Capella University
reviews and complaints

As a current doctoral student at Capella University, I have found the experience to be truly enlightening. The residency meeting was informative, allowing me to connect with instructors and classmates. The knowledgeable instructors have challenged me, leading to significant personal growth. Capella's accreditation adds credibility to the quality of education provided. I highly recommend Capella University for those seeking a flexible and rewarding online learning journey.

Capella University is one of the listed University under our employee tuition assistance program. I contacted and enquired about a Masters program and then they started to chase me for several months, after several attempts from them for about 8 months promising the program i was looking to study is covered by my employer and i could complete the program without paying any fee if i could do it in 3 years. Even though my intuitions said not to procced i moved on with the application and attended the first week of the class. The day after i was forced to sign a enrolment form, the enrollment counselor told me that this particular course is not supported by my employer and i have to pay for it! Total dishonest.

Now the university is sending me collection notice through a collection agent and the collection agent reported to the credit agencies as well.

Today 1/8/2024 I was informed that I was withdrawn from 4050 due to an update within Capellas system. I completed all my course assignments with grades and was informed that because of the update that occurred over the weekend, I have to retake NURS 4050 with a different instructor.

I was informed that I have to resubmit all of my work and that I could get my previous grades, however with a stipulation that "if the assignment criteria remain the same." I was told that I have to wait another 48 hours for the new instructor to decide if I could keep my old grades. Capellas error has costed me time and money, as I am not being given the same opportunity as other students.

I have been sent to collections for an unpaid balance. I received a promissory note on 6/5/2023 to agree to pay $1,611.75 prior to the due date of 9/3/2023. The balance of $1,611.75 was paid in full on 8/31/2023. I agreed to the settlement offer, printed out the document and signed it, which was instructed as to accept this offer and emailed that on 6/16/2023, which was not due until 6/19/2023. I have emailed a copy of the original settlement offer email and the email I submitted to accept the offer.

I also emailed a copy of the email received from [protected]@capella.edu confirming that I accepted this offer prior to the due date. I have been sent to collections for a balance of $687.25. I need this resolved ASAP.

As an alumni of this organization I am highly upset.

The students on the course discussion boards lack decorum, respect, professionalism, and pile on to bully other student's postings, create negativity, show off, and cause controversy, The so called "University" and course Professors do nothing about it, don't change it, and supports these behaviors. The University thinks its "respectful" and "professional." They post a so called "standard" which means nothing. Don't attend these online institutions.

Initially, I was able to register for my classes for the summer semester and later dropped due to it indicating that I had a past due balance of $3737 that I had no knowledge of owing. It was explained that balance was from the winter and fall semester of 2022. In my opinion I should have been notified of this as soon as the semester ended. I never received any notification about this outstanding balance until I’m about to register for summer classes.

When I started at Capella University, I took out a loan which was to cover the entire cost of the program. I have made all efforts to complete all pre-requites to ensure that all my documentation was submitted timely. I completed my FAFSA forms as well as accepted to financial aid forms. When I look at the financial aid portal it indicates that all forms are up to date and there is no outstanding balance.

I have spoken to many representatives to assist and come up with some sought of resolution. The only resolution was to pay $1300 within 2 days. I constantly called begging I don’t have that type of money and eventually i was able to get one representative who submitted a good faith email in exchange I’ll pay $500. I immediately paid the $500. However, The good faith was DENIED because i didn’t take out a maximum loan of $20,000 but instead i took out the recommended amount of $7000. Why would I take a loan of $20,000 and can take a loan to cover the $7000. It appears after i accepted the $7000 loan additional fees was added after. Again, I’m not a financial aid counselor and was only thinking about when i graduate what i can afford to pay back.

I requested to speak to a supervisor multiple times but to no avail.

I received an Academic Withdrawal and immediately submitted an appeal which was denied. I only needed to complete my Capstone. After reading through similar complaints, I realized I received the same reply as those who posted their objections to this website. The only thing different was the name on the complaint. You would think that the reasons for denying each Appeal would be other and specific to each individual's circumstance. (See a copy of my Appeal and their response to my Appeal below.

Copy of Administrative Withdrawal:

December 26, 2022

Dear Michael Love

You have been administratively withdrawn from the Doctor of Social Work program, effective December 26, 2022, for failure to maintain satisfactory academic standing. Specifically, you received a Non-Satisfactory (NS) grade for two consecutive capstone quarters, resulting in administrative withdrawal per University Policy 3.01.04 Academic Standing.

