University of the Rockies review: Trafficking in higher education

Summary

There are a number of issues with this university that I detail in this narrative, but the most disturbing was the following. I observed that the University of the Rockies took advantage of a minority student who appeared to have learning disabilities and was incoherent throughout the Residency experience as well as in online discussions (i.e., in the online classroom). I observed that the university had admitted this student into a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program for which she was observably not qualified and which will likely not benefit her after graduation. Given the expense of attending this for-profit college, I believe I was witness to the University of the Rockies taking advantage of a minority student with a cognitive disability in order to receive money from her. Other issues such as “A” grades for papers not yet received and a professor’s wife grading doctoral papers are relayed below. I expect the Higher Learning Commission as a body committed to educational justice and professionalism to reassess the accreditation status of this university and to assist me with obtaining justice on behalf of all students who have been taken advantage of or misled by this university as well as its parent corporation Bridgepoint. Given this university’s lack of integrity, I hope that someone will investigate my concerns.

Full Complaint

There are a number of issues with this university, but I wish only to detail the most disturbing in the following complaint. I attended one year at the University of the Rockies. My initial academic advisor told me over the phone that I could become a clinical psychologist for the US military after going through the organizational psychology doctoral program (PsyD). She misled me and other students—some of whom disclosed their misgivings and doubts to me in private during the student Residency. (I have all the names of these students and advisors on file.) My first academic advisor either quit or was released and a second academic advisor took over.

When I started feeling uneasy about this school I looked into psychologist licensure and details further, at which time I asked my second advisor directly whether I could in fact become a clinical psychologist with this degree and she informed me that I could not become a clinical psychologist with this degree without going through a lot more hoops and courses (another degree altogether), all of which is far more than just taking a few courses and sitting for a state licensure examination, as my enrollment advisor had suggested. Right about that time I saw an expose on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) about Bridgepoint’s ambiguous college degrees (Bridgepoint owns the University of the Rockies), deceptive program marketing and program misrepresentation. I quit the program at the University of the Rockies as a result. I am currently in a lot of debt for just one year at the University of the Rockies for a degree that I was told by outside psychology professionals and military personnel is worthless. The US Navy would not even look at my transcript from this university.

I was misled and did not realize it until the time of the Residency. The television expose is what made me investigate further and leave the school. I was shocked that they had so misled me and other students about the value of this degree for a clinical career—or any career for that matter. I challenged the university to prove otherwise. I requested from the university actual alumni testimony and contact information, so that I could call them and talk to them myself. My second advisor put me in touch with a Bridgepoint representative via e-mail. When I directly questioned him about alumni contact information and their progress, I got the run-around. He could not give me the name of a single alumna from the organizational program that went on to pursue a career with an Organizational Psychology degree from the University of the Rockies, let alone as a clinical psychologist. This raised my previous suspicions further. I started to panic. I asked second advisor to put me in touch with this gentleman, so she is witness to the fact that I did contact him. I did not save any of my e-mails in this regard, regrettably, but the university should have all of my correspondence with my two advisors on file. As well, they can speak with my second advisor or even the newest advisor. They went through three academic advisors in just over a year.

In addition to these issues, I spoke with one student who I was told received an “A” on a paper she had not yet turned in (she was turning it in late), a professor who told us in person that his wife corrected our papers, and witnessed a student who was incoherent in the online environment and at the Residency in our class sessions. She was clearly being taken advantage of and would not have qualified for a legitimate doctoral program. She was an unemployed immigrant who had come from Barbados, which she had told me and others at the resort we stayed at. The university had taken advantage of at least one ethnic minority in this case, a person who will likely not benefit from this program since she failed to participate at the level of all the other students in the program. The school appears to want a certain number of “warm bodies” in order to take their money. I was not the only student who voiced serious concerns about the integrity of the education provided by this school. For instance, my practicum subject was approved within just hours of submission, which I do not understand. It seems that it should have been taken more seriously than that.

Finally, the program enrollment statement I signed was ambiguous. It read: “I understand that this program is not intended to prepare students for professional licensure or certification in any field, regardless of concentration.” This is not what my enrollment advisor (my first advisor) told me. She said it would prepare me for a career as a military psychologist with just a few additional courses and a licensure examination given the nature of my master’s degree. In fact, I wrote many reflective papers on this career choice, so obviously my advisor had led me to believe I could become a clinical psychologist for the US military with this degree. The Navy told me that online degrees that are not APA accredited are not acceptable—not even for research. This is outrageous for the cost of just a single year at this university that is accredited by as prestigious a body as the Higher Learning Commission.

I did receive a response from the university rejecting all of my claims against it as well as a couple of copies of some of my e-mails to my second advisor that were selectively highlighted to make the university appear in the right. Thus far I am not satisfied with the “resolution” offered by this university. I know I am not alone because one other student openly expressed her serious misgivings to me about this school at the Residency.