Thanks Kevin, Look at this site everyone!

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2006/12/16/news/local/iq_3733219.txt

Rebel NVC nursing students win right to walk with graduates

By CRISTINA DE LEON-MENJIVAR, Register Staff Writer
After weeks of battling Napa Valley College, two nursing students have emerged victorious.Ashley McManus and Christeta Amoren-Gonzalez, second-year nursing students, were able to walk in graduation ceremonies Friday afternoon, weeks after they hired a lawyer to challenge the college's decision to dismiss them from the nursing program.

The students said the school's requirement that they pass a specific exam in addition to passing their classes was unfair. Instead of going to court, the college agreed on a settlement that allowed McManus and Amoren-Gonzalez to walk with their classmates, even though they still need to finish make-up work to complete the program. Assuming the students complete the work, they will receive their degrees in May."I'm feeling awesome, and we're very excited," McManus said just several hours before the graduation. "They teach you in school to be advocates for your patients, In this case you also have to be advocates for yourselves."

McManus and Amoren-Gonzalez originally filed a grievance with the college regarding the nursing department's use of a test called the Assessment Technologies Institute exam. NVC policy held that if students did not score at or above the 50th percentile nationally on the exam, they would fail a required class and be disqualified from the nursing program, even if they passed the rest of their courses.McManus and Amoren-Gonzalez's scores did not meet the requirement. They were given a failing grade in the class and ultimately were dismissed from the nursing program.

In protest, Amoren-Gonzalez and McManus hired San Francisco attorney Michael Sorgen to argue the school was not allowed to make the test a graduation requirement.The same debate is occurring in other nursing programs across the nation. Some colleges and universities in states such as Florida and Illinois are using assessment tools as a graduation requirement.According to the state chancellor's office, the college does not have permission to use the assessment tool to disqualify students.The college is negotiating how to incorporate the ATI into the curriculum.

College administrators are expected to recommend that the nursing department use the test, but only as part of a student's final grade in a course.Thursday evening, the students signed the settlement agreement, but it has not yet been signed by the college. A paralegal from Sorgen's office said that college officials indicated that they would sign the agreement.The college also has agreed to pay approximately $7,500 of the students' legal fees.Under the agreement, the students will make up missed classes in January and receive their degrees in May.The agreement applies only to McManus and Amoren-Gonzalez, although Sorgen indicated that there are others who failed a course because of the ATI.

College administrators could not be reached for this story.

I already passed, but I am willing to help anyway I can, except I'm poor and can't donate any money, but if you need a signature I'm in. Just let me know how I can help. km

Various students have shown interest in joining and possibly offering support. Both individuals who have passed and have failed the HESI. It seems unfair that the school is willing to risk not graduating more than half its students just to maintain status quo. It is not our fault that our school is not reaching its potential. Reform is definitely the answer but please don't punish us for mistakes that we have not commited. We have all done everything that is to be expected of us and if our degree is going to based on one single test then we should have had the right to know this ahead of time and we would have devoted the whole 3 years into passing this test. I hope both my fellow students, faculty and current RNs in the profession look at this and see the injustice. If we could all go back to basic values we have learned when we started this career.

Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Dr. Martin, Dr. Holdcraft & university president Dr. Hopkins

October 14, 2008
Dear Patricia A. Martin, Ph.D., R.N.:

Would you take a job where your employer could unilaterally change your salary mid-pay period without notice? Would you sign a lease that allowed the landlord to unilaterally raise the rent in the middle of the month? I did not think so. While I disagree with the concept of "exit" exams, it is one thing when a school makes that policy known upfront, but I was not given that opportunity. I was made aware of HESI requirements only after I completed a significant portion of my nursing education program, more specifically at the end of the program. That is wrong. A college catalog constitutes a contract between a school and a student, and any unilateral change to that contract is unacceptable and unlawful.

The developers of HESI have stated that many nursing education programs use the test for purposes other than those intended by the developers. The HESI exit exam is designed to determine students readiness for the NCLEX Exam. That is verbatim from the HESI website. NCLEX examinations are designed to test the knowledge, skills and abilities essential to the safe and effective practice of nursing at the entry-level, according to the NCSBN website.

If a candidate has passed both the theory and clinical portions of a nursing program, it is wrong to withhold his/her degree and NCLEX eligibility (livelihood) over a test administered solely to improve a school's NCLEX pass rate. If a school is having pass rate problems, it is their responsibility to identify and fix them without wrongfully holding back legitimate graduates. There is no state in the U.S. that requires a passing HESI score in order to sit for the NCLEX exam. The NCLEX exam is the recognized national standard for licensure, not the HESI or any other exit exam.

I wish some the faculty would stand up to their administrators. Some have agreed with me in regards to the new requirement, but yet, they will not tell the administration because they do not want to lose their jobs. There is no acceptable reason for students who will have completed the program as stated in the university catalog to be denied their degree and therefore be unable to sit for the boards. Please allow my classmates and me to finish the program we began.

I, as well others, am currently in the process of seeking counsel to protect our rights and livelihood. It is also my intention to alert the media, state representatives, board of nursing and anyone else that will lend me an ear about our situation. I am asking my fellow students to do the same. The last thing I want to do is bring negative attention to the school and/or the nursing program. I look forward to and will anxiously await your response before I go any further with this.

Sincerely,
Douglas Clark
Clark.17@wright.edu

Rule 4723-5-12, OAC Requires a school to develop policies about various things, such as admission, grading, program progression, program completion etc. The Board has no authority regarding the content of the policies. It is up to the pre-license nursing education program to determine if you meet the established completion/graduation requirements/policy. However, the nursing education program is required to implement the established policies. To initiate an investigation regarding policy implementation of the nursing education program, please submit a completed dissatisfaction form. This form is available for download on the Boards website- http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/Forms.htm

O.K. so here’s the deal there was a few of us from our track that met with a attorney today with regards to the current HESI policy and those of us that are supposed to graduate this November. If you wish to be included within the suit, I will need to pass your information on to the attorney. He needs your first and last name, address and phone number with which he may contact you. Additionally we need to think of ways in which we can raise some funds. Make sure your including your parents in with regards to this information, a very generous parent today made a $1000.00 donation to the legal fund in support of her son and all of us that want to be involved. A lot of you have also checked out the blog to which I am trying to keep every posted, if you wish to post topics via the blog I just need the email you wish to use (name@yahoo.com) and I can add use as an author. As you can tell by the blog I do not and will not use your name without permission. I need you approval to do so before adding your name to anything. Any questions just let me know.
Doug

Hi Doug-O.K. So what's going on? Who have you talked to? Have you ran this up the entire WSU "Chain of Command"? To Dr. Martin, then on up to the President? Do you have an attorney? What's the Tuesday meeting about, who is coming? I guess I'm a little lost, catch me up and I will help in any way I can. My best friend is an attorney-not sure that this is her specialty, but am sure she will guide us to the right attorney or the right way to approach this. Let me know what you need.
SD