Howard University...PLEASE HELP!!

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2010

i have not heard good things about howard's nursing program, via this board or from what i've seen in the news or online. if i remember correctly i was watching the news a few months ago & several nursing students were protesting because they were upset with the administration & feel that they were not being educated.

here is an article from 2008 :

nursing picketers make clear demands

by jessica lewis

staff writer

print this article share this article

published: tuesday, november 18, 2008

updated: tuesday, november 18, 2008

from the steps of the college of nursing and allied health sciences (cpnahs), to the footsteps of howard hall, nursing students protested for the better education they feel they have been deprived of for years.

over 50 students gathered on the steps of the nursing school, holding up signs and chanting slogans representing the change they wanted to see in their educational curriculum.

"all we want is an education," the students chanted, led by student david buckley.

buckley, a senior nursing major, said they were just looking for change in the form of improved teaching methods, fair testing standards and overall organization of the school's priorities.

this outcry is not the first of its kind. in 2007, the hilltop reported that nursing students walked out of examinations, which threatened accreditation, in protest of the shoddy education they believed they were receiving.

students are now protesting again, hoping to see real results.

one of the protest signs being held up by the disgruntled students read, "pass or fail, you still get paid!"

according to cpnahs dean beatrice adderley-kelly, the college's goal is to make sure students become "successful, professional nurses."

however, many of the students claimed they were not being educated to hone their potentials as nurses, but instead, strung along from test to test. this lack of education was revealed when half of the students scored 70 percent or below on their last exams.

"serve your students, not just numbers," the students chanted.

according to senior nursing student nazziwa lubimbi, the protest was a result of a failed attempt to communicate student concerns with the dean.

"we did have a meeting with the dean," she said. "we were told students do not make decisions and regulations, faculty does. we have no control over our education."

lubimbi said the lack of control was made obvious to all when the dean walked past the protesting students without a second glance.

"i believe i have been responsive to student's needs," adderley-kelly said. "i have been working with the administration in the division of nursing to address their issues and concerns."

she said the process to change may take longer than students would like, but the administration will continue to work to resolve issues because they do take student concerns seriously.

"student leaders have been meeting with the faculty for months without a response," said

corey briscoe, howard university student association (husa) general assembly vice chairman. "this is the end result."

when faculty and staff continued to walk past the students expressing no concern for their protests, the students took their protest up the hill to howard hall.

"i want to know at what point our feelings will become faculty concerns," said patricia perrin, a senior nursing major.

she joined her fellow senior class as they walked up sixth street shouting, "what do we want? education!"

aastasshia lacy, a senior nursing major, said, "we are not going to be silent anymore."

the protestors stopped on the bricks of founders' walk before howard hall, where they met up with the howard university president sidney ribeau.

coming out of the building to the sound of the protest, ribeau said, "clearly you are having issues; what is the problem?"

senior class treasurer, berlinda blanc, stepped out and presented letters and a list of concerns and demands to ribeau.

"we have been dealing with issues for several graduating classes, and it has been allowed to pass," blanc said.

by the end of the demonstration, the protesting students were standing before ribeau, provost and chief academic chair alvin thornton, ph.d., husa vice president kellen moore and undergraduate trustee victoria kirby.

ribeau promised the students he will address their concerns, and he promised to do it soon.

the students walked back down the hill to the nursing school cheering for their promised victory. back at the school, the students were told the dean would like to speak with them.

only three of the protestors agreed to speak with the dean while the others said they had tried before and were finished trying.

"we have been through that already," said rashaunna redd, a senior nursing major. "we are not going to do it anymore. we are done."

http://www.thehilltoponline.com/campus/nursing-picketers-make-clear-demands-1.910192

lala2287 · Feb 18, 2010

Yes I am a current nursing student at HU and amongst all the protest and negative media reportings, it is evident that the Divison of Nursing is working to improve their students test scores in order to bring forth better prepared nurses. Never base your future off of a headline from 2 years ago. I can tell you that the class of 2009 averaged about a 90% on the NCLEX exam compared to 2007's scores. Dean Hill is making sure that the student success rates continue to rise. They have recently implemented ATI testing for many of the nursing classes that prove whether or not students are learning exactly what they should be. As a transfer student, I would recommend that you complete ALL of your credits before transferring into the program. IE finish all of your prereqs (including Pathophysiology) in the spring and take Orientation to Nursing (if still offered) and Theoretical Foundations of Nursing in the summer. Please make sure that you have someone review the credits you are transferring before you apply to the school, this way you won't get held back a whole yr like I did by retaking classes!!! Also, they are no longer accepting CLEP classes. I hope this helps.

jessica_martinez2 · Mar 9, 2010

I was accepted to the Accelerate Summer BSN program, and am wondering if I should go in? Howard U is suuuuuuch a hot mess, and the administration is a nightmare. I need some feedback if it worth me moving down to DC from Ohio, and what are the pros and cons of the program? Thanks for your input. Lala, I befriended you so you could give me some feedback.

lala2287 · Mar 11, 2010

I was accepted to the Accelerate Summer BSN program, and am wondering if I should go in? Howard U is suuuuuuch a hot mess, and the administration is a nightmare. I need some feedback if it worth me moving down to DC from Ohio, and what are the pros and cons of the program? Thanks for your input. Lala, I befriended you so you could give me some feedback.

