Complaint Review: Kaplan University - davenport Iowa

 Is this case still active?

 My name is Susan Cox. I attended Kaplan University on line. I had taken all the courses in health information management with a 3.4 grade average. It was the end of my course study. I only had to take a clinical class and an eternship which was required to get my degree. Kaplan put roadblocks up getting me into clinical and also stated they were having a hard time getting an externship in a facility in my area. They began to pressure me into taking additional courses, even though I had completed all required work. I took it upon myself to try contacting medical facilities to see if I could find one to fufill my externship. I got the same answer every place I called. They did not recognize Kaplan as accredited. I want either my student loans forgiven or a class action suit be brought against Kaplan University Online. Please advise what steps I should take. 

 I was with Kaplan for five years they dropped me twice by their mistake. They let me back in but added classes to my curriculum twice. I used up all my student loans and ended up having to pay my last year out of pocket with 63k in debt. I can't find a job, my degree is useless. By the time I pay my loans I will have paid over 80k. Kaplan really ripped me off, a single mother of two. I would really like to be added to a suite because I dont have the means to do anything legally alone.

 I felt like I was targeted by their advertising first off. When signing up They lied and hustled me. Kaplan did not disclose the truth about credits/hours and cost. I specifically recall a Kaplan employee telling me my financial aid would cover it, but to avoid any costs that might come up like needing a computer sign this ledger and fax it to me immediately. I was never notified about the loans they were taking out. I never had any idea how much debt I was in until I got my first bill 6 months after classes. And I was shocked and still am! It caused me depression anxiety low self esteem! !! Who knows what I could have done if Kaplan didn't steal my credit and my money.

I attended Kaplan University from 2009 to 2015 and received my master's degree in psychology.  When I started looking into getting licensed I was told that Kaplan was not CACREP accredited and that I would have to get another degree from a CACREP accredited school.  I went so far as to look into moving to another state to get my licensure, but everywhere I looked required CACREP accreditation.  I was even told that my degree wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. 

After hearing about Kaplan committing fraud against the FSA I started looking into my federal aid.  I found that the amounts the FSA stated I borrowed did not match up with what Kaplan said was used.  Sometimes it would be off $15 and others it was off $1200.  I'm not sure where to go from here, but I am mad and would like to see something done.  I now have to pay out even more money to get a degree that I can use. 

I attended Kaplan as an online student in 2003/2004.  I found the classes confusing and was offered little to no help from professors.  The basic subjects were no problem, but I was going for an Associate's Degree in Web Design, and some of the techical classes were far above my head and the online classes were a joke.  Many times, half of the classes were just spent with students "talking" as if it was a chatroom.  I was able to get assistance from a local man who knew the subject matter, and was merely getting a degree to further his earning potential, however, because they transfered my previous college credits from another school, I continued to have to drop credits, so I could take other courses because I did not have the prerequisites I needed in order to understand the material.  In my final semester, I had 2 courses I needed to take.  One was a pHp course, and the other was the Captsone course in which I needed the Php knowledge to be able to do.  I was not able to get any help whatsoever with the information.  My professor informed me that I should already be able to do what was required, my advisor wanted me to drop the capstone course, and take yet another course, an elective that I didn't even need.  Again, he would have had to remove one of my previous credits to do so, because I had to be taking a minimum of 6 credit hours to receive financial aid.  In the end, in utter frustration, I completely dropped out.  

I began applying for jobs in the web design field that did not require a degree, and was told by each and every employer I met with that they did not consider Kaplan a legitimate college, and that my experience there was a waste of my time.  I never did obtain employment in the computer field, and now I actually work as a server at a restaurant.  I have had my taxes garnished now for 3 years, and am furious that they want to collect almost 40,000. from me for education that employers will not even recognize.

I would like to know what kind of attorney handles these cases, or if there is an active class action out there? Kaplan got me, and they got me good!  I was supposed to graduate with 180 credits for my BS, and due to their mistake ended up with over 200 credits, they pulled my internship, due to this mistake, which has made it nearly impossible to find a job in my field.  I can't find a job in my field due to lack of experence, or internship.  It's crazy and unfair to have worked so hard and to have been completely robbed.

Please contact me.

Chrissy

I am hugely in debt from my degree. I had my degree withheld and owe an obscene amount of money. I am awaiting and willing to participate in a class action lawsuit let me know PLEASE!!!!

