Enrolling at Ashford University was rapid and involved no entrance requirements on my part once I explained my previous schooling. I was rushed through the process with a series of marketing strategies that only on hindsight were revealed. Though there were personal communications at the start, these would cease once admissions were complete.
I had some doubts when told I could immediately start classes but was not answered personally for several weeks. In the meantime a classic series of email autoresponder messages arrived with no real information in the content but many redundant congratulations and welcomes.
None of my requests for information on my financial aid status were answered until after my first class was completed in five weeks. My transferred credits and corresponding class status from my other schools have not been applied to this day, January 19, 2011 even though my enrollment started the first week of November,2010.
I was eventually contacted by the financial aid dept. and told that my paperwork was being processed and to expect to wait another four to six weeks before I might receive an email notifying me of the direct federal student loan I had applied for in October. I was further informed that it would take another fourteen days from when I acknowledged that email to get the disbursement of the student loan.
This statement by the financial aid supervisor was word for word what was in the original direct student loan agreement I had made at the end of October, 2010. It was as if the whole process was starting over from day one even though the Department of Education notified me of their receipt of my paperwork on November 3, 2010.
Because of the lack of funds from the aid promised, I could not afford the course materials for the second class that started the first of January. Furthermore, I was unable to continue paying for my Internet Service and had to reduce my bandwidth access to stay online at all.
Being in a class for journalism and mass communications that involved online research, online discussions, posting assignments online and taking tests online, this lack of course materials and lack of Internet access left me with no other choice but withdrawal from the class and subsequently withdrawal from the university itself.
To continue would have contributed to the mental stress of trying to complete assignments with inadequate resources and accomplished nothing but poor grades and deeper indebtedness. This was unfortunate because the curriculum was very good with well qualified instructors.
I liked the work and would have preferred to stay if the financial aid department would have lived up to their promises both personal and professional. Because of their lack of professionalism my health is suffering and my personal financial obligations are massive with no return on my investment.
The stalling of the financial aid department was intentional with the agenda of getting additional "technology" fees that came into play during the second course. There was no additional technology supplied in any way. No labs, no special resources of any kind. It was in my opinion a method of padding their fees and process costs with no direct benefit for the student in the courses I was involved with.
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