ComplaintsforSouth University

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have called several times and left voice mails and emailed many times for months to an academic financial advisor. About the situation of needing my official transcripts. I was told on the phone I owed money and they couldnt discuss the amount and I had to talk to a 3rd party. Which I spoke to and have on record the names of several people I talked to. All stating the same thing. I do not exist in there date base, and no amount of money is due. I called back the university and explained and they kept wanting me to call the 3rd party. I then emailed an financial advisor and back and forth in emails explaining, no one said I owe money and the people I spoke to for there 3rd party , do not no anything about who I was and what money I owed. I gave them my social and all my info, and clearly did not exist. The university will not send me my official transcripts untill I pay money to them, I went to the college 10yrs ago, and now supposedly I owe money. When I was active army at the time, college was free and I owe nothing. Now im out and decided to go back to school for my masters, and I contact the school, and still not getting anywhere. Calling and emailing and leaving voicemails. Still no where in a resolution. I just wanna go for my MBA, the veterans benefits dept is paying for all of it, so they can help me get rehabilitated and received help in a job. Im a disabled vet, and its a shame that I have not received no phone calls back or email in my situation. I moved out of state and just wanna go back to school an better myself. Im not receiving any help. If I owe money then send me the info so it can be paid in full. Send me the history , a receipt, something. Proof that I owe money , so i can move on and pay and go back to school. If I owe no money, then give me my official transcript so I can move on. And take off this dept I owe. Spoke to the ******** ** campus and spoke to 3rd party ******** & ***** for the dept. This has been going on since Feb 2023. Waiting!

  Customer response

  06/21/2023

  Its been 10yrs and I need my officaial transcript. I have been asking about it for months. Thats all I want. But now I was told I owe money and was never billed or told how much I owe. Im a disabled veteran and get benefits. At the time i was attending school I was on the gi bill and 9/11 grant. Again never told I owed money and graduated. Later I moved out of state and received a job in the federal sector. Still waiting on my official transcripts. Now im attending college and would like my transcripts sent to them. So I can finnish and then apply for a federal job thats in another dept. Im getting a run around and talked to 3rd partys, still not getting anywhere.

  Customer response

  06/22/2023

  form attcahed

  

  Business response

  07/06/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from ********* ***** to our attention.  South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to their concerns.  At this time, the Dean of Student Affairs at our ******** campus has reached out to ********* and has assisted them with their concerns.  Should ********* reach out to you again, please have them contact me by email at **************************.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *****
  Dean of Student Affairs
  South University Online Student Support Center
  Pronouns: He/Him/His
  
  Ph: ************ 
  Email: **************************
  
  *** **** *****
  ********* **  *****
  *******************
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  see Attached document

  Customer response

  03/14/2023

  attached

  

  Business response

  03/20/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for brining the concern from Ms. ***** to our attention.  South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to their concerns.  At this time, our Academic Manager has been working with Ms. *****.  After my review of her account, I do see she is in the program for which she had completed her Application for Admissions and her Enrollment Agreement when she first enrolled at the university.  Our manager is assisting with some other items in relation to her Accounting class that she noted in her concern, which were also correctly scheduled. Should Ms. ***** reach out to you again, please have her contact me by email at **************************.
  
  Sincerely,

  ******* *****
  **** ** ******* *******
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  Ph: ************ 
  Email: **************************
  
  *** **** ***** ********* ******* *******************

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was charged after I withdrew from my classes at South University . I withdrew from the University due to a medical emergency and I plan on reenrolling in January 2023. I am requesting to be refunded any additional funds that was charged from my account since from the first day that I withdrew on 10Oct2022. I am requesting all funds be urgently refunded to me. Please find attached the documentation of my withdrawal notice. Thank you.

  Customer response

  01/11/2023

  As of today, I am being billed and I am not enrolled.  Please see attached invoice.  

