Is CCHS Closing?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sympatheticear, Jan 15, 2004.

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  1. Because of the positive reviews on this board about CCHS, I enrolled in two masters-level courses. I find that it is nearly impossible to connect with anyone at the school, so I have decided not to attempt a masters with the school. What is now very suspicious is that today I called and received a recorded message stating that everyone is at a meeting.

    Since they desperately wanted everyone's money upfront, I wondering if they are going to take the money and disappear.


    Do I have any way to get my money back for the courses already in progress? I felt that because the school has approval with Dantes, it would be safe, but now I'm not so sure.
     
  2. Did you pay via credit card? If they do close and ultimately don't deliver what you paid for you can take up the issue with your credit card company (assuming it's via credit card and NOT via check card).

    Hopefully someone else can chime in about the health of CCHS...
     
  3. DaveHayden

    DaveHayden New Member

    Any charge back has to be done within so many days from original charge and is not possible if a company is in bankruptcy. I am sure there are other requirements too.
     
  4. Actually, not necessarily the case, although perhaps the rule. I purchased some custom made shirts from a chain that filed for bankruptcy before I received them.

    I ended up disputing the charge by stating that I never received what I paid for.

    Later an administrator called my credit card company stating that they had my shirts ready...I told the credit card service rep that as I didn't receive what was promised I wanted the charge taken off and it was done.

    Total time between order and dispute was in the order of 2 months or so. Another 6-8 weeks passed before the shirts were ready and I refused them.

    So, not knowing the specifics about CCHS (or what type of bankruptcy would potentially be filed) I can say that sometimes it IS possible, especially if you're a good customer and have a "gold" or "platinum" card. It may be worthwhile for sympatheticear to call the card company (if paid via credit card) and discuss any concerns now.

    Cheers,
    Mark
     
  5. Possible closing

    I have paid by check for the two classes on the $64/month plan. If I had paid by credit card, then I could dispute it.
     
  6. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    Forgive me for jumping in here, but some assumptions are being drawn with little to no substantive evidence to support them. That is not such a problem except for the fact that postings to the Internet have such long lives.

    We know a few things:

    1. We know that CCHS was acquired.
    2. We know they have had some problems of late with customer service response times.
    3. We know they are changing a number of things, including the price and structure of their programs.
    3. We know that they had a message indicating they were all in a meeting when you last tried to reach them by phone.
    4. We know as a DETC school students who enrolled signed an enrollment agreement that includes a refund policy.

    We do NOT know that they are in financial difficulty.
    We do NOT know they are in bankruptcy.
    We do NOT know the nature of the meeting. I can think of a number of different, positive and negative reasons for calling the company together in a meeting.

    That said, if you have decided not to pursue a degree and you signed a program based enrollment agreement, go back and look at the agreement to see what you refund policy says. Then you will be able to determine what if any refund is owed you. If you signed an enrollment agreement for each of the two courses you took, go back and look at the refund policy and be aware of rules governing what is owed to you if you have completed more than 50 % of the course as well as what the school may keep regardless of whether you submitted any assignments at all.

    Next, if you have a genuine complaint about the school, one that relates to compliance issues, not one based on a decision to stop your studies, you should contact the Distance Education and Training Council - as indicated in your catalog. For the record, deciding not to go to the school because you do not like what is happening is not a compliance issue. If you believe you are entitled to a refund and the school is refusing to issue you a refund that IS a compliance issue.

    It cannot, in my opinion be ignored, that acquisitions often result in some temporary chaos. I believe it has been stated on this board that the new owners of CCHS are also owners of other schools (resident) which have a good track record. It is just possible, and in my opinion likely, that some of the changes being implemented will produce excellent results, in the near future. Unfortunately, as often is the case, change is difficult and often met with resistance.

    My best advice is to check the refund policy, identify your options and act accordingly if you have decided to withdraw.

    Thanks,
    Mary

    PS - just for the record, in case you don't know, I am the president of a DETC school that has also undergone acquisitions. I don't think we experienced the type of problems that you describe, but our students might disagree. Further, we are not as large as CCHS so change was a little easier to handle. Nonetheless, some of the changes we made, changes we were confident were GOOD changes e.g. changing our name were not greeted by everyone with the same response.
     
  7. Thanks for your reply, Mary. Don't you get nervous when a business that has your money ignores you?
     
  8. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    Hi - Yes, I do get nervous under such a circumstance. My point was, and is, I do not jump to the conclusion that business is declaring bankruptcy or in financial difficulty as a result of that. It makes me mad and I would likely vent and seek some way of resolving the problem, but as I said, I would not start suggesting, in a public forum, that the business was going under - particularly a business that is regulated like CCHS. My concern with the postings is that some people will not take the time to do any research but will simply see that someone has said they think the school is in financial trouble and base their decisions on that. For you to say Customer Service is terrible, you cannot reach someone, how can a business operate this way etc. would be based on your experience and no one, not even me, [​IMG] could take exception to that.

    If I were in your shoes, in addition to what I have suggested already, I would also email the president and send a fax to the school indicating your concerns about not being able to reach someone.

    I hope that you will be able to get this resolved to your satisfaction.