Hi Jessica,

Congratulations on your acceptance! I recently was told by some of the other students that they changed the requirements for the program and some of the nursing classes, so I'm not exactly sure if we would be following the same scheme. I will be honest with you, the University's administration/financial aid/student accounts is a hassle to deal with, however, every semester it all seems to work itself out for everyone. It is just something that the students learn to live with (in fact, I think it brings us closer together lol). The Divison of Nursing's (DON) administration is not bad at all and all of your class selections are done with them and if there is a problem they are quick to fix it. The schoo,l overall has a lot of history and is full of pride. We do put ourselves on a pedestal and walk with our noses in the air...it all stems from tradition lol. Since I'm assuming you'll be coming in as a junior, I believe that the clinical sites are still within the tristate area (DC, MD and VA) and transportation is not provided, therefore most students use the metro and the bus as well as carpool. As you probably know the DON is located in NW DC, right off of Georgia Ave and 2 blocks away from HUHospital. Have you ever been to DC before? I love it, it has a true city feel and there is a lot of different things to do and see! I would recommend coming to take a tour of the city and school weeks before classes and orientations begin and before all the incoming transfer and freshmen come in order to get a realistic look of what you'll be getting into. Of course meeting with any faculty would probably be near impossible because of finals and summer/fall preparations. Do you know where you will be living? Most students who don't live in the dorms will stay within NW or NE DC or Prince George's County MD (Hyattsville, Beltsville, Greenbelt, Laurel, Largo, etc). I would private message you but I still need 9 more post in order to do so, I think you need 14. If you want to message me, I will try to respond to more post by the end of next week so my email will be visible to you. Hope this helps you with making your decision:). If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

jessica_martinez2 · Mar 12, 2010

Hello Lala,

Thanks for your congrats! OMG, the administration side of HU is absolutely horrid! Everyone seem confused, and noone EVER has any answers, but whatever. It doesn't matter because I am soooo happy to be coming to DC.I am coming in as a junior, and I am attempting to work out the housing situation right now. (Sigh) Do you know anything about the dorms, as far as quality, and are they worth it? I would prefer to rent an apt, but I don't really know anyone at Howard, or in DC, or its surrounding areas. I have a car, but honestly, I live in rural Ohio, and cannot wait to get rid of it, and ride the Metro lol. I have been to DC a few times, and visited last summer, and January 2010 to see the DON, and meet with Dr. Hill and Dr. Broadnax. How do you like the actual program? Would you have gone anywhere else? Where do you plan on working after you graduate? I'll just post my email address on here, since I don't think there are too many stalkers on here lol maybe if you have facebook, you can use the email address to look me up. Thanks for all of that good info. Please hit me back whenever-- [email protected]

Tasha29 · Jan 25, 2011

Hi Jessica! I am applying to the Advanced Placement program as we speak to start this Summer. I would like to know how nursing school is going for you at Howard?? I have heard about the bad reviews but I really and not trying to pay all of that negativity any attention. I am from Texas and would moving up to DC I have never been before so it would be soooo new to me living on the east coast. I would like to chat about the living facilities and etc. because I don't know anyone there. Any info would be great since you are in the situtation. Thanks!!!

sam13 · Jan 27, 2011

Hi everyone, I just receiced my acceptance letter from HU for the Advanced Placement Program that begins summer 2011. Does anybody have any advice on the program and the housing situation??????? Anybody?????

Beautynurse87 · Aug 9, 2011

Hi everyone, I just receiced my acceptance letter from HU for the Advanced Placement Program that begins summer 2011. Does anybody have any advice on the program and the housing situation??????? Anybody?????

Hi I am going to apply to Howard's LPN to BSN program for summer 2012. Did you start your program? i would like to send a congrats your way! if you dont mind me asking what was your GPA when applying to the program the minimum is a 2.8 i currently possess a 3.12 but after the fall semester my GPA should be higher i was debating if i should apply now or wait but i was thinking the earlier the better....any advice?

sbernard · Feb 13, 2012

hi does anyone know if howard university is strict on GPA?

student20122 · Jul 22, 2012

In the 1st place from my experience pls don't make this school ur 1st choice b/c their undergrad admission office sucks they loose ur transcript 10 times before they finally claim that you sent it.

I mean things r totally redicioulous let me tell u something the admission will send denial letter and the nursing dept is gonna send u acceptance letter that is how much of a mess they are.

When u try to talk to the dean about all the thing that goes on the admission office nobody seems to actually care or even listen to students. They will just tell u the President/dean is too busy at the moment and they will let u talk to some assistant who is going to tell u the same exact mess the admission office has been telling you.

After all you give up about Howard and u leave them alone month after the nursing program starts they start emailing you saying pls disregard our email we sent u about ur acceptance that was an error. I MEAN COME ON EVERYTHING THEY DO IS AN ERROR! COME ON THE SCHOOL GOT TO BE A LITTLE MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN THIS THEY ALREADY HAVE BAD NAME OUT THERE EVERYONE WHO HAS ANY CONTACT WITH THAT SCHOOL ALREADY KNOWS THAT UNDER GRAD ADMISSION OFFICE IS FALLING APART!!

That school is really falling apart save ur money and try someother school trust me it's not worth the hussel that u have to go through that office and at the end they will lost ur stuff u will be out of luck and fraustrated!!