University of Phoenix [UOPX]
reviews and complaints

I attended the University of Phoenix in 2009. I attended two classes. I was very unhappy. I suppose I was very naive but I received little paper work and I was led to believe that my monies were grants. For the most part. I dropped out in January of 2010. I received a letter from UOP stating that I owed them $1.01. I found this hilarious and called and paid the charges. I have not heard boo. Not one single word from them since this time.
Last year when I filed my taxes...which I have done every single year since I turned 18... the Department of Education took my entire refund. Our family is financially struggling and this was a devastating hit. I DO have student loans for another college I attended but they are in good standing. I had no idea what was going on. After calling the DOE, I was informed the monies taken were for UOP and that despite taking nearly $3000 from me, that I still owed them more than $18, 000! For two classes. And not only two classes but classes I am certain I do not owe for.

I filed a dispute with the DOE. They turned my request down as I have no proof. As I have said, I got very little paperwork from them...and it had been so long I had thrown out the documents. I did file some other sort of dispute but have never heard anything back in regard to a decision.

Is this legal? How do I fight this? How can I protect my taxes this year? How can I protect my husband's taxes?

I very much want my money back from last year but if that's not possible I really need to receive my taxes this year as well as my husband's.

Wow, This many years later and I wish I had looked in to this sooner. I was mislead as a single mother with only a high school diploma that I would receive grants and everything paid for at no cost to me. Here I am 10 years later, No degree and 35, 585 in debt, still a single mom and cant buy a home because this has destroyed my credit. Is there any hope for this situation?

I work for social services and was a Secretary at the time. I enrolled in UOP so I could continue to work (I had 4 kids to support) and I was trying to promote to analyst and higher so a degree in Human Services would have really helped. After talking with the enrollment counselor and being assured, more than once, that my credits would transfer to the California state university system, I eagerly enrolled into the bachelor's program in Human Services.

Immediately the counselor sent me to an orientation and financial aid session with a group of other enrollees. They put us in a room and sat us down with FASFA papers. The financial aid people walked us through the FASFA forms and told us what to write down and told us to sign (Apparently we were also filling out loan papers as well). After orientation we were given our class schedules and start dates and congratulated.

A few weeks later I was informed I needed to apply for another loan because it was time to pay tuition again and my first loan had been used up! Well first of all i never realized i had gotten a loan. I was under the impression i got a FASFA grant, i had to buy all my books and materials out of pocket and didnt receive any disbursements like friends and relatives who have student loans received to help with those things as well as Transportation and living expenses. Oh yeah and tuition was going up!

This pattern kept repeating after every two or three classes! Each time tuition went up. I think in the whole time I attended I got two small disbursements, one for $200 and one for $700 and my loans totaled almost $30, 000! I was livid when I saw how much they had cheated me out of. I was just a couple of classes short of graduation when I had to stop attending. I just couldn't afford to keep taking out their ridiculous loans. I thought I could eventually get back on track and transfer to the UC system and finish but then was told their credits wouldn't be accepted. So...now I have a mountain of student debt I was tricked into accumulating, worthless credits and no degree! I did eventually make it to first level management but I cant get promoted any higher without that degree and I've now been employed there 22 years. University of Phoenix sucks. The teachers with the exception of a few know nothing, the recruitment and financial aid staff should be jailed and the school closed!

There was enough financial aid to cover my tuition and other expenses for school year 2017-18. However the University of Phoenix (UOP) unjustly returned a portion of my student loans for the 2017 semester after I graduated June 2018. According to my loan servicer FedLoan Serving, the funds were returned in November of 2018. Now the UOP has placed an unsecured loan balance of $5, 196.00 on my credit report via a collection agency and this balance, I do not owe. I have disputed this with UOP. I have contacted the US DEPT OF EDU, FTC and FSA. So far I have seen no results. I have documentation that proves I do not owe this balance and that no loans or grants should have been returned on my behalf by UOP. I was sent an updated account history I requested but the second one was one that could be manipulated. It was typed up in a word document and it was not like the original ledger I had previously received.

This is a new issue that came up with University of Phoenix (UoP)that is in conjunction with the general degree mill, and quality of service.

1. This is a lower quality education than Ivy League, and this is accepted by supporter and non-supporter of the UoP model.

2. Recently UoP also updated their platform to base off of blackboard. this is not necessarily bad, but the implementation of the product resulted in non-functional educational process. Negatively impacting instructors as well as students in fulfilling their roles, as well as impacting the quality of delivery.

