Kaplan University
Reviews and Complaints

I was logged in to the Agent and Ethics, 2nd Edition Live Online Class (September 19,2023) 15 minutes early. The session had to be restarted due to a technical issue with the promoting to ensured students were engaged. When I tried to log back in, I received an error stating I was 10 minutes late and needed to reschedule. I called the Kaplan service number provided and spoke with Destiny who was no help at all, did not seem to comprehend this was a Kaplan reboot issue, could not provide any point of escalation to try and get the issue resolved or even provide written confirmation on a refund. I scheduled 3 hours today for the class and now have wasted time due to an issue that was in no way my fault.

Very dissatisfied on all levels with Kaplan

Enrolled in CFP 512 as part of the full course package. In the course materials there are multiple mistakes, that are acknowledged by the live class professor, and we are told he will pass them onto Kaplan for correction. Additional, in the Final Exam for 512 there are 3 questions where one of the multiple choice answers is just nothing.. completely blank.. no writing there just a blank space next to the letter for selection. In taking this exam I scored a 69.25- 1 question away from passing. 3 answers I had to guess on b/c of the blank options. The next day I went back in to take my 2nd attempt at the final exam and the course had expired the previous night. Was told that I could not have my 2nd attempt at the final. Applied for an extenuating circumstance as I was not even aware that there was a final day that the exam needs to be completed by. Was denied, and told that I could just take the course over again for 1/2 price- $450. I feel like there are major flaws in the online coursework and exams, and they cause students like me to be forced into spending large sums of additional money if they want to get their CFP. It is a very disturbing and unethical business practice on the part of Kaplan.

I applied to University of Phoenix - Phoenix Campus, 4605 E. Elwood Phoenix AZ 85072 online in January 2004. Because of an error in transferring Universities in the financial aid department I was unable to begin classes until April to Kaplan University online, 550 West Van Buren, Chicago IL.

At Kaplan, I had been told the cost of tuition, length of class hours and program. However, all that was stated was false and totally misrepresentation from the staff, l was further told that l would need to enroll quickly as there was a waiting list for classes and numbers were minimum, all my classes were online, how was this possible.

All false, l found a little down the track fees were changed, direct parent loans taken out, none of my children went to Kaplan AT ALL! why should I be paying loans back for my children when none of them attended KAPLAN! promissory notes filed were not signed by myself or had been done without my permission - fraudulent misconduct by Kaplan staff.

Kaplan University Online promises convenient college degrees paid for with easy federal aid. But for many students, all they deliver is debt, unethical practices and misleading claims.

I AM HOPING SOMEONE READS THIS OR HEAR THIS! Because of University of Phoenix and Kaplan, I am repaying a debt, of $66,000.00I should not be paying back!

I contacted FAFSA which was a farce, and the education department another rude experience and a farce. The more l sought out assistance the difficult it became, l was locked out of classes, told to buckled down or be thrown out for not complying with school policies - my question to the school (when they would answer my calls, which was 1 time out of 20) "why have you over charged me and where are the documents showing transaction for charges"

there were none provided, nor could l gain the schools assistance to gain anything, hung up on so many times without reason. Were else could l gain help? There was no one to turn to, l could not afford a lawyer, if l found one, they would think l was crazy.

The whole deal has left me paying for an inempt degree, lost time, lost funds from a debt that was fraudelent from day one. How is it these institutions can get away with filing paperwork without consent or my signature and the laws do not do a thing, who monitored Kaplan?

I attended Kaplan University July 8,2008 when it was time for the next semester they decided to tell me my diploma wasn't accredited they still had me paying off the student loan they had 2differnt financial institutions Nelnet was one of them they was taking my income tax every year until it was paid off I need to know how I can get my money back they should've been paying attention.

