AIU Online — Attraction in Schaumburg Township

Current student in the Criminal Justice Online Program. DO NOT GO HERE! This is my first college ever so I wasn’t really sure about what to look for in a school. I definitely know what to watch out for now. Classes are NOT flexible. They claim to be Military friendly, but aren’t really. Only received 4.5 credits for my military service which translates to only 3 credits because the school uses quarter credits. And I had to take these required elective classes (like 3 or 4) about self development that we’re a huge waste of time. I have credits they could have used from my military transcript because I’ve done over 80 hours of self development training. I have had some good instructors and I have had a lot of bad ones. The instructors do not provide clear instructions on assignments and are never available when you have questions. I am active duty so the only real time I have for school work is on the weekends. If I run in to confusion on assignments I have to wait til at least Monday for a response and the deadlines are always Tuesday at midnight. Instructors will provide grading rubrics that they do not stick to so good luck getting the grade you deserve. Most instructors have a god complex and want you to kiss their feet. I emailed an instructor because of the way she graded my paper. She took off point for saying that I didn’t mention key points in my assignment that I DID MENTION. When I pointed this out to her she said she was justified and not changing my grade. She also took 10% off of my final grade for an essay and for discussion assignments that I had submitted late because I didn’t provide proof that my father-in law had passed away. She never asked for proof. Another instructor did not provide clear instructions on an assignment. I messaged her multiple times asking for clarification and if I could re do the assignment and just turn it in as late last Friday and she didn’t respond to any of my messages. I ended up redoing the assignment and emailing her when I submit it and she just said that she can’t accept it and she trusts that I understand. She wouldn’t even LOOK at it. I have also ended up having to pay out of pocket for classes because my academic advisor did not call me back within the add drop window so I had to be withdrawn from the class and my grant wouldn’t cover it. They also use a HORRIBLE software called Intellipath which is basically a system to do lessons on and answer questions and it is worth roughly 1/3 of your total grade. The intellipath has SO many errors and typos and information that is completely wrong or contradicts itself. I have complained to instructors, technical support, and my academic advisor and they all said that there was nothing that could be done because it’s a third-party system. My military financial aid advisor dropped off the face of the earth for MONTHS (since January) and was unavailable to help me or answer any questions about anything. I finally heard from her on Monday and it was only because they had not received confirmation that I applied for tuition assistance for an upcoming class. I didn’t apply because I’m not taking that class due to my stress level and being 7 months pregnant. This school doesn’t even deserve 1 star. I’m finishing out my last 4 classes and never looking back. I can’t believe this place...

All I got from AIU was debt. For-profit colleges like AIU want students to max out the amount of money they take out in loans, so they can make more money off each student. I took out a private loan in 2007 for $7600. I've been making payments for almost 10 years. I've paid $11,600 toward this loan and I still owe $5700 on it. I found that in 2009, 2010, 2011 and some of 2012, all of my payments went toward interest only. I have now refinanced this loan at a fixed rate of 5% to get away from Navient, formerly Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae and Career Education Corporation, owner of AIU, conspired to offer some student predatory loans, even though they knew the chances of these students defaulting on the loans were high.

According to the New York Times, "New details unsealed last month in the state lawsuits against Navient shed light on how Sallie Mae used private subprime loans — some of which it expected to default at rates as high as 92 percent — as a tool to build its business relationships with colleges and universities across the country. From the outset, the lender knew that many borrowers would be unable to repay, government lawyers say, but it still made the loans, ensnaring students in debt traps that have dogged them for more than a decade."

Schools like AIU exist to transfer money from poor people to rich people. Poor people take out loans that are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, so the debt stays with them forever. Spending a lot of money on a degree does not mean students get a job that will enable them to pay back their loan. On the contrary, the AIU degree made your life worse. Students have a ton of debt and their job prospects are no better than if they didn't have the degree. I got a 4-year accounting degree from AIU in 2008 that has been totally worthless to me. I do the same kind of support staff work I did before I attended AIU. I do not do any accounting work. I work in Accounts Payable. I pay invoices. You did not need an expensive 4-year degree for that.

Employers don't respect degrees from for-profit schools because they know the degrees are worthless. For-profit schools short change students on education, so they can keep the money for marketing and outrageous salaries for the administrative staff. I read somewhere that n 2011, the President of AIU had a salary of over $4 million dollars. $4 million dollars so you can scam well-being students into taking on debt for a worthless piece of paper.

For-profit schools should not be eligible to receive student loan proceeds. That would shut them down. 10% of college students attend for-profit schools. But 44% of students who default on loans attended a for-profit school. 99% of fraud allegations are against for-profit schools. These schools are predators....

Was a student there from 2011 to this year. I don't know what the heck happened between when I started and now, but it was a complete 180. When I first joined as an online student, it felt like an actual school with people on hand to answer your questions, and even professional courtesies to let you know when a class was ending, when the new one started, and when to expect student loan refunds. Flash forward this year, every department is an absolute mess. They mishandled my student loans, and ended up refunding me my money 4 months after I was supposed to receive it, and when you are struggling, that little bit helps. Each department sounds outsourced (I worked customer service so I know when someone is reading a script to me), there are no updates via email, and when you do call in to one of the departments you get the go-around. I recommended this school to my sister, but she never got to finish her program.. she felt the same way about AIU starting out and then what it became at the end. And when I saw commercials for it on TV, my heart sank, as that's like one of the first signs you might be going to a crappy school. In any case, the platform has changed too much, the attitude has changed too much, and now everything just feels automated and sterile and unfeeling. I do not recommend going to this school, because the only thing real about it is the student loans you'll be paying back for going to this clown school.

Just awful. Do....