Contractual Violation?

[cmw99us]

What is the name of your state? Connecticut

I am a non-traditional older, female student who has been enrolled for almost 2 years as a full time graduate student in special education at a state university. From the start, I had many problems with various departments at this university. One major problem I experienced at this university was, administrators failed to provide me with “field placements” in elementary and secondary schools, which was necessary to fulfill all of my course requirements. This university was paid the cost of their services, only, those services were not rendered to me and subsequently, I did not receive the quality education that was promised to me.

In attempts to resolve the administrative problems with this university, I contacted various administrators in writing about my concerns. When the problems continued, I contacted various agencies outside of this university. In response to my complaints, various administrators retaliated against me. On March 24, 2008, just 6 weeks prior to finishing up my last semester at this university, I received E-Mails from administrators suggesting I find another place to finish my education and that some type of refund might be issued to me. These insulting emails were also forwarded to all of my professors. On March 27, 2008, I was going to attend and join “Kappa Delta Pi” the highest honor society in the field of education. That would have looked wonderful on my resume. This university has violated my rights in many ways: I am alleging misrepresentation, fraud, age discrimination, gender discrimination, violation of my right to privacy, and violation of my freedom of speech. There are many more details of course, too numerous to mention here. I have never heard of or experienced anything quite like this before.

I would appreciate your response.

 

[justalayman]

This university has violated my rights in many ways: I am alleging misrepresentation, fraud, age discrimination, gender discrimination, violation of my right to privacy, and violation of my freedom of speech. There are many more details of course, too numerous to mention here. I have never heard of or experienced anything quite like this before.

.

You can allege all the violations of rights you want. You will have to prove them for them to be acted upon. From what you have posted, there may be one or two claims concerning the lack of the placement situation but most of your allegations are not supported in your post.
Even those possible claims cannot be determined here based upon your information.

 

[Perky]

If the university provided no field placements, how did you complete your classes?

 

[cmw99us]

The only way I completed my placements was pleading with the school districts.

 

[Perky]

Just to clarify, did the university offer NO placements to you? Did they provide placement for other students in your classes?

If so, what reason did the school give for providing no placements for you?

Is the university a state school or a private one?

 

[cmw99us]

Thank you again for your response. In the "Student Teaching Handbook" it states that professors work with students to obtain field placements. It also states explicitly that students are not to set up their own placements. Every professor I have had has stated that it is the responsiblity of the student to find their own placements. I called school districts in attempts to find placements and was informed by them that the university had to set that up. How can a student pass a course if all of the assigments are based upon the field experiences? Then, I called another professor anonymously and told him I was interested in going into their special education program. Within the conversation it was stated to me that students entering their program had to have "prior connections" with elementary and secondary schools. None of this information is stated in their catalog, handbook, or online; nor did anyone ever provide this information to me verbally. The school took over $28,000.00 in tuition expenses without providing me with information that was vital to make an informed choice of whether I had the type of political connections they require.

The way this appears to me, would be at the very least "false advertising." I am not sure if this is the same issue as "misrepresentation" and/or "fraud."

 

[Perky]

I understand your frustration with the university. However, I doubt that you will get any satisfaction out of a lawsuit.

My reasoning is that you continued with the program even after you found that they would not provide placements despite what the handbook stated. In essence, you accepted the terms of the program by continuing to find your own placements. Consequently, you were able to complete those classes that required field placements. You suffered no financial loss.

When the university suggested that you withdraw in your final semester, they offered a refund of (presumably) the last semester's tuition. Did you withdraw at that point? I'm not sure from your posts whether you completed the semester or not.

Your experience with the university is not unique in the field of education, especially in newer graduate cohort programs. The programs are often 'satellite' programs, even when held on campus. They are staffed by part-time instructors with little other connection to the university. As a result, students are expected to take on more responsiblity for placements and knowing the requirements for completion. With online programs, it's even worse. That's probably no consolation, but you'll know what to look for in the future.