Consumer complaint received 2017-06-14
Company: Dream Center Education Holdings
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX To : Representatives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, My name is XXXX XXXX XXXX I am XXXX years old and a resident of XXXX XXXX XXXX I have been a XXXX XXXX for 18 years. I have worked with XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX as well as other XXXX that fall in the parameters of XXXX XXXX. I have lead a successful career as a XXXX XXXX XXXX with good evaluations and great experiences. I have also been successful as an adult student since I started my pursuit in higher education. I started XXXX State University inXX/XX/XXXX and finished my XXXX in XXXX with a XXXX G.P.A. I started my XXXX program in XX/XX/XXXX and completed it in XX/XX/XXXX. I completed my XXXX Degree in XXXX XXXX with a XXXX grade point average. I started my journey to obtain an XXXX XXXX degree in XX/XX/XXXXand completed it in XX/XX/XXXX with a XXXX G.P.A. at XXXX University. I am sharing with you a timeline in which I started each degree, finished each degree, and my grade point average of each program. As listed it should be evident that as an adult student I am a devoted, motivated, and persistent student. I have proven my work ethic with spending countless hours and determination to complete three programs and degrees in a timely manner. I also worked diligently and was just as dedicated with my XXXX program in XXXX XXXX at XXXX University XXXX I started my course work in XX/XX/XXXX and was finished by XX/XX/XXXX and ready to start XXXX. I had a XXXX GPA, passed my comprehensive exam for the XXXX program, and was granted XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This information proves my success as a student. Also, I have always been successful with setting goals and meeting deadlines. My upbringing and family values, as well as my background as a student, and experiences as an XXXX has molded me into who I am today.
When I first entered XXXX it appeared as an attractive school because they offered traditional and non-traditional class types, such as : online classes, weekend classes, and intensive classes. These different course styles made XXXX University XXXX my first school of choice because I felt it would accommodate my schedule. Also, when I transferred hours from XXXX State University and University of XXXX they accepted all of my course work into the XXXX XXXX program which afforded me the opportunity to finish my degree quickly. XXXX also told all incoming students at that time that they would be adding certification course work to the XXXX XXXX and XXXX programs in XXXX XXXX. I was in pursuit of a school offering certification courses because I wanted to become certified in  XXXX My plans were to move into a higher level position, and I needed the certification courses and a passed XXXX ( now XXXX in the state of XXXX ) to be able to have a XXXX certification.  Unfortunately, after finishing my XXXX XXXX degree and starting my XXXX courses, I later realized that XXXX was never going to add the XXXX courses.
I. First Implication of Negligence from XXXX  University XXXX I had entered XXXX University under false pretense, and had been given duplicitous and seemingly fraudulent information. I could have transferred to another University once I realized that XXXX XXXX was involved in unethical practices ; however, I decided to stay enrolled in the XXXX Program because I had already invested time, money, and hard work into my XXXX education. I am also a loyal and dedicated person, so I wanted to finish what I had started at XXXX. Also, it was convenient for me to stay with XXXX although it was very expensive, because my XXXX XXXX ( in XXXX XXXX ) coursework would easily transfer over into the XXXX program in XXXX XXXX at XXXX. However, because of XXXX  misleading their students in believing these courses would be implemented to the XXXX XXXX program, by the time I finished my degree, I realized that it was not going to happen. I eventually had to search for another school that would accept my course work from an accredited University in order to complete the XXXX XXXX XXXX through the state of XXXX I enrolled in XXXX XXXX University to complete the XXXX course work for XXXX XXXX I had already taken the XXXX exam, therefore I was able to apply for the certification through the  state of XXXX, now that I had the coursework completed. However, it was not fair nor ethical for XXXX to mislead their students for years in thinking they would add the certification courses as a part of the XXXX XXXX program.  Also, it was a major inconvenience to have to pursue and pay another University for something XXXX had promised their students in the admissions process.
