Bad experiance with RUE -filed complaint with FTC

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Feb 12, 2015

Moved to Excelsior College Online Nursing.

One can perform a search using spyglass upper right corner to see previous posts about this company and members actions.

Per our members who have graduated from Excelsior (numbering now in hundreds), they firmly believe Excelsior college website lists resources that one needs for independent learning to successfully pass this college program.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

Excelsior is not even very reputable and they even said they don't know much about rue.

Excelsior College is very reputable, as well as an ACEN designated center of excellence in nursing education.

RUE is not a school or degree-granting entity of any type. RUE is a provider of study materials. Most people who successfully complete Excelsior's programs do not utilize publishing companies such as RUE. I am sorry that you fell for the trap.

Nalon1 RN/EMT-P, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2015

...Excelsior is not even very reputable and they even said they don't know much about rue. ...

Why would Excelsior know about a company they have no association with? Rue (and several others) is a publishing company that sells materials to people to use to study. Excelsior has no relationship, formal or informal, with any of them. Excelsior specifically recommends that you do no use any outside study guide companies.

I signed up with DLSI's program back in 2005 not knowing any better. Spent way more that I should have, but used their material and tutoring and graduated from Excelsior. I blame no-one but myself, I did not do my research on it, but I did not complain, I just used their material and passed.

Are these publishing companies deceitful, I would say yes, but if you read the fine print, it is clear what they are, they just prey on those looking for a way to achieve their goal and thing they are getting a good deal. You can't blame Excelsior (which is a reputable and accredited school with tens of thousands of graduates working in the real world with their degrees) for what these publishing companies do.

elkpark · Feb 12, 2015

I have just filed a complaint with the federal trade commission for this "system". They mislead me in the classes I needed for excelsior, I wasted a year on classes I didn't need! They never responded to my emails with questions regarding the materials. They over charge you for a cross word puzzle, a game show and a couple vocab words! The whole program is misleading and over priced! Excelsior is not even very reputable and they even said they don't know much about rue. Well how does Rue prepare you for tests if they are not even familiar with the excelsior program. It should be illegal to charge people like. Has anyone else had this experience if so what did you do?

I'm sorry you had a bad experience but have to wonder, what kind of research did you do to investigate RUE before you signed a contract agreeing to pay them large amounts of money for their products, and how carefully did you read the fine print on the contract? Did you just believe whatever the salesperson told you? It is extremely easy to find information about all the people who have had bad experiences with RUE and try to warn other people away from them. They are only able to stay in business, IMO, because not enough people are careful about investigating what they're getting into before they sign a contract.

I'm glad to hear, though, that you've filed a formal complaint. I hope you'll get some satisfaction from the FTC.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 12, 2015

It's likely in the fine print that they are neither affiliated nor endorsed by Excelsior.

Also they are a publisher not an academic institution.

Excelsior has no reason to know details about an unaffiliated pushing company. All inquires regarding course load and credits should go through admissions or academic advising at Excelsior not an unaffiliated unqualified third party publisher of study guides. This information is detailed extensively on printed materials from EC as well as on their website. Always go to the source.

Excelsior has a great reputation and is one of the few schools awarded ACEN nursing school excellence accreditation- for several consecutive years.

Hopefully you kept details of any calls, emails and other correspondence with Rue to add merit to your FTC complaint. There is a currently active FTC investigation of a similar company (The College Network) that may help your complaint if the same investigative team assesses your issues.

I'm sorry you were hooked by their sales pitch. Rue (or DLSI or Achieve) is not as we known as TCN so many are caught up in the sales pitch and don't ask the right questions, do their research or read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.