ComplaintsforWestern Governors University

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This school is offering no transparency in terms of who is evaluating, where they are located, or whether or not they speak English as a first language. Other students have complained as well that their assignments are failed based on content that isnt in them. My assignments are being kicked back without being read.

  Business response

  06/18/2024

  WGU evaluators have no contact with students and that is one thing that makes WGU different from other universities. This "disaggregated faculty model" is essential to meet the requirements of the ********** of ********** Course instructors are available to assist students to understand evaluations in order to revise and resubmit work that does not meet the requirements of the rubric for that particular submission. There will always be students who disagree that their paper does not meet the requirements for a passing grade. Assignments are not "kicked back" without being read unless a student resubmits an assignment without revising the portion that the evaluator indicated requires revision. This particular complainant has received a detailed guidance from their course instructor, indicating what revisions are needed to pass the assignment in question. We urge them to revise their assignment accordingly and resubmit it for evaluation.

• Initial Complaint

  06/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've been a student here for over a year. I understand that I'm to submit assessments for the last class before the end of the term. That's wheat I did. I submitted my final days before the due date. Previously, all of my work was graded within ***** hours. Well, conveniently for them, they waited up to 4 days to review my assignments, after the term ended, so they can claim it missed the cut-off. That means they can now bill me to take a class I've already completed all the work for, to take it again in a new term. I checked daily for my grade, emailed my mentor, and emailed the instructor. I was told that instructors do not grade the assignments, but a group of random people working for WGU decide which assignments to grade. It is obvious to me that WGU steals from students (and soldiers in my case) because this is not the first time they've done this to me. Because of their last minute grading, I got unfairly put on financial aid probation in the past. Now, I must pay out of pocket for a class I already took. I am not wasting anymore time or money here, and my spouse is also going to drop out and reapply elsewhere before we get ripped off again.

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents WGU from posting the correct details in this public forum, however, this complainant's facts are not correct. WGU will reach out internally to the student to advise them.

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In a nutshell, I was improperly disenrolled from WGU for a period of weeks, and am seeking recompense for lost access. I received this in an email from *************** sent 11/22/2023: "This e-mail will serve as notification of your administrative withdrawal due to not completing a critical action in your first term. Your effective withdrawal date is 11/14/2023, which was the last date of academic activity found on your account." I was very confused, because my term was only a couple months complete. A week before, I had received a text from ###-###-#### WGU College of Business, Student Success Team sent 11/14/2023: "Hi, this is COB Student Success @WGU. We want to help you resume online academic activity. To avoid the withdrawal process starting tomorrow, Reply "Y" If you have been active, Reply "N" If you need further instructions on how to resume activity. Reply Y/N" I replied "N" because I needed further instructions. The COB Student Success Team replied immediately back with the instructions: "Please log in to a desktop or laptop and engage in your courses, you can read in your textbook, watch a course video, attend a cohort, etc. - COB@WGU" Wanting to comply with policy, I logged in and watched a video, read in my text, starting a second class and downloaded the materials for it. A week after this compliance, I was told I violated the bizarrely named, "First Term Critical Action Policy" except I was not informed of the policy, and instead given a different one (via SMS Text) by the College of Business, which I complied with. My WGU mentor never mentioned the First Term Critical Action Policy in our phone conversations, had left zero voice messages and sent zero texts. To sum it up, my disenrollment is due to poor administration. I would like my stolen money returned for that outage. Thanks for any help you may be.

  Business response

  04/08/2024

  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents WGU from providing any details of a student's academic records in this public forum. The student is currently working with our Ombuds office, who will diligently work to resolve their issues.

