ECPI UniversityReviews 57

While attending ECPI University's Online computer science program, I filed a written affidavit against faculty members Tara Clark, Dr. Gary Mansi, and Terri Gilbert. The body of the complaint was based on erroneous grading practices that neither reflected the policies, rubrics, or written standards of the University. The faculty at the CIS department conducted a judicial review board on zoom. During the proceedings, Teri Gilbert, on behalf of Tara Clark and Dr. Mansi, levied up charges against the plaintiff unrelated to the matter. The written affidavit with physical evidence and a timeline was submitted to the office of the vice president of ECPI, Shelia Sweeney. Who disrespected the party seeking redress by misspelling their name and made no effort to follow up. As of today these serious matters having legal significance in both civil proceedings court and SACS COC, the organization that backs ECPI's accreditation, have not been addressed at any level within the ECPI hierarchy. A recent experience with Dr. Adam Harris in a networking class illustrates how terribly unfair and academically unsound ECPI's CIS classes are. Dr. Adam Harris refuses to grade assignments in his class per the specifications of the published rubrics. This practice equates to a totalitarian environment that allows the Professor to arbitrarily grade assignments with no basis in any established academic criterion. Dr. Harris, quoted as saying that "everything is ok in his class as long as it's his way." Concerning creating a healthy learning environment, I would say that his classes are hostile, disrespectful, and poorly thought out. A Dr. Adam Harris CIS class is a Masterclass in passive aggressivity and backstabbing.

Let me make this perfectly clear. I never attended this school but I worked at the Orlando/Lake Mary campus so have a great understanding of what was occurring behind closed doors, therefore I'm relaying my personal experience. When making a decision to spend so much money with the hope of a better future, I would think it important to know with whom I'm dealing with on all levels. But let me stress, this is my personal experience so take it with a grain of salt. If it doesn't matter to you how others are disrespect and bullied behind closed doors... things you don't see... then this information probably doesn't matter to you and that's fine. I just feel lead to tell my story.

I was bullied and verbally abused both covertly an then full throttled openly by several employees on numerous occasions and witnessed the now current Director of Admission have crying jags multiple times for initially getting past over for a promotion. She constantly complained that she was lied to by upper management and complained of how bad she had been treated. That was her excuse for her unprofessional behaviors anyway. I also was subjected to a screaming and complete meltdown, foot stomping tantrum by this now DOA... I mean SCREAMING tantrums, and as God is my witness, still to this day have no clue why. I just sat there with my mouth wide open initially thinking it was some kind of joke. It wasn't. I also witnessed several employees abuse another new managerial employee they made very clear they had no respect for and was treated very poorly but he can speak for himself. I'm just still in shock that it was allowed to persist. Absolutely no intervention from upper management. Apparently this was OK because after numerous complaints to the Campus's President and HR, it was never fully addressed nor resolved.

When hired, I had over 10 years admissions experience and a college degree, but by complete accident discovered a new hire with no admissions experience and only a HSD was making significantly more salary. I mean A LOT more salary than I. I am female... he was/is male. Regardless, if sexual discrimination had anything to do with it I'll never know. I was then and now also what might be referred to as a senior. I was 62 then, I'm 64 now. I'll never know the reasons for this discrepancy in pay and if age had anything to do with it, but it is a tad bit suspect. It's discrimination no matter what the reason.

My treatment by these employees caused me such significant distress I actually sought medical care in the form of psychiatric help. I guess since it's been 2 years since this occurred, I'm still suffering PTSD or I would not take the time to discuss nor admit to the ill affects it had on me mentally and physically. My total health suffered.

Also again by complete accident I discovered that there is a possibility that a through background check on at least one of their employees may have been looked over. I consider a charge of battery a serious charge, however I do not claim to know the court's decision on this matter so that may have been why it was overlooked, however I would consider it a red flag and in this day and age even the slightest suggestion of violence is a serious matter. Maybe aggressive behaviors were this persons norm so therefore explains bullish behavior towards me and others. At one time bankruptcy and being sued for non-payment by banks and other establishments was an employment consideration. It was explained to me that employers consider that if a person did not have control over their own life and respect for their own financial obligations, it showed bad judgement. That may not be the case at ECPI however. I don't claim to know what HR looks for in candidate, but being a decent human being does not seem to be high on their list.

