what she views as an unresponsive and inept administration, she chalked up the more than $1,000 she spent on flights, hotels and rentals as a lost cause and her daughter's disappointment as a "hard lesson she had to learn."

But she assumed, for the sake of decency, that Clark Atlanta would at least refund the $475 “confirmation fee” required of all incoming students. After all, if her daughter, like the 150 or so other students, was “not financially enrolled,” then what exactly were they confirming by paying $475?

"I ended up at the president's office after calling them probably about 100 times repeatedly until they hung on me," Copeland said. "They refused to allow me to wait on hold for the president. They refused to give him the phone. They kept saying he wasn't there for days at a time."

Copeland finally received a letter from Associate Vice President of Enrollment Michael J. Marshall informing Copeland that he "engaged the primary stakeholders to thoroughly review" her refund request. But the refund request was denied "after careful thought and deliberation." After the letter was emailed, it seems as if Clark Atlanta University blocked all email communication from Copeland, according to documents received by The Root.

Aug 9, 2018, 9:29 AM (17 days ago) Mail Delivery Subsystem Message blocked Your message to caupresident@cau.edu has been blocked. See technical details below for more information

Screenshot: Shirelle Copeland

While Copeland acknowledges that "everything happens for a reason," she admits she is not only left with a hole in her pocket but the calamity made her reluctant to send her daughter to any historically black college or university.

"I'm a single black mother trying to get my daughter into higher learning and this is the experience you leave me with?" she asked. "I was told that this was to be accepted at an HBCU. I even heard Tom Joyner say it. But why are we expecting that? We wouldn't accept it from anywhere else," Copeland explained, adding:

"They are literally responsible for the lives of our children ... our future. If they can't handle something as simple as providing a bed and a roof over their heads, why would I send my child there?"