Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/15/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  6/15/2024 - I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING BILLS FROM EXCELSIOR UNIVERSITY AND HAVE NEVER ATTENDED THIS FACILITY. I HAVE MADE NUMEROUS TELEPHONE CALLS TO INFORM THEM THAT I HAVE NEVER ATTENDED AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, AND INFORMED ME THAT THIS IS FRAUD. ATTACHED IS THE STATEMENT REQUESTING PAYMENT, CALLED AGAIN AND WAS TOLD THE SAME THING, THIS IS FRAUD. I FILED A POLICE REPORT WITH THE MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE. SENT A LETTER TO THE UNIVERSITY WITH NO RESPONSE.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/19/2025

  May 19, 2025
  Complaint ID Number: ********
  To Whom It May Concern: In response to the Better Business Bureau complaint numbered above, and filed by ******* ******, Excelsior University carefully reviewed Ms. ******’s record and resolved the matter directly with her.
  Please reach out to this office if there are additional questions or concerns surrounding this matter.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O********
  Associate Ombudsperson
  OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ****** ******** recently completed the RN program this last term my final grade should have resulted in 83B my final grade for NUR290 was sent in as an F due to the fact, I was unable to attend a zoom call nclex review. I was never contacted about my absence, leading me to believe attendance is not thoroughly checked also with a school who promotes academic integrity I felt that I was doing the right thing by bringing this to attention to my Instructer hoping I could make up the zoom call. My instructor didn’t know anything in regards to the zoom or what would happen if I didn’t attend. I feel my instructor should know something so important that could fail me. spending over $30,000 missing an important moment in my child’s life, While the notifications sent state that this zoom call is mandatory it is not a part of the syllabus nor part of the gradebook, nor does it list the repercussions of the mandatory status not once does it mention if I’m not able to attend that I fail. Mandatory could mean you have to pay for the review, could mean you have to make up the review not. Does a normal person who is approaching graduation that has a 10 page paper 150 question exam along with another 180 question exam able to remember to log on. I only bring this up because that was Mrs. R******s main argument was that a notification was sent out (9 days prior by the way) though my main reason for not being able to attend was because I was 45 minutes late to the zoom and kept getting kicked off. normal procedure with this school is that our instructors would send us a weekly announcement, This zoom call was not on that list. It was not ran by my instructor, I also feel a phone number or email should have been given out to contact this said person as well if I was to have any issues.Most students expressed they logged in went to sleep (this is what I am being failed for, something I could have went to sleep on?) I feel this is fraud to not grant me the degree I earned.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2024

  
  This letter is in response to the Better Business Bureau complaint filed by ****** ******** regarding her 2024 summer I term course, Nursing Capstone: Advanced Clinical Practicum (NUR290). NUR290 is a Phase III course in the nursing curriculum. All phase III courses require a passing grade to avoid the student being dismissed from the nursing program.
  NUR290 is an eight-week course, a component of which is a two-day live review in preparation for the NCLEX, the licensing exam to become a registered nurse. Attendance at this live NCLEX preparation is mandatory. The instructor in NUR290 posted three announcements, on April 28, 2024, June 10, 2024, and June 16, 2024, advising students of this NCLEX readiness review component and that participation was mandatory. Ms. ******** did not participate in the NCLEX two-day review session and consequently received a final grade of “F” in NUR290.
  The Department Chair of the School of Nursing met via Zoom with Ms. ********, and the outcome of the meeting was the decision to allow Ms. ******** an exception to University policy. She has been offered the opportunity to repeat NUR290 to avoid dismissal from the program. Ms. ******** has indicated her preference to repeat NUR290 in the 2024 fall I term.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O********
  Associate Ombudsperson

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/17/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  There were not 3 notifications and I attached the email where even the person who noticed me of my failure states there was only 2 notifications with the last one being June 10th (9 days prior) things that are so mandatory should be reminded of the week of and be in the syllabus and grade book, that was not addressed in your response email. Nor the fact that my instructor would have not known I was not able to go if I wouldn’t have told her as it was not ran by my instructor. Even if she had got a roster when I notified her about it she still had no notice I didn’t attend. No contact was made by her of my attendance being absent. My intention of bringing it up would be in hopes I could pay for the next review to make it up as there is now statement or notice stating that if I don’t attend I fail. In fact in the email I attached it also states I should have just let someone know sooner I was having difficulties which also was brought up by the chair person.  Which again there is no specific policy relating to technical difficulties and the time frame to let someone know about it, so that implies if I would just have let someone know sooner I still could have passed even though I didn’t get to fully engage in the review so either way I wouldn’t have gained what I needed to from the review. How would me reaching out to my instructor who was not running it going to be able to fix the zoom call? 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** ********
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/06/2024