My story is very long because I was a student who started taking online course in September of 2013.  Everything was going great until mid May of 2014 when I was told that I did not have enough to cover my last two courses. They kicked me out and sent me a bill for $5000 dollars and would not allow me to even get on a payment plan so I could finish my Bachelors for Healthcare Administrative Management.  After going to college to achieve my goals a mother, I was flipped in the end and kicked out after they took all my grants and even some that did not show as on the financial reports. Now I am stuck with a debt to them and a huge repayment for my student loan.  Pleas ehelp me if you can. My name is Tamala Lemelle and my email address is [email protected]. They are snakes and it is so sad when we as peopl try to earn our degreees to get good jobs to take care of our families and these types of colleges exist.  I never knew about the lawsuit until recently living way over in Phoenix Arizona.

 I was in classes for my AAS in Paralegal Studies with Kaplan. There was a time during my studies that I hit some bumps in the road due to being laid off from my job in 2009. Due to this I lost my house and therefore my internet for an extended period of time. By the time I got on my feet Kaplan told me that I could no longer complete my AAS degree even though I only needed 9 credits for completion according to their program guidelines. I appealed numerous times to no avail. They even refused me for the BS program saying that credit hours vs time alloted was beyond their company policy. My credits achieved and Deans list certificates mean nothing to any other school and I stay in loan deferrment because I can not obtain a job in that field. I think that the way they take advantage of people is criminal and would love to be a part of any kind of class action suit. My goal would be to have this debt forgiven so that I can use that money toward an actual education that matters. They have stuck me in a rut that I can not get out of.

 Hi my name is John Koch and graduated with a BS in Social Services and applied for licensure here in Minnesota . After paying the fees, found out Kaplan was not accepted as a credible college for me to get my license. Ruined my hopes. I got a BS degree alright

I need to know how to join a lawsuit against Kaplan. My story is long but to sum it up, the financial aid office was submitting for financial aid without my knowledge and keeping the money. After I withdrew from Kaplan and started receiving letters to pay for my student loans and I saw where they had pocketed my financial aid for classes I never took, even a few last times after I withdrew from Kaplan.  Please contact me xxtheroadislongxx at yahoo.com I owe the DOE $19,000 due to this scam.

 Kaplan dismissed me then.enrolled me n told me I'd have to.pay 1900 to finish term. I never had pay n now they saying I overlapped n.have to.pay. I am stuck.now with having to drop out n I'm.in my bachelor's degree n I'm not employee n just scared cause no one's recognizing my associates kaplan.degree.

 I want to file class action suit against kaplan. Please advise

I enrolled in Kaplan in 2010. When a representative contacted me about the school, they made it all sound so easy to go back to school. After I enrolled, I was transfered to the Financial Aide Dept.

While speaking with Financial Aide, I explained to them that I was not comfortable with, nor did I want to take out student loans for my education because my future home/life situation was was changing and I did not know how it would play out yet. (I'll explain that more later).

They told me since my husband was in the Marine Corps, I would get a tuition discount and I could get financial grants from the federal loan program. When they told me grants, that made me think of something similar to the Pell Grant I had used in community college.

In 2011, my husband was medically discharged from the Marine Corps after only been given 3 weeks of notice. We filed for his Veterans Disability which took 15 months to process, and he spent 6 months unemployed.

In August 2011, I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd child (unplanned). Between all of the financial stress, my husbands disabilities, and now my high risk pregancy, my OBGYN and Pshychiatrist both wrote letters requesting a medical leave of absence for the health and safety of my unborn child and myself.

Kaplan denied the request because I had to take a term off during my husband's military issues. Then they unenrolled me. After that, I started getting letters about repaying my debt I owed to the federal gov't. I thought they were grants.

I cannot work because, 1. childcare is too expensive, and 2. I have to help my husband when he is not working. He was determined by the VA to be 100% disabled. The only reason he is able to work is because he works nights when there is no DC rush hour traffic, no crowds of people in his building, and it was on the job repetitious training.

Now I'm afraid our tax reuturn will be taken, which is solely from his job because I cannot work. We really need to pay off old debts with the money, so now my fear is that we are going to be even more financially in the hole.

I don't know what to do.

I am asking all who feel as though they have a solid case against Kaplan University to contact me with a brief history and emails. I will be forwarding this information to my attorney and we will be working through the next step of a possible class action.

I enrolled and completed all of the necessary forms. I was then informed that because I didn't have all of my forms completed, I would have start the process all over again (after my original start date).  I spoke to a supervisor and was able to provide him with documentation of completed document requests.  I was under the impression that I would be getting a phone call from an advisor that would "walk" me through the financial aid process, setup my classes, and help me navigate the web system.  I had made it very clear that this was my first time as a distance laearner and that I had no schooling in the last twenty years.  No such luck.  I had to make repeated phone calls and ask questions.  My financial aid had not been processed yet.  My classes had not been set up yet.  When my classes did get set up, I was never technically "scheduled" in them and therefore unable to log in to them.  I was supposed to attend a "welcome/web navigate" class that was never added.  That got scheduled to start 30 minutes later, I tried logging in, nothing happened.  I had to call back to technical support.  I missed the first 40 minutes of the class.