Your options:

You may accept the administrative withdrawal outcome. Alternatively, you may appeal the administrative withdrawal.

Option 1: Accept Withdrawal

You may accept the administrative withdrawal. However, you will not be permitted to re-enter this program, nor will you be allowed to

enroll in any other Capella University doctoral program. No further action is necessary on your part.

Option 2: Appeal Administrative Withdrawal

To appeal your administrative withdrawal, you must respond to this email and submit a written appeal within seven (7) calendar days of this notification. There is no template or form for such requests. However, your request should include a statement, any supporting documentation you wish the University to consider, and your plan for restoring good standing in the program. Your appeal statement should be submitted as a Word document and include the following:

• An articulation of the extenuating circumstances experienced that prevented your academic progress,

• An articulation of how those extenuating circumstances have remedied, improved, or stabilized,

• A realistic and feasible plan for regaining satisfactory progress. A realistic plan focuses on the courses,

milestones, and program requirements that will be needed to demonstrate satisfactory progress.

Administrative withdrawal appeals represent a university-level appeal and are reviewed by one of the President’s appointed designees. The role of the President Designee is to check your appeal to determine if an exception to the policy is appropriate based on: (a) the demonstration that you experienced extenuating circumstances that prevented your academic progress, (b) those extenuating circumstances have been remedied, improved, or stabilized, and (c) that you have identified a realistic and feasible plan for regaining satisfactory progress. The President Designee’s final review and decision are not subject to further appeal, so please respond sufficiently to all three areas of the appeal. You will receive an email notification of the University’s final decision. Learners are not permitted to enroll in any Capella University course (including non-credit classes, residencies, etc.) pending the outcome of their appeal. • If your appeal is approved, you may register for the next scheduled quarter of the dissertation. • If your appeal is denied, your administrative withdrawal will be finalized. Take action soon

Please act promptly; if your appeal is not received by January 2, 2023, an administrative withdrawal from your program will be finalized. If you fail to respond by this deadline, you forfeit your right to exercise the option to appeal, and the University will complete the administrative withdrawal outcome.

If you have questions about this message or your options, please email the Doctoral Success Program, and a Doctoral Success Program representative will be happy to assist you.

Sincerely,

Heather Welzant, PhD

Dean – School of Public Service & Education

My Appeal Letter:

From: Michael D. Love-DSW Student December 28, 2022

To: Heather Welzant, PhD

Dean-School of Public Service & Education

Re: Administrative Withdrawal Appeal Letter for the DSW Program

Dear Dean, Welzant: With the utmost sincerity and humility, I am writing to appeal my administrative withdrawal from the Doctor of Social Work Program at Capella University. My most vital hope is that I will be allowed to complete my studies and obtain my Doctor of Social Work Diploma. I was not surprised, but I am very disappointed that I allowed this to happen. As

someone who has dealt with life-long procrastination, I have always prided myself on finishing things at the last minute. However, as with all dysfunctional habits, they tend to be a detriment at some point.

My family and I have had a tough time this year, and my performance and grades have suffered. My wife lost her job at the end of March, and to our surprise, she could not find new employment until this month. So, to compensate for my wife's lost income, I started my Private Therapy Practice, contracted my services out to a couple of online mental health companies, and quickly began seeing between fifteen and twenty clients a week. Unfortunately, I also acquired Covid during Thanksgiving, was self-quarantined in my bedroom for seven days, and could not work for another seven days. I think it would have been worse had I not been taking the

antibiotic prescribed to me by my doctor. I should have communicated with my professor (instead of avoiding them) or even just taken some time off. However, I could manage the increased responsibilities and do what I always did, but I was wrong. My time at Capella University taught me much, and the instructors have always been accessible and helpful. Graduating with my Doctorate in Social Work Degree would mean so much to me and fulfill a life-long goal. With my wife returning to work, I will reduce my private practice workload to only five hours a week, focusing on my clients with the most severe needs. This will allow me to focus more on

my Capstone and manage my time more efficiently. I will also meet with my advisor and communicate better with my instructors. Again, thank you for giving me this opportunity to explain my circumstances, and I hope you will give me a second chance to complete this program.

Sincerely,

Michael Love

Michael Love, Psy, M, MSW, LCSW

P.S. I have included a letter from my wife. She wanted to say a few words on my behalf. I have also included links to my Private Practice webpage and Psychology Today Profile and a copy of my Covid Test Results.