  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  In response to ****** ********’s latest appeal, please note the following:
  •
  Ms. ******** did not contest her lack of knowledge about the Live Review schedule or the mandatory attendance requirement. However, she did dispute the reason for her dismissal, claiming that she was unable to attend.
  •
  On June 27th, Ms. ******** reported that she experienced difficulty logging on and staying connected to the review platform. Despite this, she did not seek assistance from ATI support, her instructor, student support, or her advisor during the two-day event. It was only after the Live Review had concluded that Ms. ******** reached out to her advisor, instructor, and student support, and also contacted her classmates through ******** to inquire about the event. It was then that Ms. ******** discovered that many students had not paid attention during the review, some being occupied with work. It was explained to Ms. ******** that the crucial difference was that those students were physically present during the review, and although preoccupied, still had the ability to gain the necessary knowledge of areas where additional information was required.
  •
  Ms. ******** was correct in pointing out that the Live Review was not mentioned in the syllabus or the gradebook. However, there were multiple announcements made in the course.
  Moving forward, the course has been updated to include the Live Review as a requirement in the syllabus and in the Fall I term schedule. Attendance is monitored by faculty to ensure participation.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O********
  Associate Ombudsperson
  cc: Robin G*******, Executive Dean, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
  Tammy Z*****, Dean, School of Nursing

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/11/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am in the Schools Nursing Program. There have been a few discrepancies in what information is provided to students versus what is really transpiring. I was cleared for a clinical nursing course (Nur 250) as I had met both the preferencing (5/24/24 12:00 pm) EST and the documentation deadline(5/31/24 12:00 pm)EST. I was told by the clinical experiences dept supervisor (Kr…) that The documentation deadline is down to the minute, and that as the deadline is reached all students are set up with their appropriate clinical site and all documents are sent over to the clinical sites after 12:01 pm EST. So now here lies my problem. I was cleared on the right dates May 24 th and May 31, 2024 however on June 3 I was apparently sent an email( I hadn’t seen) that said I could no longer be accommodated at the site that I had chosen because there were too many students in that group. They had another site to switch me to. No one called me nor did they add the message comment to my evalue account( created for our clinical classes)My academic advisor confirmed he had spoken to the clinical experience team and yet he said it slipped his mind to reach out to me on the matter. Now I’m being penalized. I’m trying to finish my last 3 classes by the end of this year to avoid paying another annual fee. This delay pushes me into yet another year for classes I could of been done with already. There’s just been delays and setbacks because of miscommunication on the schools part, and there’s very little help from anyone. This is beyond frustrating.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/20/2024

  June 20, 2024
  To Whom It May Concern:
  The concerns expressed by ****** ********* (ID# ********) regarding an opportunity to complete a degree requirement for her associate level nursing degree at Excelsior University have been reviewed. The degree requirement in question is Clinical Nursing Practicum: Care of Patients Across the Lifespan (NUR250).
  NUR250 is a required course for an associate’s level nursing degree at Excelsior University. This course has a clinical component which requires staff in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences to work with a variety of clinical sites. Because the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is dependent upon the cooperation of these clinical sites, standard operating procedures assure that the clinical sites, staff on the Clinical Practice Team at Excelsior, and the student, are working together according to a consistent timeline. Due to the nature of the clinical experience involving hands-on patient care, the deadlines to indicate preferences for clinical sites, and to submit required documentation, are firm and cannot be adjusted to meet any one student’s particular circumstances.
  Staff on the Clinical Practice Team carefully monitor students’ deadlines to be eligible to undertake their clinical experiences. To that end, there are timed communications released to students to remind them of upcoming deadlines that are immovable. Clinical sites have a set capacity, and students are informed throughout the process that scheduling is based on availability at the time of compliance. There is a set process followed if space is no longer available when a student becomes compliant, and this process is followed for all students. Such was the case for Ms. *********. This review revealed that her clinical site was moved because she did not follow the process in a timely fashion, not because of errors or absence of service on the part of the Clinical Practice Team.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O’*******
  Associate Ombudsperson

