ComplaintsforUniversity of Arkansas Grantham

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  BBB unable to locate business

  More info

  DEAR BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IM CONTACTING THE BBB TODAY BECAUSE IM HAVING DELAY PROBLEM ISSUES WITH & COLLEGE CAMPUS GOES BY THE NAME OF UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM ASLO I CAN EXPLAIN MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE PROBLEM ISSUES IM HAVING WITH THE COLLEGE I ENROLLED TO TAKE ONLINE CLASSES WAS STARTING ON MAY 8TH 2024 THIS YEAR THE CLASS COURSE I ENROLLED TO STUDY WAS COMPUTER SCIENCE WAS THE ONLINE CLASS COURSE I SIGN UP FOR AS & NEW STUDENT UNDERGRADUATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM ADMISSION DEPARTMENT MAIN ISSUE THE CONSUMER HAVING WITH THE BUSINESS COLLEGE CAMPUS SHES CANT GET THE ADMISSION DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM TO VERIFY HER ONLINE PORTAL STUDENT ACCOUNT SHES CREATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM SCHOOL ONLINE CAMPUS DEPARTMENT CONSUMER HAD TO UPLOAD HER PERSONAL DOCUMENTS THIS INCLUDE SSN NUMBER DATE OF BIRTH MAILING ADDRESS TELEPHONE NUMBER STATE ID NUMBER CONSUMER CLIENT CUSTOMER HAS BEEN LOCK OUT OF HER UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS ONLINE GRANTHAM ONLINE PORTAL STUDENT ACCOUNT THATS UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM ADMISSION DEPARTMENT CREATE ON HER BEHALF NOW SINCE THE NEW STUDENT APPLY TO TAKE ONLINE COLLEGE CAMPUS CLASSES THE COLLEGE CAMPUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM ARE TELLING THE STUDENT THEY CANT ACCESS HER STUDENT GRADE RECORDS THOUGH HER ONLINE STUDENT ACCOUNT TO COMPLETE HER ONLINE ORIENTATION CLASS ROOM WORK UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM SCHOOL COLLEGE REFUSE TO HELP THE STUDENT RETRIEVE HER LOG IN ACCESS TO HER STUDENT MICROSOFT ONLINE EMAIL ACCOUNT UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GRANTHAM FINANCIAL AID DEPARTMENT TELEPHONE NUMBER ************ *** *** *** ****** ************ CONSUMER STUDENT NOT ABLE TO START HER ONLINE CLASSES ON THE 8TH OF MAY BECAUSE SHE BEEN LOCK OUTTA HER EMAIL MICROSOFT ACCOUNT & CANT ACCESS TO LOG IN USER NAME & PASSWORD TO HER MICROSOFT EMAIL ACCOUNT STUDENT TRIED 7 TIMES TO RESET TO PASSWORD TO HER EMAIL MICROSOFT ACCOUNT THIS DID NOT HELP FIX ARE SOLVE THE PROBLEM ISSUES

• Initial Complaint

  04/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I enrolled at Granthan majoring in accounting, I was only called by my student regarding my grades and nothing else. I didn't even choose my electives which a failed and now have to pay for, when I spoke to a student regarding this matter she told me that it was assumed that I would want to take business electives because of my major so no one gave me the option to choose my electives. That's one. Grantham will not and cannot help me solve that problem financially and because I owe them money, I had to stop taking my classes during that time NO ONE from that school had informed me that their Accounting program was eliminated, and now have about 12-15 credits remaining to graduate and they’re telling me that I have to switch majors which will cost me even more money with ABSOLUTELY no help from them but yet they want their money and are quick to tell me how much I owe them and explaining my hardship to them too. That's the second problem. The third is, I can't even sign into the school because of them updating their systems again something I was informed about, and when I spoke to someone about it she told me that will call me back with sign-in information and a solution about the accounting program which I never heard back from. Grantham wants their money but is not willing to help find a solution that will not cost me more to graduate.

  Business response

  05/03/2023

  Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to review all of *** ******** concerns.  We take student complaints very seriously and have provided our response below. 
  

