Complaint Review: kaplan University - Chicago Illinois

"I left kaplan after I discovered the career in criminal justice I was working towards, probation officer upon graducation I would not be eligable for due to my disablities and past hospitalizations.This also excluded me from any related field,
I would not be able to deal with the stress etc..I was also to old to even place an application."

Slandra I know you feel scammed but what kind of research did you do on the requirements for being a probation officer or other Criminal Justice system positions? When you were discussing your interests with a counselor did you mention the fact that you were Bi-polar and ask if there could possibly be any issues with a background check or psychological testing that you should know about (you could have found this out by checking yourself).

"I am Bipolar(seriously)panic disorder etc.. and have taken meds for years and will be on them for the rest of my life.
Stress and being over tired can and does trigger the cycles. I was becoming very manic in the morning, deeply depressed by noon and seriously angry by nighttime. I had no idea what was going on and would of followed anybody I thought could help me. The longer I stayed at kaplan the worse I got, my medication was not even helping me anymore. I was barely getting out of bed."

Are you saying it is Kaplan's fault that you started getting worse? Was it the stress of taking classes and testing? Did you check with your doctor before taking classes and ask him/her if it was something they thought you could handle doing. Maybe they needed to adjust your medication.

Since I don't know what you confided in your professors I wouldn't want to speculate but maybe they were trying to help you feel more comfortable as opposed to giving you medical advice.

Which of your civil rights has Kaplan violated? 

Kaplan is a for profit college. If you walked through the front door saying you wanted to be in Law Enforcement that is what they did -- set you up in the classes for what you wanted to do. You should have done your own legwork investigating if this was the career path for you. 

Maybe you should take a step back and see where you want to go. Think about what kind of degree you can work toward and how that can help your plans for the future. 

I teach college, and have several students with disabilities. Any college that receives federal funding is required, by law, to accomodate disabled students.  However, the student has to be proactive and demand their rights. Typically (at least in the online environment), a disabled student is allowed additional testing time, or time to submit work. However, a plan has to be in place and that requires documentation from your doctor with recommendations for accomodations you need.

It sounds as if Kaplan really dropped the ball this time.

You may want to contact your state agency that handles ADA complaints, along with Kaplan's accrediting agency. That should get their attention.

As for the career aspect of your complaint, the fact that your disability will keep you from getting a job in criminal justice is not Kaplan's fault.  The CJ field is VERY stressful and, as you, yourself, stated, your disability is exacerbated by stress.