Charter College review: bait and switch 31

I can testify to the above statement. What a rip-off this school is, especially at the Canyon Country site. Now I see why the government wants to shut down these for-profit schools. Most (not all) of them are SCAMS! I as well spent over $16000 to receive next to no education about Coding and Billing from this school. They taught us Medical Administrative Assistant instead of Coding and Billing as advertised. This is FRAUD... and what is worse... the staff knows it! STAY AWAY FROM CHARTER COLLEGE!

Merrias and Dissastisfiedallthway,

The Charter College MICB program has been carefully designed by both academic and medical professionals to help prepare students for entry-level careers such as, medical secretary, medical insurance billing and coder and medical receptionist and provides students with specialized training in industry-current medical administrative procedures. We encourage you to speak with the administration at your campus; the continued feedback from the Charter College community is vital to the continued growth of the program. We are proud of the work both you and your instructors contribute to Charter College and we look forward to your entry into a successful career.

-Doug B.

This school is crap! I am attending Vancouver, Wa "School" and I was told I would be a EFDA certified dental assistant at graduation.. Well, I actually come out with an RDA. That is it. Which in this state all you have to do is pay 40$ and become registered. You dont need school. So why pay 17, 000$? This school is a joke and they lied to get me and my classmates into this school. I hope they get shut down!

I finished the Computer Networking program in Oxnard, CA about a year ago and still have no "degree" nor Microsoft certification as I was promised. But I do have student loans totaling over $20, 000. Several classes I took had no books three weeks into a five week course-nor the computer software which we were supposed to be learning. TOTAL RIPOFF!

i attended the charter hvac program in pasco, wa. i was lied to the moment i walked int the door. the "counselor", who are in reality nothing more than sleazy used car salesmen, told me this was a great program and there were businesses that recruited from the college. i never saw one business talking to students my whole time there. as for the instructors, the ones that were good were constantly undermined by the micro-managing administration, the rest of them were just there to collect a check. things got so bad, that at one time we were down to two instructors for seventy students. during this time, we were not able to test for our epa certification. i considered dropping out and went to see the student success director(saleswoman)
who told me "you can write this down and take it to the bank you'll have your certification testing next mod" . we didn't hav it until two mods later. see a pattern? the administration is full of liars who only care about their own jobs and not a wit about the students. the only administration dept. that i found effective is financial aid, but that's understandable considering the goal of charter is to rip of their students(mostly working class people and minorities). at the end of my time their me and many students complained about the shoddy classes and program and were told "well the program was just starting out, that's what you guys get for being guinea pigs" . this school is the educational equivalent to enron and should be investigated and shut down. personally i would like to see some of the administration perpwalked. what this school does is nothing more that outright fraud.

steven l.

So true I attended the Oxnard CA location for my A.S in Paralegal studies, and the the first 5 days where you can "pull the plug" in the words of an admissions rep (car salesman "very well said) without charge, all went great, but soon as the time period to cancel ends I get called in by financial aid saying that the amount of grants I was to receive had been miss calculated and the amounts in grants, transfer credits and loans were all done in error and I owe more in loans than what I was told during the enrollment process "total B.S" and the gal who did my finances since day one, and made the error never owned up to her mistake. THIS SCHOOL IS A SCAM AND WORD MUST GET OUT, also upon looking into my instructors credentials only to find out they are known in the school by a fake last name and that they were nothing more than an actress, acting as a professor.

It is well known in the Pacific Northwest that Charter is a complete and total edu-scam. I find it interesting that there are Charter reps on all of these consumer advocacy sites right there to try to resolve their student's issues...now that they're complaining in public. Charter is not a "private" school, it is a FOR PROFIT school. They are NOT regionally accredited, and I don't care what type of explanation is offered for this, the bottom line is that they're charging an arm and a leg for no tangible reward or legitimate degree. Their claims of "convenience" are utterly ridiculous and untrue. Education takes time, and many legitimate options are available, including distance learning.
You can get a fully transferable education in any of the programs listed as being offered by Charter simply by applying to your local community college, and your credits will transfer to a University, too, should you choose to go on; in WA, your tuition per quarter will be less than 1/3 of what Charter charges. Not only that, but there are tons of Pell grants, state need grants, Stafford loans and Perkins loans as well as other government-funded aid opportunities that are certified by legitimate financial aid offices at all regionally accredited public and private colleges and Universities -- your financial aid should be administered by filling out a FAFSA via the EDU website and meeting with a financial aid advisor not by some car salesmen in the back office of a strip mall.
I think it is unconscionable that Charter specifically preys on individuals who are trying to get their lives together by earning a trade certification to better their career opportunities; these are the same individuals who are probably not familiar with the intricacies of the higher education system - vulnerable populations that are seeking any opportunity to better themselves. It is unbelievable to me that Charter and other schools like it can operate in this manner and yet sleep at night. To the poster who is planning a class action suit, I wish you the best and hope that it is successful for you.
To be clear, I was here for another reason, I do not work for any college, but I DID return to school at age 35 to change careers and have been through the process. I have seen too many people in the community I serve scammed by this organization and who are now deeply in debt with nothing to show for it.
If you are considering going back to school, do it -- it's possible -- but start at your local community college; most have online/distance programs as well if you have transportation or schedule issues. Do your research and be a smart consumer...and best of luck pursuing your dreams. Just don't sell them to Charter and wind up going backward instead of forward.

