University of Maryland University College UMUC Withholding an Earned Degree/Poor Polices & Treatment of students Adelphi, Maryland

Greetings, 

I am so very sorry to hear about what happened to you. Know that you are NOT alone. My wife earned one degree, and two certificates from UMUC. Starting in Europe and ending in the United States. They did literally the exact same thing to her, and it took a very long period of time and MUCH complaining on her part to finally get her degrees. She didnt bother attending the ceremony in any case because she had such a miserable experience at the school that she had no desire to participate, but getting her actual piece of papers ...nearly impossible. They really gave her the run around. 

Currently, I am being harassed by the very same organization and I am active duty. It makes me so angry and offended how they make claims about being 'leaders in military education' when in reality they arent a leader they are a monopoly. Big difference. Anyway, have you considered contacting their legal department, or reporting them to any of the regulatory agencies such as the Middle States agency for accredidation, or the United States Department of Education? That is my next move if the harassment, and false derogatory credit information reporting continues. 

Regards, 

TSgt Gabriel

PS Congratulations on your academic acheivement, and remember, no matter what nobody can ever take that away from you. Stay strong..

I'm not going to go into the big fiasco that I had to go through with UMUC but after one day a student should be able to cancel the class without paying. That's ridiculas. Of course the student is going to be told to pay the money. That's how the university gets it's dollar. The same thing happened to me. I tried to cancel and was told I couldn't. Tried to appeal and of course lost because by the time the information was received by the right people the class was over and there was nothing that they could do. This person deserves to have their degree without having to pay a dime. I'm so sorry this happened.

I've been in higher ed for over 20 years. Every college I've worked at has the same policy in regards to issuing a diploma, i.e., if you owe a balance you won't receive it until the balance is paid. Paying for a dropped course is your responsibility, as you seem to acknowledge. Whether the drop period is one day or three is irrelevant. It is the student's responsibility to know the drop/add policies. The GI Bill will not cover dropped classes, nor is it the VA's responsibility to advocate for you in this instance.

You can rightfully claim having the earned degree on any resume or job application. Although having the paper degree itself is better, no employer will ask to see it. They may, however, ask for your transcript, which also won't be released until the balance is paid.

You make an interesting observation about UMUC potentially earning more money from you as you continue your education. While it may seem (to us) like a good business decision to resolve this in your favor, that just isn't the way it works. Unfortunately, they will take the stance that if they do this for you they have to do it for everyone else.

It would seem that your only recourse is to suck it up and pay the 25%. Going to the media won't help. UMUC is a BIG school and they won't suffer from a little negative publicity.

I am truly sorry that you find yourself in this situation. As the wife of a disabled vet I am sensitive to your issues and applaud your perseverance in getting a Master's.Thank you for your service, and good luck!

First of all, I am so sorry that this has happened to you.  I received my MS from UMUC in the Spring of 2009.  I received my BS from UMUC in 2006.  I went to that school because of a scheduling conflict with my job and for no other reason.  But, I was a great student and I made excellent grades and graduated with honors both times. 

I can tell you from personal experience that even though I paid for school through student loans, the financial aid office managed to screw up my loans almost every single semester.  The right hand never knew what the left hand was doing.  I too was going to pursue my MBA but didn't have the energy to deal with them for one second more! 

As a note for your situation in particular, I would give you this advice.  I would take this to the local press.  UMUC touts itself as being a military friendly school. For them to treat a disabled vet this way is an absolute disgrace.  They should be bending over backwards for you.  I would also contact the Maryland Legislature.  You know, they do get funding from them ;) 

And as I type this, there is a commercial for UMUC on television for the UMUC MBA.  What a crock!