Complaint Review: High-Tech Institute - Coon Rapids Minnesota

I wonder how "Jen" feels about her rants NOW, in 2018? I received my useless AS degree in 2005...it's 2018 and I have never worked in the medical field with it. Schooled my 2 children on schools like High Tech/Anthem, best to just go to a community college or a University. Ridiculous, but what can we do? I just keep my loans in good standing, until a better solution come along. I wish I knew better back then. I've been trying to fight it, but was told since I graduated I have to pay it back. Crazy.

I went to High Tech, graduated from High Tech, and still have no Job as an X-ray Tech (LIMITED SCOPE!!!!), nor do I have my Degree! I have contacted them numerous times for my degree so i can at least put it in the folder and still NOTHING! The graduation was in 2006! I had the same sad story happen to me, and so did a friend of mine, however she was smart enough to quit while she was ahead. I started to realize during the last half of my education that the school was a RIP OFF! All of the students and the instructors sat and had many long discussions about no one finding a job and that there was no one that would accept a High Tech student. The only jobs High Tech can help you find are low paying receptionist jobs where you will water the plants and answer the phones but say "its a foot in the door!" Give me a break, who pays 35k for a "foot in the door". What a joke, Im still paying for an education that i will never get to use, or will I ever be able to transfer any of the credits because the curriculum is GARBAGE to all of the REAL schools. Oh, and still no paper degree to look at every time i pay the bill! I had a 4.0 and perfect attendance. The stuff was hard! Good thing I at least retained the knowledge so when i start all over (when I can afford it) i will be a little bit ahead. I cant believe that a business can get away with this. Dont believe them when they say "yes, you passed the test to get into the x-ray program! not many people can do that, and there arent many spots left so we better get you registered right away..." Jerks!

Jen would feel that High Tech is doing their job properly and is a good school since she is one of the worst liars there. I "graduated" from HTI after Jen enrolled me and almost everything she told me was a total lie. If she wanted to be anonymous she shouldn't have put that she wants to enroll in the x-ray program because she tells everyone that who comes in. This makes it seem like the program must be good since she works there and wants to enroll right? the BBB ranks High Tech at an F because they have multiple unresolved complaints AND now they are changing their name to Anthem college. Colleges don't change their names completely for no reason. High Tech is being sued across the country for false claims and lost class time. I put in the extra effort to not only complete the x-ray diploma program with a 4.0 but also applied for their honor society and was accepted. I got multiple awards for academic excellence and perfect attendance and made sure that I knew all of my medical assisting skills as well as my x-ray skills took extra certifications (which should have been standard) in OSHA and HIPAA and all I seem to get are apps bounced back at me. Jen told me and many other students in my class that we would graaduate with a dual degree in both medical assisting and x-ray technician. I do not qualify to take the CMA or RMA exam like she said and I am NOT an x-ray technician. I am an x-ray operator BIG difference. I did manage to get a job as a receptionist in a chiropractic office that paid $11 an hour shortly after graduation, however I never took any x-rays for the 3 months I was there. I ended up having to leave because the pay didn't go up like I was told and I have children so I needed a job that pays for daycare.

I'm sure that HTI will count me as being "placed" after graduation but I don't. I didn't get a job that I needed my diploma in to do. My first teacher who was the best teacher at actually giving us practical information that we could use was fired because he told the school he didn't feel they were being fair to us. He thought the tuition wwas too high and that we weren't being taugth enough practical applications and made a point to teach them to us. Mr' Brown if you stumble upon this I would love to hear from you as we are considering filing a lawsuit against the HTI/ Anthem college in St. Louis Park.

Some of the x-ray students I know are working selling jewelry at parties, just plain unemployed or going back to school at Century College and St. Kate's. HTI lost their accredidation and wasn't accredited by the proper source for MN healthcare and still aren't. I made an expensive learning experience. Don't make the same. Many of the massage therapists and medical assisting students are in similar situations. I only know of one person who is working that I went to school with and they got the job without HTI and are being trained from the ground up by their employer. The rest of us are going back to real schools or working our butts off to pay back our loans at crappy non medical jobs. I personally know of graduates who work as house cleaners, bar tenders, Target cashiers or are unemployed. I am going back to school for my RN at Century, 3 of the medical assistants I went with are in pre RN programs with no credits that transfered, another x-ray graduate is working as a night janitor and looking into RT schools and several others are just plain unemployed.

I have not met anyone other than Mr. Langness who seems to have liked their experience in the x-ray program. Mr. Langness for all he is annoying at points is also one of the few people who truly helps and doesn't lie at HTI. Mr. Olberg is more concerned with deflecting and Ms. Besecke (not sure on those spellings...) refuses to acknowledge a problem with the school.

I have moved on but still have this waste of time come back to bite me from time to  time. I just wish I had known then that you should research a school before enrolling. I believe that everything happens for a reason but some days I feel as if I am still searching for the reason for HTI.

I just have to reply to Jen's comment. I am a graduate of High Tech in St. Louis Park. I graduated in 2004 with a 4.0 GPA and perfect attendance. I am unable to use my degree in Wisconsin due to certification issues.

When I contacted the graduate placement department at HTI, I was told that I had to move back to Minnesota or they couldn't help me get a job.

There is no way possible that a graduate from High Tech will ever get a job for 60K unless they go to a whole different school and get an entirely new degree. HTI's potential students are told that they can make $20-24 per hour, they soon find out that they will only be making $12-14 per hour!