 My first official class started right after my welcome/web navigate class ended.  I had no clue what I was doing.  My first math class started the next day.  Since I missed out on being able to log into the website and the syllabus, learning how to navigate the web, I found out that I was already late on an assignement that was due the day before the first live chat.  Then the stomach flu hit myself and four other family members that night and for the next nine days.  When I was able to pick my head up again and start learning this new system, on my own, I started getting emails from yet another person about being behind in my classes.  No kidding really?!  I had already talked to more than one person on the phone and by email about it.  I had expressed on the first day, the second day, the first week, the third week, the fourth week, the fifth week, and now the sixth week, that I don't think I can catch up.  I started behind.  This is too much of a cluster fowl up.  Can I please start the following term when things are a little calmer and all the documents are in place?  Oh no.....just stick with it.  It will be fine.  Email your instructors.  Now, I can't withdrawal or I'm stuck with a $4000 bill plus an administrative fee.  And, I will not be able to attend school nor have the use of financial aid.  Awesome!  I just quick work after 16 years so that I could go back to school.  Now what am I supposed to do?!

Back on or around September 15, 2014, I was conducting some research on Kaplan University after reading an article regarding students being overcharged. On September 17, 2014, I contacted Kaplan and spoke with Carlos in Student Affairs about getting copies of all paperwork for my studies at Kaplan (2004-2006, Associates degree; 2008-2010, Bachelor’s degree; 2012-2013, Master’s degree) and explained to him that I had some questions. I was transferred to Financial Aid and spoke to Milka(?) who advised me to login and I could find my ledger cards there and then transferred me to Pria in Admissions for enrollment agreements. I left a message for Pria and never heard back.

After gaining access to some of the records through the website, I discovered that I had been charged (as an online student) the following charges:

Bank Fees:                  $72.00

Personal:                      $1,416.00

Room Board:              $1,848.00

Travel:                         $666.00

This totals $4,002.00 that I paid in for charges that should not apply. Upon further investigation, I found that there was a $3,000.00 increase between 2011 and 2012 and during my Masters program; they show that there was an amount of $7,420.07 that was “refunded to student” that I never saw; and, while this was back several years ago, during my Associates program, they refused to accept my transfer credit from another college for a College Algebra course. After the time frame had lapsed that I could receive a refund on said course, and many hours of gathering paperwork to prove that these two courses were one in the same, they finally accepted the transfer credit and charged me for the full class, refusing to grant even a partial refund.

On October 15, 2014, I contacted Kaplan back about this charges. I spoke first with a Michael Jones who advised me to talk to Financial Aid. I explained to him that I had already been transferred and was told to speak to Admissions. He then told me he would take down the information and have someone call me back. He then pulled up the account and transferred me to the Student Finance Center where I spoke with Ira Plitt. He advised me that he had received calls regarding charges of this nature before and had asked but no one had ever provided him with an answer. He asked that I send all the information to him and he would check into it and get an answer because “he would like to know as well”. Everything was scanned and emailed to him on October 15, 2014. I emailed him again on October 20, 2014 (as instructed) to follow up. He emailed me back on October 22, 2014 advising that he had “forwarded it to a contact” and would let me know as soon as he heard something. I emailed again on October 27, 2014 requesting a follow up. I received a confirmation that he read the email on October 28, 2014 but no response. I finally got a response back on November 3rd. He says that the way it was explained to him that these are indirect costs to the student, they basically have to show this to the DOE. Never explained about the over $7,000 they claim to have refunded. I have filed a complaint with the Inspector General and was referred to the Federal Studeent Compliance Office. I have sent everything to them and am awaiting a response. Oh, and did I mention that when I was working on my Associates program I had completed a College Algebra course at a local community college and received a passing grade but they refused to accept that credit? After making it almost halfway through Kaplan's course, they finally agreed to accept transfer credit but refused a partial refund and charged me for the entire class that I was allowed to drop. I have been unsuccessful in locating better employment in the Homeland Security field ( I have over 10 years in law enforcement) but this degree is nothing. Their career services stayed in touch for about 3 months after I graduated to "help me" and I haven't heard a word from them since last year.