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am writing to file a formal complaint against Western Governors University (***), regarding a lack of response and communication in relation to my application for a master's degree program. Despite multiple attempts to contact the institution through various means, I have not received any form of acknowledgment or guidance, which not only hinders my educational pursuits but also raises concerns regarding their commitment to prospective students and overall customer service.I initially considered enrolling in a master's degree program at *** and created a profile as part of my application process. However, due to personal reasons, I decided to postpone my application. My interest in *** was reignited recently, inspired by my wife's positive experience with the university. Unfortunately, when attempting to reapply or update my application, I was directed to my old profile, and my efforts to submit a new application have seemingly gone unnoticed.I have made numerous attempts to reach out to the university for assistance, including emailing various addresses associated with *** that I could find, in hopes of resolving this issue. Regrettably, my emails have gone unanswered, leaving me in a state of limbo regarding my application status and next steps.This lack of communication and customer service from *** has significantly impacted my perception of the university. Despite my keen interest in pursuing a master's degree at ***, due to the innovative and flexible educational model that initially attracted me, this experience has left me feeling disregarded and undervalued as a prospective student.I am seeking the Better Business Bureau's assistance in facilitating a response from Western Governors University. My desired resolution is to have my application reviewed and processed in a timely manner, with clear communication from the university regarding the status of my application and any further steps I need to undertake.Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust that BBBs involvement will encourage *** to address this issue promptly and improve their communication processes with applicants.Sincerely,***************************** Student ID: *********

  Business response

  03/18/2024

  *** has been in contact with this prospective student today and we have confirmed that he did in fact send emails to *** that were not answered. Our investigation revealed that a technical malfunction prevented the emails from being transferred from the email system to our contact management system, so no one was aware of the emails. This has since been corrected. The prospective student has been assigned to a new enrollment counselor and we are now working on his enrollment. *** regrets this negative experience and will work to ensure that it is not repeated.

  Customer response

  03/18/2024

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Enrolled into the IT college of ***. My financial aid refund was sent to the wrong account, and financial aid told me there was nothing they could do to give me my funds. When I requested a supervisor and the **** of IT to get in contact. I was told no.

  Business response

  03/07/2024

  *** is still actively trying to solve this problem. Refunds are sent to the bank account provided by the student. If a student provides the wrong bank account in error and the funds are sent, it becomes an issue for the bank to resolve and *** cannot do anything to force the return of the funds.

  Customer response

  03/08/2024

   
  Complaint: 21397907
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the funds never reached my account. *** is responsible for my funds until they reach my account unless they can show legally they don't. I can't speak with my bank I do not own that bank. I only own that bank account. You are responsible for the funds until they reach me. I never received my funds. Not only that I was told by financial aid you recovered the funds and sent them back to the originating sender aka my loans for dropping out. This will be a lawsuit soon. 
  
  Disrespectfully,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  This complainant's response is inaccurate. *** is still working with the student internally. When a *** student has a refund, *** sends the refund to the bank account provided by the student. Once that refund has been sent, the funds are no longer ***'s and the responsibility is on the student to provide a correct bank account number. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents *** from providing more information concerning this complainant in this public forum.

  Customer response

  03/11/2024

   
  Complaint: 21397907
  
  I am rejecting this response because:/

  Incorrect, the only one that can request the funds be transferred back to the originating sender is the originating sender. The funds never reached my account. You school has failed to provide an Indemnity letter multiple times. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  This complainant is mistaken concerning the facts.*** is still working on this issue internally and will communicate directly with the complainant. *** cannot engage in a dialog filled with protected information in this public forum.

