Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Southern Careers Institute's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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Southern Careers Institute has 4 locations, listed below.

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  Southern Careers Institute

  238 SW Military Drive San Antonio, TX 78221

• 

  Southern Careers Institute

  1701 W Ben White Blvd Ste 100 Austin, TX 78704-7667

• 

  Southern Careers Institute

  2422 Airline Road Corpus Christi, TX 78414

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  Southern Careers Institute

  6963 NW Loop 410 San Antonio, TX 78238-4114

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ***************************************************, *****, ***** ************************ ************ 08/08/2024 Better Business Bureau Dear *********** am writing to file a formal complaint against Southern Careers Institute (SCI) due to significant issues I have encountered that have caused me emotional and financial distress.I enrolled at SCI a year ago, with the expectation of graduating on August 4, 2024. My high school diploma is from ****************************, which has been accredited by the **************************** since 1990. SCI admitted me without requesting or verifying my high school transcripts.As I approached the end of my medical billing and coding program, I was unexpectedly withdrawn from the school. Initially, I was informed that I could re-enter, but later was told that my diploma was not acceptable. This sudden change has severely disrupted my plans, particularly as I am responsible for supporting my children.Additionally, SCIs Director stated that to complete my program, I would need to take an online high school course costing $350. I was advised that mentioning SCI would reduce the fee by $150. This arrangement raises concerns of potential exploitation.I have also faced difficulties when trying to file a complaint through SCIs online system, which has further contributed to my distress.I respectfully request that the Better Business Bureau investigate this matter and assist in resolving these issues. Thank you for your attention to this urgent concern.Sincerely,*********************** *******

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2024

  My high school diploma is from ****************************, which has been accredited by the *****************************
  RESPONSE:  ******************** transcript is from **************** of Pinecrest (not **************** High School). **************** of Pinecrest is identified as an unacceptable diploma mill. The state of ******* does not accredit institutions.
  SCI admitted me without requesting or verifying my high school transcripts.
  RESPONSE:  Untrue the student provided SCI her transcript in May 2023. The employee who reviewed the transcript unfortunately did not identify the transcript as unacceptable. The employee is no longer with the institution.
  I was unexpectedly withdrawn from the school.
  RESPONSE: It was not unexpected. This student was withdrawn for having no positive attendance for 14 consecutive calendar days. This policy is in the school catalog and communicated with the students frequently. The student was aware as of June 27 that she was required to log in and do work to be counted for attendance. Staff provided frequent reminders June 27 - July 8 reiterating the importance of logging into the system for attendance. She was withdrawn July 8 for not attending.
  To complete my program, I would need to take an online high school course costing $350. I was advised that mentioning SCI would reduce the fee by $150. This arrangement raises concerns of potential exploitation.
  RESPONSE: The school has taken responsibility for not properly vetting her transcript at initial enrollment.The accredited online high school information was provided to ****************** as an option to earn acceptable proof of graduation and return to complete her program. She may choose to earn acceptable proof of graduation by any legitimate means she wishes (such as earning a G.E.D.)
  I have also faced difficulties when trying to file a complaint through SCIs online system,
  RESPONSE: It is unclear to what difficultiesMs. ******* is referring. To escalate a complaint beyond the campus, she could have emailed ***********************,as indicated in the school catalog. This email is fully functional.
  In her complaint, ****************** failed to mention that the schools response to the acceptance of invalid proof of graduation resulted in all charges being removed, $572 was refunded to ****************** for the payments she made while in school, and federal loan and ***** disbursements have been repaid. She has $0 loan debt, $0 debt to the school, maintains federal financial aid eligibility, has been charged nothing for the program. In addition, she has been offered an option to return,complete her externship and graduate. For free. No additional charges other than the cost of obtaining a valid secondary proof of graduation at a valid institution of her choosing.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I began going to school for Southern Career Institute February of 2022. I wanted to further my career as a Medical billing and coding associate. I was harassed and showered with great incentives. The loan that was quoted, is now 3x more than what was provided. Also another incentive was we were to choose 1 free certification after we passed this was a lie as well. I also have not received my Southern career diploma and I graduated February 2023, unfortunately only receiving a text message letting me know that I graduated. *** continues to promote a certification that is not worth anything. NO company honors a certified billing Coding specialist (CBCS) certification. I am in now in debt $9,000 for this certification and school. Upon research and networking the certification means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. This is a case of predatory lending. What is Predatory Lending? Predatory lending practices, broadly defined, are the fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair tactics some people use to dupe us into loans we cant afford and provide incentives. I have asked multiple members of the *** career services staff are there any alumni we could speak with to see if there was any hope. I received no answer. This is completely not fair, and no one is acknowledging me at Southern Career Institute. There are many other students affected but didnt know which route to take. I hope this complaint reaches the right individual. Please help I really would like the better business bureau to do research and investigate. Or actually call *** and listen to the lies. Please help me or others either shut down this part of the certification that they are offering or remove my loan from this school Im willing to compromise and have a student loan towards something that can help me but I will NOT allow my money to be stolen away from me and ruin my credit, while this school is still in business ruining peoples lifes.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2023

  See attached document.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/08/2023

  Complaint: 19991406
  
  I am rejecting this response because: it took for me to report them in order for a response. They havent yet said another about my diploma nor has anyone advised assistant regarding me trying to achieve another certification upon completion of my certificate. Not only that I was not mentioned of the ***** until this year. I was told ***** it was WAY to late and near the end of my course. Its not right I had to reach out just to save their jobs while others are getting financially robbed of a certification that the director of NHA cant explain anything on their own website.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This year I enrolled at SCI to receive training to become a medical assistant. Initially I made my advisor aware that I would only be able to take evening classes in person because of my work schedule and because I wanted hands on training. Over the past 5 months it has been difficult to get the courses completed due them being short staffed and not having in person classes that I pay for. I was told that I would have to come in during the morning and take off work to get my hands on training credits but could not make it since I work full time during the day. I do not believe my education and experience should suffer due to being mislead by southern career institute when they offered a program that they could not provide.