As an individual who is currently over $60,000 in student loan debt to the Department of Education, this is a great deal of money to me as I am already struggling to pay the student debt as well be able to pay for things such as a home, a car and groceries. Something needs to be done. I was an honors student through my Bachelors and Masters program, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA. Now, I feel like I wasted so much time and money that could have been put to better use somewhere else. They make promises that they cannot and have no intentions of keeping.

Kaplan put me on part time status which violated the TRA contract I was attending on. I had to be FULL time to continue my education. Then they asked if I wanted to take out a student loan, excuse me? My UE was cut off, now I'm scrambling to find any job I can to support my family. Kaplan also never refuned me my Pell Grant from September. This is one shady school and I'm not going to get degree as their crappy credits don't transfer anywhere

Kaplan is such a horrible rip off! Once i finished my AAS i sough job assistance like other colleges offer only to be told that unless i wanted to move from NJ to FL they dont have job assistance.  I am a single mother trying to better myself so i can be a better provider.  With no better job and mounting student loan debt (also after many "fincial aid" assistance calls) I spoke to a finicial aid advisor who told me the only way to guarantee a better job to stop the debt calls was to enroll back in kaplan and start a bachelors program. I explained i wasnt really able to make that commitment and i was told it would be fine and i could just explain that to my instructors, they would work with me.  Yeah ok! I even asked about just completing a certificate program instead and was told they are useless. Now im almost 60k in debt, my AAS degree is usless and i was only able to complete about 3 or 4 classes of a bachelors.  I would love to be part of the suit! I was blatantly lied to and misdirected and now my credit is ruined, im in debt, and suffer with fincial stress.

I would like to be included if any class action lawsuit against Kaplan  I will provide all of the details but suffice it to say that I have a large amount of sutdent loan debt which was never fully disclosed, I have never received my diploma as they held it hostage the week before my final semester and thousands of dollars were paid and they still insist that more money is due and yet no explanation has been given as to the reason for the extra amount due. 

I know it was approved however I don't see it. I want to be in on the class action suit. They are, simply put, liars. It's outrageous what they get away with.

Count me in. 

Hello I am Robert Tabacco.  I would like to help with a suite against Kaplan in any way I can.  I was scammed by them as well.  I decided I wanted to return to school so I went out looking for a program that had lots of support and a clear path to a degree.  I thought I found this in Kaplan.  My degree path was for nutrition.  When I was talking to administration I was told that the school was accrediated and good for nutrition.  I was rushed through the registration process and felt I was not able to stop the process and have friends help me look up information about the school.

I felt if I stopped I wouldn't be taken by the school and i very much wanted my degree and felt I needed to be in school.  After acruing 30K in student loan debt I finally figure out that Kaplan does not have acrediation in the nutrition program.  This is not what I was told.  I even found this as a statment deep in the website about the nutrition program.  It said that they were not acredited for the nutrition program but were submitting for acrediation.

The last update on this issue they presented was a year earlier then when I found this statment.  I tried contacting my counsler and other people in the school about this issue only to be told that they will look into it and get back to me.  No one ever got back to me.  My contact to these people was always how they suggested through their in house email system.  Once I was out of the school (I left at this point and did not finish the program, I didn't want 60K in debt for nothing) I no longer had a way to contact those people for answers as I was removed from the email system.  

Please add me to a law suite.  Like the rest of you I need help with this mass ammount of money I owe.

(((email redacted)))

Please include me in any class action law suits.  [email protected]   Christine Koehmstedt.  I was enrolled in Kaplan University for a year and half before dropping out because the tuition was outrageous and realizing i had been ripped off bc a science course that  ordinarily should be no more than 4 credits should NOT be 6 credits at Kaplan University. That is fraud, they say when you're enrolling that the cost of tuition is close to what it would be at a brick and mortar university when in fact it is significantly higher because for whatever reason they are getting away with charging students for more credits than a class should actually be.  That is absolutely criminal, and to top that off for those science courses that I was charged an extra 2 credits for quarter after quarter can not even be used when applying to a graduate or professionals program.  I was enrolled as a Nutrition Science student which they told me was not CADE certified, and when I asked about whether I could become a nutritionist or dietition they said I would have to go to a didactic program.  They said I would  not get a job as a dietitian but would be able to get a job as a nutritionist, that is not true.  I dropped out before completion to finish my degree at a brick and mortar school thank goodness. But I am now retaking several science courses such as Anatomy and Physiology because they do not count when applying for medical or physicians assistant school.  So the Anatomy and Physiology courses I am currently enrolled in are 4 credits, whereas at Kaplan were 5 or 6 credits, I paid significantly more for their classes and they do not count towards anything. Please tell me that there is some law that should be keeping these for profit universities from allowing the courses to be 5 or 6 credits when in fact regardless of the length of the course should not be more than 3 or 4.  There must be something that we can do to shut this down, I do not feel I should have to pay the $19,000 in student loans I owe them when I had to retake several classes and they were not forthcoming about the cost of tuition when they said that tuition was around the same price as a brick and mortar university!

