Don't make me bring a logical vant down on you people

Don't worry, you people does not refer to the adoring public of bloggers and blog readers. And the wrath inside me is probably only aimed at one person right now, but vanting will help me remain composed in my dealings with my school counselor.

First off, I'm finally going back to school. It has always (for as long as I can remember) my ultimate goal was the college degree. I'm close, yet there are things keeping me from my walk down that aisle to grab that diploma.

I attend an online university because I work nights, the schedule is convenient, and the thought of saving gas money and parking (plus the hassle of snow, etc) appealed to my brain. Only about 1/2 my credits from the University of Minnesota transferred, but I stayed optimistic. 'I'll just KNOW those subjects even better.'

Overall my experience at this online university has been positive. I said overall though. I had one teacher who I couldn't stand (I'll explain in a moment) and my counselor is pretty much worthless. I'm sure she spreads worth in her own life, just doesn't add anything to mine.

My first gripe about the school. I have a credit card I used only to set up my account with them and the bill goes to my mom's house (I knew I was moving and wanted to keep a permanent address). I go online, pay my tuition with the school on another credit card and it won't automatically bill this card I have. I went online and paid my tuition last year. I hit the button that said, "Pay Bills." As I later found out, they billed me for a 'technology fee' of $50. They didn't send a bill, an email, or anything. The $50 charge did not show up with my tuition of over $1,000. I didn't even know about it. I would have gladly paid it. I understand it's a part of my going to school.

Long story short (too late), the school charged this fee to my credit card that I don't actually use. The first bill from this credit card didn't seem to make it to my mom's and I found a bill two months later with two late fees on it (and the bad mark on my credit - this is the part that really irks me). I paid it instantly. This was not the credit card company's fault in any way, so I didn't bother them with it. I did express concerns to the school about their ways of billing their students.

Gripe #2: I took an English class online, paying another $1,200 (yes, the school is expensive. This is what convenience means to me.) After I was done with the class that seemed rather easy, I get an email from my guidance counselor. Note the keyword, AFTER. The basic principle in the email was, "I was looking over your file. I think you don't need to take this English class. You should test out of it and save yourself the cost of that class." Yes, it is my fault that I didn't question this requirement. But then, I'm paying for the convenience of having my courses laid out for me, not having to worry about which class to take first and the wonderful horror of, 'Now that I have the perfect schedule, I hope I can get the classes I need!' My program is set up by the counselor. It's her JOB to know my file and the files of the other students she has. One mistake would have been tolerable. See, I'm willing to take a $1,200 loss to my budget at this point.

My third gripe with the school: This one deals solely with the last teacher I had. During the class (statistics), I asked the teacher for some feedback. Here is a rendition of the posts between myself and the teacher:
Me: I was just wondering when we'd get the graded assignments back. I would like to know if I've grasped this concept before trying to move onto the next one and doing it wrong since the concepts build on each other.
Teacher: I'm not ready to send them back yet. If you want to know how you did, you just need to ask.
My reply (in email this time): You stated I could ask how I did on the last assignment. How did I do? Do I have the concept correct?
Teacher's response: I'm not done grading them. You'll get yours back in two weeks. Keep in mind our classes are only 5 weeks long and two weeks would have been AFTER the final was due.
Two weeks later I get this:
Teacher: I never received the assignment (the one in question). You don't get credit for it.
My response (and I took time crafting it, believe me): I turned that assignment in the day it was due. Here's the information about the sent file and here's my saved copy. One question, when I asked you how I did on that assignment, would that have been a good time to mention you never got it?
Teacher: Your grade is "XX".

She actually had the gaul to knock points off for it being late. It wasn't late. Here's a question, if I had not turned in assignment, why would I draw attention to this fact by posting to the ENTIRE class in our newsgroup when we'd get the assignment back?

Gripe #4: The counselors sign the students up for the next class. To withdrawal, there is paperwork involved. My counselor never signed me up for a class at the beginning of this year. I have no clue why. None, what-so-ever. My counselor called me one day (early in the morning too - those who know I work nights understand the horror in this) demanding me to send paperwork in about a withdrawal I never requested.

At this point, I took it as a sign and did withdraw for a period of nine months. With money being tighter than before and an upcoming move (plus needing a new computer), I decided a cooling off period was better than what my impulses told me to do.

This brings me to my current state. I was scheduled to start class today. Notice the past tense in that phrase.

I went to the student website about a week and a half ago to make sure I could find it. I pulled out my old stats book and studied (poor Dana, having the deal with this). I emailed my counselor and asked for the tech support phone number to help me configure this new computer for Outlook Express as my school inbox, classroom, etc. When I went online at that time, I was scheduled for RES/342 - the second part of statistics. I downloaded the syllabus, the readings, the assignments. All that jazz.

Tonight, I arrived home from work, ready to go to class. The classroom isn't usually viewable until the night before the class starts and this is perfect for me. I couldn't get in.

I went back to the student website, signed in, and found I'm no longer scheduled for RES/342. I'm now scheduled for MTH/208 - College Algebra. And it doesn't start until next week.

Here's a little background. I am good at math. This is a skill I had since I was extremely small (how many three year olds do you know that can make change for a twenty accurately and teaches math to her friends in the neighborhood that are three years older than her?). I took algebra in 8th grade. By the time I graduated high school, I had college credits in Calculus 1 and 2. I enjoy math, but I don't think I want to pay $1,200 for a class where I'm going to be unchallenged.

More background: I took the proficiency test for the math credit at this school. It took me 14 minutes (they gave us an hour) and I got 100%.

And now my counselor seems to think I need to take algebra. Understand my frustration. I'm trying to remain calm about this. I'm succeeding, but only by vanting about this situation.

I emailed my counselor tonight and asked her to correct this. I did this politely, it took all the customer service skills in the world for me to do this, but I did do it politely and professionally. I'm hoping that this gets fixed quickly and I don't end up being delayed another 5 weeks to take RES/342. I hope I'm not too far behind the class to catch up when I finally get enrolled. I really hope that I can have this all cleared up by tomorrow night. 5 week courses move fast and I can't afford the delay.

That's all for tonight folks.

Long days and pleasant nights. (I'm still in Roland's world...)

3 Comments:

At 8:47 AM, Matt said...

Lil' Sis,

I now know the other profession that you can guess at and goof around at and still get paid for being half correct. Your post has shown me that not only do meteoroglists get paid to guess and goof, but now so do online college counselors. Whant an ass! Not even a nice one either. Hope it all goes well, say thankya.

Big Brother

At 10:01 AM, CarpeDM said...

That is so, so, so stupid! Argh! I'm sorry. I want to email her now and say "Hello, do you know how much I suffered with statistics and now you pull this? How could you?" Plus, there's all of your suffering. Dang her.

Anyway, I don't go back on the phones until 3 today so call me. I'm thinking 2:30? Would that work?

At 11:37 AM, The Lioness said...

The thing I find most admirable about you is not that you managed to write her a polite letter and keep your manner the whole time. Hard as it may be for you to believe so would I (years of experience writing AI letters for killers all over the world, known everywhere else as Kings and Presidents).

But you are polite EVEN while writing about it IN YOUR BLOG!!! Elegant vants, a grace I shall never possess. Frankly, I think it would kill me. Kudos for you!