Complaint Review: Virtual Education Software inc. - Internet Internet

I took the same two classes mentioned on Behavior Management and ADD from VESI.  Upon completion of the coarse they decided to lower my grade from what was reported to me after finishing the coarse online.  When I called to find out why I was offered very little and was told I needed to talk to Mick directly and he would not be back for a week.  When he did call me back he was very agressive and stated I needed to apologize to the staff for being rude or be banned for life from taking classes through them.  I said that was fine as it was a very poor experience, he then said he would report me to the university for some kind of academic violation.  He said he will not have a conversation with me about the subject and just said were done and hung up.

My whole intention was to simply get a grading report outlining my mistakes so I could understand why my grade was reduced.  I thought this would be my right as a student and I have never had an issue from any other school, (online or classroom) getting such information.  I still don't know what errors I made to cause this reduction in grade and feel very taken advantage of by VESI.

The classes were very poorly organized and tested on material hardly covered in the videos.  As a teacher I was really hoping to get some valuable information in these classes to help me in my classroom but got none.  They are focused on memorizing laws and mandates, does not seem like it was put together by a special education specialist at all.

I completely agree that VESi provides a sub-standard education.  I attend Notre Dame of Maryland University and took SPE-530, which was a course on ADD from VESi. I am disappointed that the format of VESi courses do not allow for interaction.  I have taken many online courses and all of them have encouraged interaction and discussion as a part of the online format.  With VESi, a student completes all of their work and submits it with no feedback or interaction at any stage.  Most online course require that students post to discussion forums, which encourages interaction not only with other class members, but also with the professor.

Additionally, I had some trouble with the scoring of the tests, the only feedback that is a part of the course.  I had suspected that questions I had gotten correct the first time I took the exam were marked as incorrect the second or third time I took the exam. In checking concern, I took screen shots of the questions as I took the fourth exam for the course.  Two questions were scored as correct the first time I took the exam but incorrect the second time.  I informed the professor and provided him with the screen shots and he responded by saying that there are 400 people who take the course and if there was a problem, I wouldn’t be the only one.  Further, the professor did not use person-first language in the materials — person-first language is something that goes beyond a personal style; it is the core of a mindset that is critical in special education.  It has been the standard since 1988 and is a requirement for publication in academic journals.

I expressed these crisitisms in the course evaluation I was REQUIRED to complete.  I had assumed that, like all of the course evaluations I have completed with Notre Dame of Maryland, that my evaluation would be anonymous.  At the very least, I expected that the professor would not receive my critique prior to me receiving a grade.  However, before receiving my grade, I received a defensive email from the professor (who as it turns out, is also the president of VESi, Mick Jackson).  He claimed that he does not recall me contacting him and he said that person-first language is a prefernce and he doesn't use it in any of his courses.

I have tolerated these poor quality, online courses because I cannot complete my Master's degree through Notre Dame of Maryland without them unless I want to spend more time and money getting a different degree.) Now, with major questions about the quality of education I am receiving, I am considering whether or not it would be worth thousands of dollars to switch majors.  At the very least, I hope my university will reconsider using VESi.  My school district contributes to the courses I take for my Master's degree.  If I were a taxpayer in Harford County, I would be VERY upset that my taxpayer money is being spent this way.

I am a frequent user of Virtual Education classes.  Each time I have taken classes I have had questions about readings, assignments or assignments I have turned in.  I have had responces each time from the teacher through a representative.  The classes were current and appropriate for my field of teaching.  At the end of each class, I made suggestions and the company has responded and followed through. 

Dear Readers,

In response to the individual who believes VESi courses are somehow academically inferior and not overseen by higher education faculty the accusation is completely false.

VESi presents its online graduate level courses to colleges and universities nationwide. Each university sends VESi courses through the same rigorous academic review that they send their own facultys courses
through to gain approval.

VESi courses are also subject to review when any regional (SACS, NEASC-CIHE, NCA-HLC, WASC-ACCJC, WASC-ACSCU)
or national (NCATE) accreditation body reviews a universitys educational college and course offerings. VESis courses have been singled out as excellent examples of online graduate level offering by NCATE on several occasions.

Each university must also approval all VESi faculty to facilitate each online course offering. The university reviews faculty
vitas/resumes and academic transcripts. All VESi faculty have been or are on-campus, face-to-face professors with an accredited college or university.

VESis courses, technical support, faculty support, and staff support have maintained a student approval rating above 98% for the past eight years.

Unfortunately there are occasions when less than 2% of the students who take a course are dissatisfied with their experience. When this happens VESi is willing to work with the university and student to correct any
shortcoming on its part, but ultimately there is a small contingent of students who are unable to take responsibility for their own actions.

I welcome any educator, students or individual who has concerns about VESi courses, academic rigor, content, professors or support to call and request a reference list of institutions that offer these courses and speak directly to the colleges and universities who must answer to the accreditation bodies and risk losing that accreditation if they offer inferior
courses. You will find after speaking with any institution on this list that the person who filed this complaint is most likely one of the less than 2%.

VESi has also never been contacted by anyone at Ripoff Report about the complaint to verify any of the information or accusations.

Respectfully,
Mick Jackson
President & Dean of Faculty
Virtual Education Software