3. Along with the disorganized migration to an unfinished product, and likely the main cause of this new issue: UoP now demand more time investment from on-campus students. It looks like they took the online curriculum, levy it on on-campus student, then add in 4 hours of class time.

This is another indicator that UoP is going to be out of business sooner than before its last upgrade. Along with other pressures to stay in business, these poor decisions does not help them stay in business. We should consider that the ultimate purpose of a college education is to learn to think. UoP may not be qualified to teach "how to think"; in the interests of quality of service, delivery of a promisse, or making good decisions.

You can still decide to obtain a degree from UoP. Consider the risk of a degree from a university that will be closing. I am giving it 10 years before it sells to a different investor, going out of business, or downsizing to a small online population. As a result of poor thinking.

University of Phoenix took my money and when I got close to finish they said I owed them $2, 000 dollars and they had me applying for loans to give them the $2, 000 dollars i never re received and kicked me out of classes and would not allow me to finish. They want me to pay $40, 000 dollars in loa s when I never got an opportunity to finish and they would not give me a copy of my transcript in order for me to go to Junior college . They have kept me from getting my degree. And I am sicker now more so then I was then and was fighting to finish. They took everything from me and my mother she wanted to see me graduate but died not being able to because University of Phoenix made sure of that. Please put me in on the Class action lawsuit. Debra Sapp debra.[protected]@hotmail.com

When I began at Axia, I was told they offered Med billing/coding that also offered certification and job placement. Exactly what I needed. I am a USN vet and was using my GI bill as well as the pell grant. While I had some issues with admin in the beginning, after I got going I was excited to run with this program. I obtained A's in all courses and at the very end of what I thought was my med billing/coding program, I was contacted by axia admin telling me "sorry. We were mistaken before but if you want a med billing/coding degree, you'll have to continue with your last courses in health admin and then continue on for a whole other year to get the degree promised. So of course I continued on with my education, once again following the promises given by axia admin that I, for sure this time, would end up with the desired result of a medical billing/coding degree and certification along with job placement assistance through the university. I firmly believe the university scammed not only me but the fed gov to suck dry any funds they could. Not only did I NOT end up with my degree program, certification or placement, they ended up only giving me an associate degree in the (art) of health admin. A nice way of saying healthcare general studies. I have tried contacting the admin there several times and even requested contacts back to which I received no response. I will not pay for trash. And that's what my degree is worth. Anyone know how to resolve this issue please.

When I enrolled, it took me two years to complete my bsn.
However, during my msn program, I was repeatedly told I could not enroll for the next set of classes due to failing a course. I was made to wait up to 3 to 6 months before the administration finally approved my readmission.
There is no standardization among the professors. When I received a failing mark from the first professor, I received an a from the next professor for the same course.
I was in this msn from 2004 till 2016. That is a twelve year course for what should have been another 2 years.
I have since discovered that my education does not seem to apply to the nursing world as I was taught.

While I am proud of my accomplishment, I do not feel that uop is legitimate in the manner that they prolonged my education unnecessarily.

Joan enering, r.N., msn

I have been enrolled since January have racked up a over $3000 bill due to them not processing my finanical aid in a timely fashion. When I call nobody knows anything and can do nothing to be of assistance. This school is a total fraud they treat students like a number one of the worst decisions that I have ever made. I would love to be able to work towards getting fake schools like this closed so that no other person goes thru this hassle. As soon as I am able to I will be withdrawing and entering a locally accredited school. With real people who care and know what they are doing

I'm reading all the other post from uop classmates, and it all sounds very familiar! I've been in school since october 23 and as of today january 30th, there is still no returns or stipend! Everything they have asked me for has been filled out and fax or sent by signing in to ecampus! I have been on the phone with them everyday with the exception of weekends and holidays, it's really frustrating especially with two small children and one income! I really don't understand their process? I've talked to soooooo many different people but in the end nothing! Something really needs to be done! I've thought about going to another school because of this! To top it off it all started with name change & they spouses tax information from 2016! I need to hear back from someone asap! Trying to be professional! But I might need to call an attorney to get the ball rolling.

I was totally mislead when signing up with you and only went to school for 5 months they have stolen 3000 out of my taxes and they want another 3, 000 and I do not understand how I owe that. I would like to know if there is any help or anything that there can be done for loan forgiveness? And was in contact with the school the whole time and had no indication that my taxes were going to be taken or my wages would be garnished.