I go to Charter College- Oxnard and I grow more and more disappointed by each mod! I enrolled in the Business Management program to get my BA in business and by the time I'm done...I'll owe closer to $40, 000.! All was going o.k ( I thought the classes were tooo easy but they were pretty basic classes ) Going twice a week for 4 hours but then I get a letter stating that I would be in an online class my next mod."### I hate online classes!" But I was told that from time to time it might happen even though I enrolled in the "on campus" program. The last six months( at least!) and all I have done is been in ONLINE classes, when I went to complain I was told that if there is less then 10 people enrolled in the class they have no choice and that the reason that my last 8 classes have been online is because there is probably less then 10 people enrolled that are getting their BA in business management! That is ###! I am paying at least twice as much as I would have if I would have enrolled in an online program at any other school, for what? A better education? NOOOOOOO! For the degree? NOOOOOOO, Charter College says they are a national accreditted school which is true but what they don't tell you is that they are not regional accredited which means the degree I am paying twice as much for doesn't count FOR ANYTHING! DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID AND ENROLL AT CHARTER COLLEGE!

Many of our on campus students do participate in online classes, allowing them the flexibility of an online program while at the same time offering the hands-on experience associated with being on campus. However, we understand this learning environment is not ideal for everyone. We want you to receive the best education possible and would like to speak with you regarding your frustrations; please call the campus directly at [protected].
- Brandi A., Charter College

Brandi,

Your "college" is scamming hard-working Americans and the tax-payers who support their Dept of Education Loans. I would say that you aren't fooling anyone, but you obviously are. You need to start being upfront and honest that your school is not accredited (in the traditional sense) and the bleak job prospects that await your graduating students.

I'm curious how you plan to rectify the situation with "suckerofthemonth?" Are you going to pay him back all of the money you stole from him? Online classes were only a small part of his problem with your school. Don't focus your attention on that little detail.

As much as I hate this school, I did learn things but I was also stressed half the time. I was only doing really bad cause I had to miss school and they made my grade go down because of it. If you look at the beginning of the school year, I missed as many days as the end of the year and I had A's and B's. I ended with D's. I don't pay them to punish me. If I want to miss school, let me. and I learned just the same amount. I can't afford to do all this and be stressed, I have two small kids. They kept changing things as I got further in, and that's very unfair to all those that were told things in the beginning. Plus is really suspicious that by the time I ended school, there was not one person working that was working when I started, all new staff.

I would not go back or recommend this school.

So the campus at pasco wa does not certify you as an MA? Cause I was told you get your certified medical assistant certificate ?

Hi MAstudent,
The medical assistant program at Charter College prepares graduates to take the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) Exam. Our curriculum is designed to prepare students to tackle both the CMA exam as well as a real world medical career. Our instructors and staff are knowledgeable of the certification process and help to guide graduates through their program and certification. Please feel free to give the Pasco Campus a call at 509.546.3900 if you have any further questions.
-Brandi, Charter College

-Brandi,

Though what you say is true, the school seems to takes advantage of low socioeconomic students that don't understand the the education system. These individuals might be the first in their family to have the opportunity to go to college and some may be in desperate need to provide a better life for their families. Either way at one point they did or did not do enough research as they could have done, and chose Charter College as the route to take in order to obtain a higher education, but it is apparent that many people are not satisfied in the quality of education that your institution provides. Some programs offered can be taken at a local community college for a fraction of the cost and same time frame. Many if not all of these for profit schools that regularly advertise don't fully explain to you what the difference between national and regional accreditation is, and disadvantages of their own accreditation once the student graduates wanting to enter into a particular job field or go on to a higher institution.

