American Intercontinental University A.I.U. Online Total Ripoff!!! NOT ACCREDITED!! CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT! Lafayette Indiana

I was able to find a report about a whistle blower lawsuit that was filed by 4 former employees stating that the school was commiting fraud.  The report is on a website called justicenewsflash.com..  I can't copy and paste the link into this rebuttal form.  I am trying to find out how to join the class action that I have seen mentioned on forthepeople.com but I do not see one for AIU.  I know my experience with this school and I have been fighting this for 7 years now.  I am sure that some people did have a good experience because they have to stay in business....but those 15% that graduated and got their degree are happy with what they recieved while the other 85% of us that were ripped off are going to join together and dispute.  I was promised an education, online support, training, etc, etc....I did not recieve that.  I was given excellent grades by some teachers and horrible grades by others.  I was forced to re-take Algebra.....pay for it again, and then I was failed the second time byt the same teacher.  I am sure that this school has planned this for profit.  They want students to fail so that they can make more money, they are on probation and this will come to a stop.  Those of you that say...."it is difficult to prove" or that we are just complaining.....you have no clue what it is like.  I am a mother of two and I am a waitress with 30 thousand dollars in debt.  They are trying to garnish my wages by 15% when I am paid in tips!  which ironically is supposed to be 15% of the bill but that does not always happen.  My average paycheck is 60 dollars a week for 30 hours.  If the garnishment goes through I will not have a paycheck at all.  I have also lost my last two tax refunds in the amount of almost 14 thousand dollars.  They are still out for blood....14 thousand in two years and they want more.  I was able to get a good deal for an online school for real estate and I am just fininshing that program with excellent grades.  I did also  graduate from high school with honors and I am an excellent student so I do feel like I was given bad grades so that I would have to pay for the same course again.  When you base more than half of a students final grade on one test or one paper and the teacher has the authority to fail you because they did not think that your paper was amazing enough,  when you are not given the proper tools and support, and when you call and they suggest that you take a class again since you did not get an A.....because if your average is below C they will fail you....then you have to re-enroll....or start over.  And also the credits are not transferrable....I know because I did try with two different schools.  So instead of making my life better and moving up in the world.....I have no education, I can't get a loan for a house, or even a car!!!  Because I have all of this on my credit report.  I am living one day at a time and hoping that I can make enough in tips to pay my bills.  This is not what I signed up for.  I will continue to file reports and research and contact an atttorney on my own.  I have had to request a hearing to try and stop the wage garnishment.  This is not going to end here.  Even if it takes another 7 years, this school will stop taking advantage of people who are only trying to get a better education

All4Tees, our experinces are different with AIU, I found it be both challenging and rewarding.  After much research, I decided to attend AIU Online graduating in August 2009 with a Master's degree in Education with focus in Instructional Technology.  Other than a poor Financial Aid and Accounting department, the quality of education was on par with other universities that I've attended throughout a 23 year naval career. 

I have few items that dispel many of the allegations raised by disgruntled posters. 

1.  AIU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.  It used to be accredited by the Southern Association of College and Schools  where it was on probation for a year or so but soon gained full accreditation before transferring to HLC in 2009.  You may be surprised at the number of schools on probation by regionally accrediting bodies.

2.  I graduated in August 2009 and was accepted by OldDominionUniversity and RegentUniversity doctoral programs.  I decided on RegentUniversity for the spring of 2010.  I can state without reservation that AIU properly prepared me for doctoral work.  If the AIU degree was worthless, then I would have not been accepted to these Universities.  Additionally, I was also accepted by GeorgeWashingtonUniversity and NOVA Southeast but never seriously considered these two.

3.  I used to work with General Dynamics as a Training Specialist and since obtaining my Master's degree, I have received a promotion along with many job offers from many employers seeking my experience and educational credentials.  I recently accepted a GS-13/14 position as an Instructional Systems Specialist.  This would have not been possible if my degree was indeed worthless either by fortune 500 companies or the Department of Defense. 

4.  My tuition was paid for in part by the MGIB and employer reimbursement.  I find it hard to believe that an employer would pay for coursework if they viewed it as worthless.   General Dynamics is a large defense contractor much like Boeing, Lockheed, Sikorsky, etc.  Each of these firms recognizes AIU degrees and offer tuition reimbursement.

5.  I'm a 23 year naval veteran and graduate of AIU.  Any attempts by some to label any positive comments as anything other are just indicative of their own distrust. 

Lastly, I would recommend AIU to any working professional seeking to enhance their resume and upward progression.  These posts that allege AIU is not accredited or offer worthless degrees are not based on facts and only harm the reputations of the many thousands of alumni, current students and instructors of AIU.  I'm a 23 year naval veteran and graduate of AIU.  My educational experience at AIU has certainly led to better career opportunities and significantly enhanced my professional growth. 