I am a Focus to Finish Scholarship recipient, and the new financial aid disbursement policy has negatively impacted my ability to receive the proper funding I need to comfortably complete my classes. The only reason why I took out financial aid and a student loan (although my school tuition is already funded by my scholarship) was to get by with my living expenses as a single mother going to school, now I am left in debt due to not receiving my financial aid when I needed it most (my disbursement was supposed to be October 30th, 2018, it is now November 25th, 2018). I contacted Financial aid, scholarship office whom sent my information up to the director of Financial Aid, in hopes he could release my desperately needed funding (that is in my student account). I was then denied. Not all of the students that attend school are financially set, some of use rely heavily on our financial aid to get by while attending class. Which leads me to my next point, (After asking for my financial aid to be released I was told it could not, because many students mismanage there money, so the school holds it till classes are paid for- but I am a scholarship student and my classes are already paid for). Withholding all of the students financial aid just because a select students mismanage their money is logical fallacy all its own. University of Phoenix has not taken into consideration the many financially responsible students the new policy has negatively impacted. What I see is a corporation that is forcing students to continue courses, withholding students needed Financial Aid and releasing in disbursements once courses are taken to cover the University own end. Its also a way to keep students in school granting more money to University of Phoenix's pockets. I know the University says its to help students but I fail to see the help I am getting as a scholarship student. As a scholarship student, none of my financial aid is going to be covering any of my tuition. So I see no reason scholarship students should have to be under the same policy, exceptions need to be made for the release of Pell grants and student loans.

This school deserves no stars, I totally agree with the other reviews. University of Phoenix is a scam and it appears that their only focus is monetary. I am a veteran and I registered at the University of Phoenix to take a single course with the intention that the school would submit my certification information to the VA for payment. However, the University of Phoenix has refused to submit my certification to the VA and has demanded that I pay for the class. The VA has already approved payment to the school for the single class in question but the University of Phoenix has repeatedly ignored my request to submit my certification to the VA. Per federal regulations the the VA cannot and will not pay for the class without certification documentation from the University of Phoenix.in addition, I have documentation from the VA acknowledging that as a combat veteran I am covered 100% but the University of Phoenix has refused to submit the certification information to the VA. AVOID UNIVERSITY of PHOENIX at all cost. Hindsight is 20/20, given the opportunity again I would not choose this school. Trying to reach anyone after registering is an all day process, you may or not get someone competent to assist you with your issue. The University of Phoenix will gladly sign you up for classes. However, after registration you are on your own.

There are ongoing issue with UOP financial department timely processing of student excess refund balance. I have been waiting since April 3, 2018 and as of today no refund received. There were initial problems with my first disbursement and the assigned financial advisor since that time she was removed and I was given a genetic email contact and no assigned advisor. I have interacted via email with Executive Financial Analyst, Financial Advisors, Senior Manager and several others to still no resolution or refund check. I drove from CA to AZ after speaking with CR and advising that only online service was available and that I would have to be in AZ to speak with someone face-to-face since i was an online student. When I arrive after having no money and asking mostly strangers for money to afford the trip. I have been in AZ for over a week still no check, no staff member will talk directly to me only emails and phone. I do not have phone service so this method is not a remedy. When going to the campus 4/22 and spoken to as if I had no right to be there or use the phones and ask to leave rudely, I have not been back. Students borrow money and pay interest on loans to pay salaries and amenities on student campuses. Who are people listening for guidance. Are they hearing voices the DEVIL! Learn to think for yourself.

I attended UoP from 2010-2011, with the promise of graduating with a bachelors in accounting, and also job placement. I soon learned that the classes were not anything but chatting and replying to other students. I continued on with my classes, keeping a 3.8 GPA.
During 2011, our home was hit by the tornado that came through springfield, MA, and we were placed in a home that had no internet for 18 months while our home was rebuilt. I was told to try the best I can to get to a computer to do my work. With 6 small children, and working as a schoolbus driver, it was very difficult to get access to a computer.
Then one day, I went to sign in and my access was denied.
Now, my students loans have gone to collections, and I am working with the ACT program, paying $5 a month just so that I stay in good standings, but it has affected my credit score in a negative way, and I am not able to obtain another student loan at any other school.
I have no degree, nor an accounting career. Only a bad credit score, and a debt of $30, 000.
I believe I am entitled to a loan forgiveness.
Thank you
Ara DeGray