  *** ****** first started her Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree program in 2019, however, after some time had to take a break from her studies.  In April 2022, a student advisor reached out to her letting her know she had been out of class for 77 days and that after 90 days of being out of class she would be considered a re-admit and would be subject to any changes that had occurred in her program since her original enrollment.  She was informed in that email that this could affect the number of classes needed to complete the degree program.  *** ****** responded to the email letting the advisor know she needed to pay down a balance before she could start classes again. Note: During this time, the university re-admittance policy states, an individual who is out over 90 days would be subject to the tuition, policies, procedures, and any changed academic requirements in force at the time of re-admission.  During the time *** ****** was out of class, the BS-Accounting degree program entered a teach-out and was no longer accepting new students.  However, when she spoke with an advisor on January 9, 2023, she was informed the Director of the college would make an exception and allow her to get back into the degree program to complete the remaining courses with stipulations.  The stipulations were that she had to register by the February 2023 term and remain continuously enrolled until all remaining courses were completed.  Unfortunately, *** ****** has a hold on her account due to a balance and was unable to enroll for the February term. She has spoken to the business office multiple times and was informed of what needed to be paid before she could start classes.  During the call with the advisor, she asked about the possibility of switching degree programs.  The advisor let her know of the program that would closely relate to the accounting program, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), and walked her through in general terms of what her degree path would look like if she did make the switch.  A few days after this call on January 11, 2023, *** ****** went into the system and completed an enrollment agreement for the new Bachelor of Business Administration degree program.  Since a new enrollment agreement was completed, the system updated from the BS-Accounting program to the newly selected program.  On January 23rd, a returning student advisor reached out via phone to discuss her future enrollment plans.  At that time, it was explained to her why the BBA program was showing in the system and that if she wished to complete the BS-Accounting program it would need to be manually set up for her.  Meaning, she cannot go into the system to complete an enrollment agreement on her own as that program is no longer listed in the drop-down menu.  *** ****** also mentioned that during her enrollment at the university her advisor only contacted her to discuss grades and did not allow her to choose her electives.  A student advisors’ main role at the university is to ensure students stay on track with their degree path.  This is done by frequent check-ins to make sure deadlines are being met in the classroom, students have access to all necessary resources,  grades remain satisfactory, and to ensure they are enrolled in future term courses.  Enrollment into future term courses is done together, however, on occasion when a student cannot be reached an advisor will select courses on the student’s behalf to keep them progressing towards graduation. If at any time a student wants to change their classes, we would do so as it’s their decision on what classes they will take. Courses can always be viewed prior to the start of a term on the student portal.  A student can see their upcoming courses and if they have any questions regarding the courses, they can always reach out to their advisor to make changes or discuss other options.  Again, an advisor choosing courses for a student is done to make sure they stay on track with their degree path and do not miss an upcoming start. On April 19th, *** ****** reached out via phone and spoke to an advisor about not being able to login to the system and asked if she could get back into the BS-Accounting degree.  She was informed on that call that she wouldn’t be able to login because the university recently upgraded systems and her new login credentials would need to be sent to her.  It was also mentioned that she still had a hold on her account that would need to be resolved before moving forward, she was a FA Hard Stop and needed to speak with the financial aid department, and she would look into her question regarding the degree program.After a few days, on April 24th, the advisor followed-up with *** ****** via email informing her she could enroll into the BS-Accounting program but an appeal would need to be submitted.  After confirming with *** ****** this is what she wanted to do, the advisor told her she would begin the appeal process and reminded her of the other departments she needed to speak with regarding financial aid and the balance on her account. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The school lied to me, saying I had someone else write my paper; it will not show proof and has suspended me. They are lies, and I want proof. I had someone write me a paper to explain how they came up with them. They lied and added it as plagiarism. And suspended me for speaking my mind. This school should be investigated; how many more students have been accused of false allegations? Due to them speaking their mind. I should not be penalized for something I did not do. Having someone else write your work is cheating, not plagiarism. And they want to show any proof that technology shows someone else wrote my work. They have a technology for plagiarism. Which shows the proof, but where is the proof for software that wrote me a paper? This school is a scam

