Ashton College

Why do not be honest with students and let them know your courses do not work

I really enjoyed my months studying at Ashton College. I went through the Human Resources program. The teachers are great, as is the administration. I would have liked to see a slightly longer program however. Other than that, I have no complaints.

I took a course at Ashton College last year, and I was disappointed with it. Although we had great teachers at the begginning. Last 2 modules we were unlucky to have an unexperienced teacher who supposed to prepare us for the exam. The classes were extremely boring to the extend that most people stopped attending it or skiped. By the end of the course I was not ready to for the exam as it was promised... it did not worth to pay the tuition of over$6,000 and not to be prepared for the exam. I would rather recommend to take courses at universities and not in such colleges as Ashton College.

Diploma on Immigration Consultancy - I think the curriculum is great and the teachers are real experts in their field! However, if you are looking for an online program that is true to its nature as an online one, I would not recommend this. Attendance in the webinars are required and non-attendance may greatly affect your grades. Thus, if your work schedule or life responsibilities will prevent you from sticking to a set webinar schedule then this is not the online program that will suit that. Also, some teachers are more pushy when it comes to class participation and are very insistent on having your webcam turned on. Despite the excellent class content, I do not think that this is an a true online and flexible program. Moreover, one missing element is the practicum component which would be of great help to aspiring Immigration Consultants. I inquired about this prior to enrollment and was told that there is no problem with the college assisting with this if a student so desires to have a practicum; but I have stopped getting replies. It is quite sad because I believe that the measure of a good school is how they also respond to alumni and being able to stand by what they promise. If the school is open to improvement and feedback, I feel that this college will be able to respond to students' needs better. Now that there are more schools offering this course, I suggest you do your research and ask many questions and choose a school that is student/ client-focused.

I was told by a lot of peers in industry that when it comes to quality of education, Ashton is synonymous with excellence. There immigration consultant diploma program is quite popular among the consultants fraternity. I took this course recently and I felt the difference. Although I was already aware of the nuances of the business, but Ashton College's program really put a structure around my approach towards dealing with clients.

They also offer the ICCRC exam preparation course which was quite helpful for me in clearing the exam. I look forward to making use of this new paraphernalia provided by this course at Ashton.

I was enrolled in the HR program and had to take a leave of absence and was promised a certain timeline of completing my 2nd half of courses. When I was able to return to class, they had changed the dates making it near IMPOSSIBLE for me to complete my courses because my work schedule etc would not allow for me to do my classes when they had offered.
I was basically PRESSURED into taking the classes anyways and because of working 2 jobs full time, I naturally failed my first class and had to drop out because the teacher expected SO MUCH homework when I barely even had time to SLEEP. They knew in advance that I could not realistically make these classes work but I was pressured into it.

I wrote an email in SEPTEMBER letting them know of my stress and how sick I had gotten due to the stress of class and 2 jobs and they said they would look into a refund because of my circumstances. (Never do they ACTUALLY let you know you cannot get refunds if you've completed over 50% - they just forced me into my 4th class which PUSHED me into over 50%) Not to mentioned they AUTOMATICALLY charged my credit card for the 2nd half even though they KNEW I wasn't even attending the 2nd half!
I was told VIA EMAIL (AND HAVE PROOF) that my refund was approved and they asked for my banking details which I sent - (all in email proof). I was even told to be patient, that refunds usually take up to 30 days. This was in November. I waited patiently until near the end of December and asked why I hadn't received my refund yet and received a response from another employee saying it would be 'investigated'. more weeks passed and STILL NOTHING. so I wrote again, and AGAIN -finally 2 days ago I received an email saying my refund has been denied and I would have to take the classes instead.

DENIED??? After it had already been Approved!! and they have my bank details!!!!!!!!!!!!! and NO one let me know, if I hadn't emailed to ask where my money was (THAT NOW I HAVE BEEN BANKING ON, BECAUSE MY CREDIT CARD HAS BEEN CUT OFF DUE TO THIS OUTSTANDING PAYMENT) I wouldn't have gotten ANY info from theme. and I have it all in proof that my refund was approved -how can you go back on that and just say oops no sorry =we changed our minds?!?!? What would EVER make me want to attend your horrible classes with a school filled with terrible employees that are full of crap and taking advantage of BROKE students that pay to further their OWN education by CHOICE but keep their money???

DISGUSTING. I will be taking this complaint further -this is absolutely crazy and TERRIBLE business practice. Never attend this school -they will rip you off.

