ComplaintsforExcelsior College

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am in the Schools Nursing Program. There have been a few discrepancies in what information is provided to students versus what is really transpiring. I was cleared for a clinical nursing course (Nur 250) as I had met both the preferencing (5/24/24 12:00 pm) EST and the documentation deadline(5/31/24 12:00 pm)EST. I was told by the clinical experiences dept supervisor (Kr…) that The documentation deadline is down to the minute, and that as the deadline is reached all students are set up with their appropriate clinical site and all documents are sent over to the clinical sites after 12:01 pm EST. So now here lies my problem. I was cleared on the right dates May 24 th and May 31, 2024 however on June 3 I was apparently sent an email( I hadn’t seen) that said I could no longer be accommodated at the site that I had chosen because there were too many students in that group. They had another site to switch me to. No one called me nor did they add the message comment to my evalue account( created for our clinical classes)My academic advisor confirmed he had spoken to the clinical experience team and yet he said it slipped his mind to reach out to me on the matter. Now I’m being penalized. I’m trying to finish my last 3 classes by the end of this year to avoid paying another annual fee. This delay pushes me into yet another year for classes I could of been done with already. There’s just been delays and setbacks because of miscommunication on the schools part, and there’s very little help from anyone. This is beyond frustrating.

  Business response

  06/20/2024

  June 20, 2024
  To Whom It May Concern:
  The concerns expressed by ****** ********* (ID# ********) regarding an opportunity to complete a degree requirement for her associate level nursing degree at Excelsior University have been reviewed. The degree requirement in question is Clinical Nursing Practicum: Care of Patients Across the Lifespan (NUR250).
  NUR250 is a required course for an associate’s level nursing degree at Excelsior University. This course has a clinical component which requires staff in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences to work with a variety of clinical sites. Because the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is dependent upon the cooperation of these clinical sites, standard operating procedures assure that the clinical sites, staff on the Clinical Practice Team at Excelsior, and the student, are working together according to a consistent timeline. Due to the nature of the clinical experience involving hands-on patient care, the deadlines to indicate preferences for clinical sites, and to submit required documentation, are firm and cannot be adjusted to meet any one student’s particular circumstances.
  Staff on the Clinical Practice Team carefully monitor students’ deadlines to be eligible to undertake their clinical experiences. To that end, there are timed communications released to students to remind them of upcoming deadlines that are immovable. Clinical sites have a set capacity, and students are informed throughout the process that scheduling is based on availability at the time of compliance. There is a set process followed if space is no longer available when a student becomes compliant, and this process is followed for all students. Such was the case for Ms. *********. This review revealed that her clinical site was moved because she did not follow the process in a timely fashion, not because of errors or absence of service on the part of the Clinical Practice Team.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O’*******
  Associate Ombudsperson

  Customer response

  06/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Good afternoon I rejected the “resolution” that was emailed to BBB on behalf of Excelsior College because it was not accurate and because it was not a resolution. It was stated by the ombudsperson that the reason why I was taken out of my clinical site and changed to another site was because I had not submitted documents in a timely fashion, but that was not a valid statement. I have an email from clinical teamstating that I was on time with my document submission. Also in the email was an explanation as to why they were offering me another location. My problem is, they did not put forth a good faith effort to contact me and explain to me the extraordinary circumstance and the changes. I also spoke with the supervisor for academic advising and she told me it was not my academic advisers job to alert me that there were paperwork needed by the clinical team. Even though there’s no way I can register for any class without the input of my academic advisor and they work in conjunction with the clinical team to register students for clinical classes. Regards, ***** *