  Business response

  03/22/2023

  *** *****:   Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention and allowing us time to investigate. We value student success and take all reported complaints seriously.  We conducted a thorough academic investigation and determined the following.  *** ***** has been reported for academic misconduct on multiple occasions in different courses.  Most recently she was reported due to an incident that took place in her CJ499 (Criminal Justice) course. This course strategically builds on consecutive exercises.  Students are required to select a topic early in the course, week 2, to write a research paper.  In later weeks, 6 and 7, they will submit a rough draft of their paper for their peers to review and finally, in week 8, they will submit their final research paper.   *** ***** reached out to her instructor in week 6 asking what she should write about even though she selected a topic in Week 2.  The instructor provided her with the topic she had chosen and explained the assignment for the week.  After that email was received, the instructor conducted an academic review of previously submitted assignments as he noticed some inconsistencies in writing styles between the papers that had been submitted and *** *****’s emails.   The instructor ran some of her previously submitted papers through an online AI (Artificial Intelligence) generator checker, *******. This program helps instructors distinguish plagiarized text from original work and checks perplexity and burstiness in a text to determine whether it is artificially generated or crafted by a human. The instructor found that there were high percentages of her assignments which were likely to be generated by AI.
  Note: The attached document shows highlighted areas from one of *** *****’s papers that indicate it may have been written by AI and not a person.   
  After this was discovered, the instructor failed *** ***** from the course and reported her to the university code of conduct committee for further academic review.  Since *** ***** has had multiple infractions during her enrollment at the University and has had multiple opportunities to correct her behavior it was decided the next step in the process was a 6-month suspension. 
  *** ***** was notified of this on March 14th by the registrar department that she will be eligible for enrollment again in the October 2023 term.  She was not suspended due to speaking her mind, she was suspended due to violating the university Code of Conduct policy multiple times.
  Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to investigate and let us know if you have any other questions

  Customer response

  03/29/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  Complaint: 19594680
  I am rejecting this response because: when I emailed **** *********, she never would prove anything; now she has some kind of fake proof; and here I am, begging her for proof for days. Me asking my teacher, If I plagiarized, why wouldn’t I do it on all my papers and not just two? Then he went back and changed everything to zeros. But, as you can see, there were only two assignments at first. If you also notice **** ********* stopped emailing me, and the next day, I was suspended. The first email never mentioned that I was suspended. It only stated denied appeal. And all your *** show is what you see in the year and dates of me stating where it came from. Yes, I was warned twice.
  Regards,
  ****** *****

  Business response

  04/07/2023

  Dear Better Business Bureau: It was recently brought to our attention that *** ***** rejected our Better Business Bureau (BBB) response. We take these notifications seriously as we value our students’ academic experience. We also understand her concern as we want to thoroughly explain our evidence as this will help her better understand how this information along with her historical academic behavior provided the data needed to determine our final academic decision.   Our original BBB response included the evidence the instructor leveraged to prove that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was being used to write her papers. The highlighted text on the documents was flagged for being written by an AI and not a human.  This AI evidence was submitted to our Code of Conduct committee (CoC), which comprises of administrators, staff and faculty who objectively review potential academic integrity cases. This committee thoroughly reviews the evidence and evaluates the students’ academic history. They are authorized to execute sanctions based on the current evidence and any existing historical data. Sanctions include, but not limited to, probation, suspension or expulsion.
  Instructors use many different tools in the classroom to ensure they are upholding the academic integrity of our institution.  One tool that is used in the classroom is **********.  ********** is a plagiarism instrument used to detect areas of overlap between previously submitted assignments and existing work on online sites.  However, instructors are also allowed to leverage outside academic tools such as ******* when there is concern that an AI is being used to write papers.
  In week 6 of the CJ499 course, *** ***** reached out to her instructor asking what she should write about in her paper even though she selected a topic in Week 2.  The instructor responded to her email and provided the topic she had chosen and explained the assignment for the week.  Considering that *** ***** did not remember the topic she previously selected prompted our experienced instructor to conduct a full academic review of previously submitted assignments. During that investigation he noticed some inconsistencies in writing styles between the papers that had been submitted throughout the course and *** *****’s emails. This is standard protocol as all instructors have the academic freedom to go back and reassess all submitted assignments if an instructor suspects suspicious academic activity.
  During the review, the instructor ran previously submitted papers through an online AI generator checker, *******, and found that there were high percentages of her assignments which were likely to be generated by AI.  Because of this, her grades for previously submitted assignments were updated and she was submitted to the code of conduct committee for further review. 
  During the code of conduct review, it was discovered that *** ***** had multiple previously submitted infractions during her enrollment at the University.  She received guidance from faculty members to help her avoid violations, she was sent through plagiarism and code of conduct workshops, she received failing grades for assignments and overall classes.  Because she had been given multiple opportunities to correct this behavior it was decided the next step in the process was a 6-month suspension. 
  In *** *****’s response, it was mentioned that “the first email never mentioned that I was suspended.  It only stated denied appeal.” 
  An appeal and a code of conduct review can take place at the same time, however, communication regarding the outcome of either will be sent separately.  Appeals are handled by the dean of the student’s respected college whereas code of conduct issues are handled by a committee of individuals from different areas of the university.   *** *****’s appeal was denied before the code of conduct committee had completed their full academic review, therefore, she was notified of the appeal denial first. 
  Thank you for your time and we look forward to *** ***** continuing her studies in October, 2023.