  

  Business response

  01/25/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from Mr. ******* to our attention.  South University takes all student complaints very seriously and this email serves to update you on our outreach with Mr. *******.  At this time, we have reached out to Mr. ******* and have informed him he has not had a balance with the university, shortly after his withdrawal from our November 2022 session.  If Mr. ******* reaches out to you again, please have him contact me by email at [email protected].
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was given amount and signed a document stating how much I owed in February for tuition options. However additional money was sent over to tuition options after I graduated. No explanation and no bill. Where did additional charges com from ?I was never sent a bill to informed of any additional money due. I have every email from finance who is not longer with the college. (****) it was explained to me additional charges were just sent over to tuition options and I need to pay. (no notification)

  

  Business response

  11/28/2022

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from Ms. **** ****** to our attention. South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to Ms. ******** concerns.  At this time, we have reached out to Ms. ****** and have begun investigating her concerns.  Should she reach out to you again, please have her contact me by email ** ***************************
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *****
  Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  *** **** ***** ********* **  ***** *******  ************ ************************** ***********************
  
  South University – the right direction for a brighter future

   

  Customer response

  12/07/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because:

  Rejection because he just emailed me that he was looong into it for me. It wasn’t resolved . I do not want this on my credit . 

  Regards,

  **** ******

  

  Business response

  12/14/2022

  South University has been working to research Ms. ******'s concerns.  I have completed my investigation and have reached out to Ms. ****** at this time.

• Initial Complaint

  10/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I attended south university's online program and when I went to withdraw they gave me an inaccurate amount for an unregistered/refund. But the biggest thing is as you can see in the screenshot. They constantly deducted $115.00 two different times out of my official refund. The $115.00 that was continuously deducted for refunds supposedly sent a refund back to the third party and i owed the school this 115.00. They did not even CUT the checks and lied about it. I have tried countlessly to get ahold of someone who will actually talk to me and explain how I got shorted so much on my refund when each amount of money was separate and I made aware I wanted to be withdrawn. No one at the school likes to answer the phone or be honest at all. Next, I was a fulltime student the entire time of me attending, and without my knowledge or consent i was dropped to a 3/4 time student, never even heard of that being possible . Therefore, both grants that i was promised and guranteed in the beginning could be "valid" because i was no longer a full time student. They placed in classes when they were told countless times that I again want to be withdrawn. I Was refunded 1,740.00 for being withdrawn from one class. Then, come to find out the class I was taking the whole time I was not even supposed to be in and refunded $1,451. Each refund does not add up, and the 115.00 is continously deducted. I will be reporting the school to0 dept. of education but I would like my correct refund amount and Ive sent ocuntless emails and phone calls to their employees and they dont answer and make it entirely difficult to find someone real on a phone.

  Customer response

  10/05/2022

  I wasnt sure if i needed to print and write, so I just signed through microsoft word if that is incorrect please notify me and I will fix it. 

  Customer response

  10/06/2022

  The school lied on multiple occasions involving transfer of credits, grants that were "supposedly" I had. The school then took it upon themselves to drop me as a 3/4 student and therefore i lost both grants. The cost of my tuition constantly change from $4,000 to 4,800 every 10 weeks. I just wanted to make sure it went on record and awares the public of how badly this school will falsify information and they do not care. The only thing i can handle is the fact that when I withdrew from the school. I told them before school started I was done, and they still placed me in two classes for this past quarter. I did not even know i was in class until i went online , I could not catch up fast enough and recieved an FA for the first class. The second class I was not even supposed to be enrolled in because I hadnt past the prerequiste class prior. I recivied the resolution for that one class was a refund of 1,315. The second was a total resolution payout of 1,451. Now, the third class that i was placed in after i told them over and over I wanted to withdraw that total was 1,740. They did not ask me if i wanted the pell grant sent to me or back to fasfa . They just sent it back of$540.00. That is 1200 left over. That was supposedly sent out to pay a third party back which was unauthorized, the 1200 i never got back. Last but not least they continously withdrew -115.00 FOR each check and i was told by the fincial advisor they would void the 230.00 and send it back to me. They did not and now the fincnial advisor will not even answer me. I will screen tshot the emails were they said it would be voided and were they will not respond. 