Again please add me to any class action law suit, 

Christine Koehmstedt

[email protected]

I am currently a student at Kaplan University online and I just found out that after 3 years I have no more funding for school. I asked why they did not contact me and they could never explain why. My academic advisor just finished registering me for the remaining year and never said anything to me. I have been on the Dean's list for the last 3 years and I am right at the end for my Bachelor's degree. I asked what do I need to do and I was told to take a personal loan out. Not an option. I was also told that if I paid for a test and passed then Kaplan would loan me the money and I would have to pay them back.

So now I am $57,000.00 in the hole and no degree. I don't feel that I need to pay for something I never received. I didn't realize that there was a limit for financial aid. I was told when I enrolled that financial aid would pay for the program. The cost would roughly be about $60,000. I never would have gone this far if I knew this would happen. I am ready to join a class action lawsuit and see what can be done and that this is put to an end. I even asked my academic advisor I'm sure I am not the only one this has happened too and she said no it is not. The bottom line she stated I was just out of luck. What do we need to do?

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I do want to make a few comments.

First, Kaplan should be sued for no other reason than so many of you got close to graduation without basic written communication skills.

Second: almost every state system has a community college that offers online programs for the working adult, so start there. You're much more likely to earn credits that will transfer, and the cost is substantially cheaper.

Third: get EVERYTHING in writing. Don't trust the "enrollment counselors" who are just salesmen.

Fourth: go to the Department of Education website and read everything they have on student loans.  Having a complete understanding of how they work will prevent a lot of these problems.

Fifth: DO NOT ENROLL until you have a written degree plan, and an award letter from financial aid outlining your responsibilities.  Resist the hard sell.  That should raise a red flag for everyone.  Reputable schools don't do this.

Sixth:  If you have previous college or military credits, get an evaluation of transfer credits IN WRITING before you enroll.

Student loans are designed to pay for tuition and books. Don't count on it to cover your living expenses.  If you can't work AND go to school, don't enroll.

Good luck to all of you.

I am with you all on this one. I was told back in 2009 that I would have plenty of funding to graduate with my BA in Early Childhood Development. I recieved my AS and moved on to my BA... well here I am 6 classes short of graduation and I have run out of funds?! When I was told a few short 4 years ago that I would graduate with plenty of money to possibly even carry on to my Masters. I am sickened to see that I am not the only one this has happened to, yet relieved that I am not the only one. I think there is something that needs to be done with this. I will continue to expose Kaplan for the rip off they are and I hope that someday soon there will be something done to restore the damage that has been done here to all of us!

 I, too, feel that I have been ripped-off by Kaplan University.  I enrolled in March 2010, while working a full time job.  Originally, for Criminal Justice, but changed to a degree in Nutrition Science.  At the time that I changed the degree plan I was informed by the advisor that they are not a CADE accredited, but was not advised on what that meant specifically.

I have graduated as of October 2012, but still cannot take any of the exams needed for certification.  I have just recently understood what the advisor meant by CADE accreditation as I am further researching on how to become a registered dietician.  I am now $43k in debt with no way of being able to use the so called degree that I received from Kaplan University.

I feel that Kaplan was deceiving in that when I called them to discuss my options to obtain what is needed to become a Registered Dietician, they were not completely forthcoming with that information and allowed me to enroll and continue with a degree plan that would not serve my needs.

So, now what?

My story is similar to others regarding Kaplan. I was unexpectedly removed from my courses in my last semester due to an "inadequate attempted/completed ratio" and then told that even though I won my appeal and could come back to finish my degree, I was now suddenly ineligible for Federal student loans. I was encouraged to take out a personal loan to cover "just one semester" but was denied the loan. I was unfairly denied a way to complete my degree and was shocked to find so many others with a similar story. 

I also have battled them repeatedly for money they say I owe them, but my federal loan dispersal summaries show they were collecting loans on my behalf up to eight months after I was locked out of my classes. I have complete documentation that supports and validates the fact that they owe ME money, but I can get no response each time I call.  Phone calls are transferred from one person to the next and I swear they have lines specifically designed to ring forever with no answer. 

I want my money, and I want my degree.

I am currently a student with Kaplan and they are a scam and fraud. They are trying to send me 2 hours away from home for clinicals and externship. I am a student in the Medical Assisting program and they have mislead me from the beginning. It's a waste of time and I want to be reimbursed for my loans! I am definitely in.