University of Phoenix Sanctioned by the Government - The university was found by the GAO to have prioritized financial success over student outcomes, with low spending in instruction per student and a 66 percent withdrawal rate among students in associate degree programs. In November 2009, the University of Phoenix’s parent company, resolved a 2004 U.S. Department of Education investigation by settling for $10 million. Regulators accused the university of making recruiter pay dependent on enrollment numbers. The Apollo group settled for $78.5 million when a whistle-blower made allegations of enrollment-based recruiter incentives. In October 2010, the University of Phoenix lost a $10 million lawsuit with the Oregon Attorney General for poor financial practices. The lawsuit charged that University of Phoenix misled investors, and failed to follow federal student loan protocol, which in some cases led to improperly canceled student loans. In 2013, it was sanctioned by the Higher Learning Commission, due to concerns regarding student assessment, governance and faculty scholarship and research for the school’s doctoral programs. Under this sanction, the university got to keep its accreditation, but had to submit reports to the agency on a regular basis. As of May 2015, the university’s parent company, Apollo Education Group Inc. was the subject of at least two investigations by state attorneys general. In July 2015, the FTC announced that it had issued Apollo a “Civil Investigative Demand, ” and would be looking into the use of potential deceptive advertising, sale or marketing of Apollo’s services to students.

University of Phoenix was (IS) the subject of an Education Department audit, which revealed that the school overcharged lenders and this department by over a half million dollars. University of Phoenix spends an unusually high portion of revenue on marketing and a relatively small amount on instruction (for its exclusively online program). Most instructors are part-time and accreditation could be an issue in the near future. University of Phoenix appears to maintain aggressive enrollment goals for the more than 300 recruiters it employs. Many former students of University of Phoenix have been plagued with high debt to income ratios after taking out student loans from this for-profit university. University of Phoenix was recently questioned for having a high withdrawal rate amongst students in its programs and for spending an unusually high percentage of revenue on marketing and its aggressive, untruthful recruiting tactics.

University of Phoenix Class Action Lawsuit [protected]: The University of Phoenix is being sued and may be “shut down”, by court order! Three former students who withdrew from the university filed the lawsuit out of Arkansas, whereas the students claimed that the University of Phoenix sought tuition payments directly from the students after they withdrew instead of deducting the payments directly from the students' loans. The students withdrew because the quality of education they received from the University of Phoenix was extremely poor, the instructors would not help them, and some instructors went missing for a few days in the online classrooms.

Three former students who withdrew from the University of Phoenix filed the lawsuit out of Arkansas, whereas the students claimed that the University of Phoenix sought tuition payments directly from the students after they withdrew instead of deducting the payments directly from the students' loans. The students withdrew because the quality of education they received from the University of Phoenix was extremely poor, the instructors would not help them, and some instructors went missing for a few days in the online classrooms.

University of Phoenix is well known as one of the largest for-profit colleges in the US, and may also be among the most predatory. University of Phoenix has a long history of lawsuits for its’ deceptive practices. The “school” was recently being sold, leaving students out in the dark. The university has paid several government fines and settled whistle-blower lawsuits concerning its admissions practices and education programs. In 2000, the federal government fined the university $6 million for including study-group meetings as instructional hours. In 2002, the Department of Education relaxed requirements on instructional hours.

In 2014 the US Dept of Education’s Office of the Inspector General demanded records from the University of Phoenix and its parent company Apollo Group going back to 2007 “related to marketing, recruitment, enrollment, financial aid, fraud prevention, [and] student retention.

I have been proactive in efforts for re-entry of online classes on 8/15/17 with UoP. My advisor took leave due to a family emergency; this was learned when I hadn't heard from her so sent an email requesting an update. An auto-reply came back to me stating she was out and if i was anticipating a 8/15/17 enrollment start date, she would not be back in time to achieve this and I should call a number. I did that. Another advisor entered my paperwork and said I would be hearing back from them. Four days passed so I called again. This time my original advisor was back in the office and took my call. She said they needed my high school information. Now remind you, I have been enrolled at UoP previously with all documents submitted and cleared. This advisor said I could not start because they needed the paperwork again. NO ONE EVER WAS ASSIGNED TO MY CASE DURING HER LEAVE. NO ONE EVER CALLED ME AFTER THE PAPERWORK WAS ENTERED. NO ONE DID ANYTHING TO ASSIST ME IN THIS ENROLLMENT! UoP proved a lackadaisical process and procedure in a time when a UoP employee was unable to complete their duties for any given reason or absence. My goals have been severed and put on hold due to an absence of procedure in such situations, and allowing a student to shoulder the burden due to their lack of planning. I am so disappointed and do not wish to LEARN from such an institution!