My class started at 8 AM. I needed assistance getting into my class, but Kaplan's customer service does not open until 8 AM. There was a call wait time before I was able to speak with Roxanne, who was very helpful, except that she told me that as long as I was waiting for the host to let me in the Zoom meeting, that I would be let into the class with their 15-minute grace period. I was waiting, and was kicked out of the Zoom meeting by the host. I called Roxanne again, who told me she was mistaken about the 15-minute grace period, and that per the state of Minnesota, I would not be allowed to log into the class at this point. I waited until I had looked up test retest dates, and then called Kaplan back and spoke with John, who informed me that the grace period was only 10-minutes, so perhaps that was the issue. He then very kindly offered to walk me through the process of making sure I was ready for the 1 pm class. The very same thing happened, with the exception that the host obviously would not be ready to let me into the class until 12:45 PM. Why would customer service not be available at least 30 minutes prior to a class starting? Or even 15? Why was I told incorrect information? Why did I get kicked out of a Zoom meeting by a host who, per Roxanne, told me that as long as I was logged in, I should be fine?

I attended the Bauder College Campus in Atlanta Georgia from [protected].

I loved the experience in the beginning. I went for Business Administration, Marketing and Management. I carried a 3.85 gpa, Vice President of the Business Association and an active member Lambda Sigma Chi. Because I moved from Mass to Ga, I transferred 9 classes from my cc here in Mass. My mom and I, despite her not wanting me to move to Atlanta, paid almost $400 a month for the first year until November 2001 when she passed away. Financial Aid and my pell grants paid the remaining.

I left in the middle of that semester to care for her and bury her. That is all I missed. This is important.

When I came back I retook those classes. Finished with A's and B's.

I had one semester with a c, that was for algebra. When my mom passed my expected family contribution changed bc my mom had passed. Her disability was no longer income so I started the work study program to pay for the difference. I worked for Mr. Glover in his office 3 days a week.

I graduated in May of 2002 and finished one last class the following semester. It was not full time so financial aid would not cover it. I paid most of it but I knew I had a balance. I had a financial hold on my account and was told I could not receive a copy of my degree or my official transcripts until my balance was paid.

I paid most of it off as time went on and then when they moved from Phipps Plaza to the larger location and started Bachelor's degrees, I thought I loved it so lets go back. I wish I had paid more attention.

Mr. Glover accepted me into the program excited for me. I despised the new location and the "teachers" I had. I withdrew in less than 2 weeks.

Fast forward 20 years.

After having my degree verified on 3 different occasions, Being told I owed a few hundred dollars directly to Bauder, and still trying to keep up with my student loans ( I have 7 years left on them and I will be near 50) I figured I was safe.

Nope.

I found out this past week that not only do I owe thousands to Bauder, They changed grades to fail, withdraw, withdraw fail, and I am missing an entire semester. I also found out that I have almost 2 years of student loans that were taken out in [protected]. I have the paperwork from my insurance proving I did not live in Georgia at that time and a major motor vehicle accident that destroyed everything I owned on my way to move back up to Mass. I did not physically live in Georgia in that time. I had moved to Florida to help my sister and then to Massachusetts. Where in fact, my degree had been confirmed for Tyco in 2007, Adecco/Philips in 2008, and then in 2009 when I went from a temp to full time employee for Philips. All 3 confirmed my background checks and Degree.

I never received anything from Bauder.

Since this week I have tried to get my information. They "purged" all of my loan slips, physical documents, and files except for my application and enrollment slips. They have a ledger card that is such a mess I cannot deal with looking at it. I was double charged. I paid graduation twice. Books that I was charged for that I was not in school for. Loans that make no sense and none of our payments except for the very first month my mom and I paid them. They dropped me from both programs! The bachelor's is correct. I got out of their as fast as I could. But I did not drop my Associates.

I earned that Associate's degree! I cannot get back up for where they can charge me for things that make no sense. They have no back up. It has been 20 years and they just cost me a job I need to take care of my kids and keep a roof over their heads.