I myself have gone to Kaplan university, I was withdrawn due to bad information given to Kaplan. After my situation was rectified now Kaplan is stating my GPA is the reason I was withdrawn.

I have all the paperwork needed to prove my case.

feel free to call me my name is Don my number is (((REDACTED)))

They called me incessantly unitl I finally broke down. I had just gone through a miserable divorce and was vulnerable. 

They promised me many times that I dould complete my coursework in one year. I requested my transcdripts six weeks before the deadline. They said they had not been received. That did not make sense as the checks I wrote to my previous schools had cleared. So, Kaplan informed me that it would take another yaer and $22,000 in student loans to finish. 

My counselor had quit or been fired. They wouldn't say which. None of the conversations "recorded for our mutual protection? had been saved.

I would very much like to join a class action suit against Kaplan. They are despicable frauds.They were mentioned by name on the news for ripping off students in our military. I truly believer they need to pay the government back for the scam student loans incurred by their predatorty marketing and general untrustworthiness.

I went to that school in 2004. I went for computer business systems. It was 11 month long. I paid 10 grand and never got to take my test for certification. I never had calls returned to me. I want my money back. 

Hello everybody! I wanted to give everyone an update of y case. I filed a complaint with the Indiana Board for Propriatary Education. Requested a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. My claim was that Kaplan University violated IC 21-18.5-6-16. The judge ruled that Kaplan did indeed violate this code but that the Indiana Attorney Generals office was not going to prosecute them. I filed an appeal to this decision because also under this chapter Kaplan University should have been charged for specificly violating chapter 16. Here's the kicker, the Indiana Board for Propriatary Education is out of the Indiana Attorney Generals office and the Attorney general is the only one who regulates this school. Kind of ironic? I think not. When I reached out to Senator Donally's Office to ask why this happened I quote, "The Attorney General picks and chooses who they want to prosecute". I have started a petition at this link www.care2.com under "Demand the Indiana Attorney Generals Office to stop turning a blind eye to corperate coruption. You can sign my petition and reach out to me via facebook. As of now no attorney has enough fire to go after this problem and stop letting these companies steal money from the federal government using us as pons. Contact local media, Deanne Loonin (google her), Consumer Financial Protection Agency and who ever will listen.

I thank you all for your responses.

Rachel Douglas

I will make this brief. If anyone is suing Kaplan in a class action suit I want to be included. Kaplan played games with my degree and blocked me from classes after I had financial aid telling me that financial aid couldnt cover the full cost so I was responsible. As I was a single woman on my own this was not possible at that exact time and once blocked I could not get back in the class and therefore was unable to obtain my Bachelors degree one class shy of graduation. I have had arguments with this college for years now and refuse to pay them the ridiculous amount of 10,000 they claim I owe them. I had financial aid and I entered Kaplan with a associates degree plus another full year of college. there is no way I owe them this amount and I have been paying them $25 per month basically to keep them from suing me. But I want this debt removed. I offered to give them a payout of 2000 3000 or 4000 dollars at one point and they said that wasnt good enough and would continue to harass me daily until the debt is paid. I am disgusted with this university and have suffered financially as I dont have my bachelors I feel because of their blocking me at the last minute and refusing me re entry. Please please please include me if you go after this place -- they should be shut down the way they treat people

I am so upset right now! I am attending Kaplan University for a few years. I recieved my Asssociates there. I went on to recieve my Bachelors. As I began to get closer to recieving my degree I began to get phone calls stating that I had reached my aggragated amount. I then applied for the Kaplan Choice loan. I went on to take my last three classes. Once I finish the two classes they blocked my account stating that I would have to pay the amount in order to continue with my last class. I payed the 3400 dollars and called to register for my last class when I was informed that I needed four electives plus my capstone in order to graduate. I am so disgusted! They went in to change my degree plan and added four electives to get more money. I told them that I would not be returning and contacting a lawyer. So if anyone is trying to do a class action lawsuit I definitely want in.

I just filed a rebuttals stating they have been hurting me since 2009 and forgot to include my email so I can help. [email protected]

I also attended Kaplan and have been having problems with them since 2009 which no one cares to solve. Every person at the school that I talk to just transfers me to someone else and I'm told and ombudsman will contact me and never will. This has been going on since 2009. I would gladly like to join your class action lawsuit because all I got from the is a lot of stress, lies, misdirection and debt. Please include me I would be willing to help any way I can.

