I was contacted by Matt Balkum from New Horizons at my job a few months before I was laid off. He said that he heard that we were losing our jobs due toa plant closure and that our Trade Act Reassistance funding would pay for continuing education at New Horizons. He asked if I had any microsoft certifications and whether I was interested in obtaining the new MCITP certification. He assured me that my $15,000 tuition reimbursement would cover all of the training and testing that was required to obtain this certification as well as a SQL DBA certification. He also indicated thatupon completion of the coursework at New Horizons, credits would be accumulated and could transfer to a universityfor Bachelors degree credit. I met with Mr. Balkum as well as Rupert Rangel to discuss the classes, fees and potential for obtaining the certifications. I obtained the paperwork and had Mr. Balkum fax the information to my TRA Coordinator. Amazingly enough, the funding request was for $14,950. Which was approved and I began receiving class schedules. My first class was an indication of things to come. I understood that I would be watching videos, doing in class exercises after each chapter. What I didn't know was that my instructor BinBin Zhang didn't have a clue about the information that I was learning. Any problems or concerns that I had, he indicated repeatedly that he had no idea. I addressed these concerns with Mr. Balkum and I was referred to Rick Fischer who was at another New Horizons location. We discussed some of the questions and problems that I had over the phone the next day. This was a huge red flag to me, but I continued on. I finished my first week of videos and in class exercises. Upon attending my second week of classes, with Rick Fischer, I had a family emergency and had to leave. I emailed Matt and told hime that I would have to reschedule the current class. While studying the material that I had from the previous week, I realized that I was in no way ready to test on this material and that I wouldn't be for quite some time. Although I am a 15 year I.T. Professional, I was studying all new concepts - Server 2008. Something that I had never worked with before. When I indicated this issue to Mr. Balkum and asked if it was possible to get my MCSE as opposed to my MCITP, I was told that they didn't offer this certification any more. At this point I felt trapped, struggling to a brand new operating system and some of the concepts. I took a break from classes and talked with my TRA coordinator. Both of us tried to get a partial refund. I was told that since I had attended the one class, my funding was no longer able to be refunded. New Horizons is a rip off! Do the research! Take your training and education funding to a more reputable place!
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