 week holiday break at the end of the year, and national holidays are observed in the sense that I have been given an extra day to turn in assignments during units containing a national holiday. Aside from that, the five week terms run one right after the other, though you can take a term off if you need to. I did once and there were no academic or financial consequences.
I was never promised anything, and I knew that since I started classes before my financial aid was processed I would have to pay out of pocket for that first course if my financial aid situation didn't work out as planned/hoped. Asking questions always helps! My one beef with on-line colleges in general is that the enrollment crews operate under the presumption that every incoming student will get the aid that everyone hopes for. Still, and just like with every other area of life, you have to do your due diligence and make sure you understand what is going on. I do not like predatory enrollment practices anymore than anybody else, but I have been lucky in my own experiences in that regard. Still, until I leave this world, I will assume that I and I alone ultimately have my best interests at heart and act accordingly.
As far as Ashford being investigated is concerned, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that this is the first incident of scandal in higher education. Ashford students will only gain from this, since it seems to me that Ashford will only up their game and deliver the goods better than ever to prove their worthiness. I consider myself to be more liberal than anything else, but I, in my old age, have come to the understanding that competition can serve an exalted purpose in the grand scheme of things. Like it or not, higher education is business, and the competition is only getting stiffer. This competition will, hopefully, continue to steer higher education in the direction of being uniformly high in quality and accessible to anyone who is capable of benefitting from it.
Now that the sermon part of my review is complete, back to the actual review: I highly recommend Ashford to anybody serious about earning a degree online, but it should be understood that online does not mean that your computer will do the work for you. There are deadlines to meet same as in any traditional college, and there is nobody to hold your hand. The coursework is writing intensive, and plagiarism is not tolerated. A lot of ground is covered in five weeks, so you have to be disciplined and motivated to get the work done or risk falling behind, and that is easy to do if you are balancing other commitments such as full-time work, etc…I know, I know, I said the sermon was over. Hey, I just want to be as helpful as possible and drive home the importance of individual responsibility. As with anything else, you will get out of your education what you put into it, and it is my humble opinion that Ashford University is as good a place to do this as any.
In the interest of truth, I will be sure to report on my experiences at Ashford, positive or negative, until I am handed my degree some time in 2013.
9
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Drewthedude
(In Progress) on January 2, 2012
(email verified)
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Political Science - Good Experience So Far.
I am almost finished with the curriculum for the BA in Political Science and Government. Overall, I have enjoyed my experience with Ashford, and learned quite a bit. My academic adviser has been readily available throughout my studies, and most of my instructors gave good feedback. The coursework is challenging, and out of two other online schools I've attended, is the most difficult. The courses are accelerated, but each week you are required to compose two detailed discussions, complete a quiz, and most weeks require a research paper. Each course concludes with a comprehensive research paper that is at least six to eight pages long. In short, if you are willing to put work into your research, you will learn alot from the program.
I've read alot of complaints about Ashford's financial services, but being in the Military, I've had no problem whatsoever. I simply tell my adviser which course I want to take next, he schedules the course, then I enroll through the Army's education portal. So far no issues.
As far as the institution itself, I am a bit concerned about the future of Ashford's reputation. I know they underwent quite a bit of scrutiny and auditing for recruiting practices etc.., but I believe they are cleaning up these practices. They are regionally accredited, and I read that they are seeking accreditation from the Middle States Association, in addition to the (current) accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission. I have a friend who completed her BA through Ashford and was accepted into Boston University's graduate school - BU is a very well respected school. Furthermore, after completing my degree through Ashford, I plan to apply to Penn State's grad school. AU can be a great stepping stone to grad school, but I unless you couple your degree with solid life experience, I wouldn't put all your trust in the school's reputation for your future employment. Signs of the times seem to indicate that the institution is really gearing up to be a top provider of online education - I'm just hoping they don't become so big they get lumped in with schools like University of Phoenix.
So, overall I've enjoyed my experience. I've learned a ton, the support has been good. For what it's worth, I have no ties with the school - no ulterior motives for posting a good review, I just wanted to post my experience since it's been a good one. The University is "for-profit" so of course they're main goal IS to make money - it IS after all, a business. However, as long as they retain regional accreditation, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I for one, enjoy the quick service, which caters to me as the customer, and serves my needs.
1
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Meredith.tammy
(Graduate) on August 21, 2011
(email verified)
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DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL
This is a school that will take your money, will not use all the financail aid available to you, tell you that you are out of funding and make you pay at the last minute before its time to graduate! I graduated in 2008 and had to pay $5,398.00 out of my own pocket plus the graduation fee in order to graduate. Needless to say, I looked into my funding and I still have (to this day) over $3,000 of funding available. As an even bigger mistake, I started my masters there and now owe them for two classes I dropped and I can not even get the BA transcripts I PAID FOR! What kid of school lies about finanacial aid and makes you pay at the last minute? My spouse also went to this school big mistake, he did not receive any financial aid for 4 months so he had to quit and leave his classes. No help. This school is a total scam and is not worth a dime. Use your available financial aid for a school that is legal and does things right. There are hundreds of schools out there that will not screw you over. Read the reviews, there are plenty of them that will tell you the same, I just didnt' realize that there were others in the same situation. We need a lawyer to settle this!