I wish to be included in the Class action lawsuit. The same story almost exactly happened to me as well in September of 2013.   Respectfully, 

I atarted attending Kaplan University in November, 2009.  When I first spoke with the registrar's office, they stated that my degree program, BA in Nutrition Science was accredited and that this program would enable me to become a Nutritionist or a registered Dietician.  They also stated that the four year degree would cost approximately $60,000 to complete and that federal aid would cover all my costs so I would not have to worry about paying out of pocket.

However, from the start, I had trouble with Kaplan's Financial Aid department, consistently receiving e-mails from them that I needed to pay certain expenses out of my pocket since my stafford loans were taking too much time.  I refused to pay out of pocket only to receive numerous e-mails stating they were going to block my account.  After stating each time that I was going to report them, my student loans would miraculously come through and funding would be fine.  

After 2.5 years, I discovered from a fellow student that Kaplan was not accredited with the National Board of Dietics and that if I graduated with them, I would not be able to sit in on the testing to be a Nutritionist, nor an RD.  After searching for alternative Universities that were accredited, none would accept 25% or more of my Kaplan credits which would have placed me at owing more than $100K in student loans for a BA degree.  

Continuing on with Kaplan for another 7 months, I was approximately 30 credits away from being done when they sent me yet another e-mail stating that my loans were not received and that I was to pay $4,300 out of pocket for my current class.  After numerous attempts to contact their financial aid department with no results, I looked into my loans through other means discovering that I had reached my limits for stafford loans and that I was no longer eligible to receive funding.  

After sending e-mails to every point of contact I had for Kaplan, I was finally able to get answers.  Unfortunately, Kaplan's financial aid department had neglected to inform me during my 3 1/2 years of attending, that I was running out of funding soon, in the next year, or any time frame one would hope to receive; I was officially on my own to pay for my remaining schooling.  As a full time student, $21,000 is extremely hard to come by and with less than perfect credit, obtaining private loans has become an impossible feat for me.  

At this point in time, Kaplan has refused to work with me on obtaining funding, both from their private sector that they stated I could get loans with in the beginning as well as other institutions.  It has now been 6 months since I have been in school constantly persuing other means to finish my degree so that I am not stuck with paying $700/month as an incomplete student.

If Kaplan had informed me long ago that, firstly, their Nutrition program was not accredited, and that their tuition costs were so high that I was not going to be able to complete the program without cash payments, then I could have made a more wise decision to find a different University 3.5 years ago.  Now I am $54K in debt with no degree to show for it.  Other Universities will not accept many of Kaplan's credits and Kaplan itself will not assist me funding or finding other means to finish my degree with them.  

I am the one who originally posted this. I am wanting to know on anyones enrollment agreements is there a conflict in length in credit hours compaired to what you were either told or seen on their website? Please feel free to contact me with your email addresses.

Sincerely,

[email protected]

Please contact me if there is a suit pertaining Kaplan that is available to get in on along with any information needed to begin. Thank you, [email protected] 

I filled out a request for more information on degree programs in or around March of 2010. Within a few days I received a phone call from someone who was a student of the university who was working in the call center to earn money to pay for her schooling. She was a little too polished to be a novice at this; and I soon found out that my request for information had turned into a hard sell push to get me enrolled for classes that started the following week. I fell for the "if you don't do it now, you'll find a reason not to later". 

Needless to say, class started the following week with me still waiting on books that were needed for the class that had already started, which put me (having been out of college for 20 years) way behind. I also was not able to participate in any of the essential orientation classes that could have helped prepare me for what was to come. I played catchup the entire semester and to make matters worse, I was locked out of the online system, because they hadn't received my college transcripts that they made me fill out forms to request on my behalf. I failed both classes. I was told nothing could be done, and after explaining that maybe I should skip a semester to get everything handled and be ready for the next, they said that I could not do that because the university would not allow me to come back having failed my classes. 

By the time my transcript situation was resolved, I started the next semester a week late. Working a full-time job did not afford me the luxury of spending the amount of time necessary to make up the work. I am out, presently, $7200 in student loans that I can't afford to pay back on top of not being able to use any of the coursework to further my career. I know $7200 doesn't sound like a lot, but student loans never go away and continue to accrue interest whether they are paid or not. I would like to become a party in a class action suit against them. I'm not looking to make money off of this, just merely trying to get the student loans paid back because I received nothing in return for them.

I began speaking to Kaplan University (online) via Davenport, IA in 2009. I had been interested in obtaining a Bachelor's Degree and was told that I could receive a Bachelor's for around $35,000 total. This sounded fair, although I knew nothing about going to college and had no guideance save for my Kaplan University Advisor, who assured me that $35,000 was more than fair.  I checked around and this seemed to be an average price, so I went for it.