Private Practice link- https://www.helpmetohelpyoucounselingllc.com/

Psychology Today link-https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/help-me-to-help-you- counseling-llc-jacksonville-fl/876424?preview=1&return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmember.psychology today.com%2Fus%2Fh ome&_ga=2.[protected].[protected].[protected]-[protected].[protected]

Copy of Capella's Response:

Administrative Withdrawal - Capstone [ ref:_00D2Ep5cY._5004U13XzL1:ref ]

CAPELLA

Office of Academic & Community Standards

Thu, Mar 9, 1:58 AM

to me

Dear Michael Love,

You have appealed the decision of the school to withdraw you from the university due to not maintaining satisfactory academic standing, and the Office of Academic and Community Standards has reviewed your appeal. Through your appeal, you have indicated your desire to be allowed to resume your program and pursue the completion of your degree.

In this appeal process, the role of the Office of Academic and Community Standards is to ensure that equitable decisions have been made by the school. More specifically, the role of the President Designee is to review your appeal to determine if an exception to the policy is appropriate based on: (a) the demonstration that you experienced extenuating circumstances that prevented your academic progress, (b) those extenuating circumstances have remedied, improved, or stabilized, and (c) that you have identified a realistic and feasible plan for regaining satisfactory progress. A realistic plan focuses on the courses and/or milestones, and the program requirements that will be needed to demonstrate satisfactory progress. All three areas of consideration must be sufficiently responded to, and this appeal decision is final and is not open for further appeal.

I have carefully reviewed your request and rationale, and have considered the details of your academic history, as well as the information submitted in your appeal. My decision is to uphold your administrative withdrawal and deny your appeal.

This decision is the final determination of the university. I thank you for engaging the Office of Academic and Community Standards and President Designee in the review of your appeal.

Sincerely,

Dr. Raymer

Jennifer Raymer, PhD.

President’s Designee for Academic Appeals

Office of Academic and Community Standards

I was enrolled in the BSN program for nursing and had finished all of my online nursing courses including my Capstone Project. I was a Deans list student. The only classes that I had left to take were 4 or 5 elective classes. I had to take a break during COVID and in September of 2020 my 8 year old son was in an almost fatal accident and was hospitalized for 4 months. During that time all I had left to obtain my BSN were a few elective classes. I spoke multiple times with my academic advisor Josh Koski who ensured me that I could return and finish my electives when I was ready and then apply for graduation. When I was ready and able to return I was told that the program had changed and that I would have to retake a lot of the nursing classes over. Josh Koski stated that he tried to get all of my credits converted to the new system so that I could have them applied and just have to take the electives that I needed. This process dragged on for almost a year and then I was told the I could only have certain classes qualify and would have to take other classes over again in the new format. I feel that this is unfair and deceptive on the part of Capella. Not only did this happen during Covid but also my sons severe accident. I would appreciate any help that you could provide to me. I am just trying to finish the electives that are required to earn my BSN. Thank you very much. John Rein. [protected]@gmail.com

I am extremely disappointed by my ongoing experience with financial aid. There are too many people involved in communication to the point of nothing actually getting done. No consistent progress has been made. I have been approved for a Sallie Mae loan in the amount of 33,000 a month ago on 4/18/2023. I have talked for about 3 hours total on the phone with 2 different financial aid advisors on two separate occasions, I have had countless emails back and forth, and still nothing is resolved in having Capella just to simply certify my loan. I have spoken with Sallie Mae to confirm everything I was asked of and they stated that it is Capella's responsibility to certify the loan and that if the loan period would need to be adjusted it is in Capella's power to do so. Now I am receiving an email that my past balance of roughly 4,000$ is going to be sent to collections when it was communicated through both Sallie Mae and Capella that my loan can be applied to the previous balance. Now when I called for the third time due to receiving this email the young lady was not even on the same page, tried to tell me I need to pay at least half of that previous balance in order to avoid going to collections. That was never communicated in any of the previous emails, phone calls, or even the discussion with Sallie Mae. I am so tempted to transfer schools and take my money else where. Capella should be ashamed of the financial aid department as everyone's negative reviews and complaints are accurate frustrations. Who in their right mind would assume a person applying for such a large loan would have an extra 2,000$ to put out all of a sudden. Obviously, I applied for the loan because all of my money goes to my bills and my child. If this amount is sent to collection while in the meantime Capella is holding onto a 33,000$ loan I will absolutely escalate this to the best of my abilities in addition to legal action. I have never experienced such chaos when the money is at the actual fingertips of the school and it simply just hasn't been applied.

