Stay Away From Kw

Dear Friends,
I wish I knew about this site before, but its too late now and I am already knee deep……., If I can save one student, It will give me some relief.
I got enrolled at Kennedy Western (big fraud) on Mar 28/03,paid $ 50 registration and than $1373.75 to get started, that day I was told that I would hear from them regarding the status of my application.
I kept waiting and thought it may take some time for the application process.
In the mean time I found out that this degree is not worth anything, other than a piece of paper just to satisfy yourself (I would recommend AS over their MS program).
Please do not believe when they say you can’t be a professor or related BS.
THIS IS JUST WASTE OF MONEY, if you got plenty don’t throw give it to me.
Finally I called them to cancel on Apr 08/03,and the same day I received a package from them.
According to KW refund policy, you get 75% after 7 days; it’s not my fault that they never returned my call, now they don’t admit that they were supposed to call.
POINT TO BE NOTED:
I paid 1373.75 to me, the refund should be 75% of what I paid that is $1030.31
They offered me $37.50
How?
Since according to them the are a different high-class school they work differently (MY FOOT),
Total Fee $5475
5475 *25%=1368.75(to be kept by KW)
Paid amount $1373.75
1373.75-1368.75=$5
I still can’t figure out how they offered $37.50?
To me the total is what I paid (NOT THE MONEY I AM SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR THE WHOLE PROGRAM IN FUTURE).
If you pay full in advance they will still trick you over time (7 day) and you still loose 25%
ITS ALL PREPLANNED, TO RIP OFF STUDENTS, EITHER WAY YOU LOOSE MONEY
I am the king of stupid idiots, don’t be like me.
Any one needs any information, do not hesitate to email.
Best Regards

 

They're just trying to keep as much of your money as they can. I would suggest that you keep complaining. Warn K-W that you're going to complain to the state authorities and the BBB. If they don't cough up the refund then complain to the state authorities and the BBB. IIRC, the reason they even offer the refund in the first place is because Wyoming requires them to. There's no real business reason for them to argue that they need to keep that much to offset any business expense that you caused them.

 

LazyBee wrote:

> According to KW refund policy, you get 75% after 7 days; it’s
> not my fault that they never returned my call, now they don’t
> admit that they were supposed to call.

Why would you just make a phone call, in circumstances where it would be worth the recipient big money to deny receiving that phone call?

You should have (additionally) communicated with them in some provable way, such as the United States Post Office's "Certified Mail", or a courier service (like FedEx) with "signature required".

You may still have recourses (Better Business Bureau, state education or consumer protection authorities, small claims court). But it's going to be harder.

 

K-W is an unfortunate scar on the practice of legitimate assessment for college credit. Consider your situation an expensive, but good lesson in life.

 

Dear friends
Thanks for your replies ,it was really comforting,everything is on paper,and also I called my credit card company to dispute the charge.
I will try my level best to get my hard earned money back.
Loss of 1375 dollars in less than 2 weeks for nothing,its hurting,and its not going to happen.
Best Regards

 

This is disgusting.

 

Where's RJT, Richard Suhar, or any of the others that call this thing a "university"?

 

Question for Lazybee: Exactly what aspect of K-W did you find attractive?

 

I can understand what lures people in. You are told you have successfully satisfied three quarters of an MBA program simply by having experienced life. They tell you all you have to do is four courses of your choice and a thesis to “earn” your MBA. It is human nature to find that option very attractive. Let’s see 14 courses or 4 courses.

I applaud Lazebee for recognizing the ludicrous nature of this proposal and for turning away from the lure of something for almost nothing. I hope he gets his money back. If not, he still made the good and ethical decision.

