Yesterday, 03:29 PM
WARNING ABOUT THE WEST VIRGINIA RBA PROGRAM!!!
I've been a student in the RBA program at TWO different universities for about two years thus far, when I (supposedly) only needed the 24 credit hours in residency at any WV university or college. It has taken so long because I've had to bring my complaints all the way to the Higher Learning Commission and the US Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General and then it took months to find another university to accept me. My complaint DID trigger an investigation, based on its merits.
AS OF TODAY I HAVE COMPLETED 21 CREDIT HOURS AT WV UNIVERSITIES WITHIN THE RBA PROGRAM AND I JUST NOW GOT MY EVALUATION!!!
SOUND SKETCHY? IT GETS WORSE. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, I TOLD MY ADVISOR I DID NOT WANT THE BASIC, GENERAL STUDIES DEGREE WITHOUT MY CHOSEN MINOR. I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING AND COMPLETED EVERY COURSE THAT IS REQUIRED (except for one UL course that I intended to take via West Virginia university, DSST, an ACE provider or whatever is necessary.) Most of the ones I sought to apply to the minor were ACE credits but some were/would be from the WV University I attend.
BUT, ONLY AFTER I'VE TAKEN THE COURSES FOR THE RBA RESIDENCY AND SOUGHT TO APPLY FOR THE MINOR, WAS I FINALLY TOLD THAT ACE CREDIT WOULD NOT APPLY TO THE MINOR!!!
CAN MY ADVISOR TRUTHFULLY SAY SHE DIDN'T KNOW I COULD NEVER QUALIFY FOR THE MINOR WITH THE CREDIT I HAVE? OR DID SHE JUST PLAIN LIE BY OMMISSION IN ORDER TO KEEP COLLECTING MY PELL FUNDS FOR HER EMPLOYER/UNIVERSITY?
CAN SHE JUST USE THE "THAT'S NOT MY DEPARTMENT" ARGUMENT? I don't care whose final decision it is. She KNEW I could not qualify with ACE credit and she withheld that vital information. Transparency and professional ethics require her to divulge such pertinent information.
This is the second WV university I've been enrolled in while seeking this degree. That's because getting a straight, consistent and honest answer or ANYTHING RESEMBLING TRANSPARENCY is IMPOSSIBLE.
In short, IF you have mostly college credit hours it may go better for you but NOT with ACE credits. I came in with nearly 150 credit hours, mostly ACE. I earned the BOG AAS along the way.
None of these universities will even give you a credit transfer evaluation until you've completed a FULL SEMESTER. So, you'll get NO academic advising and you basically just pick courses and HOPE that they'll be accepted toward your area of emphasis or your minor. You're ONLY safe in the knowledge that you are working toward your 24 credit hours in residency. You have ZERO information on whether your current credit hours will transfer AT ALL and certainly not whether they transfer as upper or lower level credit. You can do everything within your power to meet the requirements, only to have your upper level credits declined, demoted, or noted as electives, therefor not meeting the minor or emphasis area requirements.
If they give you NO academic advising until you've already registered for courses and they've collected some of your money, that is awfully convenient for them.
In my experience, I began at one RBA program, was told that I just needed to start taking courses and make sure they were upper level. That is the extent of ANY advising you'll get until after they've already made some money off of you. I was told they "may" have to wait until a semester was completed. Then told they "would not do it" after two completed courses in an 8 week term, and instead the whole semester would have to be completed. Meanwhile, the RBA program handbook (created for the statewide program) does NOT state this is the normal practice and nor did that university's RBA program guide.
When I sent my complaint to the WV state department of education, they did NOT CARE. They sent me a very brief statement about how the RBA program was "unique" and so it allowed the asvisors to do whatever.
Ask yourself WHY any university would decline to do a credit transfer evaluation. No other university I EVER applied to has done this. NOT ONE.
The SOLE thing to be gained by this is manipulation of the transfer credits to earn more money, force the student to take more courses and keep the truth about how many and how the credit hours will ultimately be assessed.
I've stuck with this because of the specific area of emphasis and minor that was available to me would help to ensure I could get accepted into a Master's program in my chosen field. According to the requirements of the very few programs I can afford, a general studies degrees will prevent my acceptance. You MUST have a degree, minor, concentration, etc in the subject area.
The other options that have flat rate or competency degrees were NOT covered with my PELL funds. I am disabled, lower income and had no additional money to spend. I tried them all and found that the per credit hour fee would seem to be covered at many universites but the way they time the sessions/semesters, the PELL was never sufficient. At WVROCKS courses through West Virgina universities, my PELL was more than sufficient. Others that could've worked (financially) the offerings were business, psychology, education, computer science, English, etc. (not my chosen fields.)
Otherwise, I surely would've left the RBA program after the first WV RBA program jerked me around and mislead me. Now, I'm so far into this that my only option is to complete the program and get a degree that is USELESS because I certainly cannot gain acceptance into a suitable and affordable Master's program. I have two courses left and regardless of what happens to me (I have virtually no hope of getting my minor and I've been horribly treated) I am AGAIN making my complaints to the Higher Learning Commission and the Department of Education, in the hope that this program will be unmasked for the monster that it is.
Also, the advisers from the two RBA programs I've been involved in have been worse than used car salesmen. They obfuscate the truth, tap dance around very direct questions an lie by ommision at levels you probably cannot fathom.