I have been doing my course work in April as expected, I paid my full term tuition on April 17th as I was enrolled in 2 courses for this term.

I submitted all assignments for the one class and reached out to my advisor to confirm I could take a "Basic" grade for one section of an assessment.

It took one week to get a real answer! Reached out on 04.26 and I didn't get a real answer from her until May 1st! While waiting I was submitting assessments on my 2nd course 2 our of 5 were graded.

When I went in to close the 1st course on May 1st, I had been removed from all courses and I reached out to my advisor to inquire if this was a glitch and she stated no you were removed since you didn't complete the course in time.

As my advisor, when I reached out on the 26th I would expect she may say you must complete a course by April 30th to be inline with our regulations. I called the advisor hotline and they could not determine what the issue was so I left a message for my advisor, I later followed up with an email. Her response was you were removed from the program because you didn't complete your course in time. I was under the impression advising students of potential issues was apart of their job and she failed me and now I am no longer enrolled?

I have signed up for text alerts and I receive nothing from them.

I work 2 jobs to cash flow my education and time can get away from me, so they just remove you without a heads up, the advisor assigned to me was a complete joke. She would not schedule time with me, only reached out to check on my twice in 2 terms

Capella should not be allowed to get away with taking your money and not providing the resources they claim to provide! I am 6 courses away from completing my program and now I have to start new with another online college

I started this doctorate journey Oct. 2020, I had straight A's within 7 quarters of being in this program and completed the required components of attending and participating in the year in residency. I then was wrongfully falsified with allegations against me that were presented to Capella University and then forwarded to me--and without further due I instantly jumped on the social media platforms and demanded that they stop falsifying my name and credentials and remove my information ASAP. I screenshot my ability to go into these sites and have the false information displayed removed. I was able to provide evidence that what was been projected was none of my doing and when called upon it I immediately acted and got proactive in protecting my reputation from being tarnished. However, after waiting for 9 months to see if I could get reinstated the University decided to deny me and their decision was final with no rationale to back up their claim.

If you are looking for a school that cares about its students, Capella is not it. I'm enrolled in the Doctorate program. The faculty does not care about the content written in your paper; they only care about formatting. You can submit the same paper to two faculty members you are guaranteed to be graded differently every time. I have a current faculty member give me a zero on my assignment because they asked us to write a 7-page essay, and I had nine pages. A faculty member who is supposed to be grading doctoral students said he gave me zero because he didn't want to reach 9.5 pages. When I reached out to the academic advising to file a complaint, not only the absurd feedback from the faculty but also his comments, I got no response and was sent a withdrawal form to unenroll from the school. Unfortunately, I did get my Masters's through them, and the only reason I stuck with Capella was that they offered the Flexpath program. If not for that, I would have spent my money elsewhere on better quality education and Faculty members who don't speak down to their students.

Capella University and their employees misled, inaccurately charge tuition, did not follow policy and procedures resulting in emotional distress and financial impact.

I have stayed in constant communication with Capella since my start year of 2021. I have submitted two grievances via telephone and email on 7/29/22 and 10/25/22. I never received a response from Capella University or the Academic Office regarding my grievances/complaints.

Furthermore, Capella University charged me tuition for sessions that I were not register for and did not properly rectify and follow procedures in regard to billing and academic withdrawal after removing me from the program.

Names Listed in this Complaint: Sarah Lehman, Sarah Terwey-Victory, Melissa Lundquist, "Chad"

Departments Listed in this Complaint: Financial Aid Department, Office of Academic and Community Standards
Furthermore, I would like to highlight the various recorded calls by other representatives that were not a part of my academic program (and apart) agreeing to the inconsistences with unethical practices relating to account information (Billing) and policy.

Furthermore, I have documentation and will be following up with submitting another complaint through a different regulating institution.

I do believe the truth will prevail and I want potential degree seekers to be very careful and research the history of lawsuits and practices of academic institutions.

I am a former student who attended Capella University and it appears that upon looking at my credit report, there is a mistake in a loan amount of which I was never enrolled at the school at the time. I am very confused about the amount as it is a fraud. I did not attend school in 2012. My name is Regina Gillespie if this is not taken care of I am filing a Lawsuit Case against the University. My email is [protected]@gmail.com

I am currently paying for $4,000 for 2 billing cycles of in which I was mistakenly enrolled.

The first billing cycle I was mistakenly enrolled in happened when I finished my course on the last day of the billing cycle and was "auto-enrolled" into another course right after, which happened to be on the first day of the next billing cycle.

After talking to the advising office and explaining this was a mistake and I am not able to afford or take more classes they said that it happened because I had the "auto-enroll" feature on (which is something I did not agree to, it automatically is applied to your account unless you specifically turn it off) and that there was nothing they could do. They repeatedly said that they can't give "refunds" unless it is specifically a "Capella error".

After talking to my advisor again she said she would put a hold on my account so that the next billing cycle I WOULD NOT be enrolled into another course. I still had to pay for the current billing cycle and needed to use financial aid and in order to use financial aid you need to be enrolled into a course, so I enrolled into a course believing that it would end when the billing cycle was over and that I would not be pulled into any more billing cycles.

Since I was enrolled in a course the hold was taken off of my account (without my knowledge) and I was pulled into the next billing cycle. 2 days after the billing cycle started and I realized I was being billed I immediately contacted my advisor and told her the mistake. After talking to her and her supervisor and the supervisor's supervisor, they stated, again, that this was not an error on Capella's part since I should have known that being enrolled in a course would bring me into another billing cycle. I showed the many messages and contact with my advisor explicitly stating I DID NOT want to be in another billing cycle and that I had believed I was put on a hold and that I would not be pulled into another billing cycle but they insist that it is my fault for enrolling into a course and not knowing that being enrolled into a course would override the hold on my account. Even though I took no classes and completed no work and contacted them 2 DAYS I was mistakenly pulled into another billing cycle, they would still give me no refund, not even a reduction in my tuition balance.

This school is a cooperation first and school second. Very cold and uncaring. This is ruining my finances and also my future education, I need to finish my bachelor's degree in the next 3 years to keep my current job but cannot enroll into any more courses until I pay this balance. I have explained all of this but they repeat the same thing "This is not a Capella error and so there's nothing we can do".

I am fighting for three days trying to upload my assessment. My professor did everything from her side, but this issue is still not resolved. I contacted support services, but they were not able to help me and sent my case to the higher level. They suppose to contact me, and I did not hear from them till now. I lose time, and it makes me very upset. I work full-time. Please help me asap

I appeal Capella's Administrative Withdrawal from the doctoral program and after asking for days if someone will get back to me and how I can escalate this matter, I received an email the next day saying it was denied. My academic coach and the appeals office at Capella barley responded throughout this process and was not professional. I cannot believe the unprofessionalism and lack of empathy and compassion that was conveyed through the emails and messages that I received. It is safe to say that Capella does not care about the well being of their students.

I am a former student of Capella University's Doctoral Program in

Psychology. Due to an unreasonable required long-distance

travel component of the program, which was promoted as fully

online, and was not adequately described during enrollment, I

needed to drop the program. The only hint that something might be wrong down the line was the first class' strange obsession with making sure your "employer supports your academic goals". But it wasn't made clear until it was abruptly mentioned that we would be required to perform a "Year in Residence", requiring actual airplane travel and 10-week hotel stays at a time, several times, for completion of the degree. What employer would ever tolerate an employee that needs to disappear for weeks on end?

I finished my last quarter with the school mid-June, and my grades and transfer transcripts were not ready to be sent to me/my new program until July 1st, when I requested them, and waited for confirmation that the request

would be processed, which arrived on July 3rd. Then I initiated a

full program drop July 3, online as that is their only option to do

so. Their system gives no confirmation that the request has been

initiated by email or other on-portal records, only a single

confirmation screen which times out. I expected the process to

be slow over into the July 4th holiday long weekend, so I was not

initially concerned until I began receiving welcome letters for the

new term and instructions for booking hotel rooms around July

10th. I went back to the portal and could find no

sign that my drop request was received. I initiated another, and

screenshot the confirmation screen, then began calling Capella to verify receiving this new attempt. They claimed that the July 4th request was never received, and only after I said I had screenshot the new drop request confirmation screen on July 11th that they were suddenly able to

"find" the drop request for July 11th. They said it would be a

"week" for it to complete but, only after calling in a third time to verify status did I receive an email confirmation of program withdrawal on July 25th, after calling a again verify that it had actually gone through. I then received an email making my drop date July 11th, not the July 4th date that it should have been.

At no time did I engage with the course content or open any of the items for the term I was enrolled in without my consent. However, now I am being billed fees for the first year in residence event and seminar I did not attend, and never interacted with. Capella has been refusing to return calls, messages and keeps saying they have "reported it" but would not give details about who it was reported to, or timing for reponses, or respond to questions about why I am being billed or how to remove the charges for services not rendered.