  Business response

  07/02/2024

  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  RE: ID ********
  It appears the statement that "her clinical site was moved because she did not follow the process in a timely fashion" is being misinterpreted or misunderstood. It is explained in various areas of the clearance process that students are scheduled based on clinical site availability at the time a student achieves compliance. As the student achieved compliance at the end of the processing window, instead of as soon as was possible, the availability at the clinical sites was limited, and the site had to be changed.
  While we understand that the student feels additional communication was warranted, communication about clinical clearance is not the responsibility of Advising and any communications regarding clinical deadlines received from Advising are a courtesy only. Communications from the Clinical Practice Experience Team to students seeking clearance for the clinical courses are handled in a standard manner to ensure fairness, and students must take appropriate responsibility for their actions or lack thereof. All students moved to a different clinical site receive email correspondence informing them of the move, with the appropriate forms attached, and the deadline in writing. Additional emails and phone calls are not provided on an individual basis as all students are provided the same opportunities for clearance.
  Students are also aware that they should receive an email once they reach compliance and are scheduled, in addition to reviewing their finalized schedule after they achieve compliance, reaching out with any questions or concerns. This is something this student has failed to do on several occasions, failing to follow directions that submission of the final requirement is not the end of the process. Had the student continued to monitor their email and file as instructed, they would have seen that either they were not yet scheduled, or that they were moved and had additional requirements, which would have prompted them to take action in either case.
  As previously stated, our investigation has determined that the instructions and communication were clear and in line with the processes in place for all students.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O********
  Associate Ombudsperson
  OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I canceled a course because, the codes for the class for expensive which do not associate with edifying anyone in clinicals practice but only served to feature the course . Doing theory quiz lets do not help in clinicals with practicals skills in any capacity nor does any nursing program give theory in clinicals to make it twice the price. I canceled the course after midnight on 11/8 this school never sent me a confirmation. They often do not send you immediate confirmation. But later sent me an email on 11/9 stating that it was a confirmation at 1108 pm . Which I didn’t canceled that day nor would I be canceling a course while I was driving home: I contacted them and they said it was their policy at 16 days and I pay the full amount. Theory policy does not entail any such information. I asked them to show me where the policy states this . They only sent me a message then I send me the message and have never responded to me.I canceled this course after emailing Woltzers which code cost $300 each. After messaging them they told me I had to pay $300 each to complete assignment for each codes which is around $1500. If a school can send an immediate withdrawn cancellation what makes it okay for the date they send the confirmation when they do at a later date to say you canceled this day.unscrupulous .

  Business response

  05/10/2023

  The University has reached out to the complainant to resolve this matter.

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I enrolled in Excelsior College in April of 2021. I had so few credits left to earn my bachelor's degree that it didn't make sense for me to enroll at a California University for the two years that are required in the California system. (You'll see from my email address that those two years are now ahead of me instead of almost finished!) Excelsior told me that I only had to take two easy classes and a self-paced one credit Information Technology "class"; the rest of the credits I needed, I could take tests for. I took two of the four tests I needed and got "A's", then, when I finally had time to try to register for the next two, they were no longer offering them in Excelsior's system. (You would think, since this was around the time that they switched from calling themselves a "College" to a "University" they would offer more opportunities to earn credits, not fewer!) My guidance counselor told me that I could take the tests at Petersen's testing centers but that was also incorrect. There were no testing centers in Northern California and Excelsior had no interest in helping me. I tried to ask my "instructor" about his thoughts and this led to my discovery that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not real people. I had previously taken the class and the "instructor" "failed" me during a time (December 2021) when I tried desperately to contact "her". I had had a major emergency in my life and it wasn't that I found the class challenging; my time was just consumed by other things. I tried to file a complaint with Excelsior about this "instructor" who had no interest in my success in the class and never had any mean ingful feedback for me.I got the feeling that the "instructor" was just scanning my emails and replying to what she thought I was talking about. There was one email where I proposed a very good solution to the problems were having and she replied but never addressed. They give their "doctors" common names in case anyone goes looking dissertations and they cut and paste "feedback" from these "instructors". They claim that I owe ****** thousands of dollars.

