After not hearing anything from WGU regarding my application status since I spoke with Jay on Monday, I returned home and saw that I'd received an email with the subject, "Next Steps Enrollment Deadline". It was from someone whom I'd never heard of before, and which was one of the poorest cut 'n' paste jobs I've ever seen.
It stated that I was scheduled to begin my course work on October 1, 2011, however "If the tuition and transcript obligations discussed below are not met by 12pm MT on Monday, September 26th, your enrollment will be postponed."
WHAT?? When I spoke with Jay five days ago, I recall that he said that I had done everything that I'd needed to do not only to be admitted to WGU, but also to start classes on Oct. 1.
Transcripts? They still need my transcripts? I'd received an email from Jay, as well as confirmation on the WGU Student Portal that says that my transcripts have been received.
As far as paying my tuition, it was my understanding that I would not need to pay anything up front since my financial aid had been approved. Now I received this email that says that if I don't cough up $3,000 by Monday, I won't be able to start. Hello? Panic!
After that in the email, there was some stuff about the Education Without Boundaries course. At this point, I don't even care about the course because I may not even be able to start. There was also some nonsense about how this email was sent from my Admission Coordinator (who?) and the Admissions Team Lead (...and you are?) and that if I have any questions, I can contact either of them or Jay. Yeah, Jay, the only person from WGU with whom I've actually ever spoken. Why would I contact anyone besides him? At this point, I've no reason not to believe him. I'm not saying that the guy isn't without fault, but so far, I'm buying the Kool-Aid that he's selling.
This isn't the first time that I've received emails from people at WGU with impressive-sounding titles but those emails weren't as potentially damning as this one. Those emails were (supposedly) from Deans and Directors to welcome me to WGU. Those emails (again bad cut 'n' paste jobs) were annoying in that they so obviously weren't sincere. This email was more personal in that it said that there potentially was a problem in my acceptance to the school. At this point, I'm committed to this. I really want an MBA from the WGU School of Business, and I thought that I'd done everything that I needed to do to get in the door.
Why would they send an email telling me that they may (or may not) have received my transcripts, that I may (or may not) need to pay my tuition (out of my own pocket), and if I can't produce my transcripts or tuition money within 48 hours, I may not be able to start? Why? This email was sent to me on a weekend, when my ability to fix these problems was severely diminished. Despite the fact that the email was sent at 8AM, I didn't see it until after WGU closed on Saturday, after WGU was already closed for the weekend.
I suspect that most of the emails, including ones from Jay, are auto-generated. I seriously doubt that Jay was actually sitting in his cubicle on the call center floor at 2:15AM, to personally hit "send" on the email that let me know I'd passed the readiness assessment. I'm ok with that. I appreciate the near-instant feedback, but this email was uncalled for. WGU is terrific when it comes to monitoring their Facebook page, Twitter feed, and when a request for information has been received. They really should spend some time setting up better parameters to determine when such an email is appropriate to send out. Prior to receiving this email, I was confident that I'd done everything that I needed to do to start class on Oct. 1. Now, as a result, I'm second-guessing myself and wondering if I can trust Jay, the student portal, or the other emails that I've received that stated that things had been taken care of.
I did forward the email to Jay, to ask him to check again, that I am indeed, good to go. Unfortunately, this causes him more work and takes time away from his ability to help other prospective students, but one of my goals with this program is to take more responsibility for myself and put less burden on others to tell me what to do.
Sorry for the rant. Hopefully, my next entry will be more positive in tone.
It stated that I was scheduled to begin my course work on October 1, 2011, however "If the tuition and transcript obligations discussed below are not met by 12pm MT on Monday, September 26th, your enrollment will be postponed."
WHAT?? When I spoke with Jay five days ago, I recall that he said that I had done everything that I'd needed to do not only to be admitted to WGU, but also to start classes on Oct. 1.
Transcripts? They still need my transcripts? I'd received an email from Jay, as well as confirmation on the WGU Student Portal that says that my transcripts have been received.
As far as paying my tuition, it was my understanding that I would not need to pay anything up front since my financial aid had been approved. Now I received this email that says that if I don't cough up $3,000 by Monday, I won't be able to start. Hello? Panic!
After that in the email, there was some stuff about the Education Without Boundaries course. At this point, I don't even care about the course because I may not even be able to start. There was also some nonsense about how this email was sent from my Admission Coordinator (who?) and the Admissions Team Lead (...and you are?) and that if I have any questions, I can contact either of them or Jay. Yeah, Jay, the only person from WGU with whom I've actually ever spoken. Why would I contact anyone besides him? At this point, I've no reason not to believe him. I'm not saying that the guy isn't without fault, but so far, I'm buying the Kool-Aid that he's selling.
This isn't the first time that I've received emails from people at WGU with impressive-sounding titles but those emails weren't as potentially damning as this one. Those emails were (supposedly) from Deans and Directors to welcome me to WGU. Those emails (again bad cut 'n' paste jobs) were annoying in that they so obviously weren't sincere. This email was more personal in that it said that there potentially was a problem in my acceptance to the school. At this point, I'm committed to this. I really want an MBA from the WGU School of Business, and I thought that I'd done everything that I needed to do to get in the door.
Why would they send an email telling me that they may (or may not) have received my transcripts, that I may (or may not) need to pay my tuition (out of my own pocket), and if I can't produce my transcripts or tuition money within 48 hours, I may not be able to start? Why? This email was sent to me on a weekend, when my ability to fix these problems was severely diminished. Despite the fact that the email was sent at 8AM, I didn't see it until after WGU closed on Saturday, after WGU was already closed for the weekend.
I suspect that most of the emails, including ones from Jay, are auto-generated. I seriously doubt that Jay was actually sitting in his cubicle on the call center floor at 2:15AM, to personally hit "send" on the email that let me know I'd passed the readiness assessment. I'm ok with that. I appreciate the near-instant feedback, but this email was uncalled for. WGU is terrific when it comes to monitoring their Facebook page, Twitter feed, and when a request for information has been received. They really should spend some time setting up better parameters to determine when such an email is appropriate to send out. Prior to receiving this email, I was confident that I'd done everything that I needed to do to start class on Oct. 1. Now, as a result, I'm second-guessing myself and wondering if I can trust Jay, the student portal, or the other emails that I've received that stated that things had been taken care of.
I did forward the email to Jay, to ask him to check again, that I am indeed, good to go. Unfortunately, this causes him more work and takes time away from his ability to help other prospective students, but one of my goals with this program is to take more responsibility for myself and put less burden on others to tell me what to do.
Sorry for the rant. Hopefully, my next entry will be more positive in tone.