  Customer response

  04/11/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  Complaint: ********
  I am rejecting this response because: Why is it from them? They pretended they had proof, but as you can see, I begged them for proof, and for weeks nobody could give me anything. They even stated both classes were failed; they never mentioned I was suspended until, as you can see, I mentioned that I felt like my kids were played with. If you look at CJ499, he couldn’t even say that he only put in 2 classes until I mentioned it. If I had software, wouldn’t I use it on all. Then he went back and put all zeros on the assignment as you can see above, in the messages. The reason I asked about the assignment for CJ499. ***** mention above , was because they were not clarified. I will not accept anything from Grantham due to them not providing when I clearly was begging. As you can see *** was the one who started the I was plagiarism . As you can see none of them wanted to help me .  Regards, ****** *****

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  No one from the university is helping me. Every person that I have talked to have given me false information or gave me the run around. I have been having concerns and questions about my education and financials.

  Business response

  09/07/2022

  After review of Ms. ******* file, it appears contact has been made within the past week to discuss enrollment and financial aid.  At this time, I believe all issues have been resolved.  If anything further is needed please reach out to the university ombudsman at ************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I previously attended Grantham University and had an agreement for them to close out all loans (financial aid issue), which was not done. There are people saying they can do my agreement and others saying that can't do the agreement none of which did any kind of research in to the agreement, only doing a days work till they emailed me back. I have tried to contact someone at the school multiple times and they refuse to answer any of my calls and have blocked me to where I can only talk to one person, who is never in the office. This makes it where I have to call in multiple times because they never answer my voicemails or emails. I have tried to resolve this issue with the university of ******** general counsel and system office. I have also tried to set up multiple meetings with the president of the university and the board of trustees, that have refused to answer calls and emails that I have made requesting a meeting. They are not answering my calls at the system office. They have not provided me educational records on two basis, the first being that I ordered them in the past so I didn't need them and now they are telling me that if the records haven't changed I don't need them. which under ferpa I have the right to access them whether it be photocopy, copies, or anyway they can get me access since I am out of state for them. Mrs* ***** ***** general counsel refuses to let me speak with anyone to help me and even if I put a complaint in against her, she orders the complaint to come to her, which is a conflict of interest. She will not allow me my records and states that she does not have to after saying some things that she shouldn't have. She is also having the school make sure anytime i call it comes to her.

  Business response

  05/05/2022

  Mr. ********* attended Grantham University from September 2017 until he was dismissed in February 2018 for engaging in dishonest academic behavior.  In November, 2018, several months after the dismissal, Mr. ********* contacted the University regarding the status of the outstanding balance on his account.  After numerous conversations with Mr. ********* an agreement was made that the delinquent balance, which had been placed with an outside collection agency would be pulled back and the university would write-off the entire balance owed.  As of November 6, 2018 his account with the University was at a zero balance. 
  

  Communication was sent to Mr. ********* via email by the vice president of student enrollment at the time.  In that email he explained the steps that were taken regarding the balance owed to the university and provided him with a copy of the ledger card showing the balance had been written off.  
  

  Recently, Mr. ********* has begun contacting the University regarding the previous arrangement.  He misunderstood that the agreement in 2018 would also relieve him of his obligation to pay federal student loans he borrowed while attending.  We have confirmed on multiple occasions that the agreement was to bring his account to zero with the University, but he does not agree.  At this time, we have sent him very clear information that the account balance with the University is zero and that the matter is considered closed.  We will not be making any adjustments to prior charges or prior loans disbursed.
  

  Mr. ********* has not been prevented from requesting transcripts or other documentation related to his attendance.  However, to ensure that he has the records he is requesting, we are sending a ***** package to his address listed in this complaint that includes paper copies of the following items:
  

  Unofficial Transcript
  Transaction Summary Report (Ledger Card)
  Enrollment Agreement
  Copy of the dismissal letter from Feb 2018
  Copy of the agreement letter from Nov 2018
  Copy of email confirming status of his account from Mar 2022
  

  Because there is no further action the University will be taking, his calls are being routed to the Office of General Counsel to ensure his concerns are handled appropriately.
  