I would make the complaint but as I am in school right now, I don't want this to get in their hands just yet. I have to make a decision to withdraw and go with the class action lawsuit or not and just get my BS degree since I'm under a year of graduation. Don't really know what to do right now spoke to another company about this they said to take a day to think about what to do. So that's what I'm doing. I'll get back to you once I decide and I can explain whats been happening and why I'm so upset. Thanks

Unfortunately once again, I am going to have to leave

a negative review for this school. This school

decided to end my class for me today, when they wanted

to on their terms, with no regard for my individual

circumstances.

After a few weeks of struggling with one sick child

child with a bedwetting problem, another child with

after-school activities, a verbally abusive husband

recently placed in a wheelchair, and no help with any

household chores, I fell behind in certain aspects of

the class. To be very specific, what I fell behind in

wasn't reading my books or following the assignments,

it was the interaction requirement where students are

required to post reviews in response to book readings

and content-related questions. They consider posting

an attendance requirement.

This posting requirement is insignificant in

proportion to the rest of the class content, and my

grade was still an A. People make up ridiculously

inane comments just to get points for interaction. In

fact, there was a woman in a previous class who could

barely compose a sentence, who was stealing other

people's online works, and posting without references.

Complaint after complaint yielded no results, and I

was disciplined for sending her an email accusing her

of plagiarizing, and they still gave her credit for

the class, I'm sure. I posted a review about that

woman previously.

The administration this evening provided me with an

excuse that the DOE requires them to keep track of

attendance, and that near-death circumstances are

required to be able to reinstate a class cancelled due

to attendance. I was told the system automatically

does it.

They do not track login/logout and do not consider it

attendance, therefore they refused to acknowledge that

I was still reading my books and perusing discussions.

I know that their refusal to reinstate my class had

nothing to do with DOE, and everything to do with

placing this ridiculous policy above my worth as a

human being.

Now I have an employer who is never going to pay for

the class because it wasn't completed, and the school

won't reverse the charges, I'm sure. I'm not paying

for the class, because I can't. I went to them to

improve my life, and instead they left me with a huge

bill that I'll never be able to pay back.

I'm posting this everywhere because I want people to

know they don't care about the work you do, or who you

are. They care about policy, your student number, and

that's about it. I would avoid this school. I've

gone to other colleges and never was I locked out of a

class due to attendance (and this I wouldn't even

refer to as attendance), in the midst of completing

it.

I had planned to finish the posting requirements today

though late and accept a late grade, but they

destroyed my opportunity to do that as well. A

student can choose to have mediocre grades and

attendance and accept a mediocre grade if they want

to. That is none of their business.

I know there are a lot of different complaints on this

school, as I have a colleague who is attempting to sue

them right now regarding a similar issue. I'd watch

it if you plan to go through them as they will cost

you a lot of time and expense.

My name is Robert Schirmer and I was an online student at the University of Phoenix University Of Phoenix / Axia College / Apollo Group
from 2005 to 2011. In that time I earned two degrees. The first being an associate of the arts in criminal justice and the other a bachelor's of science in psychology. In that time I had a new financial counselor every quarter and could never get a straight answer regarding my student loans and Pell grants. I was told my first degree would cost 22, 000 which I would not have to start paying back until six months after graduation. Upon graduating I was informed if I did not continue my education the loans would come due immediately so I re-enrolled for my bachelor's program. I was told that was only 35, 000 yet now I owe $101, 014.00. This does not include what I have already paid! I have called as well as sent written requests for detailed statements on what my student loans paid and what they did not, as well as where my Pell grant money went because I never received a dime of it! They have denied all requests. They refuse to send my transcripts and degree certificate claiming I still owe them $500.00. I was promised job placement upon graduation and that never happened either.

I submitted another written request a week ago asking for my transcripts, degree certificate, and a detailed statement of what the school received from the federal student loans on my behalf. That request went ignored as well. I believe I was way over charged for the two degrees I earned and that I was lied to by the recruiters, my numerous financial counselors, and the school itself.

I have contacted the department of education but having difficulty getting the loans dismissed. My wages are being garnished and I cannot find work in my field of study because last I was told by potential employers was The University of Phoenix is no longer an accredited school. Not to mention that my degrees are considered “Junk Degrees”! So here I am still over 100, 000 in debt and trying to live on 1, 200 a month in wages because I cannot even use the degrees I have earned!
I have contacted
1) federal trade commission
2) state congressman / state senators
3) department of higher education federal
4) department of higher education wyo
5) state attorney general
6) better business bureau
7) contact your local and national news reporting stations

I am praying you can help!

Robert M. Schirmer
321 N. 4th St
Douglas, Wyoming
[protected]