Westcliff University — Attraction in Irvine

Believe the reviews, my experience can only be summarized as a comedy of errors. During my MBA, staff turnover was so high that I had no less than 5 different student advisors. There were also constant issues with billing, either being overcharged or not having my scholarship applied.

My worst experiences came during the DBA program. Last year a professor didn't enter grades on time, resulting in a low grade on my official transcript. My student portal reflected an A, so I didn't discover the transcript grade for almost a year. I reported the discrepancy to the school, which should've been one email and a correction by administration. Instead, I was told the deadline to correct grades had passed and basically, too bad. I had to contact the registrar's office countless times demanding to file a grievance for them to finally correct their own mistake. But wait, it gets worse.

This Spring, I had the same professor again for a different class. Again Westcliff's employee did not enter final grades on time, resulting in a D- on my transcript when I'd earned an A in the course. I opened a Grade Appeal which should've been the end of it, but sadly was not. The school didn't bother to review it, instead taking the opportunity to re-enroll me in the same course AGAIN, at my own expense without my knowledge or consent. I had already signed a payment plan and agreed to pay installments for a different course, but they literally switched me into the course I'd already taken/passed without informing me (breach of contract anyone?). I immediately withdrew. Solved right? Wrong.

They refused to unenroll me, claiming I was an international student when I was not. My student advisor repeatedly told me during our withdrawal meeting to "stay in the course and just wait a few more weeks"... A few more weeks so the refund deadline passes and you won't owe me my money back?? No thanks!

I had to retain an attorney to help me deal with their office, and my bank had to issue a chargeback to recover a percent of my funds. As of 7/9/2025, Westcliff is now trying to charge ME a $35.00 fee for the chargeback! Seems like more unethical business practice.

Although they eventually corrected my grade, I enrolled at another more legitimate institution. This place is...

Absolutely the worst experience and a complete scam!

I moved to attend Westcliff as a student-athlete and only ended up staying for one semester. I was told that my classes would be in person, and when I got here, they then said they were a mixture of online and in person. That was not true as I had ONE in person class meeting the whole semester I was here. I had NINE different student advisors in the few months I was at Westcliff, and only about two of them maybe actually helped me with my concerns if even at all. The staff "on campus" (aka literally one floor of a business building) never and I mean NEVER answered the phone when I called about an issue or concern. It is impossible to reach anyone here! Even some of the professors!! I had one professor who put the wrong meeting time on our zoom class and then never answered the emails I sent when I reached out to try to figure out why he wasn't in our zoom or the correct class time. I then tried to get a refund for the class and they said it was my fault even though I showed proof of the incorrect class time and the emails I sent that he never responded to; so I wasn't able to get a refund even though I also dropped the class within the timeframe that I should have been able to drop and get a refund.

The university has no dorms or housing which leaves students to have to find somewhere off campus to live. They offer no shuttles or transportation to campus, which is surprising considering the amount of international students that attend who can't drive to campus.

I was also told that I would have (in exact words:) "a partnership with a nearby grocery store" for food as I was a student athlete who needed food obviously, and since Westcliff has no sort of meal plan. This was a lie as we later figured out that we were supposed to get our food from a food pantry. After going to the food pantry to get food, we were denied food. From a food pantry. I had no help from the university whatsoever when it came to food nor did they care.

If you're okay with paying way too much for a fully online and lousy education; having no real campus, housing, or staff that actually responds; and having no food, this is the perfect...

They allocate unbelieveably unrealistic hours per course. Hourly pay of $30 per hour (restricted to under 20 hours a week if you're lucky) is where they cut off adjuncts so they dont have to provide benefits. After taxes that's only $450 a week maximum (if you're lucky, for most it's half this). No one can live on $450 per week especially with a doctoral degree that they insist you must have. That kind of pay is outrageous and offensive. The people that work for that amount are simply there to get experience they can list on their resume and then leave, which is exactly why the turnover is at about 85%. Students constantly complain that their advisors are different every semester and the adjuncts change just as fast. "Training" is a corporate type process that lets you know you're just a number to them. There are no benefits for adjuncts, you get 20 hours per week if you are lucky, no health insurance, no vacation, nothing. You will get into trouble and even fired if you need to go over allocated hours for the week because you actually want to help the students. Turnover in all departments is incredibly high, so high that no one understands how management cannot see they need to make major corrections immediately. They expect you to attend weekly meetings, attend weekly trainings, attend seminars, and do extra work for little to most times no pay.

With all of this very obvious to faculty, staff, and even the students, why are they not paying adjuncts more per hour? Why are they allocating unrealistic hours and demanding a level of education when they cannot pay what these people deserve? Why is the turnover across the board so outrageous? The small amount of faculty that do stay more than 5+ years do the bare minimum and care nothing for the education process or the students. Low quality bare minimum people that stay because they have found an easy way to get a paycheck. This explains why students are passing their college courses but have the skills of middle schoolers. The students are suffering because they cannot keep QUALITY faculty due to low pay and unreasonable hours and expectations. How is any of...