Advice from someone who might have "been there"...

[tunafish1]

Hello All..

I have an interesting tale that I would appreciate some advice, feedback or experience regarding.

I am a current RN student well into school. I am a good student, I do not miss class, have a good gpa..I am the one who follows the rules.

I was informed late last semester that I did not pass a nursing class. MANY issues arose in finding out why, but I filed a grievance with the college and it took all summer to get through the proper channels. I presented myself well, was polite and dignified and very well prepared.

I was turned down.

NOW..the issue at hand. During this process, I found out through self-admittance of the professor involved in all of this that a great deal of the class sat at "my" level..and her exact words were "I had to lower the passing grade percentages to fill the nursing xxxxx class for next semester as we were worried we would not have enough students." Now passing was a 78%. A "D" or non-passing grade is a 70-77.5%. Admittedly, this professor passed some D's onto a C to fill the next semester of classes. I heard this, the college president heard this, everyone heard it..including my attorney who was only there as a witness.

I kept quiet as this was BIG information. Earlier in the grievance proceeding, I was called a poor student for a previous nursing class grade of a "C". I argued that this "C" was a 84.33%.

I was met with..doesn't matter, a "C" is a "C".

SO..isn't a "D" a "D"?

Can this professor pass students with the SAME letter grade on and not others? There is no description in the syllabus for a D-, D, or a D+.. If a C is a C, then isn't a D a D?

As I kept quiet and discreet about this information that I should not have been privvy too, it worked against me. I thought being discreet would reward me. It did not.

More students were moved on who earned a "D", then were held back and told to repeat.

Also, the students held back..are all federally funded pell grant students. Now the gov't. is paying twice for a student who got the same grade as another who isn't required to retake the class.

Our gov't is broke enough ..

You all know that a professor having this high of a failure rate needs to be evaluated, but it seems the college stands behind her. The professor now explains that this was fair because each class may have had a different test with one being harder than the other? You know we all had basically the same tests.

Anyone with any knowledge or advice? I am posting this in the general nurses forum to gather experience from those who have already graduated or may be educators themselves..

Thank you.

[RNGrammie]

i'm sorry you're going through this!! it is my understanding that if a student repeats a class due to a low grade they do not receive financial aide to cover those credits. my son received a c in a physics class and re-took it for a higher grade and found out he wasn't going to get financial aide for those credits.

i would think if you had proof the prof was passing students w/ a d grade onto the next level, that would work in your favor.....no?

i wish you all the best!

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

Didn't you already ask this?

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/professor-passing-some-607337.html

[tunafish1]

Thank you N 40.. We are able to use grant funds for a repeat.

And I did ask Hospice... I was hoping to use a wider more mature audience through this forum and maybe catch an educators eye.. Sorry if I have offended you.. This is very important to several students and affects their lives greatly.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

Didn't you already ask this?

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/professor-passing-some-607337.html

great research!

[MassED, BSN, RN]

Thank you N 40.. We are able to use grant funds for a repeat.

And I did ask Hospice... I was hoping to use a wider more mature audience through this forum and maybe catch an educators eye.. Sorry if I have offended you.. This is very important to several students and affects their lives greatly.

sounds like you had the platform and everyone heard that this professor lowered the bar for those D students to pass... but that they still had to repeat the class.

So is the requirement that if you make a C, that you do not pass the course? You wrote you had an 84%? Does that mean you didn't cut it and now need to repeat the class?

It seems that after all is said and done, all of those who were under the C criteria (if it's 88% or whatever the threshold is...) were not passed... is that correct?

Very convoluted.... but it would seem if you had the ear of the grieving process and they then made a decision, sounds like it's a done deal.

[MagsMom]

I am not one to believe in these kind of "all the Pell grant students didn't pass" type of conspiracy.

It sounds like you followed the steps to appeal your grade and you were not successful.

I think it is time to suck it up, move on, and get a better grade in the repeat. This seems, unfortunately, like your only option unless you want to withdraw from the program.

[diva rn, BSN, RN]

Didn't you already ask this?

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/professor-passing-some-607337.html

Good eye, Good eye!!!

and if you asked it once, why ask it again...?

Isn't that the classic definition of "something"...asking the same question and expecting a different answer?

[tunafish1]

Not expecting a different answer... Just looking for a different venue.. Perhaps those involved at a higher level. My deepest apologies that this repeat question offends some of you. It wasn't meant to and not sure why it does

To clarify... All of those in question received a D percentage-wise.. Some progressed on.. Some did not. I am simply looking to see if anything like this has ever happen to anyone else. There is no disrespect or whinning intended.

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

To clarify... All of those in question received a D percentage-wise.. Some progressed on.. Some did not. I am simply looking to see if anything like this has ever happen to anyone else. There is no disrespect or whinning intended.

At my school, a "D" is a "D". You failed. You get one repeat and then you're booted.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I can understand your frustration. The situation is simply unfair.

You followed the proper channels and tried your best.

Now... you need to LET IT GO. You are wasting your precious energy now.

School is tough. The real world of nursing is brutal. I come across unfair, mishandled situations on an almost daily basis.

You may be too sensitive to handle the BS of nursing.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Lots of people want to get all teary-eyed holding true to the belief that the decision-makers are all about "good things". It's quite easy to manipulate anything to do with eduation. It's been done for years and will always be part of the process. Nursing, especially so.

Now, if graduates from that institution consistantly show poorly on the NCLEX, the school might lose its accreditation and close it's program. So you can be sure that there has been some tampering when students have poor grades, but the school needs to look good.