I feel the Campus President should have interceded after the first incident of verbal disrespect but that did not happen. It's documented though and he was made well aware this incident occurred, and let it continued. Lack of a backbone? That's my only guess why he refused to intercede. The whole situation mystifies me to this day.

I think the nursing education is probably OK or at least average. I never had a bad interaction with any of the educational staff and found them quite pleasant. Anyway, you decide if this is the right school for you. I walked out the door for my own well-being after a little less than 2 years. I could not take the stress and had to go out on disability. I have additional physical problems that caused this disability that nothing to do with the treatment I was subjected to at ECPI Orlando/Lake Mary so I'm not blaming them solely for my condition, but it certainly made an already bad situation worse.

Why these people chose to bully, verbally abuse and disrespect others is still a complete mystery to me. They only thing I can come up with is that they were threatened by those that had more education in some instances and years more experience of the admissions process therefore making them feel less valuable. Jealousy? I honestly don't know why we were treated so badly.

If you feel I'm writing this as a disgruntled ex-employee you are 100% correct. I'm truly amazed these behaviors were allowed and even rewarded. It still boggles my brain. It's your money, your education and your future.

I am watching my daughter struggle with this school, this school is the absolute worst, I was worried abt her returning to ecpi after her LPM. They don't give a damn, they make new rules as you go and you are forced to sign them or they will not allow you to continue your classes. I watch my daughter cry, study from night to morning to take a test that they are constantly changing, they MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOU FAILING! My daughter is not a A+ Student, but she has a drive. She's at the end one more class to go, that class is put on hold because she can't seemed to pass a practice test that she has to write by hand 45-50 pages on that test before taking it, what time do you have to study? Ecpi will not destroy my daughter's dreams without a fight so help me God, it is abt time they are exposed. Started doing my homework on them as soon as my daughter against her better judgements re-entered. I give up my job, home to move here to support my daughter and all I'm seeing is a school with a bullied agenda. The worst school folks read the reviews, students reviews. Don't go to that ecpi!

I got my degree in Mechatronics Engineering. School is kind of overpriced, but if you're working full time like I was, it's a good school. I liked that it was all online and year-round accelerated. My company paid for a good portion of it and I was able to complete 80% of my homework during downtime at work, which was a huge plus for me. Noticed people complaining, mostly because they obviously didn't graduate and that's kind of on them. If you're not currently working, you're better off at state schools/community college to save money. But if you're someone like me who has a decent paying job that you don't want to lose in order to pursue an education, want a degree quickly, and just needed a piece of paper to help you improve your career, this might be a good school for you.

I was a student for about a couple months and just walked out when I found out a class I was taking was using the book twice in two different classes and charging 1000 dollars for each class... I went to the financial Dept to resign out of the college and they tried to then tell me I owed them which I didn't. Lucky I didn't but that same day I went and enrolled in Community College then graduated 4 years later and now I have a great career in IT and I have never looked back since. Please stay away from ECPI especially if your in the Military I saw a lot of kids get there GI Bill stolen. Oh btw they will steal your financial aids refund check too I seen it happen bad school seriously.

If you choose this school to be prepared for all types of stuff. Its culture prejudice, the most teacher is unqualified to teach the course, so you not taught, you either teach self or get peer help. Teachers don't even stay employed that's about fairness. Board of nursing comes to this place but I wonder how they slip through the cracks with this stuff. Listen people are not on here lying at all. This is not right for people who go in debt to go to school to get a degree. Once you sign that dotted line, you obligated to that loan, so you have to go if not it's like you are given free money and no they don't only charge you for what time you went but the entire tuition. Now if you can deal with these types of things be my guess. I wish the Board of nursing will read these reviews to cause a change. Im praying for change admittedly.

If you were in the military, this school will steal your benefits money and then set you up to fail at the end. They actually do not want you to graduate because that is part of the scam. Any complaints will backfire and they will blame you for random things. If somehow you do graduate, the degree is basically worthless when compared to a public university education. Advise: Go to a state school and stay far away from this sham institution.

Got all the way through the RN program had one class left and was accused of cheating by an LPN teacher who had no evidence or proof, coincidentally there were no cameras to pull from this particular classroom and they took her word against mine (of course). I'm now in debt from student loans with no degree to show for it and no "real" answers as to why. I would hate to say it was racial discrimination but I know Caucasian people who were actually caught red handed but were allowed to stay enrolled.