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Good afternoon I rejected the “resolution” that was emailed to BBB on behalf of Excelsior College because it was not accurate and because it was not a resolution. It was stated by the ombudsperson that the reason why I was taken out of my clinical site and changed to another site was because I had not submitted documents in a timely fashion, but that was not a valid statement. I have an email from clinical teamstating that I was on time with my document submission. Also in the email was an explanation as to why they were offering me another location. My problem is, they did not put forth a good faith effort to contact me and explain to me the extraordinary circumstance and the changes. I also spoke with the supervisor for academic advising and she told me it was not my academic advisers job to alert me that there were paperwork needed by the clinical team. Even though there’s no way I can register for any class without the input of my academic advisor and they work in conjunction with the clinical team to register students for clinical classes.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *

  Business Response

  Date: 07/02/2024

  
  To Whom It May Concern:
  RE: ID ********
  It appears the statement that "her clinical site was moved because she did not follow the process in a timely fashion" is being misinterpreted or misunderstood. It is explained in various areas of the clearance process that students are scheduled based on clinical site availability at the time a student achieves compliance. As the student achieved compliance at the end of the processing window, instead of as soon as was possible, the availability at the clinical sites was limited, and the site had to be changed.
  While we understand that the student feels additional communication was warranted, communication about clinical clearance is not the responsibility of Advising and any communications regarding clinical deadlines received from Advising are a courtesy only. Communications from the Clinical Practice Experience Team to students seeking clearance for the clinical courses are handled in a standard manner to ensure fairness, and students must take appropriate responsibility for their actions or lack thereof. All students moved to a different clinical site receive email correspondence informing them of the move, with the appropriate forms attached, and the deadline in writing. Additional emails and phone calls are not provided on an individual basis as all students are provided the same opportunities for clearance.
  Students are also aware that they should receive an email once they reach compliance and are scheduled, in addition to reviewing their finalized schedule after they achieve compliance, reaching out with any questions or concerns. This is something this student has failed to do on several occasions, failing to follow directions that submission of the final requirement is not the end of the process. Had the student continued to monitor their email and file as instructed, they would have seen that either they were not yet scheduled, or that they were moved and had additional requirements, which would have prompted them to take action in either case.
  As previously stated, our investigation has determined that the instructions and communication were clear and in line with the processes in place for all students.
  Sincerely,
  Amy O********
  Associate Ombudsperson
  OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I canceled a course because, the codes for the class for expensive which do not associate with edifying anyone in clinicals practice but only served to feature the course . Doing theory quiz lets do not help in clinicals with practicals skills in any capacity nor does any nursing program give theory in clinicals to make it twice the price. I canceled the course after midnight on 11/8 this school never sent me a confirmation. They often do not send you immediate confirmation. But later sent me an email on 11/9 stating that it was a confirmation at 1108 pm . Which I didn’t canceled that day nor would I be canceling a course while I was driving home: I contacted them and they said it was their policy at 16 days and I pay the full amount. Theory policy does not entail any such information. I asked them to show me where the policy states this . They only sent me a message then I send me the message and have never responded to me.I canceled this course after emailing Woltzers which code cost $300 each. After messaging them they told me I had to pay $300 each to complete assignment for each codes which is around $1500. If a school can send an immediate withdrawn cancellation what makes it okay for the date they send the confirmation when they do at a later date to say you canceled this day.unscrupulous .

  Business Response

  Date: 05/10/2023

  The University has
  reached out to the complainant to resolve this matter.

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/04/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I enrolled in Excelsior College in April of 2021. I had so few credits left to earn my bachelor's degree that it didn't make sense for me to enroll at a California University for the two years that are required in the California system.
  (You'll see from my email address that those two years are now ahead of me instead of almost finished!)
  Excelsior told me that I only had to take two easy classes and a self-paced one credit Information Technology "class"; the rest of the credits I needed, I could take tests for.
  I took two of the four tests I needed and got "A's", then, when I finally had time to try to register for the next two, they were no longer offering them in Excelsior's system. (You would think, since this was around the time that they switched from calling themselves a "College" to a "University" they would offer more opportunities to earn credits, not fewer!) My guidance counselor told me that I could take the tests at Petersen's testing centers but that was also incorrect. There were no testing centers in Northern California and Excelsior had no interest in helping me.
  I tried to ask my "instructor" about his thoughts and this led to my discovery that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not real people.
  I had previously taken the class and the "instructor" "failed" me during a time (December 2021) when I tried desperately to contact "her". I had had a major emergency in my life and it wasn't that I found the class challenging; my time was just consumed by other things. I tried to file a complaint with Excelsior about this "instructor" who had no interest in my success in the class and never had any mean ingful feedback for me.I got the feeling that the "instructor" was just scanning my emails and replying to what she thought I was talking about. There was one email where I proposed a very good solution to the problems were having and she replied but never addressed. They give their "doctors" common names in case anyone goes looking dissertations and they cut and paste "feedback" from these "instructors". They claim that I owe ****** thousands of dollars.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2023

