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Report: #1387255

Complaint Review: Thomas Edison State University - Trenton New Jersey

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Marg — Washington Dist of Columbia USA
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  • Thomas Edison State University 111 W. State Street Trenton, New Jersey USA

Thomas Edison State University Deceptive and fraudulent practices at Thomas Edison State University Trenton New Jersey

*Author of original report: Thomas Edison State University

*Consumer Comment: A lesson in taking personal responsibility

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As a military wife whose husband deploys frequently, and, as a health profession who travels to underserved areas here and abroad; I was looking for a distance education course that had flexibility; Thomas Edison State University in Trenton, N.J. advertised flexible schedules on their website. I sent e-mails to the college outlining that I would be on medical mission and also traveling from home for work; would their university course schedule be appropriate for my lifestyle? I received a written response of yes by e-mail; and, was also directed to contact the instructor; which I did by e-mail. The instructor replied yes in an e-mail that he was accustomed to working with military and their challenging schedules. I registered for Chemistry 112; an online three credit course in September 2016.

During the course; I required several surgeries; and, I asked the instructor (whom I later learned was a mentor) how to obtain an extension. I filled out the extension paperwork; included the surgical note; received an e-mail from the instructor stating the extension had been approved; and, I continued to submit coursework and took the quizzes. The instructor continued to grade the homework and quizzes; and, I continued to complete the course. When it was time to take the mid-term and final; the instructor explained that the university provided the exams; that he, the instructor did not arrange and give those exams. I contacted the school to make arrangements; and, at that point I learned that I am not enrolled; after much investigation I learned that my extension paperwork was not received by the university.

As the instructor continued to grade the assignments and quizzes; and I was sent an e-mail stating the extension was approved; I was not aware that I was dropped from the course. After a series of e-mails to the Assistant Dean of the university (TESU would not allow this complaint to go further than the Assistant Dean) and the veteran’s department at TESU; the assistant dean denied my request for an adequate extension to complete the course as related to medical issues; therefore, by that decision I was unable to complete the mid-term and final; I was given an "F" and lost my veteran's reduced tuition; $750.

I was informed by the Veteran’s Office and the Assistant Dean that my only recourse was to withdraw and to file an appeal requesting a refund. I stated that I did not want to withdraw; the “F” would then stand; I was forced to withdraw. The Veteran's Office at the school was successful in reversing the "F" to a "W"; but was unable to secure a refund. I demanded an appeal and received an anonymous e-mail; no contact person given how to proceed with an appeal. The e-mail instructed to present evidence to support the appeal; when I logged into the university student site to secure evidence; all e-mails and dialogue were taken down.

I responded to the e-mail that had no contract person that the course website was gone; and hence, all supporting evidence. I was informed in an e-mail by this anonymous contact that the site was taken down to protect my privacy; I was then sent a letter stating my tuition would not be returned. I asked in several e-mails how to obtain this evidence; basically I was informed in these unsigned e-mails that it was not of significance to the case that the course website had been removed. The appeals committee chair; Ms. Woodruff continues to remain silent on the issue regarding the removal of the evidence; and, stands by the decision not to refund the $750.

The military reduced tuition should be returned for several reasons:

The university consistently states on their website that it is flexible; will work with the military and the demands of the military; e-mails stating this fact were removed by the university; the student website was taken down along with all the evidence that I could not present in the appeal process.

I was not aware I was dropped from the course; I was not aware that paperwork was not processed; I was sent an e-mail by the instructor stating the extension was granted; this e-mail was contained in the student site that was taken down; 2) the instructor continued to grade all remaining assignments and quizzes; I was not aware of any issues; completed all homework; the university removed the student website as evidence; 3) the university denied my request for an adequate extension as related to the surgical procedures; as I had just completed an additional surgery when these issues arose; and, would need adequate time to heal (supported by medical note); 4) I did not want to withdraw from the course, I wanted to complete the course successfully; was forced to withdraw as I was not granted an adequate extension to complete the mid-term and final; surgical healing.

In conclusion, the successful completion of this course is the preferable goal; however, as such time has transpired the completion of Chemistry 112 mid-term and final exams; would require adequate study and preparation time to successfully take the exams.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/21/2017 03:52 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/thomas-edison-state-university/trenton-new-jersey-08608/thomas-edison-state-university-deceptive-and-fraudulent-practices-at-thomas-edison-state-1387255. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
1Author
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#2 Author of original report

Thomas Edison State University

AUTHOR: mag - (United States)

POSTED: Sunday, March 17, 2024

My credit card company refunded the military tuition as it agreed that Thomas Edison State University failed to follow its own course extension policy and that TESU behaved in an unprofessional manner.

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#1 Consumer Comment

A lesson in taking personal responsibility

AUTHOR: Linda - (United States)

POSTED: Tuesday, February 22, 2022

I am a graduate of TESU.  And, am very grateful that an accredited state university offering such high quality educational opportunity exists. Self-directed college level education is not for everyone and can be even more challenging than brick and mortar education.  It truly puts you in the drivers seat - with all of the responsibility that entails.  

While I am sorry this individual had an unfortunate experience - I cannot help but read this complaint with a lack of sympathy.  With this type of learning experience one must realize several things - 

1.  That, while flexible, the process is not playdough - there are limitations to the flexibility which is entirely understandable.

2.  Failing to communicate a change in student status with the school (rather than only the professor) is hard to understand, particularly since the individual apparently failed to notice that no written (or emailed) confirmation of the status change was received.

3.  Not communicating sufficiently with the school, understanding that the professor/mentor serves an ad hoc role (not as an employee of the school), and assuring that they have a clear understanding of how the school works is a failure of responsibility this individual must realize.

TESU is a great school and I am proud to be a graduate.

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