I now, have been told no one will take those credits or classes. It has been 20 years and I lost everything that had meant anything to me. This has cost me almost 100,000 between loans, working to pay them in school, and time with my mom. Their scam took me and tricked a girl who just wanted a better life than where she came from and to make her mom proud of her. This is havoc in my life and I have been walking around decreeing I have an Associates degree. Only to find out that they got more money everytime they said I failed. I have an unofficial transcript from 2006. They would only give me the first page. Seemingly now to make sure I could not transfer anything. They said I have 70 credits, not the 112 I needed at the time to graduate. I graduated with 112 for sure. I walked across a stage. I graduated. And they can revoke that with changing grades, exhausting my student aid, and demolishing any chances for me to get ahead and not have to clean houses for a living anymore. My business died with covid. I wanted a better life not just for me anymore but for my kids.

I hope these people do not sleep at night.

I was in the medical assistant program in kaplan university and found out when I got into the program that the promised pay range for this program was a bout half of what they told me. Also they kept getting me student loans and adding these classes to me. When I finally backed out of this program I was in debt to the government on all these loans and had nothing to show for it. They also kept calling and harassing me and telling me that I still owed them money.

I attended Kaplan between the years of [protected]. I had one class left to graduate. In the middle of my last class I got kicked out, they said I had to borrow more money to finish. I was at my limited of money to borrow. So, I couldn't finish. Now after all these years I got a letter from the IRS telling me that the loan from Citibank for Kaplan charges of $28, 748.00 is being counted as income and I owe taxes on it which is almost $700.00 and I am being penalized 20% for everyday of being late. Citibank wrote this off. Income, this was for my books I didn't get a penny of this money. I am on disability. I barely get that a month to live on. They gave me 30 days to pay and I don't know what to do. they said they need documentation of where this money went to. I can't afford attorney, what do I do? I am so upset I don't know what to do or who to turn to. the IRS makes look like I am a criminal. Can anyone help me?

I enrolled at Kaplan University 2009, had been told the cost of tuition, length of class hours and program. However, all that was stated was false and totally misrepresentation from the staff, l was further told that l would need to enroll quickly as there was a waiting list for classes and numbers were minimum. All false, l found a little down the track fees were changed, promissory notes filed were not signed by myself or had been done without my permission - fraudulent misconduct by Kaplan staff. I contacted FAFSA which was a farce, and the education department another rude experience and a farce. The more l sought out assistance the difficult it became, l was locked out of classes, told to buckled down or be thrown out for not complying with school policies - my question to the school (when they would answer my calls, which was 1 time out of 20) "why have you over charged me and where are the documents showing transaction for charges" there were none provided, nor could l gain the schools assistance to gain anything, hung up on so many times without reason. Were else could l gain help? There was no one to turn to, l could not afford a lawyer, if l found one, they would think l was crazy. The whole deal has left me paying for an inempt degree, lost time, lost funds from a debt that was fraudelent from day one. How is it these institutions can get away with filing paperwork without consent or my signature and the laws do not do a thing, who monitored Kaplan? No one, students had to fight with complaints before the world listened. Student debt in this country is due to misconduct, and fraudulent practices from colleges and universities that believe they can get away with the crime, and have done so. Students like myself are left with defunct degrees and massive debt.

It makes me sick how many bad reviews I have found. I as a mother wanted to better myself and was assured Kaplan was an accredited school. I busted my [censored] to complete everything on top of taking care of my kids. I became pregnant with our 3rd, who when born early had to be flown out to a hospital with a NICU. School wouldn't work with me in a time where my daughter was fighting for her life. I managed to keep it up and keep going. All this time while in school they asked me if I was interested in receiving the extra money from my stipends and I understood I would have to pay them back. What I was never told was that there is a max amount in loans you can receive and after that you're on your on paying for it yourself. I paid over $3000 for the 1st semester I had to pay out of pocket for and couldn't afford to continue. 36 credits away from a "Bachelor Degree in Business Administration" and no one will even take a second glance at the hard work I put in for a job. Not even a $9 an hour job that doesnt require further education after high school. I could have continued to pay out of pocket for something viewed as a fake diploma printed off the internet. Now here I sit, paying on a debt I'll never get out of for something that will never help me in life.