• Initial Complaint

  03/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  *** is failing to recognize and honor my wife's program requirements for the ***** program. I wouldn't have believed that it would come to this but apparently the school is saying that since my wife didn't sign an MOU at the beginning of the program, they are now requiring her to complete all of the licensure requirements for the program even though she is already fully licensed in the *******************.She was told during enrollment that since the program is not recognized in CA for licensure and that as she already carried a clear credential for ELL in CA, she wouldn't need to do any of the credentialing requirements. Apparently something changed in August last year while she was mid program and now that she is about to finish the program with little time left to finish the program without needing an additional semester, they are telling her that it is somehow her fault that she didn't sign an MOU during her enrollment process.How was she supposed to know that she was supposed to sign an MOU if the employee didn't tell her? Wouldn't that fall on the *** staff to have her complete that task? I was sitting in the room when she was on the phone and the credentialing specialist told her that she wouldn't need to complete those requirements.Beyond that the school appears to not even be following their own written policies regarding using her existing certificate of clearance issued from the *********** and are arbitrarily and against their own written policy requiring her to submit to their clearance process. How can a school just lie to people, change requirements, than blame them for the situation.And yes a formal complaint was filed with the school regarding the matter in which she was denied any assistance. The official response was that it was her fault, while the investigator ignored the clear policy violation.

  Business response

  03/04/2024

  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents *** from discussing details like this in this public forum. We urge the actual student to contact *** directly at ****************** and we will be happy to look into this issue. The complainant in this BBB complaint is apparently not a *** student.

  Customer response

  03/11/2024

   
  Complaint: 21375594
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The basis for this complaint is not protected information under FERPA. A complaint was already filed with ****************** and *** has not assisted or attempted to remedy the situation. In fact the initial response officially denied her assistance. Upon her response pointing out that it failed to respond to it's own policy failure, it has since constantly had my wife contacting different individuals within the organization telling her that they can not assist her. Why can't the school follow it's own written policy? I am paying for her school and she is using a benefit derived from my military service to attend your school, so I ******** to this situation.
  
  *********************

  Business response

  03/11/2024

  The student has been given a final decision and instructions concerning how to appeal that decision. The student has not appealed that decision. *** will not further discuss this student's complaint in this public forum. Nor will *** violate FERPA law by discussing the student's academic records with any third party, which includes the husband.

  Customer response

  03/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21375594
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Your organizations behavior in this instance is not protected by FERPA which is to protect "student" information, not an organizations bad behavior. Your organizations failure to respond to it's apparent inability to follow it's own written policies, is not covered by FERPA. Since you have identified the issue and individual involved, your organization is welcome to reach out to my wife at any time to actually resolve the issue. However, up to this point your staff have consistently sent her on wild goose chases to attempt to resolve the issue herself while refusing to assist her. Including responses from staff such as advising her that the issue is not in their knowledge area, giving her contact information for employees who no longer work for ***, or simply failing to respond to her request for assistance. She has participated in good faith to remedy the situation over and over again over the last couple of months. It is your organization which has failed to actually respond to her complaint and explain why it is not following it's own written policy on multiple occasions. She is now requesting an appeal to the complaint decision as this is the last step in the process before releasing all of the communications regarding this matter in formal complaints to your accrediting bodies, the US department of ********** and the US department of ******* Affairs. While your organization appears to not want to follow its own policy she has been attempting to follow your policies in good faith. Up to this point I feel this process is ultimately unfair and I find it disturbing that your organization behaves in this manner with regards to your students.
  

  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for this debt with ************************** I. I don't have a contract with WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY, they did not provide me with original contract as requested.

  Business response

  02/20/2024

  This complainant enrolled in courses at *** and accepted financial responsibility for tuition at that time. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents *** from discussing any further details in this public forum. If the complainant feels that there has been an error, they may read the Student Complaint and Grievance Policy at this URL: *****************************************************************************************************, and file a formal complaint, which will be handled internally.

