(WSVN) - A Homestead man says his efforts to finish his degree at a local university has become a “Study in Frustration,” since the classes he needs aren’t being offered. 7’s Brian Entin has more.
Getting a college degree can be a challenge, especially when you’re working full-time and raising a family, but Ramon Colon thought he’d found the perfect school.
Ramon Colon: “A friend of mine went to DeVry in Jersey, and he recommended it.”
DeVry University offers classes online and on site at campuses around the country. Ramon, a Navy veteran, already had some community college credits, so he decided to enroll in DeVry’s electronics engineering bachelor’s program.
Ramon Colon: “They promised me that, with all my credits, I’d be done in two years, with a bachelor’s. So, it sounded good.”
He started taking courses at DeVry’s campus in Miramar using the money from his GI Bill to pay for school.
The first semester went very well — but he says the classes he needed were not being offered on campus the following semester, or the one after that.
Ramon Colon: “I noticed that every month they’d come up with excuses. ‘We don’t have the class this semester. You’ve got to wait till next semester.’ And it was like that, for over a year.”
He wrote emails to the school complaining. They wrote him back, saying they needed at least seven students enrolled to show a need for a course on site.
Ramon Colon: “Semester after semester, it was the same thing. They don’t offer the classes. If they’re available, they’re online. They don’t offer them on the campus like they promised.”
Because Ramon is using money from the GI Bill to get full benefits, a portion of his classes have to be on campus.
Ramon Colon: “I told DeVry that when I was applying, and they promised me that they would make it happen because I was a veteran, and that’s not true.”
He says things haven’t changed since he started.
Ramon Colon: “Right now, I just tried to look up classes for September for the Miramar campus for electronics, and no classes come up. Not one electronics class.”
7News contacted DeVry University about Ramon’s complaints. The school issued a statement saying: “Not every course is offered on campus during every academic term, but an online option is always made available … Students are able to access the full sequence of their courses online in a manner that allows them to complete their degrees.”
But Ramon says his experience has been a study in frustration.
Ramon Colon: “You set out a goal to accomplish it, and something out of your control is what’s holding you back.”
Ramon still needs 139 credits to complete his bachelor’s degree, but now he says he’s going the more traditional academic route. He’ll be heading to Miami Dade College in the fall.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.