| colorado technical university |
| Colorado Technical University Online CTU Online AIU Online Attempt to collect a nonexistent debt Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| 22nd of Aug, 2011 by User879184 |
| In 2006 I attended CTU Online, seeking a B.S. in software engineering. In November of that year I was academically dismissed due to poor progress. An out-of-pocket tuition debt was incurred by my dismissal, which I paid in full in early 2007. When I later applied to another university in my hometown, CTU Online released my transcripts to that university. In May of this year I was contacted by a collection agency that identified itself as calling on behalf of CTU Online. It said it was trying to collect a debt of approximately five thousand dollars that I allegedly owed to CTU. Not having attended CTU since Fall of 2006, I challenged this debt and retained an attorney at my present school. The attorney contacted the collection agency with an order to turn over all evidence of the debt that I owed. The collection agency never replied. The attorney then recommended that I contact a credit agency such as Trans Union to see if the debt was recorded on my credit report, and I found that it was. The attorney contacted Trans Union, challenging the debt. In July I received a letter from Trans Union saying that the claim had been deleted from my credit report. This was the consequence for my having attended CTU Online. I hope this helps if you are thinking about attending this online college. |
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In my opinion, Colorado Technical University (aka Colorado Tech, Colorado Tech Online, CTU Online and Career Education Corporation) only is an option if you have no other options.
If you're considering CTU as a school, you should know/review this items, then do some investigating.
1. They have more than one class-action lawsuits pending against them and already settled one $40 million lawsuit. In my opinion, to avoid too much negative publicity while the government is closely watching online schools, passing new laws and guidelines and considering more.
2. Their advisers are telemarketers basically, not people who went to college for the purpose of working as an adviser. If you request more information from the school directly or naively put your information into an online advertisement in regards to college educations, you will be bombarded with calls. As a test, say you're interested in a degree CTU doesn't offer. Though they claim they will determine if CTU is a good fit for you, or not, not surprisingly EVERYONE seems to be right for CTU, even if you're seeking a degree in refrigerator repair, they will try to sell you on a different degree they offer.
3. No school advisers try to fit you into something, but rather, they should be examining your qualifications and prior college experience, to see what requirements need to be fulfilled to get a degree.
4. It's expensive! Compare rates and see how expensive CTU is in comparison to a physical four-year state school or private school. In my case, CTU was $20, 000 more than the state school and the state school actually offered almost half its classes online. Unless rates have drastically changed in the past year (most likely they've risen, if changed at all) CTU could be over double what a community college would charge for a full schedule.
5. CTU does not have regular semesters. They may call semesters "marking periods" or something like that, I can't remember the exact term they told me on one of the many calls I received. I was told by someone in the education field, that this is somehow beneficial to them because of the way that financial aid is distributed. Judging by other reports from students with bad experiences, it could be because the government pays grants by the semester, so it seems to leave the door open for CTU to get semester money for one of their marking periods, then leave you on the hook for the other marking period, because it doesn't conclude within the parameters of a normal semester.
6. If you're in the military, CTU will hound you forever because it wants the guaranteed government grant money. I know someone who was called multiple times a week, for several months, trying to get him to enroll at CTU. When he said he no longer wanted to receive calls, the adviser asked why, then asked him to at least complete the free application, then decide whether he wanted to register for classes.
7. You should never trust an adviser than can't provide any information on the teachers. My adviser could have given me a teacher's credentials, the length of time teaching at my school, an opinion on if the class/teacher is right for me and options on similar classes taught by different teachers.
8. No decision on schooling should be made in an hour or a week. In most cases, it's an investment that you'll be making payments on for years into the future.
9. CTU's parent company, Career Education Corp., is a publicly traded company - meaning the shareholders expect profit and put little or no value in whether it's students are receiving a quality education or if they find work after they graduate.
10. Call other colleges and see if they accept or transfer credits from CTU. I'm not going to guess the answer you'll receive, but in my state, most said no or that it will at least depend on what class it is. It's less hassle to know the college you may transfer to, if you do, is known and hearing that the adviser knows the other college and hasn't had any issues transferring credits in the past.
11. Do research on whether companies would hire someone from an online college. Be honest with yourself. If you're up against another candidate and they went to a physical university, especially one the hiring person has heard of, they're going with the candidate who went to a well-known university. Example, who would you hire? - Candidate 1 with 1 year experience and a degree from an online college or candidate 2 with 1 year experience and a degree from a four-year college in your state?
12. Lastly, realize no real advisers are salesmen. There is no pushiness and desperation for you to apply. The application for a real university is done separately and you speak to an adviser to talk about majors, minors and what classes are required for completion. And these advisers can usually tell you quickly and with confidence, what is required. |
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| My wife was a student at ctu Colorado tech university and she was scammed big time. They were suppose to supply books and software we never received. She turned in all assignments and the classes were failing her saying she didn't turn in assignments and kicked her out first semester. Now we have a 10000 bill from Sallie Mae. If anyone knows attorney for class action lawsuit please email me [email protected] |
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