I had to fight to get back into Kaplan. The Dean had to approve my return because i was in an accident that almost took my life. Once this was proven I was told that I would be eligible for all scholarships and financial aid to which i received for 3 terms after returning. The I get this [censor] in financial aid department that tells me "they caught on to the fact in 2015 i missed 21 consecutive days" so I am losing my scholarship. I told this that i was informed on the recorded line by that department i would not be affected due to it was a medical reason i could not withdraw. I had doctors notes and records that i proved. It is now 2018. Also they run your grants out so when you only have three semesters left to graduate you run out of money. It is a horrible school. Some of the professors will pass as long as you have something that may look like you know half of what you are doing. I have seen some of the work from other students. Its a joke.

Funds are never released in the date they give you. There's a long turn around time between them getting the funds from the federal government, providing to the third party credit union, and then finally releasing to you. I don't usually get my refund until Week 6. OF A 10 WEEK COURSE WHEN I NEED TO BUY BOOKS. Fed up and transferring schools next semester.

I stated at Kaplan in 2016 and had told the collage that I had recieved ADA accommodations at my previous collages and in high school. I had filled out the paperwork and sent it in. I had not heard from anyone nor would they return my emails. When I tried to contact my advisor by phone I was told I would have to contact someone else, they could not help me with ADA accommodations. I tried again calling Kaplan and all I was able to do each time was leave a voice mail that I would like to talk to anyone about ADA accommodations. Into the next year I still was not given nor contacted about my ADA accommodations.
I had been in the nursing program, my student loans had been applied the previous year along with a credit card that was to cover what student loans did not. In January of 2017, my student loans had increased and I was told that financial services would discontinue my payments from my credit card. In February the payments were still not discontinued and I had received a check for left over loan money stating that my loans had covered everything, Kaplan did not return calls or emails about stopping the card payments. My credit card company contacted Kaplan to stop payments and then blocked Kaplan from making anymore payments to my card. I was then contacted by email that if I did not make a payment I would be automatically dropped from my classes. I was finally able to get ahold of my advisor to tell her the situation, and she only replied with an email to me stating that I would be dropped with an automatic failure. I had contacted the dean who still never got in touch with me, I was blocked from my Kaplan student account with no way of logging in to see my information or emails. By March of 2017 I had received a reimbursement check from Kaplan for over $2, 000 of overpayment to my tuition. Still was not contacted about being dropped from my classes as an automatic failure do to the mix up with financial payments. I am now marked as failing a nursing program and am not accepted to any other collage because of Kaplan's mix up. Still no one can give me a correct answer or return my phone calls or emails.

Back in 2010, I had to withdraw from classes and ended up being told I owed the school almost $6k. I fought for years, called and spoke with an excess of 50 different people. All of whom told me I owed this money and I couldn't have my transcripts or re-enroll unless it was paid. I eventually realized I could file a formal grievance and once investigated, it was determined that "due to an internal processing error" on the part of Kaplan University, I was incorrectly charged this money. For four years, this ruined my life, sat on my credit, made it impossible for me to get an education, get a car loan, get a raise or promotion due to my education being on hold and all they said was, "we hope this doesn't ruin your relationship with Kaplan." I spent the next two years trying to find another school that would accept the credits from this sham of a University to no avail. Eventually, though it almost killed me to do it, I called Kaplan to see about re-enrollment. I was so close to finishing my degree, I figured I would just suck it up and do it. I had a degree audit done and it showed that many of my classes were no longer valid as they had "changed the program" and there were new requirements. Essentially, due to their internal processing errors which kept me out of school for four years, I now had to throw away all those classes and all that money spent and start all over. I was livid but, again, there wasn't much in terms of options. If I went somewhere else, I'd be throwing away even more. So, I fought and fought and eventually agreed to going forward with 122 credits. Better than nothing.