  

  Business response

  10/19/2022

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from Ms. ****** ******* to our attention. South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to Ms. *******' concerns.  At this time, we have reached out to Ms. ******* to assist in resolving her concerns.  Should Ms. ******* reach out to you again, please have her contact me by email at **************************.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *****
  Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  *** **** ***** ********* **  ***** *******  ************ **************************
  ***********************
  
  South University – the right direction for a brighter future
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently completed my Bachelor's degree in Public Health with South University Online. Graduation was June of this year (2022) and about a week after the ceremony, I discovered that my account at South was sent to collections. When I initially signed up for classes to complete my degree, I had an awful experience with my academic advisor who messed up my schedule resulting in several classes that I would have to pay for out of pocket as my financial aid was exhausted. I was fine with this plan to pay for those last few classes; however I was offered numerous "grants and opportunities" from numerous admissions representatives if I would only return to South to take those classes and finish my degree. I decided to do so and qualified for an "Increased student success grant" per an email I received to draw me in and bring me back to their school. My academic advisor was supposed to be in touch with me about setting up a payment plan for my classes, but she never did so even though she "has record" of calling me (not emailing me like the typical student/advisor relationship). I never got ANY information on how to use their 3rd party Tuition Options to make monthly installments. Now I've completed my degree and South is holding my transcripts and diploma until I pay them $10,000 in full. My dream has always been to become a Physician Assistant, and I have done everything necessary to apply by the deadline of September 1st 2022, but now I can't because I can't pull $10,000 out of thin air and South will not work with me like they said they would BEFORE I signed back up for classes. I cannot get anyone to call me back even though I've left several voicemails for the Dean of Student Affairs. I'm a full time Mom, full time healthcare worker, and now my dreams of becoming a PA to help serve my community are being crushed because of my awful experience with South University. Now I realize why there are so many negative reviews and history of issues with this institution.

  

  Business response

  08/17/2022

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from Ms. ******** ******* to our attention. South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to Ms. *******’s concerns.  At this time, ******* *****, Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison has reached out to Ms. ******* to assist in resolving her concerns.  Should Ms. ******* reach out to you again, please have her contact ******* by email at **************************.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Dr. *******

• Initial Complaint

  07/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The dates of transactions fall between the months of May 2021 - December 2021. I had reach out to the university to attend classes, and there was a program/third party site called tuition reimbursement that was referred by the university to pay for the program I was attending where you pay for the program (in this case my bachelors in nursing) as one lump sum rather than pay by class/semester as they are taken. Due to personal life factors including long work hours and an inconsistent schedule, throughout the course of six months, I had only completed one class, and deferred after that due to not having the time to complete. When I was looking towards starting back up, I was told I could no longer continue, and would have to appeal in order to continued. After back and forth, I decided to no longer continue with the school, and attend another, and requested the money back for the tuition I paid besides the class I did finish taking that I was paid in advance which was over $3,000.

  

  Business response

  08/03/2022

  Thank you for bringing the concern of Ms. **** to our attention. South University takes all student concerns very seriously and this email is a response to Ms. ****'s concerns.  Though we have not been able to reach Ms. **** by phone, we have emailed Ms. **** with our response based on our investigation into her concerns and believe she will be fine with the outcome of our decision.  Should Ms. **** reach out further, please feel free to provide her of my contact information and I'll be glad to resond with her further.  My contact information is below.
  Sincerely,
  ******* *****
  Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  *** **** ***** ********* **  ***** *******  ************ **************************
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  08/19/2022

  Hello ********,
  
  Thank you again for your help today regarding this matter.  As we discussed, the concern from Mr. **** ****** should reside with the BBB office in ****** ** as the student is a student with our ***** campus.

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a Nurse attempting to further my career in the profession. In doing so I've had to battle SOUTH UNIVERSITY on numerous occasions. You see they swear I attended the college in 2010, which NEVER HAPPENED! They SWEAR it was me, why would it be. I've been an LPN in MS SINCE 2002! The school shows on the transcripts of my previous college, therefore, causing havoc when attempting to register for school because SOUTH UNIVERSITY states that I owe them 2300.00 and refuse to send fake transcripts. I have worked extremely hard to have a career in a field that I love but, to have my dreams of becoming an RN wrecked by a bogus college is ridiculous! I need a resolution to this prior to my name being added to the class action suits being brought against this school!

