Ashford University


Country United States
State Iowa
City Clinton
Address 400 N Bluff Blvd
Phone 563.242.4023
Website www.ashford.edu

Ashford University Reviews

  • Jul 23, 2015

This college is definitely misleading and is a total nightmare! I wanted to withdraw and was advise by my advisor that I could not withdraw. I called twice and both times I was provided with the same information. I conducted some research and spoke with a few people, including my wife, who stated that the information provided was definitely wrong.

I called the third time and spoke with the same individual who stated I could not withdraw. She contradicted herself when she heard my wife get on the line stating that she is providing misleading, false information - she then agreed that I could withdraw. When I asked to speak with the manager she (the manager) said she would listen to the recording and call me back. When she called back her questions was "What would you like to be done?"

Does this confirm that the information provided to me was false and misleading or no? It absolutely does. She didn't mention the recording once until I mentioned it. She said at the end of the second conversation I stated I would complete the course. Well, of course because I was forced to stay! If a student calls twice and twice they are denied a withdrawal - what other options do they have but to complete the course that would not be completed and result in a "F" anyway?

I wasn't given any other option or any options at all even after explaining my personal situation. She (the manager) mentioned lawyers and sending me to collections. This has to be the worst experience ever! She said all calls are recorded and I couldn't be happier because they should be for the sake of students who are being forced to stay in a college so that they can collect more money and harm their loans and FAFSA.

What I didn't understand is why I am being withdrawn as of the date I called the third time and not the first time!? Why as what would you like to be done if I have to be withdrawn on a date they want instead of the date I called - if they heard the actual recording? Horrible experience! Let me not forget to mention that the individual who provided me with false information is still emailing me arguing her innocence. If one is innocent, they will not continue to harass the student! Who argues with a student via e-mail? I can see why they were sued for misleading students. You would think they would have learned a very valuable lesson. Unbelievable.

  • Apr 7, 2015

Ashford University operates a for-profit entity online, as well as operating several brick-and-mortar campuses across the U.S.

Do Your Homework - Research this place first! I do not recommend Ashford University.

My boyfriend enrolled at Ashford University and began classes on January 20, 2015. He enrolled with pending financial aid and military educational benefits. In February, he requested that the university deduct his tuition costs from his federal student financial aid. He took out two loans and was to receive a pell grant to cover the cost of attendence.

We kept waiting and wondering why he had not received his student loan/grant refund (Ashford calls them stipends). At the beginning of March, he contacted the university's financial aid department. The financial aid department said that the reason he had not received it is because they needed him to submit more forms.

(Why didn't they inform him sooner?)

The forms requested included a copy of my boyfriend's W-2 for 2013, his IRS tax transcript, and a form called the Household Income Verification form. The HIV form was requested due to the fact that my boyfriend had not worked an actual paying job in 2013. He lived with family for most of the year. When he moved out, I helped to support my boyfriend. He used student loan refunds, borrowed money from me and my family, and sold personal items such his broken down car, comic book collection, etc. to pay the bills.

Please note that each time documents are requested, it takes up to 3 business days for the university to acknowledge and process their receipt.

The first time, the forms were submitted to the wrong email address and we acknowledge that it is no fault but his own. The university began sending my boyfriend emails stating that if his bill wasn't paid by March 31, that they would place a hold on his account and withdraw him from his courses.

We resubmitted the form with corrections made and to the correct email address. Then they said that they could not read his writing. We redid the forms and resubmitted them once again. The university uses SFA Online to process forms. He phoned the financial aid department who acknowledged that the documents were received.

Days later, he received another email from the university stating that they needed those documents (again) and reminded him that he would be withdrawn on March 31. Once again, the forms were completed and uploaded.

Yet another email came from the university stating that they needed the same three forms submitted.

The university had told my boyfriend that because he had no W-2 that he could write a statement attesting the how he had covered living expenses for 2013. He had submitted this the first time that the university asked for it.

He called the university, yet again, and spoke to Sterling Graves. Mr. Graves followed-up in an email and confirmed that all of the necessary information had been received and that Ashford University would begin processing his 2014-2015 FAFSA.

And another email from Ashford University, requesting the same information came again. My boyfriend phoned the university. The representative tried to tell him that he must submit a W-2. Finally, she said that the university wanted more information regarding his finances in 2013. We submitted the requested HIV form yet again, with a less than nice note attached.

On April 4, he received an email from the university. This email said that the form was called a Student Statement and the purpose of it was to account for household expenses and financial situations for 2013. Seriously?

It is now April 6. The semester ended on March 30 and my boyfriend is already in his second semester at Ashford University. He STILL has NOT received ANY financial aid for the semester that he attended from January 20-March 31. He was a transfer student and Ashford University STILL has NOT informed the department of education that he is enrolled at their institution, meaning that his loans are about to go into repayment (despite the fact that he's actually enrolled).

The second issue that my boyfriend experienced with Ashford University is related to transcripts from previous institutions. While one of his previous schools told Ashford that they would not release my boyfriend's transcripts, two others have ignored Ashford's requests all together. Now Ashford is sending emails stating that it is my boyfriend's job to get those schools to send transcripts or a notice that they won't release his transcripts... and that if he doesn't submit them, he will be withdrawn after his fourth class. The enrollment advisor had been informed of this when my boyfriend enrolled and said that it was okay, my boyfriend simply would not be able to receive transfer credit.

My boyfriend has received acknowledgment, both verbal and in writing, that the university had the proper information to process the FAFSA forms for the previous semester, yet Ashford University seems to be stalling in their process. We depend largely on his student aid refunds to assist in paying our rent and living expenses.

He has sent several emails asking for the university to explain the financial aid department's inept communication skills. Representatives of the financial aid department reply, but their lack of action otherwise prove that Ashford University is shady.

Ashford University was slapped with a class action lawsuit that would eventually award only students at the Clinton, Iowa campus more than $7.xx million. My boyfriend has found online many students who have similar complaints regarding Ashford University. He has saved each and every email since March 9th. There are more than one dozen emails regarding this issue, many of which receive a generic (but non-automated) response.

What's up, Ashford?

Ashford doesn't receive federal student aid funds until the paperwork is processed or until a student pays (and we certainly will NOT be paying out of pocket!), so I have to wonder what's the deal? Seems like a shady rip-off to us.

  • Mar 14, 2015

WORST COMPANY EVER!!!! They call my phone 3-5 times a day PRIVATE and I have told 20+ times they have the wrong number! They try to tell me that they can't find my number in their database to remove the calls. Now I've told them 3 times today to stop calling so they are spamming my phone every 5 minutes! Don't trust these people!

  • Mar 13, 2015

I am 18,000 dollars in dept because of this school, I had to withdrawal because I couldnt afford it anymore. I got overwhelmed and depressed to see how much I owed already a year or so into the school. I had to retake a couple of classes that I did not pass because I was depressed, and I have to pay those classes too. they also took loans out on those too. I never knew if that was right. Now I cant even thibk of going back because i owe so much in loans.

  • Feb 17, 2015

My dear wife was going to AU but then she went into the hospital this was all in late November into December. But she want to go to FIT but due to a balence after givig back aid she owe $47.57 and now she can not get her transcript so that she can go to another college. This is not a lot of money she is going to pay it to them but when she was trying to call them for a week no one will answer the phone. The class at FIT start March 9th FIT requested the transcript from Ashford on January 21 but no one sent them the transcript and my wife tried calling them everyday. She was only enrolled for one class they do not know anything about service at all but they can send my wife nasty emails wher it is about being in class or now oweing money I would not send anyone to Ashford University at all I would hate to see if they would do that if anyone oweig only $1 WOW ASHFORD UNIVERSITY GET A F -