I've been a student in the RBA program at TWO different universities for about two years thus far, when I (supposedly) only needed the 24 credit hours in residency at any WV university or college. It has taken so long because I've had to bring my complaints all the way to the Higher Learning Commission and the US Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General and then it took months to find another university to accept me. My complaint DID trigger an investigation, based on its merits.
AS OF TODAY I HAVE COMPLETED 21 CREDIT HOURS AT WV UNIVERSITIES WITHIN THE RBA PROGRAM AND I JUST NOW GOT MY EVALUATION!!!
SOUND SKETCHY? IT GETS WORSE. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, I TOLD MY ADVISOR I DID NOT WANT THE BASIC, GENERAL STUDIES DEGREE WITHOUT MY CHOSEN MINOR. I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING AND COMPLETED EVERY COURSE THAT IS REQUIRED (except for one UL course that I intended to take via West Virginia university, DSST, an ACE provider or whatever is necessary.) Most of the ones I sought to apply to the minor were ACE credits but some were/would be from the WV University I attend.
BUT, ONLY AFTER I'VE TAKEN THE COURSES FOR THE RBA RESIDENCY AND SOUGHT TO APPLY FOR THE MINOR, WAS I FINALLY TOLD THAT ACE CREDIT WOULD NOT APPLY TO THE MINOR!!!
CAN MY ADVISOR TRUTHFULLY SAY SHE DIDN'T KNOW I COULD NEVER QUALIFY FOR THE MINOR WITH THE CREDIT I HAVE? OR DID SHE JUST PLAIN LIE BY OMMISSION IN ORDER TO KEEP COLLECTING MY PELL FUNDS FOR HER EMPLOYER/UNIVERSITY?
CAN SHE JUST USE THE "THAT'S NOT MY DEPARTMENT" ARGUMENT? I don't care whose final decision it is. She KNEW I could not qualify with ACE credit and she withheld that vital information. Transparency and professional ethics require her to divulge such pertinent information.
This is the second WV university I've been enrolled in while seeking this degree. That's because getting a straight, consistent and honest answer or ANYTHING RESEMBLING TRANSPARENCY is IMPOSSIBLE.
In short, IF you have mostly college credit hours it may go better for you but NOT with ACE credits. I came in with nearly 150 credit hours, mostly ACE. I earned the BOG AAS along the way.
None of these universities will even give you a credit transfer evaluation until you've completed a FULL SEMESTER. So, you'll get NO academic advising and you basically just pick courses and HOPE that they'll be accepted toward your area of emphasis or your minor. You're ONLY safe in the knowledge that you are working toward your 24 credit hours in residency. You have ZERO information on whether your current credit hours will transfer AT ALL and certainly not whether they transfer as upper or lower level credit. You can do everything within your power to meet the requirements, only to have your upper level credits declined, demoted, or noted as electives, therefor not meeting the minor or emphasis area requirements.
If they give you NO academic advising until you've already registered for courses and they've collected some of your money, that is awfully convenient for them.
In my experience, I began at one RBA program, was told that I just needed to start taking courses and make sure they were upper level. That is the extent of ANY advising you'll get until after they've already made some money off of you. I was told they "may" have to wait until a semester was completed. Then told they "would not do it" after two completed courses in an 8 week term, and instead the whole semester would have to be completed. Meanwhile, the RBA program handbook (created for the statewide program) does NOT state this is the normal practice and nor did that university's RBA program guide.
When I sent my complaint to the WV state department of education, they did NOT CARE. They sent me a very brief statement about how the RBA program was "unique" and so it allowed the asvisors to do whatever.
Ask yourself WHY any university would decline to do a credit transfer evaluation. No other university I EVER applied to has done this. NOT ONE.
The SOLE thing to be gained by this is manipulation of the transfer credits to earn more money, force the student to take more courses and keep the truth about how many and how the credit hours will ultimately be assessed.
I've stuck with this because of the specific area of emphasis and minor that was available to me would help to ensure I could get accepted into a Master's program in my chosen field. According to the requirements of the very few programs I can afford, a general studies degrees will prevent my acceptance. You MUST have a degree, minor, concentration, etc in the subject area.
The other options that have flat rate or competency degrees were NOT covered with my PELL funds. I am disabled, lower income and had no additional money to spend. I tried them all and found that the per credit hour fee would seem to be covered at many universites but the way they time the sessions/semesters, the PELL was never sufficient. At WVROCKS courses through West Virgina universities, my PELL was more than sufficient. Others that could've worked (financially) the offerings were business, psychology, education, computer science, English, etc. (not my chosen fields.)
Otherwise, I surely would've left the RBA program after the first WV RBA program jerked me around and mislead me. Now, I'm so far into this that my only option is to complete the program and get a degree that is USELESS because I certainly cannot gain acceptance into a suitable and affordable Master's program. I have two courses left and regardless of what happens to me (I have virtually no hope of getting my minor and I've been horribly treated) I am AGAIN making my complaints to the Higher Learning Commission and the Department of Education, in the hope that this program will be unmasked for the monster that it is.
Also, the advisers from the two RBA programs I've been involved in have been worse than used car salesmen. They obfuscate the truth, tap dance around very direct questions an lie by ommision at levels you probably cannot fathom.
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