Lack of communication/Bad administration

Good day everyone

It is with a heavy heart that I have to come on this platform about the horrible service I have received with STADIO institution. I registered with STADIO for the second semester intake, which was a few months ago. I registered for a PGCE and I stated in the initial stages that I will be leaving South Africa for a job opportunity abroad. They assured me they are an institution that works tirelessly and cares for their students. I moved to Asia at the end of August 2024 and by then the learning had already begun and I unfortunately was behind since I was too occupied with the relocation process and I told myself I would catch up as time goes. I got to Asia and started with work, it proved to be more challenging than I had anticipated and I am a first time teacher and so I have a lot to learn and adopt to and so it took time for me to get settled into the new environment. Because of this, I saw that it was not possible for me to commit enough time and attention to my studies and my mental health had deteriorated as a result of the move and other things in my personal life. I reached out to STADIO on the 27th of August 2024 to explore my options, either to deregister or pause my studies. They took weeks to respond to my emails and I finally choose to go with the option of pausing my studies(deferment) as it was the better option after they explained both the processes( deregistration and deferment). I submitted the required docs with the POP(for the mandatory admin fee) for the deferment process on the 30th of September 2024 and up to this day, I have not gotten any response from them about where I stand with the institution. It has been very frustrating and such a daunting process. I also feel cheated because when I was on the onboarding stage, they were very helpful and quick with the responses. It now feels as if they get you to make a commitment and after they do not care to provide ongoing support because I am not even able to log a ticket by myself to the Q-helpdesk because it keeps on says my log in details are correct but it is probably the location/browser that I am signing in with that is restricted.

I have even went to the extent of asking a friend who’s back home (South Africa) to call on my behalf and tend to this matter on my behalf since they are not interested in engaging on emails and she has tried multiple times and she gets through reception and after her call is transferred to the relevant department, no one picks up. I even went and DMed STADIO on Facebook and have written in some of their comments section and no one ever gets back to me. I even sent an inquiry on their website and no one responded.

What frustrates me the most is that they keep on sending emails with my account of how much I’m owing the institution. It seems they care more about profits than students. This is honestly my last resort trying to get through them and I hope everybody who’s considering studying with STADIO carries extensive research, especially if you live abroad because their administration is bad.