I have had employees denied benefits when I did not appeal. The defining feature is not whether or not the employer contests, but whether the employee's employment ended for a qualifing reason AND the employee is in compliance with all the requirements to collect.
Is it possible that the UI office sees your schooling as interfering with your job search? You are required to put in a certain amount of effort (how much varies by state) into your job search in order to be in compliance with the rules to collect, and if your schooling is interfering with that, you can be denied regardless of what the employer says.