 

Hi,
I completed my MBA Finance in 1991(foreign).Here in USA if you are trying to get a job with a foreign degree its kind of a difiicult.
So to fulfill that gap I started looking at different schools,every institute has different admission policy,the ones I liked I couldn't afford or in some refused because of GMAT/SAT etc .
When I looked at KW website,the way it is presented,I got impressed,and the tution was decent as compared to RA.
No GMAT or anything,I got exited,I thought what a deal.
When I called,I was told,you cannot become a teacher/professor at YALE etc(what a fool I am got trapped ).
The fees are going up,and also after MS do the PHD and so on...
The way they explained(all LUBED& buttered)I swallowed all that crap.
First I cancelled,after few days I thought before the fees go up I should enroll,so I called them,paid them.
As soon as I got the password,looked in their student forum found out about, DEGREEINFO members bashing KW.
At the very moment I looked at degree info, it changed my whole concept of KW(thanks again to all the friends at degreeinfo).
In other countries,if a university is licensed to award MS/or other any degrees,that means it is fully recognized and accepted.
You cannot open a university just like that.
I swear I wasn't aware of this degree's worth,I thought who wants to be a teacher,all I was trying to do was bridge my educational gap.
Just imagine my BS luck,I am holding MBA degree with almost 10 years experience,can't find a intermediate/experienced level job,
do no want to start as entry level,because of my age too.
Right now working as service manager/mechanic at a automotive shop,saving each and every dime to get started for MS degree asap,and gets into a highway robbery(KW) loose my Bu...
Regards

 

Rich Douglas wrote:

> Where's RJT, Richard Suhar, or any of the others that call
> this thing a "university"?

But "Once you have their money, you never give it back" is the First Rule of Acquisition. Are you saying the University of Ferenginar is no good either?

 

LB:

I am sorry you are having a bad experience, however, people have had bad experiences with many schools (RA or State Approved/Registered). For example when I was a student at Phila. College of Textiles & Science, I completed the first night of a $1,000.00 plus class I had registered for. When I when to drop, before the second class I had already forfeited a significant portion of the total, because as an Evening Student, the class had already started the second week of the program, and that was the schools policy. As far as being pushy/glossing over, many folks have had similar issues with the RA Mega-School, whose recruiters are incentived to "reel em in". A coworker wanted to pull out of their BBA program, and instead go to California Pacific; they gave him a hard time about releasing his transcripts to CPU.

I am glad that if a legally operating WY State Licensed Postsecondary Educational Institution doesn't work for you, you pulled out. It sounds as though the counselor told you the limitations, al-beit, with a positive spin. There are insistences where the State Licensed degree will not work as effectively as an RA Degree; you have the full right to discontinue your attendance, rather than completing the several courses and a thesis, only to be dissatisfied.

Please review the contract you've signed and be persistent. Call your K-W counselor and explain your circumstances. Call the Financial Office. I hope that it works out for you.

All the best,

 

Thanks,
I already hit my head against the wall several times,no outcome.
Finally called credit card company,they are looking into,hopefully it will be resolved.
You are 100% right,they can make fool out of anybody,just by twisting few words.
appreciate your reply
regards

 

Where AM I ???

I am here in my skin just where I have always been.

I suppose we should discount the name "University" for any educational instution whose "customers" have a problem with the credit and collections end of their business. And just what should we call people who outright lie in an attempt to secure a refund as alluded to in a different thread?? Oh yeah... I think I know this one ... "Victims" by decree of previous postings. Your term not mine... Please note Bill, I spelled it right this time


Dick

 

Re: Where AM I ???

I think it reasonable to just call things what they are and not what they aren't. Learning Tree offers educational opportunities but they do not call themselves a university. There are many examples of businesses offering courses of study and learning opportunities that do not pretend to be a university.

Any institution that can certify that the recipient of a diploma awarded by that institution has met the generally accepted minimum requirements for a particular academic degree program might be in a position to call themselves a university.

The "assessment" process of the business in question has no way of certifying any knowledge or competencies beyond the four courses they require. These are the practices of a business masquerading as a university.

 

Re: Re: Where AM I ???

Well Paul.

