Hustled by Private University: Now, No Choice But CLEP!.....Details Inside!

[barcotta]

I'll respond to your question as well as others who have mentioned the accreditation of my previous school AIU.

AIU is in fact a regionally accredited; however, this status is highly questionable as they have they have struggled quite a bit to hold on to their accreditation...

...Now, as far as my new school goes (University of Texas), they DO "accept" my credits as electives. However, these "elective" credits are not applicable to any of their degree plans!...

...Now speaking of scam. I'd like to point some things out for the person who replied saying AIU can't be sued because of their accreditation status. After some research I found out that they have been! In fact, they been many times and yet the school is STILL running, and STILL "accredited". One of their biggest settlements was with a Los Angeles branch of the school where they paid out over $12 million dollars to students enrolled between 2001-2007. Please note, the case was for FRAUD. Check out link to the settlement agreement conducted by Braun Law Group below.

Braun Law Group, P.C.

Of the many things I appreciate about this forum, one that I appreciate greatly is the opportunity to continue learning. This issue is fascinating to me and, although I don't now have the time to dig in deeper--I can tell that the issues raised here reveal only a surface sketch of THIS problem. Good God. I read some of the settlement agreement (what we really need to see is one or more of the complaints) and was very surprised to see the accredited credit disclosure requirements on page four. If anyone else is interested, you should click on the link that parabolate provided and check out the settlement agreement. The FIRST required disclosure sounds exactly like what I would expect for an unaccredited trade school--and the second sounds EXACTLY like what I would expect for an accredited school. I don't know enough about this stuff to understand the potentially changing regulations to which they refer, but this is interesting reading for anyone who is interested.

Often, discussions on these forums only scratch the surface of much deeper problems and miscommunications can result. I think that's normal and common, and certainly occurred here. I understood from the initial post that AIU was unaccredited and never received accreditation, and the new school (University of Texas) did not accept any of credits earned by parabolate at AIU. We now know that AIU IS accredited and all of the credits WERE accepted. Unfortunately, they have no value--although it's incredible to me that not a single degree plan at University of Texas requires ANY elective credit--but I won't belabor that point.

I didn't note any posts, including mine, that indicated that AIU could not be sued. I said that I didn't THINK they could be sued on the accreditation issue--but that was based, in part, on some of the information in the initial post that turned out to be untrue or incomplete. In fact, anyone can be sued for almost anything--it's the likelyhood of successfully suing that's at issue. As it turns out, AIU was successfully sued for a laundry list of reasons--including their representation of credit transferrability (sp.).

I can now see that the issue of accreditation/transfer of credits is much deeper--especially in this case. It's too bad you didn't attend in LA or Sunnyvale. It looks like you would've been eligible for a full refund!

I think you could still look at it this way:

If you take those 13 CLEPS at roughly $100 a pop--you'll get about 39 credits (or a few more if any of them are accepted as more than 3 credits) for around $1300. So--once you're done with that--you'll have paid about $23,300 (and a little time and effort) and you'll have 39 credits to transfer in. To me, that's much more palatable than $22,000 for 0 credits that would be applicable towards your new degree.

Finally, if you were victim to all of the misrepresentations for which AIU was successfully sued in CA, then you SHOULD sue. Law is all about precedents--and there's a whole lot of precedent there. Obviously, laws vary from state to state, but it looks like they did A LOT of misrepresenting--most of which SHOULD be illegal ANYWHERE. Good luck!

[Gary]

First of all, welcome to the forums. It's great to have you here.
Secondly, I think you've gotten some great information already. If I were in your shoes, I would seriously be looking at TESC or one of the other big 3. If you spend some time reading the specific part of the forum, you can get a sense of which one might appeal to you best.

The reasons that I agree with those suggestions are:
1) you obviously have the ability to do independent studying/work as documented by your "getting a jump start" at the other school.
2) you haven't let the set back from the other school halt your determination to get a degree. Kudos to you for not letting this beat you.
3) you have the initiative to take clep tests.

Are the big 3 cheap? No. Are they flexible, convenient and a good option? yes. I am attending a B&M school that I always wanted to attend. If it weren't for that long term desire to attend this school, I would have seriously considered one of the big 3. I think if you went that route, you could finish your degree much sooner than you're anticipating finishing now. If they took your hours, you'd be half way to a degree instead of starting from scratch. That would save you time & money in the long run.

That's just my thoughts.
Hope this helps.

I second this opinion. You've paid enough already, is U of Texas your best bet? Is it that you want a school your football team would be proud of? Seriously, have you looked at Excelsior or TESC? You might be closer than you think. A quick check of the website or call may help you a lot. I actually find it hard to believe you would spend all that money again, plus time. On the other hand, they have a heck of a football team.

[liliarose]

What campus did you attend? As other postings stated. AIU is regionally accredited. I think you better double check with the college you are now attending and maybe research other colleges. If you have any problems, perhaps you should check with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association (SACS). See below for information. I worked in the education field for 7 years and I know that the colleges are not always correct.


Accredited College - AIU

American InterContinental University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of American InterContinental University. The Commission is to be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support an institution's significant noncompliance with a requirement or standard.

This umbrella accreditation includes the following branch campuses of the University: AIU Buckhead; AIU Dunwoody; AIU South Florida; AIU London; AIU Houston; AIU Los Angeles and AIU Online (originating in Illinois).