II. Second Implication of Negligence from XXXX  University XXXX I completed my XXXX coursework and comprehensive exam inXX/XX/XXXX. I was placed in a cohort and was able to XXXX  my XXXX XXXX XXXX from XX/XX/XXXXXX/XX/XXXX. Again, this gives you a good depiction of my work ethics and efforts as a fist year XXXX students. My first semester I received a pass, and the second semester I received an ( LP ) Limited Progress from XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX chair ). I got very discouraged my second semester in XXXX. In my opinion I felt that my chair ( XXXX XXXX ) had too many students at that time, and was not able to give us her full attention in aiding her students in developing the XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was so disappointed that I did not have a good understanding of the XXXX process I decided to withdraw from the program. Shortly afterwards, I decided to take a job out of state and I moved to XXXX XXXX XXXX. I started back with XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX to complete my XXXX degree. I was assigned to XXXX XXXX XXXX as my XXXX chair. The first two semesters were very difficult because I had fallen and injured myself on my job and was out on a workers comp injury. I was also pinked slipped ( laid off ), and I found out that I was XXXX XXXX XXXX. These three incidents all happened around the same time. Then, I was told by my doctors that my XXXX was XXXX XXXX because I was XXXX I would have to be seen at the doctors office twice a week and once a month by a XXXX. Although I had a lot of extenuating circumstances to occur, I tried to stay focus during my first year back in school. I thought that being off work would allow me more time to focus on my XXXX. Unfortunately, throughout those two semesters I feel that XXXX XXXX ( XXXX chair ) and I had many gaps in our communication. There were several instances in which I would call XXXX XXXX and she did not have a clue who I was. I had to remind her that I was her student in XXXX. I feel that XXXX XXXX was not prepared, nor trained to work with an out of state student. However, between my XXXX XXXX XXXX, unemployment, lack of guidance and communication with my XXXX chair my entire first two semesters working on my XXXX was unproductive. I will take responsibility for not withdrawing considering my extenuating circumstances, but I did not want to ruin my chances of finishing my XXXX this time around. However XXXX was definitely negligent in providing me with the proper direction, support, and understanding of the XXXX processes.
II. Third Implication of Negligence from XXXX  University XXXX In XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I worked diligently to make progress on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX was a great helped with my XXXX XXXX and XXXX. She guided me and provided me with previous XXXX to help support my study. She also gave me consistent feedback to help me correct errors and make progress. XXXX XXXX  was helpful in helping me reorganizing my XXXX XXXX and later helping me with my XXXX Full Application. They both were advocates in helping me XXXX  my XXXX proposal in XX/XX/XXXX. After XXXX, I started to work hard on finding a XXXX that would allow me to complete my study, and work on myXX/XX/XXXXapplication. By the end ofXX/XX/XXXX I had gotten confirmation from my current employer XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  would allow me to conduct my study. They informed me that it was too late in the year to start the study, but they could assist me with my study at the beginning of fallXX/XX/XXXX. At the end of summerXX/XX/XXXX, I received notice that I had been dismissed from my program. I wrote an appeals letter to the appeals committee. The committee decided to allow me back into the University, contingent upon me XXXX within one year. I thought at the time this was fair because I had done everything necessary to start my study and XXXX by XX/XX/XXXX.
Once the fall semester started I submitted my XX/XX/XXXXapplication on XX/XX/XXXX. I decided to be even more proactive about my XXXX completion in order to meet the deadline ofXX/XX/XXXX. I had already completed my XX/XX/XXXX Full Application and submitted it, created interview questions, created on-line surveys ( via XXXX ), and completed all other documents needed for the XXXX process. I also had my approval letter from my XXXX XXXX to conduct my study. I submitted my XXXX Full Application with attachments to XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXXand XX/XX/XXXX I have emails asking XXXX XXXX had my XXXX Application been sent to the committee. On XX/XX/XXXX I got an email from XXXX XXXX stating that I did not have all documents needed for application, so I resubmitted the entire XXXX file to XXXX XXXX again, the same day (XX/XX/XXXX ). The later part of the fall semester XXXX XXXX was on vacation, so I called XXXX XXXX for a follow-up on my XXXX Application. She informed me that it takes approximately 40 to 60 days for the committee to review my application, and thats probably why I had not heard anything. She also reminded me that when school ends everyone would be on break until spring semester starts. I received word on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX XXXX that my application was in review by the XXXX committee. After reviewing other for profit Universities practices and procedures, I know now that four months was an extremely long time ( almost an entire semester ) to get approval or feedback on my XXXX application. However, it is very expensive to attend XXXX University and for my application to be in review more than the 40 to 60 days ( approximately one to two months ) stated in the XXXX Student Handbook places the Universitys ethics, procedures, and protocols as misleading and again potentially fraudulent. I am currently in debt of {$270000.00} worth of student loans. Approximately seventy-five percent ( 75 % ) of my loans I have accrued while I have being enrolled at XXXX. Also, other for profit Universities do not charge their students while their applications are in review with their Universities XXXX Committees.