    Best regards,
    Mary
     
  9. Don't you think I emailed, wrote letters, called, sent faxes, etc.? The only thing I did not do was to drive to National City to personally see someone. When a business does not respond after a client has made many attempts to communicate, why should the client not ask others if they have also experienced similar problems? If others have also been ignored, they should get together and lodge a formal complaint because there is strength in numbers.

    To suggest that this forum should not be used to voice opinions and concerns is against the spirit of this venture. If you recall, this is called Distance Learning Discussion Forums , not watered down opinions from sissies who are fearful of corporations.

    I will continue to welcome everyone's HONEST opinion. Please don't hold back.
     
  10. David Boyd

    David Boyd New Member

    With all due respect, Mary A devoted a lot of time explaining your options. She has no stake in the outcome. If you’ve already exercised these options, fine. Your initial post didn’t explain this. But don’t say her response was not honest.

    If you already read your enrollment contact as Mary suggested, you wouldn’t have to ask about what refund you might be due.

    I don’t excuse poor service. If this was the case you have the right to be upset and make your concerns public. If a school does not live up to the representations in its catalog, you could also complain to the California BPPVE. I assure you this will get their attention.

    In the unlikely event CCHS would cease operations, if you are a California resident you could file a claim with the State of California under the Student Tuition Recovery Fund.

    But CCHS has been around for a long time and the likelihood of the school ceasing operations is, IMHO, remote.

    This is my HONEST opinion.
     
  11. David Boyd

    David Boyd New Member

    From a November News Release:

    "Carl Barney (Crystal Bay, NV), through California College, Inc., an affiliate of Stevens-Henager Colleges (Salt Lake City, UT), has acquired California College for Health Sciences (CCHS; San Diego, CA) from Education Direct (Scranton, PA), a unit of Thomson Learning. No terms were given. CCHS provides accredited healthcare education to working professionals through distance education and resident programs in such fields as respiratory therapy, childhood education, healthcare administration and public health."
     
  12. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    Hello - You seem to have missed the point of my initial posting. I took exception to the fact that the direction of the postings was that the school was in financial trouble and possibly preparing to close when there was no evidence of that fact presented. I did not in any way discourage you from seeking opinions or expressing your own opinions about your experience. As David so correctly pointed out, you did not describe the lengths you have gone to get a response so I attempted to share what I know has worked for others in the past. I also chose to remind you that you have a document that outlines exactly what you may or may not be entitled to. If you have completed the courses, or if you have completed some percentage of the courses you may not be entitled to a refund even if you are unhappy now. You should have that information in hand no matter what action you choose to take (DETC or BPPVE).

    I wish you continued success with a) getting a response from the school and b) continuing your education.

    Mary
     
  13. Received reply from CCHS

    I finally received one reply from CCHS. I have been trying without success to schedule my final exam. At first they said they were still grading my projects but now they say there is no record of the school receiving the projects. One reason I chose CCHS was the fact that it is self-paced. Since I have devoted many hours studying for this final, I would like to take it while the material is still fresh. I also would like to move on to my next course. Since completion of these courses affects my salary, there is financial pressure to finish. When I took graduate level courses at USD, the projects were graded quickly, so I don't understand why there is such a big delay at CCHS. As a teacher, I know how long it takes to grade a project and I can assure you that if I was as slow as CCHS, parents would protest and my principal would fire me. At the pace CCHS is operating at, it may take a decade or more to finish my Masters. I'm evaluating other schools, including Aspen, but also taking another look at my local bricks and mortar university that has a 15 week semester. BTW--I graduated from a state college with a 4.0 GPA and have an "A" on the exams and the one project that was graded at CCHS, so I am no slacker.
     
  14. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    Hello Again:

    That is very surprising and not something I would have taken lightly either. I hope that you have copies of the project, and perhaps even copies of the response you received indicating that they did have the project. Don't give up pushing for an acceptable solution - e.g. graded project and exam scheduled by a specified date. Their response may not make a difference in your decision to leave, but you will want a final grade so you can try and transfer those credits.

    Good luck.

    Best, Mary
     
  15. I did make copies of everything

    I have copies of all of my work, so I will send them via certified mail to CCHS. At this point, I feel that they are just "jerking me around," to use a term from teen vernacular. Since I live in California, an option available to me is small claims court, where I may sue for $5000. I would rather just receive credit for work done because I consider my time valuable. Before changing careers, I was in healthcare for many years and wanted my MS in that field so I could teach in a nursing program or community college, but now I may consider a masters from another field in order to move up the salary scale.
     
  16. bo79

    bo79 New Member

    This is a bit off topic, but since we are on the subject of CCHS I though I'd ask. The CCHS bachelors degree is only 60 credits. Which made question if this degree would be of any use is someone wanted to use the degree to get into grad school? Don't most grad schools requirer for you to have a 120 credit undergrad degree?

    Bo
     
  17. Masters is 36 units past BA

    My program requires a BA for admission and 36 additional graduate level classes. I think the BA program probably requires an A.S., which is 60 units. That would bring the total minimum units for a BA up to 120--standard requirement is 120-128 units for the Bachelors.
     

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