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  1/11/2023ID: ********To Whom it May Concern:I am writing in response to a complaint received from ID ********, a formerly enrolled student at Excelsior College.The student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in the School of Undergraduate Studies on April 27, 2021, and voluntarily withdrew on August 19, 2022. To earn her degree with Excelsior University the student was required to complete 17 semester hour credits, 7 of those credits are required Excelsior University courses (Information Literacy, the Cornerstone course, and the Liberal Arts Capstone). The other 10 credits could from any regionally accredited institution of higher education and transferred in, from an ACE approved source of credit, or Excelsior sources of credit. The student successfully completed the Information Literacy course, and the Cornerstone course. She also completed 6 credits of Excelsior University exams. The University stopped offering exams for credit in July of 2022, however the student was informed that she could take CLEP exams. The Capstone course is a demonstration of the knowledge and skills that a student has gained during their education and can be challenging for some. The student initially registered to take the Liberal Arts Capstone in the 2021 Fall II term. She fell behind in her coursework and requested a course extension, however she was not eligible for an extension because she had not successfully completed at least 50% of the course (as outlined by the course extension policy).The student did not successfully complete the course in the Fall II term and received an F grade. The student registered again for the Liberal Arts Capstone in the 2022 Summer II term. The student alleged during the course that the instructor did not provide feedback and that he claimed not to receive assignments that she had uploaded in the course. When the school investigated these allegations, they found that the instructor had provided good feedback to the student and there was no evidence of the assignments she stated she had submitted. Although the student had not successfully completed at least 50% of the course the school made an exception and agreed to grant the student a course extension. On August 19, 2022, the student decided that she wished to withdraw from the course instead of taking the extension. The deadline to withdraw from the course had passed, however the School of Undergraduate Studies made an exception and allowed the student to receive a W grade instead of an F grade in the 2022 Summer II term. The 2022 Summer II term ended on August 21, 2022. On August 23, 2022, the student requested to be reinstated in the course. As the term had already ended this request was denied.The student has a balance due of $2,139.50, and her account is currently in collections. The balance due is from the two Liberal Arts Capstone courses. She opened a payment plan with ****** (a third-party payment plan company) and subsequently defaulted from the payment plan.am not sure what the student means in her statement I tried to ask my "instructor" about his thoughts and this led to my discovery that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not real people. I can assure you that all our faculty/instructors are actual human beings. The student also stated that They give their "doctors" common names in case anyone goes looking dissertations. The University does not assign names to our faculty/instructors. The names given are their actual names. I hope this information clarifies the matter. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely,Kathy M**** Ombudsperson cc: David S*******, President

  Customer response

  02/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Ms. M**** presents a weak argument here. The policy she has provided is a guide for "normal circumstances", when a student is under the illusion that their "instructors" at Excelsior "College" (or "University") are real human beings, capable of intelligent interactions. I found that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not humans or doctors. Therefore, I am requesting a full refund because I was deceived and I now know the truth about the "education" I wasted money on. Regards, **** ********

  Business response

  02/09/2023

  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  I am writing to address the additional concerns received from ID ********, a formerly enrolled student at Excelsior College.
  The student stated in the follow up to her complaint that she found that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not humans or doctors. She is requesting a full refund of fees and tuition paid for the two courses and the two exams that she had successfully completed because she feels that she was deceived.
  As stated in my first response “I can assure you that all our faculty/instructors are actual human beings”. I am not sure why the student was under the impression that all faculty/instructors hold doctorate degrees. The industry standard requires that faculty/instructors hold, at minimum, a master’s degree. Our faculty handbook states that Excelsior University faculty candidates must generally hold a terminal degree from a regionally accredited institution.
  The student has a balance due of $2,139.50 for tuition. She is not eligible for a waiver of the balance due, and she is not eligible to receive a refund of the tuition and fees paid.
  This is the final response regarding this matter.
  Sincerely,
  Kathy M****
  Ombudsperson
  cc: David S*******, President

• Initial Complaint

  07/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After completing my final course requirements for my degree with Excelsior (paid for by military tuition assistance), I began receiving bills from Excelsior for a "Graduation Fee." Excelsior clarified that this fee was for them to send me my diploma. Excelsior failed to indicate that this bill was for anything beyond mailing a physical diploma or was due at a specific date. I had no immediate need for my physical diploma, so I chose to wait and deal with it when required, as I have done with other academic institutions. Excelsior then passed my personal information to a collections agency that is now contacting me. Excelsior directed me to the student billing website for payment when contacted regarding this bill. This option for payment was not available. I am still verifying with the credit agencies if Excelsior's actions have affected my credit. I have since paid this fee by phone with Excelsior; however, I ask that Excelsior do the following: 1) Revoke that submission to collections agencies 2) Provide me a list of all my personal information they have released to these agencies 3) Provide an itemized receipt of precisely what other students and I are paying for with the "Graduation Fee." While I was satisfied with Excelsior's academic curriculum, this experience with Excelsior billing has affected my decision to proceed with a Masters from this institution and my likelihood of recommending it to other prospective students.