I did everything that I needed to do while waiting to hear back from the XXXX Board on approval of my application. I received an email from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX that XXXX  committee is in the process of reviewing my Full XXXX Application because I was using XXXX in my study. However, they were not able to open the extended parts of my application in a PDF format. They asked that I resubmit an application in a word file that would allow them read all of the contents. I resubmitted my application toXX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX as a word file as instructed. XXXX XXXX forwarded back to XXXX XXXX onXX/XX/XXXX and by XX/XX/XXXX she stated that the committee was back in review. Unfortunately on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from the committee to make revisions to my application. The revision letter was very detailed and extremely helpful with updating and correcting my application. However, I still felt that I needed guidance to complete it properly. This process was very stressful and frustrating, as I knew that I was on a time constraint, and I did not want to prolong my approval from XXXX to begin my study. I tried to reach out to XXXX XXXX, but I could never get her on the phone over the course of two weeks. I contacted XXXX XXXX one afternoon to see if she could let XXXX XXXX know I had questions about my revisions. XXXX XXXX  happened to be in her office. I explained my concerns to both professors. They told me to do my best and get the revisions in as soon as possible!! I stressed my worry of submitting the application with any errors and having the process prolonged again. I also reminded both professors that I only had to XX/XX/XXXX to finish everything. XXXX XXXX stated that she felt that if I could get an approval within a few weeks, I should be able to finish my XXXX XXXX by theXX/XX/XXXX deadline. By this time my application had been in review for 6 months. Again, based on researching other for profit and nonprofit universities most XXXX decisions are made within 30 to 60 days regardless of the type of study.
By the end of XX/XX/XXXX, I had not heard anything from XX/XX/XXXX my XX/XX/XXXX chair, nor anyone in the education department at XXXX XXXX  I decided to check online to see what my grade was for the semester. I notice I had a ( NC ) no credit. I could not understand why I had not gotten any credit when I was waiting for my XXXX application to be approved. I knew that my extension was only good untilXX/XX/XXXX. However, I thought that since I had not heard anything from XXXX, and this was no fault of mine, that I would be granted at least another semester to complete my study. Why would I not be granted at least one more semester to complete my study seeing that I had no control over the XXXX committee reviewing my study and taking two semester to get back with me with an approval? I later found out from XXXX XXXX ( department chair ), that I had been dismissed from the University again. I had to write another appeals letter to the University and provide documentation proving current extenuating circumstances. I submitted my letter and documentation onXX/XX/XXXX, and I was told after my appeals meeting onXX/XX/XXXX that I would be notified within a few days of the appeals meeting a decision. I did not receive a response for almost a month later on XX/XX/XXXX. Again, this was negligence, and a lack of care and concern by XXXX staff and members of the appeals committee.
I have been under emotional strain and stress since I have been dismissed from the XXXX  program from XXXX University XXXX inXX/XX/XXXX There has been numerous extenuating circumstances that has limited my progression in XXXX  program with XXXX as I mentioned in both of my appeals letters. However, if you look at my work ethic timeline, it is evident that I value my time, my education, and my reputation as a student and XXXX. Regardless of my personal life and situations, I have always risen above obstacles and persevered through challenges. I have been diligent with my studies and XXXX work from day one although regardless of my situations. As I have stated several times in this letter, I did not receive the proper support or guidance the entire time I have been in XXXX. However, I stuck with my commitment to finish my degree. This experience has been devastating, embarrassing, and sickening. Since this horrible decision was made about not allowing me to finish my study and degree, I have been experience XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX from the XXXX XXXX and XXXX. Regardless of my XXXX XXXX and issues with XXXX, I still have to support myself, my XXXX, and my mother. I still have to get up and go to work every day as if nothing has happened. I have been loyal and devoted to XXXX University, but I feel they have not been devoted in me. I do not understand how a University that I have invested over {$190000.00} into, does not see me through my program, when I have done my part in being dedicated despite my hardships and extenuating circumstances while completing my program. Now, I am in DEBT with student loans that SUPERSEDE my income as a XXXX I am stuck with all this debt and NO Degree to show for it. I have experienced negligence from staff and professors, gaps of communication with my XXXX chair, lack of support & guidance during the XXXX process, misleading and fraudulent information, and now a dismissal with no degree. I would like to be granted a re-submission back to the University by the President for the Fall Semester XX/XX/XXXX to be able to COMPLETE my degree. However, regardless if I am granted an opportunity to return to XXXX or not. I would like ALL of my money to be refunded back to me that I have invested in my education at XXXX University XXXX.
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company disputes the facts presented in the complaint
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation