[txspadequeen921]

I have not heard one person here mention that The College Network is not a actual school, but a publishing company. They do not offer degrees and are not affiliated with Excelsior at all. It is very sad how so many people want to continue their education and get caught up in mess like this.

[Christiangal]

I know that the College Network is only a publishing company, but they often start the ball rolling which leads to Excelsior College. Excelsior College is not connected with them, unlike what the College Network leads you to believe. However, they are scam artists just like The College Network. They failed me at the clinical for some minor charting thing they pulled out of the air. They failed a lot of people at the labs. But the billing dept works fine, and they offer you another chance to take the clinicals. Of course, you have to cough up serious cash to do it.

People get "caught up" in it, as you say, because they don't know they are dealing with liars, for one, and for another, not enough nurses will go out and tell other nurses to avoid it. Nurses don't stick together that way, that is why the profession suffers. I am out here warning others, and I will continue to warn others as much as I can.

See, the program does pass some students, and some will say good things about it. That makes it hard to judge. You can't tell if someone is just mad over failing or if they are accurate. But I can tell you from talking to others and doing in depth research, and my own person experience, that both the The College Network and Excelsior College are scam artists.

[AUC]

I am a LPN...looking to do an at home study or online college for my RN...I have a friend who just signed up for TCN...after reading some of these posts, I'm not sure if thats the route for me. Anyone out there with any suggestions for me...I am looking for people who have taken this route & were successful. The classroom is not an option for me at this time...I am diciplined enough to complete a program online or through home study. I just don't want to be taken advantage of financially & get envolved in something that is never going to end.

[Christiangal]

Originally Posted by AUC

I am a LPN...looking to do an at home study or online college for my RN...I have a friend who just signed up for TCN...after reading some of these posts, I'm not sure if thats the route for me. Anyone out there with any suggestions for me...I am looking for people who have taken this route & were successful. The classroom is not an option for me at this time...I am diciplined enough to complete a program online or through home study. I just don't want to be taken advantage of financially & get envolved in something that is never going to end.

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Once you enroll in the college you will be charged a yearly enrollment rate, along with tons of other fees, and they go up on a regular basis. TCN lied to me. The total cost was three times what they quoted. They completely left out one course I had to take. All they care about is "sign up, sign up" and once you do, you'll be paying a long time, in more ways than one. You have to go take the test at a testing center, you can't take it at home. Keep that in mind. Also, you will have to travel for the clinical unless you live near one of the few sites, and it is strict pass/fail, with insane expectations so that it is subjective and you can easily be failed. I'm not talking about normal, safe, nursing expectations. I'm talking about any reason they can find to fail you. Think about it, the incentive is there for Excelsior because you can't take the clinical until the academic portion is completed, and you can't get your degree until you pass this way overpriced test, which includes no instruction, only your performance. If you want any study help with anything other than a book, it will cost you big time. If you attend a conference you will have to travel to it and pay a lot of money, on top of what you paid for the test, which was almost $2,000 when I took it. I have ran into a few nurses who had problems with TCN and Excelsior as well. My advice is don't do it. But you have to decide for yourself. Good luck either way.

[The College Network]

Decisions about your education are very important and can often be difficult and confusing. There are many educational options and an overwhelming amount of information to sort through, interpret, and use when it comes to furthering your education. It is important that you make a well-informed decision that suits your lifestyle, educational needs, and your budget. With so much information, it is often easy to become confused or misinformed. That is why The College Network always provides free academic evaluations and highly recommends you research all of your options. We also know questions will surface along the path to your degree, which is why we are always available to work with our customers.

[Christiangal]

Originally Posted by The College Network

Decisions about your education are very important and can often be difficult and confusing. There are many educational options and an overwhelming amount of information to sort through, interpret, and use when it comes to furthering your education. It is important that you make a well-informed decision that suits your lifestyle, educational needs, and your budget. With so much information, it is often easy to become confused or misinformed. That is why The College Network always provides free academic evaluations and highly recommends you research all of your options. We also know questions will surface along the path to your degree, which is why we are always available to work with our customers.

This is a typical response from the College Network and Excelsior. If things go wrong, it must be the student's fault. It couldn't possibly be theirs. They will say the student is confused or they didn't pick the right program or they didn't give it their all. However, I can easily prove I was lied to in the seminar with my paperwork. They left one entire course out, they told me my previous credits would be accepted (they were not) they claim if you pass the test in the back of their textbook you will pass the acutal exam, and several other things I found out were not true. They don't tell you that Excelsiors fees go up on a regular basis and that some of them are repeated yearly. The figure they gave me for what my education would cost and what I actually paid are worlds apart, with the latter being far higher. At the seminar they have to sign students up I was hesitant when the high pressure salesman was practically salivating over the table for a check to start the program with (he said if you wait it will take a long time to get your first book). My husband encouraged me, and I really wanted my RN. How I wish I had done what another nurse in the room did. She was suspicous as well and she left without signing up, despite his pressure. One of the reasons I went in the first place was that the card I got in the mail advertised clincials in your hometown. However, when I got there I was told that was for RN to BSN only, not LPN to RN.

As for their so called "availablity" for their students, they hung up on me once, and when I complained about the course they left out, I was asked to fax my paper from the conference for proof because they did not believe me. When I did and it showed I was telling the truth I asked what they planned to do about it. I got silence. What's it to them? It's me that has to dish out another outrageous fee, not them.

I think they are interested in one thing only, money. I never even heard from them after 3 months. They don't call to see how you're doing, or even when you finish the academic portion, or how your clinical went. Once they have your money, they don't care about anything else; that was my experience.

[fyrefyter14]

I met with a representative of The College Network today, 3-20-2007, I was obviously a scam form the first word. He treated me like a off the street junkie from word one even though I have been a paramedic for over 5 years now. I asked him specific questions that he had no direct answers for. Instead he referred be back to the great "benefits" of the program. When he attempted to get me to sign the gauranteed finicial agreement at 12% I asked about the highlighted statement at the bottom of the page....."The College Network is in no way affiliated the Excelsior College." At this point in time he informed me that the listed Excelsoir College charges were outside The College Network Charges. He then informed me of the additional 6,000 dollars in College Newtork charges at the 12% interest rate. I advised him I would not take the high interst rate and would look into my own finances. He was on a bee line out the door! I asked him a question, a loaded question, reference to Excelsior being accepted in my state. He then stumbled and gave me an "addendum" that stated I would have to test out of state then request endorsement by my home state to be reviewed to become licensed in my home state. Watch this scam and ask the questions.... They will become uneasy and leave you "with information to call them back." Do your research here.

[Christiangal]

Originally Posted by fyrefyter14

I met with a representative of The College Network today, 3-20-2007, I was obviously a scam form the first word. He treated me like a off the street junkie from word one even though I have been a paramedic for over 5 years now. I asked him specific questions that he had no direct answers for. Instead he referred be back to the great "benefits" of the program. When he attempted to get me to sign the gauranteed finicial agreement at 12% I asked about the highlighted statement at the bottom of the page....."The College Network is in no way affiliated the Excelsior College." At this point in time he informed me that the listed Excelsoir College charges were outside The College Network Charges. He then informed me of the additional 6,000 dollars in College Newtork charges at the 12% interest rate. I advised him I would not take the high interst rate and would look into my own finances. He was on a bee line out the door! I asked him a question, a loaded question, reference to Excelsior being accepted in my state. He then stumbled and gave me an "addendum" that stated I would have to test out of state then request endorsement by my home state to be reviewed to become licensed in my home state. Watch this scam and ask the questions.... They will become uneasy and leave you "with information to call them back." Do your research here.

I think you mean '08. : ) Nothing you said surprises me. Their goal is to get you to sign so that they get money. FYI, Excelsior College isn't any better. They raise their prices regularly, and I found most of the clinical instructors (examiners, I should say, they don't let you call them instructors because they don't give you any instruction) to be unprofessional. I heard from someone that they got into trouble because they failed too many students in clinical. I think this happened in the 90's sometime. I think they're back to their old tricks. I was in clinical with a girl who had just been told that her state no longer accepted Excelsior credits, and she said they took so long to send her the study guide for clinical that she had no time to study. The whole time you are enrolled at Excelsior there are fees, and getting them on the phone means a maze of "press one" "press two" and usually long waits, you know the game. But when you owe you're annual enrollment fee, or any money, you will be contacted via mail and/or email every time you turn around until it's paid. I just wish I had done a better job investigating. I'm glad that you did. You don't realize how much grief and money you saved yourself.