I agree it is reasonable to call things what they are and what they are not. My problem is that I have not been able to sort things out in those neat little boxes. For example....How would I know to classifiy something as a terrorist activity since I cannot ascribe the difference between what one person may consider a terrorist while the next may call it freedom fighting. Some people on this forum will refer to KW as an out right Diploma Mill while others would just call it a "less than wonderful school." Could there be a parallel that one man's diploma mill is another man's university? I suppose it all boils down to who's ox is being gored.

I have often read of the phrase you term "practices of a business masquerading as a university." I am still waiting for some educational organization such as one of the RA agencies to codify this definition. Then we may definitely know what is accredidatible and what just may never be accredatible. If we could get such a definition of practices which could be legally enforced, perhaps posts such as this one wil dissappear forever.

From LAZEBEE'S perspective, I wonder why he never went ahead to check if his MBA granting institution meets "GAAP." If his MBA is GAAP, then how come these potential employers reject the credential?? I would have thought that a GAAP endosed degree with 10 years experience would have opened a lot of doors. There have been numerous postings on the value of GAAP on this board. Could I be mistaken and in reality GAAP is not of high a stature as Regional Accredidation?

As usual, I end up with more questions than answers.

Dick

 

Regardless of what individuals like RJIT tell you, KW is a scam and so do many other similar universities. They profit from people like you that because of ignorance, enroll in their programs.

As for you situation, if you feel that an MBA from a foreign institution is your problem, you should try to enroll in a post master's program. Post master's programs normally require between 15 to 30 credits that are far less than the requirements for a PhD or a DBA. There aren't many of these programs offered online, the only one that I know is the CAS of Argosy that can be credited towards a DBA. It would be cheaper and faster to pay for only 15 credits than a full 45 credits MBA.

Also, if you are in the finance business, you could try to get the CPA or CFA designation.

 

Re: Re: Re: Where AM I ???

 

Re: Re: Re: Where AM I ???

Dick, you would like to make this debate more complicated than it need be. It is about one thing, beyond which all else becomes irrelevant.

Many universities incorporate the assessment of experience for college level credit. This is not new nor a problem. However, the universities with which I am familiar that have this as an option, require portfolios for each and every course for which the applicant wishes credit. These portfolios, or petitions, include specific documentation related to the particular course learning objectives. The applicant maps their documented experience, knowledge, and competencies directly to topics, concepts, and principles covered in a particular course. For example, the reviewer expects that that applicant has demonstrated not merely experience in say, web development, but that they also demonstrate through the portfolio that they have knowledge and competencies equal to what would be expected of satisfactory completion of a web development college level course.

Having been an IT manager, I can guarantee you that there are a whole lot more people with resumes that indicate experience in a discipline than actually have knowledge and competencies in that discipline. These people would have a very difficult time putting together a petition for college credit in a legitimate assessment process but will be given, out of hand, college level credit from K-W simply because they have it on their resume. Academically bankrupt is a reasonable term for this type of assessment process.

K-W pretends to assess life experiences in the context and for the purpose of assigning equivalent graduate level academic credits. It is not debatable that they take a brief resume and a few statements of conferences attended and magically are able to determine which college courses the applicant has equivalent knowledge and competencies. Surely you don't think it possible to be able to determine what Master's level competencies have been satisfied by simply reviewing a resume. This is not assessment by any definition.

You start out with one question. Does the "University" have a process of providing academic credits based on generally accepted assessment principles and practices? Once you answer this question, every other point you bring up becomes moot.

Oh, and coming to a reasonable answer to this question in the case of K-W does not require introspection or esoteric what if proposals. The answer is really quite clear.

 

Re: Where AM I ???

Why... because unlike you and others, I have no lock on universal truth. "Documented thoroughly here and elsewhere" is what I consider to be mostly documented opinion. But that is my opinion and I am sure my opinions are not popular.

As for LAZEBEEs predicament... I still have to wonder why he applied for Ph.D. in Engineering Management instead of Business.
This approval sure doesn't look good for the KW admissions process, unless he has his undergrad in engineering. Still more questions....

Dick