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  I am writing in response to a complaint received from ID ********, who is a recent alumnus of Excelsior College.
  Our records indicate that on February 28, 2022, the student was assessed the $125 graduation fee, which is assessed to all students upon degree completion. The graduation fee is part of the overall cost of an undergraduate degree from Excelsior College. All invoices for the graduation fee include a due date (which is the same date as the graduation date). This student’s graduation fee was due on March 18, 2022.
  When the graduation fee was not paid within 90 days of the due date the student’s account was turned over to a collection agency for collection services only. Excelsior College does not turn past due accounts over to any credit reporting companies. The student paid the graduation fee on July 7, 2022, and his account was removed from the collection agency that same day.
  I hope this information clarifies the matter. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
  Sincerely,
  Kathy M****
  Ombudsperson
  cc: David S******** President

  Customer response

  08/02/2022

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Unfortunately, this does not resolve the original issue.  In my initial inquiry to Excelsior on this matter I was informed that no action was taken (services rendered) until this fee was paid.  If this is incorrect, please provide adequate documentation demonstrating these services were rendered prior to payment.Additionally, please provide a list of all personal information that was provided to collections agencies. A copy of the documentation forwarded to collections agencies and list of recipients will suffice. Regards* ******* ********* Regards, ******* *********

  Business response

  08/19/2022

  To Whom it May Concern:I am writing to address the additional concerns received from ID ********, who is a recent alumnus of Excelsior College. As stated in my prior responses the graduation fee is part of the overall cost of an undergraduate degree from Excelsior College. Per the Excelsior University website, the description of the graduation fee is as follows: Final review and processing of student records for degree conferral and issuance of diploma- *************************************************************Excelsior University is an online institution. All information regarding student policies, tuition and fees, course offerings, etc. can be found on the Excelsior University website. It is the responsibility of each student to review this information, especially the costs involved, prior to enrolling. As mentioned in my initial response the student paid the graduation fee on July 7, 2022, and his account was removed from the collection agency that same day.This is the final response regarding this matter.Sincerely,Kathy M**** Ombudsperson cc: David S*******, President

• Initial Complaint

  07/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My had questions about enrolling in this school the summer of 2020 when COVID shut down my school. I spoke with an academic advisor about a degree program but never enrolled in any classes or even the school. Now I’m being charged $800 for a school I never went to or took any classes from. I am being told if I do not pay the bill it will go to collection and effect my credit report. I will not pay for classes I did not take to a school I never attended

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  I am writing in response to a complaint received from ID ********, who was a previously admitted student.
  Our records indicate that on August 12, 2020, the student was admitted into the Excelsior College School of Undergraduate Studies. The $760 multisource fee was assessed upon his acceptance of admission and billed to Post 911. The student was sent the following message on July 20, 2022, when his certificate of eligibility was received for his veteran’s benefits:
  We are pleased to have received your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) statement or another form of acceptable documentation to begin administering your Veterans Benefits. Please note, if you submitted documentation other than your COE (example: DD 214 or Joint Services Transcript), your benefits will only be active for one term until your official COE is received. If you are not already enrolled in Excelsior College, your next step is to enroll online.
  For Veterans with Chapter 33 - Post-9/11 benefits, all or part of your fees (based on your percentage of eligibility on your COE) will be covered, including the enrollment fee for new enrollee, technology fee and the annual and graduation fees for current students if you register for at least one Excelsior College course or exam within the first four months after enrollment. Please note:
  • No fees will be covered unless you are taking an Excelsior College course or exam.
  • Courses or exams taken through a visiting school cannot be used to cover the costs of Excelsior College fees.
  • You can use only one school as the parent school.
  Unfortunately, the student did not register for an Excelsior College course, or exam within four months of his admittance, so the Veterans Administration declined to pay the $760 multisource fee. The student’s admission expired on August 13, 2021, as he did not register for an Excelsior College course or exam or submit newly earned credit from an outside source.
  It has been decided to waive the multisource fee of $760, which will leave the student with a zero-balance due.
  I hope this information clarifies the matter. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
  Sincerely,
  Kathy M****
  Ombudsperson
  cc: David S*******, President