I'm enrolled in my first semester and towards the end of the 10 weeks, I check to see how long I have until graduation, assuming it would be about a year or so. I see it says I only transferred over 114, not 122, credits and would not graduate until May of 2018! I lost my mind. I called my adviser and freaked out. While he was reviewing my information, he started stammering and getting very nervous. He told me he would have to call me back. The next day, I got a call from someone in Student Relations saying they "accidentally" enrolled me in a class I didn't need to take. I literally couldn't believe what I was hearing. After everything I had been through with this school, I give them another shot and first semester out of the gate, they've already screwed me again. After arguing with this lady for hours over several weeks, they credit me back the $1800+ for the course and tell me to have a nice day. Well, that's great but what about the additional 10 weeks of my life you just wasted? I am a small business owner - I had to cut back on my business and seeing clients in order to accommodate my educational endeavors so knowing I lost all that potential income over the past 10 weeks for nothing, knowing I sat through seminars and worked on tests and assignments into the wee hours of the night for nothing was infuriating! I should have been credited, not only financially, for that course - without a doubt.

After this, I continue on in my courses, earn straight As, President's List Honors every semester. On August 3rd, I print out a billing statement for Kaplan and see that though the "student owes $0.00" there is a ledger card balance on my account for over $5k. I read the fine print on the bill and feel confident that's just money that hasn't yet been dispersed by FAFSA or applied to my account. Two weeks later, I get a frantic phone call and several emails from Kaplan's Student Accounts Department asking me how I plan to take care of this NINE THOUSAND DOLLAR balance I owe. Apparently, I've reached my undergrad borrowing limit... two semesters ago. They *claim* they've been trying to reach me but I have no missed calls and no previous emails from them. [I keep every email they've ever sent me and why would I choose to simply ignore this?] In speaking with this person, she tells me she's not sure how I was even allowed to continue registering for classes if I was carrying such a large balance. She doesn't know how I wasn't previously blocked from entering my classes [yes, if you were so desperate to reach me to no avail, blocking me from entering my classes would be a great way to get me to respond, dontcha think?] and she thinks it's a real shame I wasn't aware of the balance sooner because with my stellar GPA, I could have applied for and received scholarships. But it's too late now.

I filed another grievance and was denied forgiveness of this balance. I was told it was my fault, that I'm responsible for tracking how much I'm borrowing and spending and knowing when I've reached my loan limit. But their billing was never accurate so it was impossible to track! They waited until I submitted my final assignment to my final course and in the last week of my last semester, they blocked me from accessing my courses. They are now holding my degree hostage - a degree I have earned and went $80k into debt for. They are pure evil, through and through. I have contacted an attorney who is advising me to go through arbitration with them first. I'm looking for anyone else who had gone through this process and had a positive result. I'm also looking to speak with anyone who has successfully sued this business. I refuse to call them a school - they're a business. And a terrible one at that.

I attended Kaplan university [protected]. I graduated on dec 2014, but I never got my degree. they got me for more than 74k on student loans, yet they told me I needed 10k so they gave me a loan themselves so I can finish my classes and get my degree on criminal justice. Like I said I never got my degree bc they wanted me to pay them 10k in full so I can get my diploma. Consequently bc of that I haven't been able to find a job in the career I studied for bc unless I pay them I can't get my diploma and without my diploma I can't get a job in that field. It's a catch 22! It's been 3 yrs and no diploma. So I wasted my time and I gotta repay 74k in student loans.

They are a complete fraud!

I have contacted both departments numerous times, each semester. Each time I was assured my financing was in order, I would have enough money. Then I look and it says I owe $1700+. I call back in and they say I'm out of money and I was given misleading information last time. Now tack on an extra $2000 for my final class and I owe about $3900! They are holding my degree until I find $3900, which I need to submit to law school in the fall!
I am a single mom of 5 who works a full time job, part time job, CASA volunteer an trying to finish college!
Kaplan just preys on people who have no other choice but to go to this "university".
I was told that they would give me a $3000 grant and I would have to pay rest. I asked for it all to be forgiven/scholarship/grant (which they do ALLL the time for people!). I never heard back and no am told that conversation was never recorded or documented!
What I am suppose to do?