  Please let me know if any additional information is needed.
  

  
  

  Customer response

  05/05/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: there are emails proving that they are lying and I requested all notes taken in my educational records because they are maintained by the school that have information by former employee ***** *by making me this agreement well before the november date that they are stating and they are not rerouting my calls they are hanging up on me when I call including the president's office. Plus if they weren't keeping me from my documents why a month or so ago did they send them to me when I requested through their general counsel. Regards,
  
  **** *********

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  BEING THE ONLY STUDENT IN THE CLASS i WAS DELIBERTLY FAILED SO THAT THE SCHOOL COULD CHARGE ADDITIONAL TO HAVE ME REPEAT THE SAME COURSE. ADDITIONALLY OTHER UNNECCESSARY COURSE WAS MAKE UP AND ADDED TO THE CURRICULIUM JUST SO THAT I WOULD PAY THE SCHOOL MORE MONEY TOTAL OF $1100 FOR INCOMPLETED COURSES. THAT TURNED OUT TO BE FAILED COURSES.

  Business response

  03/18/2022

  Ms. ****** did well in her first four courses. However, the fifth course in the program contains both the course research content and the first three chapters of the Master’s Capstone (******), similar to a Master’s thesis paper. Students must have an approved first three chapters to be able to progress forward in the program. The student was unable to obtain this approval in her July 2021 term. Submissions in the course were irregular, did not address faculty feedback and concerns, and ultimately the course was failed. As noted, students cannot progress in the program without an approved first three chapters.

  The program has developed a 1 credit course (******) that allows students to continue to work on their Master’s Thesis without having to repeat the entire 3 credit hour ****** course. This one-credit course is approved by the **** Institutional Accrediting body. It provides cost savings to the student as the entire cost of the 8-weeks is $250.  The price the student pays for the course(s) reflects the reduced tuition rate that is given to military members, first responders and nurses. 
  

  On September 20, 2021, the student’s advisor reached out via email informing her that she had spoken to the Dean and was informed of the plan regarding the 1 credit hour course.  In that email the advisor asked for a response confirming that she understood and wishes to take the ****** course.  Along with that, she asked that she confirm she understood it was not a required course in the program and that she understood the tuition cost for the course.  After further discussion with the advisor, they reached an agreement on the 1 credit hour course if the student receives written feedback.
  

  On September 21, 2021, Ms. ****** spoke with the Dean via phone and then was enrolled into the 1 credit hour course to continue working on her Master’s Thesis paper. 
  

  Within a few weeks of being enrolled, the Senior Lead Professor of the course reported that almost no progress had occurred, and the student would go weeks without submission or work. She reported that the student was argumentative as well. She felt that it would not be productive for her to continue as the instructor. At this point, the Dean of the College of Nursing spoke with the student again and offered to become the instructor for this course, although this would be unusual.
  

  The Dean laid out specific deliverables and expectations. They spoke at least once a week for weeks. During the course the student did not submit regular updates, did not correct specific comments, included aspects that were not proper to include in a formal scholarly paper (including client activities that would not be considered ethical or legal). She would then disappear for days on end. The Dean spoke to her about this, and she said she was very busy with her job which required her to fly out of the country on client business where she simply could not work on schoolwork.
  

  The student again called and spoke with the Dean and on that call she said her personal situation was simply too busy and she could not continue to remain in class. The Dean encouraged her to return when life settled down and she had more time for academic studies. Ultimately the student left the program.
  
  There have been multiple cases of only student nursing courses in which the students passed. Indeed, it is highly unusual for nursing students to fail courses. Ms. ****** was not placed in the 1 credit hour course to be deliberately failed but she was placed in this course to help her progress successfully through the program. 
  

  She did not pass ****** and was assessed the $750 fee for the 3-credit course. Shen then left ****** and was assessed the $250 fee for that course per UAG policy that is listed in our university catalog. Both course grades remain an F as they were not passed.
  
  

   

  
  

  Customer response

  03/19/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the response is false. Requesting in-depth investigation of multiple email and response between me and Mrs *****. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have received multiple emails and messages stating that I would be receiving my federal loan disbursement but after several weeks I have yet to receive my money and I am relying on that disbursement to pay for my housing and because they are giving me the run around I am now at risk of becoming homeless and risk the spread of Covid-19. I was supposed to receive my disbursement from Grantham several weeks ago and every tie I try to contact someone at the University I either don't get a response or I get a run-around answer. And I just want my money, I'm having to pay the loan back but I haven't received any money.