I was a prospective age 50-something student here; however, I declined and am heading into the local community college this fall. I have asked the rep repeatedly what is the cost of the dental assistant program and how is the placement of graduates into jobs upon completion, but she slips around both questions, never giving me actual figures, but instead insisting I come in for a "tour." Let's just say that if someone will not even give me the cost of their school's tuition and/or give me stats regarding job placement, I'm not interested as obviously they're hiding info and will use strong-arm tactics to "sell" their program to me. Despite telling them that I'm going to the community college and am not interested, I'm now receiving e-mails from other reps asking me when is a good time to go on the "tour." Thankfully, Gmail has a filter capability and Spam folder, which is where their e-mails are now going. For any of you potential students, especially young people, I've been around long enough to pass on a little wisdom and experience: Always trust your gut and your common sense and avoid outfits that are not upfront or forthcoming with necessary and important details. If they're a successful school, they should be proud and eager to provide the cost and the results because if their results are excellent and their graduates successful, meaning found work in their fields, then one could almost justify the high price for the accelerated program. However, the fact that the reps skirt providing info regarding cost/results, speaks volumes. As my momma always used to say, "The proof is in the pudding." So far, their pudding is a whole lot of complaints and suspicious tactics.

Here is the real truth.. If you are looking for a sub par education in a hurry that is handed to you with out really working for it and are willing to go in debt for it. This is your school.
If you want to be in a classroom environment that gives you the skills needed to make it in the real world. Stop right here and don't consider this "College". And the people in the front office ar not to be trusted. They will tell you what ever you want to hear to get you to sign up for there extremlly exspensive school. They are on a commision based pay schedule. Most of them dont even have a college degree. So how could they possibly know what works for anyone. I know this because im a current student in my 8th week there. As i was looking into the program of my interest i was told many things that turned out to be straight up lies.
I had been attending a traditional college for the past few years on a part time basis in the lower 48 and was ready to jump in full time and get the degree done.
The main question i asked several was are these classes on campus or online. Since i was taking a Network Security i wanted a on campus school. I was assured that all the technical classes would be on campus with a teacher. I wasnt told that was if they had a teacher for that class. Point 1 they do not employ enough dedicated staff to fulfil there class scheduleing. 4 weeks into my experince their i was alerted that my first introduction class to the security side of my schooling would be online because they had no teacher for the classroom. I went to the administration and voiced my concerne and asked how many of the technical classes would really be online. I was assured in writing that only a couple more would be online possibly. So i decided to push forward aqnd hope they hired staff to teach me after all im paing the $40.000.00 for a degree. Point 2 Classes are rediculously over priced and keep in mind this is a for profit school. Kinda like a used car lot. I did know the cost of the classes before i signed but thought if i could finish my degree in 9 or 10 months with my transferring credits it would be worth it. Point 3 there credit are not the same as a traditional college and will not transfer. Halfway through my second set of classes i get a mass email to all in my upcomeing classes that do to not haveing a teacher they can not offer the next two classes for day students and would i preferr night or weekends. Well i dont have the luxury to switch my work schedule every five weeks to meet their schedule. Keep in mind i signed up for daytime classes do to this reason. I contacted the administation again and was told they have no one to teach day classes and this would possibly be a ongoing issue since the people in the IT field they need to teach their classes already have full time jobs and dont need a part time job teaching for what equate to about 12 dollars a hour before taxes. They Have lost 3 Of the 5 teachers that I've had in the past 8 weeks due to the way they run thing. They have all moved on to better jobs and gave their resignation's. At this point i am tapping out and am going to UAA. . I figure Iwill have to stop working but after looking at the curriculum for UAA. The classes their will give me ten times the skills needed to perform at a job than Charter's would. Iwill have to stop working but after looking at the curriculum for UAA. The classes their will give me 10 times the skills charters classes will give me.

currentstudent1 your getting jipped by the day, probably should work on your grammar too.

I never post to forums, but this one made me angry enough.

I attended Charter College in Anchorage for little over a year to get my Associates in Health Information Technology. I had previously attended UAA, but after the birth of my child, I needed to find a quicker way to a degree. I'm not going to lie, my first mod was pretty great. My class was populated with idiots, and the work load was minimal, but my instructor Essien Ukoidemabia was fantastic. If you had the basic ability to listen and remember anything, you could pass the class with an A. I did wished it was a little more in depth and challenging at a college level. My experience quickly deteriorated.

