Vista Higher LearningReviews 105

This service almost seems designed to discourage learning. It is painful to try and learn with it. It made me feel stupid and I've seen so many people give up on learning after having to use this service. Its so bad on so many levels I don't even know where to begin. So just a few highlights: Questions in spanish with words and forms that aren't taught until later. Examples that don't explain what exercises are about. "Lessons" that don't explain what exercises are about. Difficult, important, concepts that are explained by less than a page and with a pace and variety of topics that don't complement each other or actually learning anything. Estimated times for lessons and tests that are insanely short and actual times are not credited. The 300 dollar price tag for RENTING AN ELECTRONIC COPY of the book. No answers to the exercises. Unintuitive, often nonsensical, answers to exercises.
This service enables, forces, teachers to just guess at a students skill level because there are no insights through this service. It just measures how much time you can throw at it. Just, just, a constant ever present feeling like this service is fighting you while you try to use it.
After my second semester with this I promised myself I would never take another course that uses it, but there aren't any at my school? VHL is the devil. It is a scam that exploits institutions.

I have contacted VHL more than 10 times for simple mistakes, they do not do anything. Their program has a lot of mistakes, they do not even know how to properly write or teach the language. I contacted the help desk and they came with the same excuse" we fixed it" when in reality they did not. For any university using this program you will have students complaining, let me save you money and annoyment. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PROGRAM!

I would love to learn a language, and there are countless ways to learn online. Youtube, podcasts, apps etc. Vista is not one of them. Many of what I mentioned before are free or cheap, Vista is 270 dollars. Their online textbook is poorly done the font is so small, it's inacessible and nearly useless I have to strain my eyes to use it. Their online website doesn't help you when you get something wrong it simply highights the word with no explanation and this is a 101 class I am in. I have no where near the fluency to remember how to fix every mistake I make heck I will keep making them for a long time that's how you learn. This textbook is a typical expensive textbook that doesn't actually teach it simply vomits information.

This $#*! is repulsive. I initially needed this weird array of products for my French class. He required that I buy a textbook, workbook, and VHL central code. A lot of it was in different bundles, so I just bought the top one assuming it was correct (they all costed and looked the exact same). Turns out, it was literally just the textbook. I attempted returning it and they wouldn't accept the return so they sent it back to me. I then needed to continue my French class so I had to buy this code for $80. (Very dissatisfied with the learning $#*! in this). But regardless, I did all the assignments. But I realized the workbook still hadn't come yet. I checked the initial order and realized that I bought the wrong crap. Since it had been 30 days and I was no longer able to return my textbook (in mint condition) I felt the need to buy a new product with everything. So after buying it I realized it was again the complete wrong product. I canceled the order before it shipped out and to this day it still has not been refunded. Why? I don't have a bloody clue. Overall I wasted $460 on a worthless French class and I'm falling behind. (should be studying for an exam tmr tho lmfao)

Oh and dont call/email them because it doesn't help lol

Just dont enroll in dumbass vista higher learning language classes like I did.

As a NATIVE BORN Spanish speaker, I was curious to take the Spanish class, the website seemed ok but as I progressed through the many unnecessary wording and the confusing manner they explain an activity I realize that this website was going to be a pain. I have learned Spanish with a Spanish professor and this website's grammar seems made by a Spanish middle schooler. Anyways walk away if you see this website on your Spanish professor textbook requirements.

This site is the hardest online textbook and homework to use that I have EVER encountered! I have taken many online courses, and this one had ZERO help to show you how they want the typed in answers, and you continually get them wrong. Finally you get get upset and turn in the HW with a crummy grade out of frustration! AND as others have said the MOST overpriced online code and book that I have ever had in an online course! Poorly done VIsta, Poorly done!

