To: whom it may concern, 2/1/2011
I am a former Westwood college online student. I attended Westwood College online from January 2009 till October 2010 which is the last date of attendance I have at hand. Unfortunately, I ended up having computer problems. I had to get a new computer. I applied for a Leave of Absence, in which I was denied because not having a computer is a non-legitimate reason to get a leave of absence. This is a policy I have a major problem with. I believe if someone is going to school online, especially if they make decent grades and are a decent student they should be granted enough time to get a new computer if this results in taking a term off. It is not like I entered the school without a computer. I had no way to access another computer. Before you say ‘a library” I did state that in my leave absence it would take approximately 2-3 weeks. If I resorted to just making sure I got my discussion posts, I would have failed my assignments, had to accept 0’s and the chance at falling so far behind that I would have been kicked out by the school itself had I have not withdrawn.
I had been through many academic advisors for number of reasons. The last ones I had were Gavin Critchlow and Brent Edwards. They were great and I enjoyed working with them. It is a shame Mr. Critchlow had to leave the company, but I enjoyed Mr. Edwards while he was my advisor. During this time off that I was forced to withdraw from the school, this gave me a chance to look around. I started to talk to friends, to find out that other schools did not have the same policy as Westwood College on leave of absences.
Westwood was not all that bad, in fact I hold Westwood accountable for my ability to pass an admissions exam at DeVry University. I have chosen to write a letter to explain to west wood college online why I have chosen to move forward with DeVry University and what it is I feel that Westwood should really change as for the policies. Unfortunately, that fact it is a good college is not enough to keep me. As on Online School your number one priority should be ensuring that your students succeed. How can they succeed if their computer breaks down on them but they are forced to buy one that same day? Not everyone can afford to run right out and purchase a computer. My husband is the sole money maker in the home…and he had to take out a loan to get me a new computer because we are the family who can’t afford to run right out and purchase a new computer just because “Mine crashed”.
Should you have any questions or wish for more of comments whether they are good or bad, then please contact me.
Catherine Brody
catbrody2017@outlook.com
240-262-0346
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