Next mod I was placed in a computer class, the name of which I can't remember. The title and description, however, I do remember made it seem like an interesting class. We would be learning about computer programing. I was wrong. If no one has been to Charter "College" before, now is the point I tell you these are 4 hour classes (though they changed to 4 hours and 15 minutes while I was in school). One entire class was dedicated to making, renaming and moving a folder in My Documents. That's it. By the second day, I had finished the course work for the entire class. The next day I asked to test out of the class. I was told that I can only test out of a class before I start it. They did not have an answer of how I was supposed to know the class was taught at an elementary level before I sat in on it. What they could do was put me in the online version that had the exact same material I had already completed. This was my first experience with online courses at Charter. I have taken online courses before, but no where with as much complete obliviousness to how to teach them then at Charter. All of the assignments I had completed on ground had been on a website, and would transfer over to the online class because they had the exact same assignments. So I ignored my online computer class. What I didn't realize was Charter believes the only was to teach an online class is to require every student to post a unique forum post and respond meaningfully to two other students' forum posts. Now, if you assignment that week was to create a folder, what on earth are you supposed to be writing a forum post about, let alone responding to. I was never told about these forum posts, until I was informed I was failing the class because I wasn't doing them. With a lot of effort I was allowed to catch up for half credit. So this class I had finished it 2 days, I ended with a C.

This wasn't the last time I had trouble with online courses. Like suckerofthemonth, I was repeatedly put in online classes that were critical for my degree. These "classes" were all the same, post to forums, fill in the blank, do some project. I had no support from the online "teachers" and half of the time I couldn't even understand what the assignment was supposed to be because the online "teacher" seemed to have little grasp over English or basic grammar. I went in on several occasions asking to be put in on ground classes. Firstly, finding someone to talk to was always fun. I don't know how many times I was told "They just left, " or "They're in a meeting, " or "The entire staff is in a meeting, all day...including that staff member you just saw in the hall." When I was able to talk to someone, the couldn't seem to understand what I wanted. They tried to switch me to all online classes, and then finally said they were unable to put me in ground classes because of lack of interest.

I mentioned Essien Ukoidemabia before, and she did come through for me. She noticed I was failing *every* single online class I was put in. She offered to host a sort of study hall. Basically I come in a couple hours a week an do all the work for both class for that while she helped me. If these were truly taught at college level, this wouldn't have worked. However, this worked great. She would actually teach me the material, help me decipher what the teacher was trying to say, and help me find student forum posts that actually made sense. During the course of this we discovered countless posts that were simply copy and pasted from websites. The teacher (who also was required to respond to a certain number of student posts) had nothing more to say than "Great Post!" (a type of response we were expressly forbidden from using, as per the syllabus). I know Essien sent several e-mails to the online "teacher" with the posts, the websites the post were stolen from/ the other student posts the posts were stolen from, and to my knowledge, she go no reply. It was very clear to me that no one actually cared whether or not these students were learning anything, as long as they kept paying.

As stated before, I had gone to UAA previously, and my two years of real college amounted to two classes being transferred. This meant one mod I found myself with only one class scheduled instead of two. I went to my adviser to ask if I could fill it with something. I was told because that class was waived, and the program was supposed to be so many classes long, I would have to have a hole in my schedule at some point, whether it was now or later. Since I had two credits transferred, I asked if it was possible to move both my holes together at the end of the program, and finish my degree one mod earlier. I was told that was impossible because the degree was supposed to be 14 months long. Basically, if I finished a mod early, I would pay them less money.

I went to Charter "College" to get a faster degree because I had just had a child. While at Charter "College" I was breastfeeding. During the first mod, during the dinner break, I would sneak away to the bathroom to express milk. After my mother showed me the Federal Regulations stating that they were required to have a private non-bathroom dedicating mothers expressing milk, I asked a teacher. He asked around, and finally took me to the other end of the school to a small room filled with broken office furniture and posters about breastfeeding on the wall. This worked well for a while, though the atmosphere and the fact I could hear voices through the wall freaked me out a bit. After a while I stopped needing to use the room during class time. A month later, however, I had come in to talk to someone in the office, and had to bring my child along. While there she became hungry, and I needed to feed her. I went upstairs to the little room. Only to find myself walking into someone's office. When I asked what had happened to the breastfeeding room, he had no idea what I was talking about, but let me use someone else's room. There was no way to indicate that I was topless in a random office, and I just kept hoping no one would happen in. The entire ordeal was very embarrassing, and illegal.