  1/11/2023ID: ********To Whom it May Concern:I am writing in response to a complaint received from ID ********, a formerly enrolled student at Excelsior College.The student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in the School of Undergraduate Studies on April 27, 2021, and voluntarily withdrew on August 19, 2022. To earn her degree with Excelsior University the student was required to complete 17 semester hour credits, 7 of those credits are required Excelsior University courses (Information Literacy, the Cornerstone course, and the Liberal Arts Capstone). The other 10 credits could from any regionally accredited institution of higher education and transferred in, from an ACE approved source of credit, or Excelsior sources of credit. The student successfully completed the Information Literacy course, and the Cornerstone course. She also completed 6 credits of Excelsior University exams. The University stopped offering exams for credit in July of 2022, however the student was informed that she could take CLEP exams. The Capstone course is a demonstration of the knowledge and skills that a student has gained during their education and can be challenging for some. The student initially registered to take the Liberal Arts Capstone in the 2021 Fall II term. She fell behind in her coursework and requested a course extension, however she was not eligible for an extension because she had not successfully completed at least 50% of the course (as outlined by the course extension policy).The student did not successfully complete the course in the Fall II term and received an F grade. The student registered again for the Liberal Arts Capstone in the 2022 Summer II term. The student alleged during the course that the instructor did not provide feedback and that he claimed not to receive assignments that she had uploaded in the course. When the school investigated these allegations, they found that the instructor had provided good feedback to the student and there was no evidence of the assignments she stated she had submitted. Although the student had not successfully completed at least 50% of the course the school made an exception and agreed to grant the student a course extension. On August 19, 2022, the student decided that she wished to withdraw from the course instead of taking the extension. The deadline to withdraw from the course had passed, however the School of Undergraduate Studies made an exception and allowed the student to receive a W grade instead of an F grade in the 2022 Summer II term. The 2022 Summer II term ended on August 21, 2022. On August 23, 2022, the student requested to be reinstated in the course. As the term had already ended this request was denied.The student has a balance due of $2,139.50, and her account is currently in collections. The balance due is from the two Liberal Arts Capstone courses. She opened a payment plan with ****** (a third-party payment plan company) and subsequently defaulted from the payment plan.am not sure what the student means in her statement I tried to ask my "instructor" about his thoughts and this led to my discovery that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not real people. I can assure you that all our faculty/instructors are actual human beings. The student also stated that They give their "doctors" common names in case anyone goes looking dissertations. The University does not assign names to our faculty/instructors. The names given are their actual names. I hope this information clarifies the matter. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely,Kathy M**** Ombudsperson cc: David S*******, President

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Ms. M**** presents a weak argument here. The policy she has provided is a guide for "normal circumstances", when a student is under the illusion that their "instructors" at Excelsior "College" (or "University") are real human beings, capable of intelligent interactions. I found that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not humans or doctors. Therefore, I am requesting a full refund because I was deceived and I now know the truth about the "education" I wasted money on.
  Regards,
  
  **** ********

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2023

  
  To Whom it May Concern:
  I am writing to address the additional concerns received from ID ********, a formerly enrolled student at Excelsior College.
  The student stated in the follow up to her complaint that she found that at least some of Excelsior's "instructors" are not humans or doctors. She is requesting a full refund of fees and tuition paid for the two courses and the two exams that she had successfully completed because she feels that she was deceived.
  As stated in my first response “I can assure you that all our faculty/instructors are actual human beings”. I am not sure why the student was under the impression that all faculty/instructors hold doctorate degrees. The industry standard requires that faculty/instructors hold, at minimum, a master’s degree. Our faculty handbook states that Excelsior University faculty candidates must generally hold a terminal degree from a regionally accredited institution.
  The student has a balance due of $2,139.50 for tuition. She is not eligible for a waiver of the balance due, and she is not eligible to receive a refund of the tuition and fees paid.
  This is the final response regarding this matter.
  Sincerely,
  Kathy M****
  Ombudsperson
  cc: David S*******, President