  Customer response

  06/14/2022

  These need to be sent ASAP to ensure I do not lose my seat in the nursing program!  

  

  Business response

  06/15/2022

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern from Ms. ***** ******* to our attention. South University takes all student complaints very seriously, and this email serves to update you on our outreach to Ms. *******’ concerns.  At this time, we have reached out to Ms. ******* and have agreed to a one-time release of her transcripts.  Should Ms. ******* reach out to you again, please have her contact me by email at **************************.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******

• Initial Complaint

  05/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was contacted by ******* ******** (enrollment counselor) via email in February, 2022 about re-enrolling at South University. This enrollment counselor kept emailing me, attempting to get me to sign an enrollment agreement, stating that "I cannot get you scheduled until the enrollment agreement is signed." I told him more than once, I was not interested. I never signed the enrollment agreement, did not register for any classes, did not log into the student portal, nor did I authorize any financial aid/student loans to be disbursed in my name. Then in March 2022, I received a letter from South University informing me that two student loans were disbursed to "my account". I called and emailed, ***** ****** (student success coach). He was the employee that had previously contacted me regarding financial aid. He did not return my phone calls or emails. I tried calling the main number for online programs. No one answers and you must know the person's name or extension in order to speak with someone, and you have to get that information from the student portal, which I did not have access to. I then emailed the school (main email), because this was the last contact option given by the recording when I called the school. No one ever returned this email. There was no response from South University until I received a letter, dated 04/20/2022, informing me that "as a result of my withdraw, the school has refunded the student loans." How did I withdraw from classes I never registered for? In May 2022 I received a "final account statement" on a note card for $505.00, informing me that "your account has been placed with a collection agency." Where is the original bill? I contacted the school again and finally get a call from ***** ***** in the financial aide office. She was unprofessional and proceeded to tell me that someone must have stolen my identity to register for classes. Only those employees with access to my information could have signed me up for classes.

  

  Business response

  06/16/2022

  Thank you for bringing the concern of Ms. **** to our attention. South University takes all student concerns very seriously and this email is a response to Ms. ****** concerns.  Though we have not been able to reach Ms. **** by phone, we have emailed Ms. **** with our response based on our investigation into her concerns and believe she will be fine with the outcome of our decision.  Should Ms. **** reach out further, please feel free to provide her of my contact information and I'll be glad to resond with her further.  My contact information is below.

  Sincerely,

  ******* *****
  Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  *** **** *****
  ********, **  *****
  Office:  ************
  **************************
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I respectfully request the assistance of BBB to address an issue with South University that I’m unable to solve directly. I’m requesting that South University remove unwarranted $4,897.00 in extra charges posted to my account at Tuition Options. These charges were added without any warning to my already agreed tuition loan, and I was not explained or notified about it until Tuition Loans warned me about possible prosecution for unpaid fees that were added to my account by South University! Shortly after graduating from the program, I received a call from Tuition Options that threatened to take me to collections, because my account was overdue $4,897.00, and it was then that I was informed of some unclear charges, that, to this day are still not explained. I suspect that South University is claiming full compensation for a class from early 2021 when I had to stop school due t my son’s overdose and my family getting Covid. At that time, I was forced to stop my pediatrics class just a few days after starting. If that is the case, it is clearly documented that I applied, and was fully approved for immediate emergency leave, and I promptly fulfilled all the necessary paperwork required, as instructed by South University. However, I was never notified of any financial obligations given that it was evidently an EMERGENCY. I then resumed school as soon as the next class. If that is the case, I trust that this may just be a misunderstanding. I’m sure that South University has policies that protect students in such an emergency, both academically and financially; and I would like to think that such as prestigious university, would never try to profit from such a tragic situation, and will not adopt predatory behaviors aimed at defrauding students, such as the recent scandal involving Tuition Options; DeVry University, and others. I have contacted South University numerous times. I have requested that my case be escalated to management. All attempts were unsuccessful.