 Accredited my butt!!! This school has a  15 % graduation and you cannot transfer your degree to another GOOD school as 1. portland Univer or NYU  and there are many more. So you really need to to do your research......Stop listening to the  admissions and do the research. yes, they are on review and have been for a least 5 years. Nothing has change and nor will it, they are expensive and ill mannered............ all4tees

STOP ATTENDING ALL THESE JUNK ON LINE SCHOOLS AND YOUR PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED
All brick & morter colleges and community colleges offer on line classes now at reasonable state tuition rates. If everyone would just stop this Bull$#*& of attending these rip off places of higher education, you would not be getting yourselves in a financial bind, or having these rip off companies trying to ruin your credit. Then UOP, AXIA, STRAYER, CAPELLA, and who ever else Jon Doe for profit schools will close up shop and be gone for good!

These on line schools are a 100% rip off. I have taken a few on line classes through one of my local community college's and I am satisfied to know that its 100% accredited and transferable to any 4 year university, no questions asked.

Please everyone, stop giving yourself a heartache

A.I.U.Online division is not accredited!

So much hatred. Try working there-lol. The degree itself is worth it. Talk to SACS, they'll answer your questions. Do I hate working there? Sometimes I do. Management needs to revamp and I THINK that may have already started. But as far as the education itself, don't knock it because you're bitter. Dozens of my students have been promoted and done quite well with their lives. I really do hate the management and the treatment of a lot of the staff but that doesn't qualify for a "Rip-off".

I am not sure where you have gotten your information, but AIU is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

They are however, on probation. This is an incredibly strict accrediting body. I suggest you do your research and look up how many schools they have placed on probation. The University of Louisiana for example. I do believe you would be shocked at the amount.

The probation does not affect current students. All their credits while the school is accredited are considered valid. AIU is making an incredible amount of changes to meet the demands of SACS. Due to the amount of changes, SACS chose to place them on probation for an additional year to ensure they are keeping those policies in place.

Please do not post things you have not bothered to research.

I find it interesting how the original poster here keeps resorting to the same statements: "I was TOLD this or I was TOLD that."

No matter how many times people point out the necessity to perform one's research before spending tens of thousands of dollars on an education, she continues to ignore such suggestions and keeps believing that because she was "told" something then she must have a case.

A quick, two-minute internet search on AIU pulls up questionable accreditation which is not accepted nationally. That right there should be enough to persuade or dissuade anyone from attending said school if accreditation is important to them!

An important part of being a college student is learning to think independently and developing critical analysis skills. This includes being capable of performing research and making informed decisions. People who prefer to go by life according to what they are "told" have no business being in college as such education would be a waste. Perhaps the OP will eventually realize this, or at least examine her behavior in her fruitless job search. As it so happens, employers also desire people who can "think outside the box" -- otherwise they would hire robots who are "told" what to do by the people who program them.

I'm no expert, but it seems like whenever class action lawsuits are settled, the recipients receive very small amounts of money regardless of how much they spent, or how badly they were injured, or whatever the case may be. Class action suits take a lot of lawyers getting paid a lot of money, and usually take years to wind their way through the judicial system. The cost of maintaining a class action suit might also exceed reasonableness by a far greater amount than what the combined litigants may have spent, or hope to receive.

Getting money back for an unsatisfactory education just doesn't seem to happen. There'd likely be a lot fewer schools in this country if you could sue them for dissatisfaction. Granted, if deception, etc., can be proven, there would seem to be a basis for a lawsuit, but again, I wouldn't pin my hopes on ever recovering what you spent.

Getting ripped off on an education really hurts because it is so expensive, and then having the promises of a brighter future ripped away makes the wound even deeper. Living and learning is a rotten response, but at some point, that's about the only option left.

Nursing the wound won't hurt the school a bit, but it will do you great harm. I really do feel for you, and wish I had something better to say, but having been ripped off both by so-called friends as well as the corporate world, justice is a nice concept, but we can't let ourselves be eaten alive when it doesn't happen, and, ugly as the truth may be, it usually won't happen.

If someone has a better response, please post it!! I hate this negative impression I have, but I also really hate to see someone being eaten alive by an issue that likely can't have a satisfactory resolution for them.

I want to stop this school from using a college education as leverage for the c.e.o. to get rich of poor students. I was told this was quality, accredited education. 20,000 dollars later, I cannot get a good paying job with this education. The school is worthless, I learned nothing. I need a list of people interested in a class action lawsuit. I want all of my money back, and the satisfaction of knowing this school cannot ripoff anyone else in the future.

I want to stop this school from using a college education as leverage for the c.e.o. to get rich of poor students. I was told this was quality, accredited education. 20,000 dollars later, I cannot get a good paying job with this education. The school is worthless, I learned nothing. I need a list of people interested in a class action lawsuit. I want all of my money back, and the satisfaction of knowing this school cannot ripoff anyone else in the future.

I want to stop this school from using a college education as leverage for the c.e.o. to get rich of poor students. I was told this was quality, accredited education. 20,000 dollars later, I cannot get a good paying job with this education. The school is worthless, I learned nothing. I need a list of people interested in a class action lawsuit. I want all of my money back, and the satisfaction of knowing this school cannot ripoff anyone else in the future.