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  From last year till now I tried to admit in *** but *** is playing game with me. They are fraud University and there one representative name ************************* did fraud with me. He said that I Order new transcript to him so he can see my transcript and informed me that how much credits *** can transfer from my current transcript. But there is another University I want to remove from my transcript so I give my transcript to *** some other departments to do this and after some days they remove that University and sent me email that they completed there work.But this fraud ************************* sent me email this new year of 2024 that he was not available now to talked with me because he was going somewhere so I talked with other person name *********************** he can help me. And I made an appointment with *********************** like he is VIP man and to talked with him we want to make an appointment. I saw one calendar where there are many dates where it shows that he was not available as he was available next month or bi-weekly etc. So I chosen one date and make an appointment with that VIP man not *** representative. But for some reason I was unable to talked with him in phone but he didn't email me also. I talked with ******** in emal and he gave me ******* email to talked with him. But I sent many emails to him about my transcript result but he didn't reply me. Its been 1 month and more completed but that *********************** didn't reply me about the result of my transcript. I warned him also but he didn't reply me. So I am complaining BBB that this *** is fraud University who stole peoples official transcript by saying that you can Order your transcript from Pachment and after that we can evaluate your transcript and tell you that how much credits we can give you to join ***.Thank You,**********

  Business response

  02/13/2024

  *** enrolls approximately ****** new students each month. The most time-consuming part of the enrollment process is the evaluation of transcripts for transfer credit, especially when an applicant requests to have certain transcripts excluded. This complainant's enrollment process is still proceeding. The *** enrollment counselor left a message for the complainant on February 5th, to schedule a phone conference and we are still waiting to hear from them. 

  Customer response

  02/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21284764
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As I said this is fraud University they said they called me and left me message on this Feb 05 but he forget there message that what ****************** said in the message that he receive my couple of emails and he is blind I think because after saying that after receiving my emails he not sure exactly what my huh, regards going to the BBB scoring and all. In emails I talk about my points and more and he don't know why I sent him emails and to BBB *** written that they have ****** students and they called me one time only for this matter. I am talking about this matter from last year and *** said that they called me 1 time. So you see BBB what type of fraud University is this *** and there representatives ******* or ***** who take new transcript from peoples and didn't informed them that how much credits they can give to them from there transcript.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **********

  Customer response

  02/14/2024

  Dear BBB,

  Have you not seen that I reply that Company response that I won't accept there comments and I want from that Company about my Credits that how much Credits they are going to give me from my transcript because as I said there representatives doing there business with other peoples. They said me to Order my transcript from Parchment so after evaluate my transcript they can tell me that how much credits they can give me from my transcript but they didn't told me anything and didn't reply back.

  So I sent many emails to them but as thief or scammer takes peoples items from them by doing fraud they also taken my transcript from me by lying to me that they can tell me that how much credits they can give me after seeing my transcript but they didn't. So I reported *** name to BBB that they are fraud University who won't do better business and lie to peoples that they can show or send there transcript to them so they can informed them that how much credits they can give to them.

  Thank You,

  **********

  Business response

  02/26/2024

  *** has experienced many communication challenges in the process of trying to enroll this individual. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to finishing the process. We last reached out to this individual on February 5th and are awaiting their response.

  Customer response

  02/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21284764
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **********

  Customer response

  02/28/2024

  This is a fraud University. They said that *** tried to process and tried to enroll me many times. Can BBB request from *** how they tried to enroll me many times and when they tried to enroll me how they tried to enroll me. This is a fraud University. From last year I was talking with this University admission representatives but he didn't helped me. He only said to do that and that and after that he was gone on vacation and said that I talked with other admission guy about my admission and transcript. I only request *** that how much credits they can transfer from my transcript to there and for that they said to do that and to send them new transcript also. I spend $ 10 for them to Order new transcript from Parchment and they got new transcript and the credit department sent me email that they evaluate my transcript.

  But after that *** admission representatives didn't give me any decision that how much credits they are giving to me. I sent many emails to them but they didn't reply back and says to BBB they they tried to enroll me only on Feb 05. Can BBB request *** all information how they tried to enroll me. And this is not a good University like other Universities because from 86 credits this fraud University tried to give me only 10 or 16 credits. So this is Poor or really very bad or fraud University or lie not to me to BBB also that they tried to enroll me.

  Thank You,

  **********

  Business response

  02/29/2024

  This complainant has not responded to outreach from *** to discuss their enrollment. This continued diatribe on BBB is very unprofessional and does not indicate a good fit for a *** student.

