Financial Aid - seems like we are being scammed.

<p>Yes, the entire class received F grades. I verified it with an independent source that my daughter doesn’t know about. Why they weren’t I grades (incomplete) I don’t know. This other person said that parents and students HAVE been calling, camping out, etc. to no avail. They said that the entire FA office is in complete disarray. They are spending an awful lot of time trying to make people believe that theirs is the ONLY problem they are having at the moment.</p>

<p>This particular person’s student some how was registered TWICE for this term and is being billed as such. Since they are signed up for the school’s payment plan, they are bound by the contract (it says that bills must still be paid even if they are being disputed, and if you stop paying…the student will be banned from attending classes).</p>

<p>So yeah, I’m making my plan of “attack” now. I’ve contacted a local consumer advocate that works with a local tv station - he just LOVES stuff like this. So, we’ll see what happens.</p>

<p>Thanks for the support. I know I’ll live through this, but right now it just seems so overwhelming.</p>

<p>That’s what originally happened - no grades were recorded. But, under the pressure of parents, students, whoever…they were recorded as F’s in January and students were told to put pressure on the instructor - so I think the responsibility was passed onto the students to do the dirty work.</p>

<p>Well please come back and let us know what happened</p>

<p>Really awful but glad the reporter loves this stuff and will help get it sorted out. YUCK–what kid or parent needs to deal with this stuff???</p>

<p>It really makes my discussions at D’s school to get her out of the $1360 for auditting ballet look like a cakewalk. They were much more responsive & easier to deal with; it took less than two weeks for full resolution!</p>

<p>This is a school with MAJOR management problems extending far outside financial aid. I hope that the TV station is able to make some quick headway. Yikes.</p>

<p>Parents pressured the school to remove ‘incompletes’ and were happy with the ensuing ‘F’'s???.. Something is seriously wrong with the school,and the story seems very odd, to say the least</p>

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<p>Why is anyone still dealing with the FA office? Students/Parents should be camped out in the President’s office and on his/her front lawn.</p>

<p>I still think we don’t have all the information here, it’s just too odd of a story. If the facts are stated, I don’t understand why in the world someone would trust this issue to a television station when a lawyer can be hired.</p>

<p>It is may, not must. Legal departments set the tone at schools on this one.</p>

<p>As for the OP’s dilemma … my rear would have been parked in that school long ago. My kid goes to school 9 hours from home, so she handles things herself. But at the point where an F went on her transcript, I’d have been livid … the removal of financial aid would have had me in the car for a road trip. </p>

<p>You really need to get to the bottom of this. Please let us know what happens.</p>

<p>Is this a for-profit school?</p>

<p>this is crazy…if a prof dropped dead right before he/she put in final grades, would a school give the students all “F’s”??? NO!</p>

<p>Is there a Board of Trustees who can be made to feel very uncomfortable about this? The kids could be calling them from their cell phones while they are waiting for action from the Registrar’s office.</p>

<p>And no, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES is it the responsibility of the students to track down a professor who didn’t turn in grades. That is the responsibility of the head of the department and the registrar’s office.</p>

<p>Is there anywhere your kid can transfer to? I wouldn’t want another cent of my hard-earned money (or of my kid’s college loan burden) going to an institution that operates this way.</p>

<p>This was a private school, correct? Was it a for profit private school. If so, this doesn’t surprise me.</p>

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<p>These don’t have anything to do with FA or academic departments, but are the responsibility of the registrar and bursar’s offices. I’m puzzled as to how one F, albeit undeserved, could have resulted in the loss of FA for all of these students. Surely that would not have put all of their gpa’s under the SAP limits. It sounds as if the entire school is in disarray…I’d be looking at getting her out of there by the end of the semester.</p>

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<p>Kelsmom–not to hijack the thread, but this comment seems to confirm that FERPA does not prohibit, as the school claims. I’m curious to what the parameters are of a school getting to make the choice, that being the case. Is there much case law to go by, or are schools in general freelancing on this? The latter would suggest that case law needs to be established.</p>

<ol>
<li>call local tv station</li>
<li>cal attorney</li>
</ol>

<p>Garland, I honestly do not know the legalities involved. I do know that where I work, we do NOT speak with parents unless there is a FERPA filed. This is an edict from above. I know several other schools that operate the same way. My D went to a private her freshman year that more or less expected them to sign a FERPA release. Her current private has always been more than willing to speak with me, but I am pretty sure D signed a FERPA from the start, as she wants me to handle the money stuff. S is at a public U … he signed a FERPA release during orientation … they told the kids the same thing we say: No FERPA release, no discussion with parents.</p>

<p>find the email addresses for the Dean of the Dept, the VP of Admissions and Financial Aid ,the Provost , the College President, and the chairman of the board of Trustees and email them ALL a link to this thread
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1088677-financial-aid-seems-like-we-being-scammed-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1088677-financial-aid-seems-like-we-being-scammed-3.html&lt;/a&gt;
with a subject line that says something like
PROF DID NOT TURN IN GRADES SO STUDENT HAS LOST FA- WHAT CAN BE DONE?</p>

<p>I guarantee you that you will get a response in short order.</p>

<p>Have any of you ever had a feeling that this is not a true story?</p>

<p>Yep,i said it sounded ‘odd’ in an earlier reply…i can’ t fathom a school of any merit giving students an F and tell THEM to find the professor/teacher to get the actual grades…somehing is very fishy with the story,to say the least</p>

<p>What school is it? Or is this creative writing?</p>