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  When Ms. ***** initially enrolled at the university, she was enrolled into two terms, September 2021 and November 2021.  Her September Title IV Aid was disbursed as scheduled on 9/20/21 and a credit balance refund was issued to her on 9/22/21. 
  
  She completed the September term but then withdrew from the November term which required a review to see if a return to title IV (R2T4) calculation was required.  Due to recent changes in the regulations the student is eligible for post withdrawal disbursement of Title IV funds (in the past she would not have been eligible for these funds).  This offer was made to her on November 23, and she accepted indicating she did want the funds. 
  
  Unfortunately, due to our acquisition by ********** ** ******** System we were not able to disburse Title IV funds at that time pending receipt of approval from the Department of Education.  Ms. ***** was notified of this on November 23rd and was advised that we were working closely with the Department of Education and would disburse her funds as soon as possible. She was also advised at that time that we did not have a specific date as to when the Department of Education would make the final approval and we could resume disbursing Title IV Aid. 
  
  Ms. ***** was not given the "run around" but was advised of the best information we had at the time. 
  
  Fortunately, we just received our approval from the Department of Education late last week and we've been working to get things switched over so we can resume disbursing and moving Title IV funds.  We anticipate that her funds will disburse and post to her student account tomorrow.  After her funds have posted, we should be able to get her refund issued next week.

  Customer response

  12/17/2021

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. In the future instead of not responding to students, explain exactly what you said here instead. If I had been informed that instead of a short answer of ********** ** ******** merged with Grantham and nothing else but email after email saying to accept a pending refund; I would had more of an understanding of the situation.

  Also, for the record I did NOT withdraw, I had initially started my classes and did about an hour of class work ad then took a break, when I returned to finish my coursework your University had cancel my enrollment and for the past 8 weeks out of the last 10 weeks I had to take two workshop courses just to be able to continue working towards my degree at your University. And those two courses I was told were mandatory took just as much effort and required as much time as what my original classes took. I dont feel its right to consider a student withdrawn for your University in that situation, because in reality that student isn't really withdrawn from your University.  

  Regards,
  
  ****** *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Good evening. I submitted my FAFSA for the 2021-2022 year but I still have not received any Pell Grant Money. My Financial Aid office stated on 10/28/2021 they have added the PELL Grant to my funding plan starting with the July term date. On 10/26/2021, I was also informed that they are "hoping to start disbursement this week." That week has passed, along with a couple more weeks. Grantham is aware that my only source of income is from the GI Bill and Grants for school. On 11/01/2021 I was informed that my funds "should be disbursed on or after day 13 of the term." That would mean November 23 2021. I called today 11/10/2021 to confirm this information and was told "We are not sure. It may or may not be this month." This is absolutely ludicrous! The financial aid department is not communicating amongst themselves and no one is giving me an honest answer. Most of my tuition has been paid via the GI Bill so I truly believe my concern has been placed on the back burner. I hope someone can address this for me and get this resolved. Thank you very much!

  Business response

  11/12/2021

  Mr. ******** file was reviewed, and it appears the delay he is experiencing is due to unfortunate timing. 
  
  Our Financial Aid Department did receive his FAFSA information on 10/26/21, they reviewed the information and updated his funding plan to reflect the 20/21 Federal Pell Grant award for July 2021, September 2021, November 2021, and January 2022 terms.  Because part of the Pell Grant funds that had been awarded were for past terms (July and September) once we received approval back from the Department of Education, we would normally be able to disburse those funds immediately.  Disbursement for the November term is anticipated to take place on 11/22/21 and disbursement for the January term is anticipated to take place on 1/24/22.  However, due to Grantham University's recent acquisition by the ********** ** ******** System we are in the process of getting everything changed over to the ********** ** ******** Grantham, and this includes Department of Education Title IV Funding.  Until that switch has been made in the Department of Education's system, we are unable to disburse any Title IV funds.  We are working closely with the Department of Education to get this done as quickly as possible, but these things do take time. 
  
  We understand how this can be frustrating and wish a more specific date on when we will resume disbursing Title IV funds can be given, but unfortunately, we don't have a date at this time.  Please understand that this has not been placed on the back burner, we want disbursements to be received as quickly as possible and we are working closely with the Department of Education to make that happen.
  
  The Director, Student Financial Services has made a note and will monitor his account to ensure the Pell Grant funds are disbursed as soon as we are able to begin disbursing Title IV funds again.

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