Ultrasound Diagnostic School, Career Education Corp, Sanford Brown Institute, Whitman Education Rip-off! We're not getting the education we paid for. Tampa Florida

Myself and 24 other students signed up in June of 2003 for the Medical Diagnostic Sonography program at Ultrasound Diagnostic School. Many of us are looking at this as a second career, and we have all sacrificed alot to attend this school. Tuition was 23,000 and it now has gone up to 29,0000.

This school is a huge rip-off but we are all in to deep to do anything about it. Here are the problems we have encountered. Please note that we have tried talking to administration about our concerns but to no avail. We are repeatly told things that are not true just to appease us for the time being.

When speaking to the president of UDS got us nowhere we wrote a letter to corporate. They did not respond, only returned the letter to the president which only angered her and she came into our classroom and actually screamed at us. Within the last week our teacher we had for only a month quit, the Director of Education quit and our program director is mia. Following is a list of problems we have encountered.

Lack of qualified (unqualified?) teachers. No clinical coordinator (Many of us never received our sites in a timely manner and are many hours behind. We are now told that we have to make up these hours ASAP or we will not graduate. We are also told that to make up this time we would be put on a non-imaging site to file although in order to have our proficiences signed off on we need to be on an imaging site.) Books that do not come in on time, or the teacher would teach out of a different book than what we had. Too large of classroom. Unable to get personalized attention. Outdated and broken lab equipment. No supplies for the lab. No paper towels, table dressings, gel, film for the u/s machines are all rationed. Only 5 u/s machines for 25 students in diagnostic sono and for the students in the cvt class.
Only allowed 1 hour a week per student to learn to scan all other time is spent in classroom with a teacher who is not prepared, doesn't know the material and only reads off of typed pages (from another teacher that is no longer there) that is so full of typo's that it is ridiculous.

There's also falsification of student records to cover their behinds. They have lost hours students have put in and then told them that they have to make-up the make-up hours over. Putting diciplinary notes in students files that students weren'nt aware of and that were unfounded.

This school has a very bad reputation in the field that none of us was aware of until starting our clincals. Many hospitals will not employ a graduate of this school.
Our prior program director quit because she was afraid that working there would sully her reputation.
I could go on and on but I won't. This school has been sued numerous times in the past for these same reasons.

I would like to know if anyone has any ideas on what can be done, or if anyone has had an unpleasant experience with this school or knows of someone who has. They have just recently changed their name again hoping that people will think that it is a new school. They are now called Sanford Brown Institute. One more thing, it is not just our class having problems but students in the other programs as well: CVT, Medical Assistant, Surgical Tech. Feel free to e-mail me with your thoughts.

Cindy
Riverview, Florida
U.S.A.