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I enrolled through Excelsior college, they sent me to a "subsidiary" of theirs-*****, and I was told originally that I had one year to complete the whole course (4 terms). ***** gave me 6 MONTHS, and tried to cut me off saying if i wanted an "extension", I had to pay another $75 for 6 WEEKS more, on top of the loan they set me up for, through Launch Servicing! I can not finish my course now, I am locked out of my course page, and I STILL owe the rest of the loan to Launch Servicing! HELP! This is very clearly a scam/fraud. They are taking advantage of people with health issues and no money/financial aid! This is not ok! My dreams are crushed!

  Business response

  06/10/2022

  Complainant (ID ********) enrolled in a Child Development Associate training course that is offered by *****.  ***** provides Excelsior College with a license for its students to access ***** course content and, upon successful completion, students obtain a certificate of completion issued by Excelsior.  As such, the parameters of enrollment (e.g., tuition cost, curriculum, and completion timeframe) are established by *****, not Excelsior College.  Moreover, these parameters were shared with Complainant by ***** in advance of her enrollment in the ***** training course at issue. Complainant contends that she signed up for the ***** training course and believed she had a year to complete the course. Operating under this misunderstanding, Complainant was surprised when her access to the training course expired, consistent with ***** terms.  Complainant requested the College intervene on her behalf with *****.  We have done so and have worked to address her concerns.

  Customer response

  06/10/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  Regards, **** **************

• Initial Complaint

  02/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was going to enroll in a course at Excelsior College. I requested that my account be corrected prior to enrolling. I had spoken to someone on the phone and they stated that they had enrolled me in a class as they were unable to get my account corrected online. I also told them that I would not be taking any courses with them until my account had been completely corrected. As my account still stands to be incorrect I refused to take any courses for that semester and deferred to the next. Excelsior kept me enrolled in the course I did not enroll myself in due to their mistake and I am now receiving a bill for a class that I did not partake in.

  Business response

  02/09/2022

  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  I am writing in response to a complaint received from ID ********, who is currently an admitted student at Excelsior College in the MBA program.
  Our records indicate that on August 13, 2021, the student attempted to register online for IND 501 in the 2021 Fall I term, but did not go through with the registration online as it was not reflecting the discounted tuition rate that she was eligible to receive. She contacted staff in the Bursars office who registered her for the course at the discounted tuition rate, of $550 per credit ($1650 for the course).
  Snapshot of the student’s account:
  37850771/1 OIND501 NON-MATRICULATION FEE
  08/13/2021 $20.00 $1650.00
  37850771/0 OIND501 IND501 INTERDISC APPROACH ETHICAL LEADER
  08/13/2021 $1935.00 $1630.00
  37850771/3 OIND501 NON-MATRICULATION FEE
  08/13/2021 $20.00CR $305.00CR
  37850771/2 OIND501 PARTNERSHIP TUITION DISCOUNT
  08/13/2021 $285.00CR $285.00CR
  The student was sent the message below by the Bursars office on August 13, 2021, confirming that she had been registered for IND 501 in the 2021 Fall I term. She read this message on August 17, 2021.
  August 13, 2021
  ******,
  I have manually registered you for IND*501, please log into your account and pay online.
  Dashboard, Billing and Pay online tab.
  2
  I hope this helps and again please let me know if you have further questions.
  Have a great rest of your day & take care,
  Bea
  Excelsior College
  One Stop Student Services Counselor
  ###-###-####
  The IND 501 course began on August 30, 2021. On September 5, 2021, the student was sent a message and an email because she had not participated in the first week of the course. She withdrew from the course on September 6, 2021 and incurred 50% tuition liability.
  The student appealed to the Ombudsperson office in October of 2021 for a waiver of the tuition incurred for IND 501. Her request was denied as she had read the message (from August 13, 2021) informing her that she had been registered for the course at the discounted tuition rate and had made no attempt to withdraw from the course or participate.
  It has been decided that due to the confusion over the discounted course tuition that the $845 balance due for IND 501 will be waived.
  I hope this information clarifies the matter. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
  Sincerely,
  Kathy M****
  Ombudsperson
  cc: David S*******, President

