I don't know where to begin! I begin attending Axia College online (Associates Degree Program). I have never had to do so much calling in reference to getting my financial aid straightened out. I have gone through too many finance counselors to even count as well as academic advisors. This is my education and that part I know, but to have to leave message after message and e-mail after e-mail isn't what your entire experience with the school is supposed to be like!!!
I am set to graduate June 1st 2008. Lucky me!!! Not so lucky after all. I accessed the student account portion of the website on May 16th and low and behold their is a code with a (refund lender) in the amount of $2,559.83. It is early on a Saturday morning and I am wondering what in the world has gone on with my account. I then access my lender's website and I have two loans scheduled to be disbursed on May 19th. I'm still confused here and can't wait to get my finance counselor on the phone on Monday morning.
I call my finance counselor and he is just as baffled. He can't even explain what the return to lender was for. I never had a break in attendance and have met all eligibility requirements since I've been attending. I told him that it didn't make sense! He agreed.in the midst of that; I had also been trying to get my second disbursement of pell since February in which he continued to send trouble ticket after trouble ticket. Finally my disbursement date for my pell is Monday May 27th but hey wait a minute; those funds aren't going to be excess for me; those funds are going to cancel out that supposed return to lender balance and still leave me owing the school over four hundred dollars. I e-mailed my finance counselor's A/R manager and left her a message. Of course; NO RESPONSE!!!
I am trying to wait it out and see what happens this week before I e-mail the Associate Director of Finance! Everything is a waiting process with Axia and it makes no sense. The off site accounting department is so inept that it is pathetic. Everytime you have a problem; it doesn't make sense that you have to talk to finance counselors that have to turn right around and deal with an accounting department that is not even on the school's campus. It is even more frustrating to know that all correspondence between the finance counselor and the accounting department has to be through e-mail and a million trouble tickets. The accountig department's turnaround time in handling a student matter totally SUCKS!!!
I have been very proactive in trying to deal with my financial aid issues that I have had from day one and each time I'm supposed to get a disbursement, whether it be from loans or pell; I always have to wait an extra long time; because something wasn't done right on the finance counselor's behalf.
I have gotten numerous calls from Axia's graduate team about continuing my education at University of Phoenix and there is no way in the HELL I would even set myself up for the kill.
The classes haven't been hard at all, but when you have to deal with different finance counselors every nine weeks and have no idea that the one you had before is no longer there; it makes it hard to focus!!!
I would not recommend Axia or University of Phoenix to anyone!!! I am at a loss of words, because I don't know how this whole return to lender thing is going to turn out! My finance counselor of course opened up another trouble ticket and told me to just focus on completing my classes and that he would get everything taken care of!!! On that note; this is my last week of class and I know that everything won't be resolved by this Friday and it is going to be hell on wheels to try and get anything done beyond that point!!!
I've even been told by academic counselors and finance counselors personally that they get a lot of complaints when it comes to the financial aspect of things. Their accounting department is awful when it comes to handling aid and UOP has everything just like they want it. You have to keep getting the run by the finance counselors and the accounting department is in some mysterious dark place and you can't even speak with anyone their and they are the one's handling the actual disbursements of aid!!!
I don't know what to do from this point!!! I had no balance on my account and was clear up until May 16th. All of my classes had been paid for and the only thing I was waiting on was my second disbursement of pell!!!
Needless to say; I will be continuing my education elsewhere and wouldn't recommend Axia (UOP) to my worst enemy!!!
Lost in Georgia!!!
S. Lewis
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A.
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