I was a student at Kaplan University a total of three times, between 2003 and 2014. There has been a hold placed on my transcripts and they refused to give me the diploma that I earned. On 6/15/2017 I went into the administrative office to get a better understanding of this. I'd already paid out $415 to what was said to be $990 owed. Now I was told the remaining balance was $410.22. I just wanted an itemized bill of tuition charged and monies received. That proved to be difficult, as I could never get a straight reason as to why I still owed this money. I was told by financial aid that they were unable to look back as far as 2003 to show me. I let her know that I would contact my lawyer and pay her to do the digging then. I was then told that she sent an email to Dana Potter the financial manager and she would be in touch with me. Within one hour I received an email telling me that the hold on my transcripts was being released. Something is very wrong here. Why is it that no one could show just cause of this money owed? I feel that I potentially have a refund owed to me. How is it I owed $990, paid $415 and then owed $410? It doesn't even add up. I am so terribly confused and I feel like something is being covered up, no one will explain this too me. If my assumption is correct I would like a refund.

I was told by Kim Ferguson that it would cost $14, 000 for 1 year for medical billing and coding. She had me apply for a student loan and pell grant. Told me it would $9, 000 loan and $5, 815 for grant, she said it would be around $7, 000 for first 20 weeks then reapply for next 20 weeks again. I did this and now award letter came in and it is $12, 000 for first 20 weeks. Loan was for $9, 500 but grant only $2900 she out right lied about amount. I called financial aid and said she was wrong but guess what I am screwed never trust this school they will tell anything to get you to sign for this school. Do not trust them or you to will be out a ton of money.

I can honestly be certain that it is way too late to post any form of complaint about this college and the financial burden it had placed on me since the start of my education with them.
I believe that the start of my degree plan with them was in November of 2011 or 2012. Within the 1st few months I received my first check from them. I called my FA Advisor and asked why I received it. She clearly told me that it was an overpayment on my account. I made her get back into my degree plan to make certain that for the term this check was issued to me was completely paid in full and that I would not have to worry about anything. She confirmed that the term that check was issued to me was in fact completely paid and that the check I have received of $3, 500 or a bit over was an overpayment and that I could use that for anything I needed to use it for.
I did just as she said. I used the overpayment to pay off a few outstanding household bills.
Roughly about 6 months to a year later, I get a bill in the mail. I called my FA advisor and asked what this bill was for. She told me that it was for a term I have already completed that was not paid for entirely. I asked which term she was referring to. She stated it was for a term that she previously had told me was completely paid for. I explained to her that when I called about a year ago, upon receiving my first "overpayment" on the term, she clearly stated that I had nothing to worry about at that time nor anytime thereafter. I pointed out to her that I should not be held responsible for this bill at all because of what she said to me prior to that. She told me that she will fix it and all will be okay.
Near the end of my term; I only had about 4-6 weeks left until I would have graduated the 4 year degree plan; I was told by my FA advisor that I do not have enough college LOANs remaining to be able to pay the remaining of my time at their college.
When I asked how on the hell that was possible when each time that I had received a check from them, I called in to clarify that it was another overpayment for the term (so, I actually received about 4-5 checks in total), and that I had nothing to worry about at all, and each time, she confirmed with me, over the phone, that each of the terms that I had received a check, was already completely paid for and nothing else was needed to be paid with the money that was sent to my home.
She then went on to tell me that there were in fact terms that were not completely paid off and that I now have to pay out-of-pocket for the remaining of the courses I have to take. I flipped a lid!
The only option that I had to be able to complete the remaining of my degree with them was to take out a personal LOAN through them. They made so completely complicated. They clearly stated to me that I would be able to take out a personal LOAN for cover the remaining of the courses and all that I had to do was complete a simple form and send it back to them. I did exactly that and when I had gotten no response from them, and noticed that I was withdrawn from their college; I called them again and asked why the hell I was withdrawn. They told me that I did not send in the form! ###! I did in fact send it to them. They confirmed it via email.
"It must have gotten misplaced and now you are unable to complete another one and also, you're unable to complete the courses to graduate since we do not have the 6.5K that we need for you to complete them. You're now withdrawn without any chance of coming back."
In total, my LOANs with them came to over $82, 000. I know that I did not go to college to obtain a Medical degree! I went to college with them to obtain a degree for web designing.
I will never get my 4 years with them back nor the money that they drained from me! I will be paying for this ### for the rest of my life. It's a total disgrace!