People are quick to jump on the bandwagon of dissent...
The fact is... the RJ program was a necessity for ATP Grads to take advantage of the lowered mins per the LOA's that the airlines had with ATP during the hiring boom of the last two years.
Now... obviously... the industry has changed. That is exactly why ATP is offering the refund at this time. It has always been ATP's stance that you shouldn't take the course until you are ready to go to an airline... so it can be a kind of "prep" course to get you into the Ground School/Systems/SIM mentality. Well... the past two years folks have been completeing the course within a few months/weeks of finishing the program and had been getting hired. So... it made sense.
It clearly doesn't make sense to complete the course now just after all your ratings when everyone knows you'll be digging into a CFI gig (or other flying) for a while now. Because then by the time you do get hired down the road... you'll have forgotten most of the beneficial info.
Now, they are simply reverting back to the way it was before the hiring boom... and simply offering the course at a discount whenever... and if ever, the student wants it. Simple as that. The industry changed... and ATP changed with it. Good business sense in my opinion.
As to why they are refunding the price of $2500 vs. the full course price... that's easy enough too. From the first page of their website... it clearly states that the normal program cost is $6995 however, it is discounted to $2500 for any ACPP grad. That's any grad... even those that didn't have it "included" in their program over that past year or so.
It's just so darn easy to knock this or any other flight school right now because the industry is what it is... isn't it?
My opinion continues to be... train and prepare now to be ready for the next wave. In the meantime, you will gain some extremely valuable experience along the way. Obviously, furloughees will be the first to get hired back... I find it funny that people on here seem to be suggesting that you shouldn't prepare now since the airlines will only be hiring back furloughees and thus will not possibly need any other folks.
It's cyclical... we all know that. Those that change and adapt with the times will survive... that includes: Existing 121 pilots, existing airlines, flight schools and future professional pilots.
Bob