Im very disappointed with ashton college administration, I paid for my application fee and always have to reach out to the admin so many times on whats going on with the program. No one said something about the program being canceled bcoz lack of students enrolled for the program. A very non diplomatic way for an admin not giving any communication to the student who is looking forward for the program. Lack of communication with administration sucks.
Until now I haven't got any response regarding my refund for the application fee I paid. They just want the student money and not give a fuck for the students. This school really sucks!

-unhappy client/student.

I learned recently that 2 of their best students from the IMCD program that concluded last month cannot take the Full Skills Exam to be a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant this Sunday; August 7, 2016 because of the mistake caused by their staff. These poor students have worked and study hard; complied with the required documentation but was left with a decision last week by the Regulatory Council that they will be removed as Exam writers due to Ashton's incompetency. They are blaming Canada Post for it (like duh! they went cheap sending the transcripts). Their transcript was rendered invalid. This was not the first time it happened but in this particular situation, they chose to ignore and only act on the matter after the weekend and 2 days have passed.
I wish these students who were affected would sue this institution. From a legal stand point, their case would have a bearing and for sure would tarnish the credibility of this school. Try calling them and inquire about the fate of these students. I am sure they would defend their stand and would simply pass this as a simple case of human error at its finest.

I took the full time in person immigration consultant diploma program at Ashton college in 2015. I chose Ashton because they were the only local school that had the full time option, meaning that I could finish the program quickly and start working. The full time program is intensive, but not overwhelming. The teachers were available for discussion whenever needed and their first hand knowledge of the profession was invaluable.

I started the Diploma program online November 2015. I have 6 weeks to go and I am looking forward to what the final course has to offer. In my 20 year work history I have touched Human Resources in various roles enough to pique my interest. I am happy with my decision to enroll in this course because I learned a lot in a short amount of time. I know for a fact that I will apply every bit of the knowledge I learned on any new position I acquire and I will be sure to update this review when I find that position. The instructors have all shown a passion for Human Resources and their experiences from their own positions compliment the course content well. They genuinely care about your progress and offer their own time to the students for support. The use of Google Classroom is fantastic and their home base tech support Nathan is always there to keep things moving during this interactive web based classroom. It's so different than what I expected....it's like being in a class room, but conveniently don't have to go anywhere. We had students from across Canada and we became a team of support for each other. It's the future if learning in my opinion. If you're thinking about it, I recommend just doing it. You won't regret it. SINCERELY, Lisa Reid

great service from staff. course was practical for immigration industruy

This is the MOST unprofessional college (HA!!) that I have ever attended!!! Please keep your money and find another school to go to!!

The teachers are ill-informed and offer the wrong information, the teachers mislead you in course by telling you to just pick option "C" when taking the exam... the classrooms are either hot or cold, the school is very dirty, they do not supply this campus like a school (i.e. NO pencil sharpeners!!!!) the carpets are stained, rips in the furniture, the plumbing is loose and shaky, the receptionist would rather be elsewhere then to help out students find their way around the campus (she spent her time on her phone the weekend that I attended here)...when you try to complain...it just falls on deaf ears. And I know for a FACT that this school has had MANY complaints to IFSE about this school!!! Including many about the teacher in question!!!!

This school will just take your money and screw you over!!!

I will spend the rest of my life bad mouthing this school!! And IF I can save someone from making a bad mistake and having them go to a better college.... I will have done my job!!

I am writing this review to express my deepest disappointment in Ashton College.

I was looking for a Quickbooks course to learn how to do the bookkeeping for my company in Quickbooks. Ashton College's website promises that its course achieves just that for its participants, so I signed up. The course is four evenings of 4 hours each over the duration of one week, i.e. a total of 20 hours.

The first session started about 15 minutes late, because the instructor waited for all participants to be present, instead of starting the course at the scheduled time. It soon became clear that the course was more about how to utilize and personalize the Quickbooks software and not how to apply the software in a small business environment. We learned how to change the look of the title bars, how to change the colors of the menus and the instructor, her name was Shabira Rajan, even explained how to add empty spaces in the menu bar. I am not sure of the value of this exercise.

Greatly surprised by the course content, e.g. Ashton College's website advertises that "Participants will learn about the types of information they need to track in their business, and will become familiar with the most common tasks required, as well as some of the more advanced features of the software", I decided to leave the session at the break at 7PM (after 1 hour and 45 minutes of the first session, i.e. not even 10% of the course, and canceled the course by email to Ashton College at 7:41PM on the same evening. The next day I was asked to fill in a withdrawal form, which I completed and sent back.

30 days later I received a refund of 50% of the course fee of $359.00, i.e. $179.50. I was surprised to not receive the full course fee back as I had only attended a fraction of the course and had emailed Ashton College my cancellation right away. I looked up Ashton College’s refund policy (http://www.ashtoncollege.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1023-Student-Refunds.pdf) and learned that Ashton College has the three options to give refunds after a program has started:

3.3.2.1. If written notice of withdrawal is received by the College or a student is dismissed up to and including 10% of the period of instruction specified in the contract has elapsed, the College may retain 30% of the tuition due under the contract.