10
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Aubreybreezy13
(In Progress) on August 10, 2011
(email verified)
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Best thing to happen to me
I'm a recent highschool graduate from sterling illinois, and finding a good art college was a very hard thing for me to find. All of the colleges i was looking into were $40,000 or more. I come from a family in which they couldn't pay for my tuition so everything was on me. I had heard of ashford from my boyfriends sister, since she is attending there, and i decided to look into it.
This is the best choice i have made, alot of people are skeptical of how ashford works and alot say it's a bad school. I have gotten so much from this school, it's unbelievable!
Because of my GPA i got a scholarship for it, this made me feel like my hard work paid off. I got a scholarship for my room and board, i don't have to worry about food at all! My counselors helped me out every step of the way and my financial aid counselor was always eager to answer any question my mom and I had; she did alot of extra research too to make sure I had a financial aid package that fitted me. They even sent me a letter to notify me on my entire financial aid.
my total of scholarships for my whole 4 years is 88,000 dollers! I'm already so far ahead of many people going to other colleges, they only get 10,000 or less from a college for all of the 4 years. I won't want to pay off so much as many college students do!
Visiting the college, there is so much diversity in there. Even though it's small, we have so many different faces attending our school. People from florida, california, even swizterland, vietnam! The people I have met so far are amazing and open. If you could attend Ashford as a student living there, I would recomend it, they have so much for you to do and their technology is very advanced!
I'm excited to start as a freshman there, and alot of my friends are very jealous of all the money i'm saving going there.
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Glassribbon
(In Progress) on August 1, 2011
(email verified)
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Choose Any Program EXCEPT Ashford-Extremely Poor Service.
I enrolled in Ashford University about two years ago, and at the time, the program seemed to suit my needs. It was online, which was convenient because I had a strange work schedule, and I enjoyed the first two classes I had. The instructors at Ashford are actually quite good, and while the textbooks are overpriced and rarely used (I got A's in several classes that I didn't even purchase the textbook for) the overall isntruction isn't bad. However, the customer service, financial aid office, and student advisement services are sub-par. If I could have awarded Ashford a 0 in these departments, I certainly would have.
My student advisor was changed several times, the last of them being Whitney Walker. Most of my advisors up to that point-while short lived-were at least willing to work with me on the program and try to accommodate my desires. Ms. Walker patently refused to do so. I was less than halfway through my program when she scheduled me for a 4 credit class-Dependence of Man on the Environment. As soon as I saw this class come up on my schedule, I called Ms. Walker and requested that it be postponed, and that I take something else in it's place. I had not yet taken any of my elective courses, so there was certainly a wide range of things that I could have taken rather than the four credit course. I explained to Ms. Walker that the workload for that particular course was not going to be feasible with my current situation-it required two board discussions, a lab, and a written assignment every week. Most Ashford courses do not require this much work. I requested to take an elective 3 credit course. Ms. Walker refused, and would not even give me information on other course offerings. She left me a voicemail saying "Sorry-there's really nothing else I can put you in. I'm gonna go ahead and leave you in that course." I decided to try and tough it out. Two weeks in, I realized the course wasn't going to work. I called again, and got another advisor, and explained that my advisor had refused to reschedule the course, but I needed to change it because I wasn't going to be able to handle the workload, and I needed a different course. I expressed concern that I would get a low grade, which would affect my scholarship status, and the advisor looked up my GPA and said "Oh well your GPA is great. You can handle a C-no problem." Whether I could or not was immaterial-I wanted to keep my GPA as high as possible. Again, my concerns were ignored, and my request was denied.
At this time, Ashford had just changed their online software. As a result, one of my assignments was lost in the new system. I didn't get credit for it. At this point I was three weeks in, and I knew if I dropped I'd be charged, but out of fear for what it would do to my GPA, I sent a written request stating that I needed to drop the course. This time, Ms. Walker did process the drop request.
However, what she failed to tell me is that dropping that course put me under my designated amount of completed hours needed to keep my financial aid award. So Ashford returned a large portion of my financial aid to my lender, and then told me I owed them $1100 and I would have to pay it out of pocket in order to receive further financial aid, or continue to attend classes at Ashford.
First of all, if Whitney Walker had done what I asked her to do in the first place, the entire situation would have been avoided. Secondly, had it been explained to me that dropping the class would have affected my financial aid status, I'd have accepted a lower grade and stayed in. But this wasn't explained to me.
After this incident, I informed Ashford I was not going to take any further classes with them. They continued to call me and email me for months-acting as though I hadn't withdrawn from their program, and offering me new start dates. I kept telling them not to contact me, and they persisted. I enrolled in a different program and had no problem getting my transcript from Ashford. However, I decided not to enter that program, and enrolled in another. Ashford refused to send my transcript to that program.
I requested a form to file a formal grievance. Ashford refused to send me that form, and said instead it was customary to go through a mediation process, in order to try and resolve complaints before the formal grievance level. I said I was not interested in the informal process, I wanted to proceed to the formal grievance process. They refused, and said I had to go through the informal process first.