Wanted to share my story with everybody about my experiences with ECPI! I am no longer in there program due to missing 1 day of clinical! After which I was brought in office by the president and the new dean that started at this school 5 days prior to this happening that because I failed prior classes(mind u I brought those grades to A&Bs and hadn't failed a class since as well as my GPA WAS ALSO AT A B+ average)... they didn't think I was suitable for this program! DID I MENTION THAT I WAS ONLY 2 CLASSES AWAY FROM GRADUATING WITH MY LPN LICENSE! THEY DIDNT GO TO MY TEACHERS TO EVEN ASK WAT TYPE OF STUDENT I WAS OR NOTHING! When asked what was my options both went silent and told me I could start over in another program but would still have to pay whatever the lpn program was costing as if I graduated and the fee of the next program!

IM NOT LOOKING FOR NO SYMPATHY OR NO PITY PARTY FROM ANYONE! I JUST WANT MY STORY TO BE TOLD SO OTHERS CAN BE AWARE! Don't get me wrong it's a great and easy way to get ur foot in as a nurse but ECPI UNIVERSITY IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! THERE IS NO TYPE OF FLEXIBILITY FOR WORKING ADULTS AT ALL!

Started with 13 at the beginning of the term only 5 passed. Extra assignments and project given to compensate first test of term in which no one passed. Lots of changes made in the middle of the term without notification or explanation to students. Students complain to don that instructor was just reading power point slides and not teaching materials. Don stated that instructors aren't there to teach but to facilitate. Told students they would not be failing if they had read their books. Final exam grades only included 95%of the test and then 5 points were given for a project after students were told that they would be given 10 points on exam grade to compensate for project. Hours spent studying for don to micromanage final grades to her choosing and everything promised to students was a lie. 8 out of 13 failed due to not receiving credit for assignments that had been completed and having an instructor who didn't know the material. They are all worried about nclex pass rates and don't care about helping students. I guess the easiest way to increase nclex pass rates is to choose who goes forward and who gets set back. The class ahead of us only had 3 students pass. Guess they're not really worried about student retention and graduation rates. Just worried about getting our money and then getting rid of as many students they can to improve nclex pass rate. I do not recommend this school to anyone. They just keep you stressed out and take your money. A year of my life and around ******* I'll never get back.

If you ever have any kind of crisis such as your Mother having Opening Heart Surgery, A Death in the family or even a freaking hurricane wiping out half of your family (Hurricane Dorian to be exact* don't expect ECPI to care. If your ready to go from a A+ student to a D- in 0.5 seconds because you could not make one day of class due to a family emergency or make a payment because you had to send your money to your family that had been affect by a hurricane then ECPI is not the school for you. Never in my life would I ever think a school could be so cruel and inhumane as ECPI. I would never recommend anyone go to this school!

Two years after I graduated from ECPI with complete course perfect attendance, Dean's list, President awards, high honors, a 3.9 GPA, Summa Cum Laude, and as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society, I still don't have my Associate's degree.
The student of the year and the perfect 4.0 was given to a sister of an employee, and she didn't have perfect attendance.
I brought a broken scholarship promise, poor teaching, no financial transparency, being racially discriminated against by a culture and diversity teacher, and other issues up to the director at the Greensboro, NC campus. Of course she didn't like me bringing this up. After many unanswered calls and no returned messages from the data staff, I called ECPI'S Corporate office about me not getting my degree by mail yet, while we were talking she was checking my GPA and asked if I got the the perfect 4.0 and student of the year since I was the only one with perfect attendance and high GPA, I said no I did not. I explained to her about the issues I had and that I thought this was the reason for not getting the awards. She apologized for the issues I had and what I went through, she assured me she would call me back after she calls the Greensboro campus and get to the bottom of it and that she will be mailing my degree. I never heard from her again. A few months later I called her again to let her know I have not received my degree yet, I was told to leave her a message. She didn't call me back so I called again and
Was told it has been sent to me several times. I offered to pay for certified mail to have proof of received signature, they refused saying I have to go pick it up at their campus.
I paid ECPI too much money to not have my degree after graduating.
I regret not going to GTCC instead.