3.3.2.2. If written notice of withdrawal is received by the College, or a student is dismissed where more than 10% and up to and including 30% of the period of instruction specified in the contract has elapsed, the College may retain 50% of the tuition due under the contract.

3.3.2.3. If a student withdraws or is dismissed where more than 30% of the period of instruction specified in the contract has elapsed, no refund is required.

According to the refund policy, it is at Ashton College’s discretion to retain fees, i.e. “may”. So I emailed Ashton College thinking that the institute would surely be reasonable once I explained my situation and that it would not insist on its right to retain 50% of the course fee since I had attended less than 10% of the course and had cancelled right away.

Ashton College’s first response came from the accounting department and stated that though I did not attend the full first session, Ashton College would compute it as such and therefore it retain 50% of the course fee. A person named Madeline Goh wrote this to me by email. When I emailed back that this was simply not acceptable to me, a person named Catherine Edora replied that though I had emailed Ashton College that night, the actual form was only provided to Ashton College the next day and it therefore retained 50%.

As Ashton College’s interpretation of its own refund policy became confusing, I believed in a misunderstanding even more and decided to call Catherine Edora to clarify the situation. Unfortunately Catherine Edora repeated her explanation that the completed form was received on the next day and therefore Ashton College would retain 50% of the fee. She was not able to explain to me what scenario the clause 3.3.2.1., i.e. written notice of withdrawal is received by the College or a student is dismissed up to and including 10% of the period of instruction, would cover if one cannot even go home at one’s first opportunity and cancel right away to meet the intent of this clause. She then hang the phone up on me and ended the conversation abruptly and without addressing my concerns.

I called again and left a message including my phone number. Catherine did not return my call. I called again later and finally got through to her again. I had to ask her three times to be transferred to her supervisor Colin Fortes, who, according to Catherine, was busy with non-work related activities. When she finally transferred me, I waited 14 minutes before she retrieved the call back and told me that Colin Fortes had now left the office.

Recapping my experience with her and her explanation regarding the refund, I emailed Catherine again and requested that she pass my email on to her supervisor Colin Fortes. Her reply was that she had already talked to Colin Fortes, that Ashton College’s computation of the refund was correct and that Ashton College would respond with the Dispute Resolution Documentation for chargeback should I decide to cancel my credit card payment to Ashton College. I replied that I would await Colin Fortes’ response and expressed my disappointment with Ashton College handling of my case.

A week later I had still not heard back from Colin Fortes and called Ashton College in order to speak to him. This time I was transferred to Tamara Reid, but had to leave a voice message as she did not answer her phone. I emailed her providing some background information on my situation, the email string with Catherine Edora and expressing my surprise over the aggressive interpretation of its refund policy where I expected that Ashton College would apply reason and follow the language of its refund policy, i.e. “may”, in the best interest of its students. I also reiterated my expectation to be contacted by Colin Fortes.

Today, three weeks later, I emailed Tamara again to express my deep disappointment in Ashton College and my intention to write and extensive review for posting in suitable locations online. Her reply was that she is not responsible for student fee refunds and that she has forwarded my email to Ashton College’s accounting department, which brings me right back to where I started.

It seems Ashton College’s prime objective is its own short-term profit and not the quality of the education it provides. The institution seems very unorganized and lacking professional leadership. The interpretation of its Refund Policy is aggressive, unnecessary and not in the interest of its students whose interest a college should be serving.

To prevent others from having the same unpleasant experience with Ashton College, I have written this post and hope that many will find it useful and let it guide their decisions for or against any education or other service from Ashton College.

I do not understand why Ashton College operates in such a predatory way, especially when it is so unorganized and unprofessional, and find it extremely sad that it seemingly thrives as an education provider despite its poor conduct.

David Todtmann

These people are crooks! I withdrew from one of their programs over a month before it started because they didn't seem to know what they were doing and wouldn't give me straight answers and almost all the staff members didn't speak proper English. I paid 150$ in a non refundable application fee, lost money on books that I purchased for the course BEFORE I was screwed around and they also get to keep 10% of the tuition I paid them. They currently owe me almost 1200$ and the 30 days they have to refund me is over. They will not respond to me, they will not let me speak to an accounting supervisor or even give me his name. I have emailed and called because they said I would have this money a while ago and it now seems that they are going to keep my money. DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE YOUR MONEY. They are CLOWNS. They don't know what they are doing and they will lie to you. I WILL get my money back even if I have to stand outside their office yelling that I want my refund!

