I attended CHCP (college of health care professions) in Austin, TX. The ultrasound program is an AAS program in which you take the first year of pre reqs then transfer into the clinical portion of the program the second year. I passed all courses from the first year yet the school is not allowing me to attend clinicals until “they feel I am ready”. Rumor has been that the school has very few clinical sites and probably do not have one for me at the moment and they are simply buying time by requiring me to “practice scanning”. I ended up withdrawing bc it is clearly a breach in contract and pushes my graduation date out by several months the way the program is set up. How can I go about getting a refund? I spoke to the campus president about sending me to clinicals and she also said I needed to “practice”. I attended one day of “practice scanning” in which the new director said I really didn’t need to. I just want a refund of the $20k this vocational school has already charged me.
Have you paid for anything that you haven’t yet received?
You could threaten to contact the Attorney General’s office - https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/consumer-protection. It appears that any action the office takes will probably not help you individually, but it could put the fear of God into the college.
1 has a point. The school appears to have provided you classes. Is the $20,000 what you have paid so far?
Can you call your local community college and see if your credits transfer?
Belknap-yes. I have completed the classes. The first couple of weeks into the following year I have not completed those classes bc they were supposed to be clinicals (which they charged me for the days I was waiting for them as they strung me along trying to convince me to “practice” a few months. So I withdrew a couple weeks into that semester).
A huge issue is that I cannot transfer these credits to any other college.
MainL-I will look into this. I filed a complain on BBB last night.
Dad-yes I have completed the classes. However, I am also being charged for the days in which I was strung along during the clinical period. I owe the school now for those couple of weeks in which they refuse to refund me. I’m stuck w a 20k tab on non transferable credits.
Blossom-I’ve called numerous colleges and no one will accept their credits 
A CC may not accept the credits- but will you be allowed to start your clinical hours somewhere else???
You can call your local newspaper and ask to speak with a reporter who covers higher education and/or consumer fraud. Once a reporter calls the president of the college to verify your claim that you were told you weren’t ready to move on which was a cover story for the college not having enough clinical slots, you may find them eager to give you a refund. When you call the reporter, you will need ALL your documentation- cancelled checks, dates of enrollment, date of withdrawal, any proof that you passed your courses, etc. Get it all together.
I called two of their other campuses. One campus in san antonio said that they would have to basically do whatever the campus I attended wanted to do. Another location about 7 hours away said that they would put me directly into clinical and they were very apologetic about this particular campus.
My other option is to attend another school completely. That would mean starting from the very bottom again which really stinks…
I just spoke with a friend I made while I was attending and she says that everyone is really unhappy with the way the program is going up there and their clinical sites are no where local (3-5 hours away!). She knows someone who works at a radio station that told her to have me email them and they will try to get a reporter to meet w me soon. Thanks for the advice. I really hope this gets something done.
Figure out what you want and what is realistic.
You are not going to get a refund of your first year’s tuition, just because their clinical sites are in awkward locations. That doesn’t represent breach of contract. You are not going to get a refund because other programs won’t honor their credits or your transcript- you should have figured that out before you enrolled.
You may get a refund of what you paid for the few hours or days you were enrolled in year 2 as long as you followed the right procedure for withdrawing and have documentation of that. So focus on what is realistic. If you got a year’s worth of classes- which is what you paid for- I’m not sure what grounds you have for a refund of year 1.
Surely it’s cheaper to start from scratch at a community college and get certified/get a job then spend a year spinning your wheels??? Won’t you whiz through the program since you’ve already covered the material???
The problem is that this is $20k thrown away and nothing to show for it (cannot transfer credits into another program at another school). They aren’t even guaranteeing me that I will be allowed into the clinical portion of the program (it’s all up to a dishonest school’s discretion). According to the contract, it says that you must pass all of the first year courses to move onto the clinical phase. Everyone else in the class has moved onto the clinical phase, even a student who has had to retake a class. They will not admit that they simply do not have a clinical site. I want to receive a refund for the first year because I would not have attended the first year had I known the rules would change towards the end and I would have to wait around to get “accepted” into the clinical phase.
not to mention it has eaten up a large portion of my fin aide.