Once they hooked me, and hroughout my time with Kaplan, I would have constant problems with financial aid where I would suddenly start getting harassing, numerous daily phone calls stating that my federal financial aid would not be enough to cover my debt and that owed Kaplan University several hundred more dollars (due immediately!) or else I would be locked out of my classes. If I did not have the money to pay, they would be more than happy to direct me to lenders to cover the remaining debt. Funny thing is though, I would only get these calls after enrolling in courses; usually about midway into a course after initially being told that all finances were in order. 

Not wanting to screw up my degree, and feeling extremely pressured by the constant calls and threats and panicked that maybe I had done something wrong, I would scramble to find a way to pay Kaplan University and either send them cash outright or I would obtain a loan from an outside lender. (They recommended SallieMae and Genesis Lending). 

I made repeated calls about why this was happening and would get a different answer every time I called. One person would tell me that I had no extra charges that I owed for, others would say that I was delinquent in paying a charge and that my degree plan would be put on hold and I would be "locked out" of my classes. Some would give me explanations about my classes "being higher quality classes; therefore they were becoming more expensive," and other people that I spoke to claimed that "everything was perfectly fine and they did not understand why or who was calling me about more money." Mostly, I would get the threats that I would be "locked out" of my classes and ruin my chances at obtaining a Bachelor's degree and be given a strict deadline to get more money to Kaplan...

Then I find out that my student loans to Kaplan were approaching $45,000. When I called, I was assured that "nothing was out of the ordinary" by my Advisor, and would be praised for great grades, and told to "keep up the good work."

Jump to the end of my Kaplan education, I suddenly owe $55,000... no wait, one month later I am told $60,000 with a $5000 interest to be added on at the end of a 6 month grace period. I am now at the end of the grace period and see that I actually owe more like $70,000!!!

When pulling up my Kaplan financial aid award letters, I see that there are several repeats posted; and several award letters that do not make sense; for example, my initial award letter shows this: Award Year 2009-2010, 2010-11 Academic Year 5/12/10-12/21/10, total $11,801.  A second one shows: Award Year 2010-11, 2011-12 Academic year 1/5/11-8/16/11, total $12,543. Then suddenly the award years are showing only one year, such as 2011-12 without having a comma and a second year timeframe added. The prices keep going up, and the Award years overlap and do not make sense even as the Academic Years coincide. Something about this seems completely wrong. Aside from how Kaplan misled me from the start and then would harass and pressure me into giving them more and more money.  I feel like this is definitely a violation of FTC section 5, and would like to learn more about a class action suit.

Please contact me [email protected] - Interested in a class action suit against Kaplan - have been fighting with them for three years and when I cornered them regardign overcharging my account I received $10,0000 in "stipends" ......  Can prove this through notes and printouts....

Hammond Indiana,

       I had the same issue with Kaplan and would like to speak more about this issue. I have an attorney and would love for you to speak with him as well. [email protected]

Thank you for replying to this issue. In any court proceeding one must have proof that the defendant did indeed do wrong. In this case it could be recording inaccurate information on an enrollment agreement, recording inaccurate information on degree plan or even giving false information on there web site. If I may ask what were the dates that you attended Kaplan and could you be more specific as to your greivence with Kaplan. I can only give advice about the situation I have been through and when I first started to investigate Kaplan I was angry. My motives are different now as I do not wish to burn Kaplan but I do want wrongs to be made right and justice to prevail, and there is no longer any bitterness attached to this lawsuit. You must be able to provide proof to your complaint.

I amhave am an ex-student of Kaplan University.  I completed my A.A., and was kicked out.  I admit some of the actions I took we're not the best decisions, but i was not properly educated and suggestions given by Kaplan's short retention staff didn't hall the matter.

I have submitted complainers to the school and then to Kaplan Universiy but their grievance policies are not clearly defined and they came black with generic responses as most companies do. Several of my classes were taught by contract teachers of whom receive the text book 3 days prior to the class start date.  Harte charged high prices for classes and ha don't an ill educated teacher doesn't  go hand and hand.   One teacher went as far as to make a statement that as long as we got a D we would all be ok.   This class was Statistics...  when brought to Kaplan's attention they oxidant address the issue.  

Several classes I had to withdrawl from and Kaplan's personnel would suggest thand as no tutors were available.  I withdrew from several clasclasses a result they documented that I had attempted to complete those credit hours.  After so many credit hour attempts, uou get kIckes out and they make no acceptions.  I am still researching other issues that I have not outlined yet and have been obtaining document to substantiate my claims.  Don't know if this ties into your suit but would love to join.