  • Jul 23, 2014

Ashford Univeristy caused sever financial hardship upon myself and my mother. I was enrolled as a dependant student... at some point there was a shortfall in my financial aid, so the school forced my unemployed mother to apply for parent plus loans a minimum of 3 times... why three times? Because the employees of the financial aid department each time we applied and submitted the loan neglected to accept the loan on AU's behalf, causing my mother to have to apply again. Finally I filed a formal complaint, received a settlement, and I though I was all set. I even emailed one of their employees, first name Payem, when I received a collections notice and asked her if I was all set. Her response, "Yes you are all set, have you discussed re-enrolling with your advisor?". I told her I was set to re-enroll after my wedding and asked her to contact the collections person and tell them my account was all set.

End of problem... or so I thought.

Months later I get a notice from the collections department again... again I forwarded to Payem, school was closed for break at the time, so I waited. When Payem finally responds to me, low and behold, I have a $5K balance that they have forwarded to a collections agency and I have to pay in full prior to being able to re-enroll. Well, not sure about most of you, but I don't have an extra $5K just laying around... I have bill due each month. Payem tried to say that what she meant when she told me I was "All Set" was that I was all set but have a balance due to AU. However because she never said that, I never took any action, which resulted in a *40* point drop in my credit score as well as an inability to enroll and complete my education. So I filed another complaint, which, shockingly, was denied by Payem's co-workers, and also denied by the CEO Dr. Pattenaude, who stated that I misinterpreted Payem's email stating I was all set, to mean that I was all set. He also states I was sufficiently notified of the balance (The first email, which Payem responded, your all set, and the second email which I forwarded to her and she told me I had a balance *after* they had already forwarded me to collections).

So where do we stand now, I can either pay in full or be screwed for the last two years of schooling. I have asked AU over 10 times to bring my debt back in house, allow me use financial aid to cover it, which I was told by Sharon C. was possible, and to have the collections agency report that it was a mistake to the credit agencies so that my score can go back up. The school has denied each request for this to happen... why? Just because. No explanation was given, and each time I asked it was ignored. Each time I asked for proof that I was informed and acknowledged the debt prior to it being forwarded to a collections department (causing severe damage to my report) it was ignored. Ashford University is a scam... at this point unless I pull $5K out of thin air, I have essentially lost the last two years of education and money spent already at that school due to the administrations incompetance.

  • Jul 4, 2014

I would like to file a report because I feel as though my educational rights have been violated by Ashford University Online. I completed one full course and recieved a stipend, but when it was time for me to recieve my second stipend they told me that I don't recieve anything because I was given two pell grants into one. I told them Im not taking out loan money just to give them. I want to talk to the President of the school, but they transfer me to financial aide. They said I started a class for the second term,so therefore I owe them 2,600.

  • May 5, 2014

This ""university"" is a fraud. They guarantee to you that they are accredited & can help you earn a degree. They arent. I took 3 courses- none of which had to do with my selected major; but were on ""honesty, & morality of the student & university"". What?! Repeats the same assignments/questions over & over.

Also- I had applied & been approved for financial aide. I was to be awarded around $13,000. I NEVER SAW ONE CENT. This money was suppsed to be used for the three classes that I was scheduled in for the semester & the remaining sent to me for books, ect. I never got a dime. When asked about the changing amounts of the courses & amounts owed; I was never given any answer- simply referrred to someone else who was supposedly working to find that out.

I withdrew myself from Ashford after 2.5 courses; but am still being harrassed for payment- (even though they took ALL my financial aide). I am also now being expected to pay back the financial aide the govt paid- even though I NEVER GOT ANY OF IT. I am completely disgusted by this ""school"" and the fraudulent money hungry leeches that run it. I am hoping to find others that are in the same situation as me & hopefully an attorney that can help us out of the financial mess that Ashford has created. I (nor anyone else) should be responsible for paying back money these frauds have taken from me. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. FIND A TRUSTED, REPUTABLE, RESPECTED UNIVERSITY.

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