Seriously, as a student, there is no reason a language learning site should be this PUNISHING if you get a single letter wrong. Rather than actually teaching you what you did wrong on a test or quiz, the site just hopes you suck it up and moves onto the next lesson, which may not even teach what you actually need for the next test! Holy S@#$, this site is the definition of poor design, and yet schools continue to use it? This is truly the CollegeBoard of language learning sites, it's that bad. I made an account for sitejabber, JUST to talk about how I much I hate VHL Central.

As everyone else has illustrated, the product sucks. But in addition to it being a horrific way to learn a language, I purchased the book with Vtext code through Amazon. The fact that it was packaged with a code was printed on the first page of the textbook, as well as packaged with a card that said "find the Vtext code for your book in the card attached", yet... no code. I called VHL and told them there was no code included, and they just blamed Amazon and told me to spend another $185.00 on the code. I found it highly unlikely Amazon was packaging code cards into their books for them, and asked them to verify that Amazon is filling their orders through VHL, which the "customer service" (lol) agent confirmed. But she again insisted that because the purchase was through Amazon and not VHL, they would do nothing to help me, and I needed to buy another code. Probably going to fail the semester and go on academic probation over this shameless scam. What a testament to the state of our education system and economy, that a company like this can continue making money hand over fist scamming college students who are already going into debt, to sell an absolutely lazy "language system". Then to turn around and double dip on customers, simply because they have no recourse but to give you more money... absolute vultures. I hope everyone affiliated with this company loses everything, which they won't, because companies like this are allowed to victimize all comers in the name of "higher education".

So many flaws clearly not a well thought out site. Marks you down for missing single letters, no half credit whatsoever. A mi no me gusta VHL!

When I first started using it for school, I tried and look past its many flaws, such as slight mispellings and punctuation. But, once I did the lessons, I noticed how BAD the service, teaching, lessons, and everything was. Never use it, 0.5/10

Difficult to follow, impossible to retain a massive amount of information thrown at you, confusing instructions, just an overall awful online learning experience.

Vista Higher Learning has unfortunately taken over many colleges and universities. More and more lazy professors are relying on this useless software that will cost students close to $200 per course. They are likely getting kickbacks from VHL. If you want to truly learn a language, I would suggest that you avoid Vista Higher Learning. The text is mediocre, the software doesn't work, and is very difficult to use. They will not refund you under any circumstances. Look them up on BBB, and other review sites and see for yourself.

Absolutely the WORST program I've ever used for education. I've never seen a program actually gaslight its users, it's insane. You pretty much have to already know basic spanish to understand any of the lessons. The textbook is written with HORRIBLE examples that are useless at best for the questions they ask you. I've actually cried my eyes out trying to learn using this god forsaken program. I wanted to learn spanish and this program made me HATE IT. Context for questions is non-existent, it's like it expects you to magically know what context the questions are using. Multiple times it will mark answers as wrong, come to find out what I originally put was right after using all 5 attempts, so that's a SERIOUS design flaw there. There are so many things wrong with this program it would be impossible to list them all.

Honestly if you want to learn a language please use Duolingo. This platform is not good, ever two seconds it says that you get a 0% for putting a space at the end of a single word. I know this sounds kinda dumb, but I was assigned this for school and every time I opened the app I just immediately felt sad no matter what happened.

Dont work well and is basicly spanish i ready, dulingo is better and this is stupid andexpensive as heck

This is it. The worst website I have ever used. Its been 6 months now and It couldn't do what free Duolingo did in 1 hour. I have never needed to write a review before. But this website is so frustratingly bad that I felt like I needed to. Don't use this. It sucks..

Whenever you try to log in it always gives you a hard time. There are free sites that are better than this.

Seriously, VHL and everyone who made it should go hang themselves, and if you work for this company, literally go kill yourself. This makes me hate learning a language. They give you 75 useless assignments for just one week, and you never actually learn the language.

I find vhl to be very user UNfriendly. I have contacted tech support and gotten nowhere. What I was able to figure out, I figures out myself. I also think it's outrageous the prices that are charged and the manipulation that goes on. I would never recommend vhl to my colleagues who teach world languages. It is truly a nightmare. My students would agreee.