Charter "College" is a business, there is nothing educational about it, except learning when you are being taken advantage of. If you are planning on going to Charter "College, " I would recommend you take the money you would have spent on tuition and put it towards a real education, or invest it, or give it to charity, or throw it away. Anything would be better worth your money than Charter "College."

Hi A Nom,
We’re disappointed to hear of your experiences at Charter College. We encourage you to give the campus a call at 907.277.1000 so that we can discuss your concerns further. We are particularly interested in learning more about your online course. It is our hope that the complaints have already been addressed, but we would like to speak with you to ensure all appropriate actions have been taken. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you; constructive feedback from students and graduates, such as you, helps us to improve the Charter College experience for the whole community.
-Brandi, Charter College

Well my teachers didn't know a thing or two about teaching. I ask her about a question on my quiz, I suggested one and she said " no its this one." Well found out she got my answer wrong. Then I had anther teacher tell me to shut up. The school said they couldn't do anything about it. If anyone is suing this school then they should. I was only with the school for 2 damn weeks. I'm so upset.

I am currently enrolled and want to get out ? Have any of u left withought any complication what do u have to do

I am currently enrolled what do u have to do to get out

Charter College is a complete joke! I went to the Canyon Country campus, and even though I received ABK and president 's awards, I have yet to find a job. The MA director and one instructor I had for a majority of the time we kind and excellent. But a couple of other instructors not so much; one of them she didn't know what she was talking about half the time and would constantly tell us that our books were wrong, the other having a very thick Spanish accent, he would speak so fast that you would not understand what he said 90% of the time. Also I would eventually find out that for students who never did anything or would fail on everything would leave that mod with an A. Eventually he was fired for it. When came time to graduating, everyone left with high hopes on getting a great job, only for a good amount to be crushed. I have been looking for employment for almost a year now, being nowhere near lucky. I haven't been able to pay my out of pocket or my loans, because guess what? I have no job! This school is a total scam, even the career counselor at my younger sisters high school tells seniors to stay away!

I had the same issues with this pos college! If there is a class action lawsuit please let me know! I would love to take them down after all they have done to me.

I just finished my externship in paralegal or legal assistant as they call it now. I really enjoyed learning, I had a rare instructor that knew what she was doing and made sure I did too. The problem is I am ready to graduate and move to a different state, and now I find out that the paper I am getting isn't worth the ink used to print it. Non transferable credits. So in a nutshell, Charter college is not a college at all but a trade school and the diploma is nothing more than a piece of fancy paper. I am so heartbroken right now, I don't even want to go to my own graduation ceremony. And for all those who want to file a lawsuit, forget about it, everyone of us signed an arbitration clause saying that we wouldn't sue the school. However, I will check into it and see if they breached the contract we signed in any way. Anyway, for now, my advice is...AVOID CHARTER COLLEGE.
ps...If you have any kind of "background" ...ie felonies, DO NOT GO HERE. They tell you that you can attend school (which you can), but you will still NOT be able to get a job.

Hi Heartbrokenandsad,

We’d really love for you to celebrate your accomplishments at the graduation ceremony – it’s a great moment for not only our graduates and their families but for the entire Charter College community! The diploma you have earned is much more than just a fancy piece of paper, it is a representation of all of your hard work and all that you have learned.

We wish for all of our graduates to continue their education beyond our campus, either by expanding their knowledge in the workforce or continuing their schooling. If you wish to continue your education beyond Charter College we recommend you contact the school you wish to transfer to as the transferability of credits is at the complete discretion of the institution you wish to transfer to. We've had a number of graduates successfully continue their education at other institutions.

If there is anything we can help you with or if you would like to provide additional feedback please stop by campus.

-Brandi, Charter College

anyone that attended any campus is getting ripped off.
I know i did.. and when i fought it.. they got scared! big time.
turns out the crooks who i was telling them screwed me over got fired a year later for theft!
lol.. but anyone here have the lexis nexis login? i could really use it lol..
youd have it if you were in the paralegal class

i think that it does not really matter what school you get your education. I have just really great thinks to say about charter college . If you can't find a job then maybe because you are not actively looking for one.Jobs do not just come to you!

I agree with everyone. I truely wish there was a lawsuit being filed against them. Enrolling at Charter was one of the biggest mistakes I"ve made. I still owe lot's of money and have nothing to show for it. All of the negative comments are true. Avoid this school. I want my money back.