• Initial Complaint

  12/10/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I had attended Excelsior College some years ago and was enrolled into the nursing program, or so I thought. Here recently I decided to restart my journey my journey into the RN program all while working full-time. Upon registering for the class there was no clear indication that the class was non matriculation or that I was no longer enrolled. After spending several weeks working hard in the class I received notice to register for my next class but with assistance from an advisor. When I called to speak with my advisor I found out that I was no longer enrolled. I was transferred from one person to the next until speaking with a lady in admissions. She was very straightforward and showed a lack of compassion by telling me you can't get your money back " you did this to yourself." I was then transferred to someone else to withdraw and this individual was just as rude and uncaring. Basically I feel Excelsior College swindled me our of $1,500 for a class that I cannot even use towards my degree. I'm very upset and disappointed. They really shouldn't allow someone to register for classes that cost so much that aren't counted towards a degree.

  Business response

  12/13/2021

  
  To whom it may concern:
  ***** ******* was enrolled in the Excelsior College associate degree nursing program from May 25, 2012 through July 5, 2013. Ms. ******* was withdrawn from the program on July 5, 2013 due to nonpayment of her Student Services Annual Fee (SSAF). In February 2015 and January 2017, Ms. ******* began the process for application to the associate degree nursing program but did not complete the application process and was not re-admitted or re-enrolled in the program.
  In October 2021, Ms. ******* was able to register as a non-matriculated student for NUR 101 Introduction to Professional Nursing, a required course in the LPN-Bachelor’s in Nursing program. This course requires academic advisor approval for course registration and is only open to students enrolled in the LPN to Bachelor’s in nursing program. Ms. ******* was able to register as a non-matriculated student due to a technical error in our course registration system. Ms. ******* has been withdrawn from the course and will be provided a full refund of the tuition and fees she paid. A thorough review of systems is being conducted to prevent this from occurring again.
  My sincere apologies to Ms. ******* for this inconvenience and the difficulties she encountered when attempting to resolve the matter. Please feel free to contact me at ###-###-#### or via email at ********************** should you require additional information.
  Sincerely,
  Mary Lee P******* PhD, RN, CNE
  Dean, School of Nursing

  Customer response

  12/13/2021

  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/20/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The college is extremely responsive if you are a prospective student, but once you enroll, they are totally unresponsive. Their phone trees result in disconnections. As an example, today I called during their posted business hours and was disconnected 9 times. This is typical. Horrible customer experience.

  Business response

  10/29/2021

  Investigation Report: October 28, 2021. 
  Complaint from the Better Business Bureau ID#******** 
  Excelsior College Student: ****** ********* ID #******
  Investigators: 
  • Heather C*******, Associate Vice President, Student Success 
  • Jeanne M********, Executive Director, Advising and Student Engagement 

  
  Complaint Summary: 
  • Student called Excelsior College during standard business hours on October 20, 2021, and was disconnected nine times. • Student has only been able to speak with two people and alleges that he was provided bad information that, had he acted on it, would have cost him wasted time and $1,500 in taking a course he did not need. • The Academic Advising Center does not answer their phones or respond to e-mails. 

  
  Investigation Summary: 
  • Review of phone records from October 20, 2021. • Review of phone system for any outages on October 20, 2021. • Review of records in the College Student Information System and Customer Relationship Management System (**********) showing the student’s communication history with the College. • Interview with student’s assigned academic advisor. 