Nothing new here. It is a FOR-PROFIT school and they are notorious for pulling stunts like these to milk your financial aid. How is the job placement (real vs creative) at this school?
If this school is so poorly run (and presumably has a reputation to match) what are the odds you’ll even get a job once you complete the program? Have you talked with graduates/career placement office/employers about your chances?
OP- this is a terrible story and I have so much sympathy for you (and for everyone else who gets scammed by a for-profit institution). But at some point you’ll need to cut your losses and move ahead with your education and your life.
You could spend the next two years arguing with these people that you deserve a refund, or you could spend a week or two on a couple of strategies that MIGHT get you some satisfaction… and then you need to cut your losses and move on.
Why not spend some time assembling a packet of information which shows the courses you took, the tests you took and your grades, any papers or projects you did, plus a copy of the reading list for every course, and make appointments with a transfer counselor for any NOT-FOR-PROFIT college in commuting distance of your home. Include your HS transcript and any standardized tests you took (SAT or ACT). Sit down with the transfer counselor and go through your packet. Maybe they have a policy that they don’t accept credit-for-credit for a for-profit school, but might accept some of your credits once they see what you’ve done. Maybe they’ll ask you to start at the beginning but will agree to an accelerated time frame since you’ll be repeating coursework. Maybe they’ll allow you to start clinicals a few months early since you’ve already completed Year 1.
But have your documentation in hand when you ask to meet with a transfer advisor. And get (in writing) what it would take to get admitted, and how many semesters you’ll need to finish.
You can pursue the radio station/reporter thing on the side. But the main event is getting you back in school and on track to finish with a program which employers respect enough to want to hire you when you are done.
For-profit schools are notorious for this kind of stunts. It’s right in the name: they exist to make a profit off of you, not to educate you.
You can continue fighting, but you need to realize the classes aren’t recognized because the degree isn’t recognized. They scammed you out of your financial aid and you need to register at a CC and start back from scratch in order to have a usable degree - while you continue fighting. Keep all traces of everything, especially the money they charged you for clinicals you couldn’t attend.
In addition to complaining to the places listed above:
You can find information about how to file a complaint here: https://feedback.studentaid.ed.gov/Home . This is for complaints schools’ administration of federal student aid programs, including misrepresentation of facts about the school or the school’s recruitment and marketing practices.
You can also complain to the school’s accreditor: https://www.abhes.org/filingagrievance .
I read the catalog online for the program ;
- “Students are required to attend a mandatory externship orientation prior to completing classroom instruction. This orientation provides the necessary information in regard to their externship placement, attendance/grading polices, and expected professional standards of conduct. Orientation is a group presentation and students are expected to make the necessary arrangements to attend the scheduled orientation. Individuals arriving late or not attending orientation may have to wait until the next orientation is offered.” Did you comply with this requirement?
- “Students must have successfully completed (grade of C or better) all scheduled core courses and be current on their monthly tuition payments before being allowed to begin clinical courses/externship.” Did you meet the grade and payment requirements?
-“Students who do not begin externship/clinical practice on the date they are assigned may be terminated from the program.” I assume this does not apply, if you were never actually placed in an assignment.
Assuming you have met all of the above requirements, I do not see anything in the catalog that supports the school’s ability to prevent you from an assignment. I don’t see anything that says you might not be able to be assigned due to a lack of available assignments, either. However, this could be interpreted as a caveat that would allow them to get away with not placing you right away: “CHCP believes that externship/clinicals are an integral part of every program and makes every effort to ensure students begin in a timely fashion.” However, I would think they would need to be honest about the reason (that it’s their fault because they don’t have enough assignments), rather than yours for supposedly not being ready. EXCEPT: Did you meet the academic requirements in terms of grades (not just passing courses, but achieving the minimum 2.0 gpa required)?