The X-Ray program is nothing but a waste of money and time. I was unable to transfer credits and now face paying all over again. But I did find out that if I would have gone to Chippewa Valley Tech I would have saved over $10,000 in tuition AND I could actually use my degree by being ARRT certifiable!

Everyone in the program that I was in class with was aware of the scam, but like me, they all were rushed into signing the paperwork without being given an opportunity to read it. While I was in school I was aware of what was happening, I talked to everyone from teachers to the director of the school and they assured me that I would not go unheard and that the lying would be dealt with. But month after month new students would enroll and complain of the same issues.

I have contacted the school since graduation and asked for a refund; I was hung up on. I have also recently contacted a class action lawsuit law firm and the ACCSCT (the certification board that they use).

This 'school' needs to be stopped! They have done nothing for me but cause emotional and financial distress! Apparently I am not the only one. Keep checking online, Google HTI, then look them up on the BBB, they have a rating of F!  That should be enough to make anyone run the other way!

I am going to go back to college, but I will do everything to ensure my success this time around! I will not be a victim again! And for anyone looking to go to college themselves, be sure to read everything!!!!  Do not let a big company steal your hard-earned money!  This was a worthless program and a worthless degree. $28,000 down the tubes and me, a single mom, has to pay the price.

Thank you for reading, I hope I helped you out.

I write as a former Student And grad....While it is true that the school lost acrredetation for a while...or maybe still the teaching was great. The Massage Program was top notch all thanks to a great instructor. But employess where unhappy and over worked....I know jobs are hard to come by due to the economy...especially massage, but the thing that gets me.....the credits wont transfer...If you have hopes on furthering your education look elsewhere. IF maybe an a.a.s is all you want..then this is for you.

I just wanted to respond to Jen. I'm sorry to tell you this school is a joke and a ripoff. I have a very close friend that went to this facility and when she started their she was told everything Shonna was told infact almost to the T. When she started the school she was very excited and wanted to put forth every effort to get the best out of her schooling. About 2 weeks into the classes she was being told some very bad things about the school and some of thier teachers but she decided to stick it out and give the school the benafit of the doubt. Then about a month later she began to notice some of the very things she was being told were very true like "The teachers are NOT licensed to teach the classes, They have staff members who are overworked and being able to take to much on so the placement and teaching suffer greatly, The teachers DON'T care about how well the students learn if they learn at all." My friend had a 4.0 GPA and missed 3 days of class in total. To this day she has not been placed for an exturn. She has begun to do some research with clinics to see if perhapse she could help the school find an exturn site but she is getting some of the same responces as other have reported. No Body wants students from HIgh-Tech Instatute as "they are not trained for the field". I'm sorry if you work for the company and are offended by what I have to say but it is the reality of the matter and I would like to know #1 What doctors are teaching there so I know not to EVER go see them? and #2 What accreditation does the school have as I was only able to find one for the Brooklyn Park Campus.

Yes, I am an employee of High Tech but I am also a future student in the X-Ray program. You have no idea how much effort these instructors put into educating their students. High Tech has actual doctors teaching the classes and no matter what anyone says, they are deticated! Some of them are there for ten or eleven hours Monday thru Friday and then come in on Saturdays if the students need help. Our job placement rate is very high. I would challenge anyone to find a college that can beat our Grad. placement rate! Not to mention they will help with resumes, interview skills and what ever else they can help you with. By the way, the school has a double Accredidation. That is the thing about the internet, you can write whatever you want and people will believe it. Trust me, if the school wasn't accredide, it would not even be open. High Tech actually received the OUTSTANDING ACHEIVEMENT AWARD in FEB. of 2008! We offer students diploma programs so they can get out in the work force as soon as possible. Are there places that have hired on High Tech grads and been unhappy? Probably, but our instructors do their jobs. If every student were as dedicated and studied, were at class everyday then there wouldn't be any doubt in employers. However, we can't control the dedication of students. YOU WILL GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT IN! STUDY AND YOU WILL LEARN! About the acceptance process, yes, there is one. Simply because people can walk into any college and sign up for a course and have no idea what they will be doing once in the work field until they start classes. We have a conversation with every student to make sure it's a good fit and you know what your getting into. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. We want people to go to school, we just want them to understand that it is an important and big step for their future. Is High Tech Institute a business? YES! They function because of tuition, which is very reasonable. I don't know of any business that doesn't try to make money. Tuition may be a decent chunk of change but people don't understand that pay some now, get a lot more in the future. Our students, after two or three years in the field, can make three to four times more than they ever have. How would you like to make 60K after four years? That is why I'm going to enroll into a program. If you had a bad experience with High Tech, maybe you should look at yourself and ask, Did you really apply yourself? Did you do the homework? Did you participate in Labs? If you answer yes to these, your future is going to be bright because you have knowledge. If you did not, yes it would be a waste of your money. But that would be your own fault, but that is going to be the case no matter where you go to school. Choose to succeed and you will. Blame others for what you didn't accomplish, well, your still making minimum wage. I truly believe in High Tech, mostly because of the staff. They do care. They are dedicated and students are excited to come to class. Like I said before, you'll get out of school what you put in, but every student reflects our school, whether or not they did. There are some that spoil the name for others but that can be applied anywhere. If you're serious about wanting to expand your education and get a good paying job, 9-5, M-F, paid vacations and benefits, check out High Tech. Otherwise, see you at the drive thru next time I'm hungry!!!