  
  Investigation Results: 
  • Student alleges multiple disconnects on October 20, 2021: - The data we received from our phone vendor confirmed that Mr. ********* may have experienced several disconnected calls on October 20, 2021. - The Excelsior College Technology and Facilities Team confirmed no phone system outages or disruptions on October 20, 2021. • Student alleges communication with only two people at the College - System records confirm that Mr. ********* has had communication with at least six different College staff members between August 10 and October 24, 2021. - Where Mr. *********’s communication with the College was e-mail, he received a response by e-mail. Where Mr. *********’s communication was via phone, he received a response by phone. The exception is October 20, 2021, when Mr. ********* experienced disconnects when trying to reach the College. • Student alleges lack of responsiveness from Academic Advising Center - System records confirm that Mr. ********* has had communication with either his assigned academic advisor or another Excelsior College academic advisor by either phone or e-mail on the following dates in 2021: August 27, August 30, September 13, October 15, October 21, and October 24. - College systems show no record of the Academic Advising Center having received communications from Mr. ********* by phone or e-mail between October 15 and October 19, 2021. • Student alleges having been provided bad information by the College - On August 27, 2021, Mr. *********’s assigned academic advisor entered into the appropriate College system that Mr. ********* did not need to complete MAT101 because he would meet his degree program’s Math requirement by taking a future required Statistics course. In this note, the advisor indicates that she conferred with another advisor to confirm that Mr. ********* would not need to complete MAT101. The information provided to Mr. ********* by his academic advisor was accurate and the process steps she followed were correct. - On August 30, 2021, Mr. ********* expressed to his assigned academic advisor that he was interested in taking a UExcel examination to fulfill part of his degree requirements. Mr. *********’s academic advisor proactively reached out to Mr. ********* on September 13, 2021, to inquire whether he was still interested in pursuing a UExcel exam. Mr. ********* responded on September 15, 2021, that he was and the advisor entered approval into the appropriate College system for Mr. ********* to take the exam. The information provided to Mr. ********* by his academic advisor was accurate and the process steps she followed were correct. - On September 30, 2021, Mr. ********* spoke with a different academic advisor about UExcel exams. As a result of that conversation, steps were taken by Mr. *********’s assigned academic advisor to re-confirm that the UExcel exam would apply to Mr. *********’s degree requirements. The steps taken by Mr. *********’s assigned academic advisor to do her due diligence in confirming that the information she previously provided to Mr. ********* about UExcel exams was correct were appropriate in this situation. - On October 20 and 21, 2021, Mr. ********* expressed concerns to his assigned academic advisor about MAT101 – the same course the advisor had previously indicated to Mr. ********* on August 27, 2021, that he didn’t need to take. Mr. ********* had registered for MAT101 despite the advisor noting he didn’t need to take it. Mr. *********’s assigned academic advisor reiterated to Mr. ********* on October 21, 2021, that he could drop MAT101 because he didn’t need to take it. The advisor stated again that the required Statistics course he needed to take would meet the Math requirement for his degree program. Mr. ********* registered for MAT101 despite previously being told by his academic advisor that he didn’t need it. The steps taken by Mr. *********’s assigned academic advisor in confirming for Mr. ********* that he could drop MAT101 were correct. 

  
  Investigation Settlement: 
  • Per Mr. *********’s request, Jeanne M********, Executive Director of Advising and Student Engagement for Excelsior College, is scheduled to phone Mr. ********* on Friday, October 28, 2021. In this phone call, Mrs. M******** will: - apologize to Mr. ********* for the disconnects he experienced on October 20, 2021, and also invite Mr. ********* to share additional details about what happened during these phone calls in hopes it can help us to pinpoint what caused the issue to happen so it does not happen again; - clarify for Mr. ********* the steps taken by his assigned academic advisor in relation to MAT101 and his UExcel inquiries to reassure him that no error was made and to gather any additional feedback that may help the Academic Advising Center to fine tune its service practices; - invite Mr. ********* to share any additional feedback he would like to share about his service experience with Excelsior College.  

  Customer response

  10/29/2021

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  The business called me and the issue was resolved to my satisfaction. Thank you for your help, BBB.  Regards,  ****** *********  

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