  

  Business response

  03/28/2022

  Hello,
  
  Thank you for bringing the concern of Mr. ******* to our attention. South University takes all student concerns very seriously.  We are working directly with Mr. ******* and have provided him a breakdown of his charges and his unofficial transcripts.  We have also provided a copy of the policies associated with his concern.  We have also provided Mr. ******* with instructions on how he is able to appeal his grades for the time he was not in classes based on his mitigating circumstances.
  
  Should Mr. ******* have any additional concerns, please provide him my contact information. I’m glad to discuss his concerns further.
  
  Sincerely,

  ******* *****
  Student Engagement and Advocacy Liaison
  South University Online Student Support Center
  
  *** **** *****
  ********, GA  *****
  Office:  ************
  **************************
  www.southuniversity.edu

  Customer response

  03/30/2022

  I received a response from Mr. ******* ***** representing South University. He answered promptly but listed the institutions cancelation policy, which does not apply to this particular case. The following is my response to him.

  Dear Mr. ******* *****,
  Thank you for your prompt answer to my concern. Yours has been the fastest answer that I have ever received from any correspondence with the institution that you represent. Additionally, I appreciate you for listing your institution's tuition refund policy. However, I hope that you understand that in my particular case, the standard refund policy should not apply because the reason that forced me to stop school was a true EMERGENCY. I applied for and was approved for an “EMERGENCY LEAVE,” You can verify the provided paperwork that I filed at the time, as it was requested. Moreover, when I returned to class, I was forced to start the whole class over from the beginning, and no option was offered to continue where I had left; furthermore, I was never credited for the tests, class attendance, clinical, and numerous projects done; and there was no mention of any tuition responsibilities until I graduated, some 7 months later, when I was threatened by a Tuition Options telephone call.
  As you are probably aware, the reasons why I was forced to stop school and work were: One, because my 15-year-old son overdosed. I came downstairs and found him unresponsive. The opioid epidemic has had devastating consequences that continue to kill Am****ans to this day (1). And two, because shortly before that, my family had just gotten infected with Covid, which got me very ill and put me out for 3 weeks, while being the main income of the family. There have been 79.9million cases and 975 thousand deaths due to covid (2). So, you can probably understand the difficult times that my family was going through at the moment, It was too much and I had to pause school and work immediately to care for my family. That is why I cannot imagine that South University would try to profit from such a tragedy. Even today, when the pandemic seems to be under control, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced more resources for students and institutions to help reduce barriers to success in higher education, particularly those created and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (3). Furthermore, I cannot imagine that South University could be unprepared to assist its students in these difficult times.
  During that time, I maintained open communication with my professor **** ******** and academic counselor Mr. **** S. *******; in addition, I forwarded the information to Dr. ****** - The course Lead, and Dr. ***************** - Faculty Lead; ******** ******* Assistant Clinical Coordinator, my clinical professor, and others. Later in the process, I requested the case to be escalated to **** ** ********, the academic counseling supervisor whom I was unable to reach.
  I’m aware of South University’s trouble history, from 2012 and the Education Management Corp scandal to 2020s $7 million in federal funding under the CARES Act, $5.1 million under HEERF II; and subsequent issues that continue today such as $50 million in debt, and $35 million payment due in 2025. I’m also informed about recent scandals and predatory behaviors that some for-profit universities, and companies such as Tuition Options, are currently being charged with, but I trust that South University is not taking part in that.
  I do not wish to get involved in any legalities if I don’t have to. I don’t want anything from South University (Except my diploma that still has not arrived in the mail); I just want to pay my loan as it was agreed originally, nothing more, nothing less; and move on with my life.
  Lastly, I strongly recommend that South University re-evaluate its emergency leave policy and rearrange it in a way that protects the students' interests, instead of profiting from their tragedy.
  
  Thank you for your attention.
  ***** *******.
  
  1- *********************************************************
  2- **********************************************************
  3- *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
  

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because: The response from South University is unacceptable.

  Regards,

  ***** *******

  

  Business response

  04/07/2022

  Hello,

  We have provided Mr. ******* with the option to appeal his concern.

  Sincerely,

  *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