They asked me to present my case to a mediator, and tell the mediator what I thought the resolution should be. I explained the situation to him, the highly unprofessional behavior of Ms. Walker, her refusal to reschedule the class when I'd explicitly asked her to, and her negligence in explaining the consequences to my financial aid award status once she finally did do as I requested and dis-enroll me from the course. He asked what my ideal resolution was, and I said I wanted my transcript released immediately, and while I didn't feel it was fair, since Ashford was at fault, I would be willing to pay a reduced amount on the outstanding balance. The mediator told me to expect a resolution within two weeks.
Four weeks passed. I hadn't heard anything, and then out of the blue, I get emails from Whitney Walker, and my former financial aid advisor, Elise Dellagala, informing me that the most recent course at Ashford had resulted in an incomplete, and could therefore have negative effects on my financial aid award. Could I please call them at my earliest convenience to discuss the situation?
Unbelievable. They don't advise me at the time the situation occurs, but they want to advise me SIX MONTHS after I've quit the program, and am enrolled in another?
I emailed the mediator and forwarded their emails to him, and told him that this was exactly the type of unprofessional behavior and shoddy service I'd complained of in my initial grievance. Furthermore, I'd like to continue on with the formal grievance process. He emailed me back and said "Oh, I know that must have been frustrating. Could we talk over the phone?" Well, I work all day-I don't have time to take personal calls, and I told him as much. Besides that, (and I didn't include this in my email to him, but it was my reasoning) I was tired of being given the runaround by these people. I wasn't about to let him try and placate me with empty promises-it's clear what this organization is about. I asked to be informed by email.
I received an email from Ashford's mediation department today, stating that they were refusing to release my transcript, the balance would not be lowered, but the University is offering to extend a payment plan so I can avoid collection. Oh, how very gracious. THEY cause the problem, and THEY give bad service, but I'M expected to make all concessions in the situation. I don't think so. I informed their mediator that this was unacceptable, and that I wished to proceed immediately with the formal grievance process, I would be filing complaints with every agency and governing board associated with Ashford University and Bridgepoint Education, and that I would be contacting an attorney.
After this I went online and found page after page of similar complaints. This wasn't the case when I enrolled-Ashford had a good reputation then. I found it because it was recommended by the Tyra Banks show as a good university for those seeking an online alternative to traditional classes. I did research, and found a lot of good things on the internet about Ashford. This isn't the case anymore. Obviously, something has changed, because there are a lot of people out there with similar stories to mine.
Buyer beware-Ashford is an unethical and unprofessional organization with no conception of customer service-and why should they have? My situation shows, they're not going to take ownership when their employees mess up. Apparently, there is no consequence to employees for giving inadequate service-so why should they bother? They get their money either way, and it's the consumer that suffers. Had this situation been handled differently, I would have been happy to try and continue on there-the instructors at Ashford are good, and the online format is easy to use. Once they get the bugs worked out (like the one that evaporated my assignment) it will probably be a good system. Their online library is also very good. But you'd get better customer service from an outsourced call center in a third world country. Don't sell yourself short-your education is too important to entrust to people with no ethics and no sense of professionalism.
Jena P.
Springfield MO
7
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Anonymous
(In Progress) on October 26, 2010
(email verified)
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Ashford is decent
AU does not pretend to be something that it is not. It is a run-of-the-mill university offering an average distance learning experience. Some of the negative reviews I read through were accurate, and others were posted by people that obviously blindly enrolled without taking the time to do any research. A justified complaint would be that it seems like anyone can get into the school and you will see posts by some students that are grammatically atrocious. An unjustified complaint would be that the school is too expensive and has some miscellaneous fees.
There have been times that I could not believe what I was reading when reviewing a post by another student. One time in particular I almost quit and emailed the President of the school, especially after the instructor of the class praised the student whom made the post I found so objectionable. I was so outraged, even offended, that this person stood a chance of graduating with the same degree as me. In the end, I neither quit Ashford nor emailed the Dean because it would not have done any good. Ashford is not helping that student improve, and it will show in future job interviews. That was no reason for me to deprive myself of an education, or even slow my progress as I looked for another school that may be exactly the same. As for the unjustified complaint I referenced in regard to the cost of attending AU, OPEN YOUR EYES. There has not been a single charge that has caught me by surprise because I knew what was coming. In fact, a Google search of "Ashford University tution and fees" just netted me a page on the Ashford website that details EVERY fee. If this simple research is too difficult for a prospective student to accomplish, maybe they should wait before considering a college education. AU is not a Tier 1 school, and does not advertise as such. Some of the content in the early weeks and months can be remarkably simple, but it does get increasingly difficult as classes progress. I admit it, outside of writing Research Papers, nothing has challenged me academically to this point. If you are looking to sit through countless lectures, be assigned homework that routinely requires burning the midnight oil to complete, and think you are capable of writing a thesis that will someday be a published work, then no, Ashford is not for you. If you are more of a realist and acknowledge that the average holder of a four year degree is a regular Joe that has a piece of paper saying they committed to attending a few classes, then Ashford is no better or worse than all the other schools offering a nearly identical experience.
Best of luck
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