I took this full-time Diploma Course last year and was more than happy with what I learnt. My instructor was very knowledgeable in the subject as well as the course content and was very helpful to all the students.

The advisor was very professional in guiding me to the correct Diploma that best suited me. I have been employed in a well paying job with a large international company, so I am a very happy Alumni of Ashton College!

The Human Resources Diploma helps you "toward" your career and in turn the big exam, EXCEPT it's missing key courses and in actuality there should be nine core courses - those are also testable. The sad thing is the school uses "toward" as a way of being safe legally which basically means the diploma is useless and a few courses are missing, as well its not really a good prep. for a huge exam. The advisor is also very careful with his words and basically admitted to that. He like I am certain many others have been fired - HUGE TURNOVER and very CROSS-REACHING in job duties - ie. administrative assistants seen doing 4 unrelated jobs / job titles and paid a lowly wage.

I immigrated to Canada in 2010 from India where I was an engineer. When I came here I was not able to work in my profession. So I took any jobs to feed my family. By 2012 we had saved enough to let me go to school. I decided to switch from engineering to becoming an Immigration Consultant. I looked at many programmes and I read different reports and reviews. Everything I read showed me that Ashton was the best for this course. So I started in March 2012. I graduated in July 2012. It was great. The teachers were wonderful and with lots of knowledge and experience of Immigration. Everyone really helps you. They want you to do good. Thank you Ashton. Thank you Myleen, Francis, Naveena and Patrick. I work today as a consultant and I am really happy.

After four years at UBC and one year after that out of work, I enrolled for the Canadian Securities Course at Ashton. It was great! My Instructor was from the financial industry, was fully aware of the trends and even recommended a plan of action to me to become employed.

Now I work at RBC in Vancouver and am very happy with my decision to do CSC at Ashton.

I INTEND COMING TO YOUR SCHOOL TO STUDY BUT WHAT AM READING HERE IS IS QUITE FRIGHTENING IF FOR INSTANCE I DID NOT GET MY VISA TO COME TO CANADA HOW DO I GET MY REFUND AND HOW FAST WILL THAT BE

All they care about is money. Good luck trying to get a refund if for some reason you have to get out of the class. They said 30 days, I know a few people who didnt get there refund for 4 months, after calling everyday to try to talk to someone regarding this issue. All they want is your money, they dont care about anything else. DO NOT GO HERE.

From 2009 to 2010 I did undertake a course for the CFP designation. A good instructor. A nice experience to be back in school to learn and get better in field I am in. Wonderful
support form the staff and advisors in the college. Only one complaint that the students who come to learn are not very eager to research and ask questions and wean more info from the instructors, as many of them though in the field believe the designation is the end all. No real rapport nor friensliness amongst the classmates. That is not the concern of the institution, but, as adults and in the same course fof 13 to 52 weeks before on sits for the National exams one should endeavour to mix and learn form each other and that way one can get more form the instruction being imparted and as we are there to grow in our respective fields, be ready and able to handle the world we go out to conquer. A sad failing is that most are more in tune with text-messaging, calls and other activities and not in class fjor nearly 20% of the time is a sheer wastage of time, money and knowledge they come in to progress.

There are not many institutes to handle the type of courses Ashton provides and much of the progress and growth of the institution and our own selves is a two-way street. Come prepared to put in the time and do more than what you did in school in your childhood as now is the time whan the education you missed out then is proving to be essentioal and relevant.

To study and grow is always fun. Get the most now or the future holds even less.

Warmest regards to all the staff for the marvellous effort evry day and Best Wishes.

Jitendra Singh

I graudated on Feb 2007 with a diploma in HRM. In July 2007, I was hired as a HR Specialist with 60K/annum and 2% annual bonus in Burnaby, BC.
Needless to say, my undergraduate degree in Science from a well known university in Canada, didn't help me to land a job with 60K or even 35K, but my diploma in HRM from Ashton did.

Thank you Ashton college, Mariyanna, and Shaab.

FR

I attended the Human Resources Management Diploma this year. I found the school to be highly professional, starting with the advisor, followed by the instructor, George Opacic. He was very knowledgeable and helpful and the course helped me get my job as an HR assistant in a large downtown Vancouver company. Highly recommended!

I attended the Human Resources Management Diploma this year. I found the school to be highly professional, starting with the advisor, followed by the instructor, George Opacic. He was very knowledgeable and helpful and the course helped me get my job as an HR assistant in a large downtown Vancouver company. Highly recommended!

Do NOT go to Ashton College. Waste of time and money. Their diplomas are worthless. They are just out for money. Go to a real school. I wish I did.