I went into ECPI for Mechanical Engineering (as it's put on their site), but I realized after 2 months that it was MET instead. More digging and I realized they aren't ABET accredited, so their entire engineering program is worthless. Finally, I asked for a bachelors which they agreed to, then sneakily signed me up for an associates which I had to dig through their clunky site or old emails to find out about. Not to mention their very poor professors who towards the end of my stay got worse and cared far less. There was also never any calculus, or any classes one could call worthwhile. When transferred to ODU, almost every class counted as an elective credit, not a direct equivalent to anything. I feel lied to and used, and I'm just glad i got out before the debt got really nasty.

Oh, and the final email about class action suits isnt very comforting.

They try and push courses on you that you don't need. I would probably have to say the worst part about the them is just how unprofessional they are. You are better off going to a community college.

I am in the RN program at ECPI. I love it. I disagree with its a waste of time. Ive been in the medical field for 20yrs now. I chose this school because it had no waiting list, small classroom size, and it now offers BSN and MSN. It is accelerated- 5 weeks.No sugar coating. This is not for everyone. But it can be rewarding.
You will need a financial plan. But you need one at any 4 year college. I searched for grants, loans, scholarships, and assistance. I looked everywhere. I was able to find a partnership scholarship, tuition reimbursement through my employeer, and an additional scholarship. The offer a graduating scholarship your last year also. Google and look everywhere. Check your banks, employers, etc. Sometimes they will have a scholarship. Do your research and homework.
I would just say make sure you are committed before coming to this program. Make sure you can make the sacrifices needed to succeed. Be proactive. Before the first day of class I have already skimmed and read the book, made outlines, and studied. You get out of it what you put in it.
I love this nursing program.
Christy

I graduated from ECPI in 2014. Yes, the school is expensive I agree with everyone on that however, I had a great experience at the Manassas, VA campus.

I paid a lot of money for my AAS in Surgical Technology but my degree opened many doors that I could not knock on without the degree.

ECPI is what you make of it. The pace is fast and the type of school schedule is not for everyone. I used the school to my benefit knowing all along it was expensive. If I was younger at the time I may have considered a certificate program but no school at that time in Virginia offered it.

If your serious about a future in Surgical Technology and are willing to pay the tuition I'd recommend the school. Everyone in my class that I graduated with has done well and making more than double if not more a year than the cost of the tuition.

I am glad I went to ECPI but I truly feel the school in general is overpriced. A frind of mine son went to ECPI at the Manassas, VA campus and now has an excellent job in the IT field. Again, it's what you make of it. You have to work hard and give up a normal life while attending due to the rigorous pace. I would do it again though because it paid off for me. I have worked at some of the nations best hospitals because of my degree.

I do get how some are displeased with the school but I feel its what you want from a school and what you do with your degree when you finish. I feel overall the school is good. As I said, my degree and certification from the NBSTSA opened up opportunities for me that would have never been possible without my degree at ECPI. Without my degee I could have never sat for national certification with the NBSTSA. ECPI was my ticket to sit for the national examination. Look up the NBSTSA and do the research. No hospital will hire any Surgical Technologist without their certification. The NBSTSA only works with accredited schools and ECPI is accredited. Without a degree or completion of certification you will not be allowed to sit for the exam. Google jobs for a CST and every hospital will want a completion from an accredited school and certification through the NBSTSA. Without these two things you won't be able to work in ANY operating room at any hospital or surgery center.

If your serious, determined and want to be successful then you will succeed at ECPI. For me, it was worth the money HOWEVER the tuition is excessive though. I make more than my total tuition now in less than 6 months. Weigh your pros and cons and consider that before you go. Also, be willing to work hard. I believe everyone can have the same outcome as I did if they are determined to succeed.

This college is full of liars and cheats. You will be treated as nothing but $$$ because that's all you are them. You and your education don't matter to the staff at all. It is a waste of time and money. 36k for the LPN program more things should be cover but you will spend an extra 2000 grand out of pocket and they will drag their feet on scholarship until you either don't get them or they will refuse to refund extra money to you and will decide what loans they want to apply it to without even asking you and that will be after they take you banking information with the lie that you money will be refunded to you. Please do yourself and your wallet a favor don't go to ECPI.