  Customer response

  02/29/2024

   
  Complaint: 21284764
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I already said to BBB that this *** is fraud University. They said that I didn't discussed about my enrollment. I request BBB can they asked *** that when they request from me to discuss the enrollment and when I didn't respond to them and why I am not professional fit for *** because *** name was in Guiness book of world record that all other Universities giving me some average credits of between 50 from 86.5 credits but this fraud University giving only 10 credits from 86.5 credits as like they teaches very important subjects they have VIP professors or 20 or 30 years experience professors.

  If BBB see in there system themselves they can see how many students complaint about them that how fraud University is this and they never come back in this University. I request BBB to asked this University that when they contact me on which month or date they contact me to discuss about the enrollment so I can confirm that they are telling BBB true or they show some proof also to BBB that they are telling true to BBB. After them I can show some proof to BBB but first this fraud University want to show some proof that they are innocent because they said that they tried to discussed with me for the enrollment but I am not a good fit for them as ***.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **********

  Business response

  03/01/2024

  *** is still waiting for this complainant to respond to our request for communication from February 2nd. If they do not want to talk to us, what do they want?

• Initial Complaint

  02/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I worked as a subject matter expert (SME) for *** for development of a short course. The work and contract during has ended several weeks ago and it has been an extremely lengthy process to get paid, with multiple registrations, phone calls and emails. I have sent them my updated direct deposit info multiple times and I am still awaiting payment. Many do not respond to email and there seems to be no sense of urgency, despite that I had made myself immediately available as a SME to help support the course when asked.

  Business response

  02/09/2024

  *** sent this payment twice and it was returned twice. Apparently we did not have the individual's current account information. We now have that and the payment is being sent again this week.

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  During my term at Western Governors University I have encountered multiple challenges that have left me extremely frustrated, leading me to file a formal complaint. I initially enrolled to begin my term on August 1st, 2023. In communicating with my program mentor, I have experienced a lot of confusion. I have been working to complete the required material for my MAT: Elementary Education and begin my PCE and DT requirements. My program mentor has struggled to provide definite answers regarding time sensitive requirements to propel me forward within the program. I have been directed to contact the program's Clinical Field Experience Facilitator with time sensitive questions on a handful of occasions. Unfortunately, this faculty member has stated that she rarely has the capacity to take phone calls and prefers to communicate via email. Between my Program Mentor, Clinical Field Experience Facilitator, and the overall University operations, I have lost valuable time and money during this process. I have received some helpful guidance from my Program Mentor; however, I continue to backtrack as a result of miscommunication and misinformation. My work ethic should not be a question in this scenario, as my transcripts reveal that I have completed over half of the program within a 5-month span. I had originally planned to finish the program requirements within two terms, but due to the academic calendar year, (a large factor in PCE/DT requirements) and faculty members unable to provide definite answers, I will likely need a total of 3 terms and $4,000 extra in tuition expenses. My experience with PCE and DT requirements at Western Governors has been extremely discouraging. As a result of the lack of communication and organization that I have experienced, I would likely not recommend Western Governors University to peers seeking their MAT.

  Business response

  01/03/2024

  WGU's elementary education masters program is extensive and includes two field experience placement requirements, which can be demanding. When WGU experiences a slow-down in placement timing, we typically resolve those issues to students' satisfaction through our internal formal complaint process, which is designed to protect student academic information, a federal requirement. Students who take advantage of WGU's ability to accelerate quickly through courses because of previous knowledge and experience typically find that the field experience process is difficult to accelerate, which is frustrating. WGU commits to reach out to this student through our internal formal complaint process and resolve the student's concern to the best of our ability. Our MAT students typically finish their programs faster than the national average of 24 months and 97% of our graduates recommend WGU to their friends and co-workers. Over 50% of our students were referred by a friend. 

*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. ↩