At least 2/3 of my BSN-A cohort is failing... what to do?

[sertile]

Hi, new here. Been lurking for a while and I finally got panicked enough to post. Basically, I'm in an accelerated BSN program. I already have a BS in another field, and so far I've done well in the program. My cohort is currently in its last class, Med-Surg II, and as of right now about 50-75% of the class is failing. The first test, about 8 people passed out of 32. Second test, it was about 50/50. Third (and most recent) exam: worse than the first. And its not just me, it's the guy who was head of the class, and never made anything less than an "A" on any test. It's the guy with two degrees in Bio and Micro. It's everyone, and no amount of effort seems to make any difference.

For what its worth I never failed a test before in ANY class, college, or program, including this one. We're all at our wits end trying to figure out how to salvage this class, but with only 1 test left before the final, it might already be too late. I've tried talking to the instructors, my advisor, even the Dean about it, but no one seems interested. It's like they'd rather ignore what's going on while the whole BSN-A program goes down in flames. I really don't get it, and I have no idea how to proceed. Any advice???

[CrazierThanYou]

Boy oh boy...

[TheCareerStudent]

I read your original post, and thats why I asked why you had that IDEA . I wasn't questioning your stats or if you had them, just wanted to know how you came across that thought. Its ok for your ideas to be a reflection of your experience, I was just wanting to know if there was more to it than that as 95% attrition seems pretty intense.

Sorry I should not have gotten defensive. Had a rough morning and your post rubbed me the wrong way.

[NurseYee, BSN, RN]

Accelerated BSN students are smart enough to have gone through previous bachelor's degrees and can handle the challenges of a rigorous program. If a last-term cohort of students bright enough to get into and progress in an accelerated BSN program is failing, the problem lies with the quality of teaching rather than with the students' ability to learn.

Is this the first year your school has offered an accelerated BSN? If not, have previous cohorts had similar problems? Is the instructor inexperienced? Does the instructor know how to teach? Not all nurse educators have had courses that help them learn how to teach adults and, while they may possess expertise in a clinical or research setting, they don't know how to teach.

Is your program accredited? Is it in danger of losing its accreditation? Have previous cohorts had trouble passing the NCLEX on the first try? It's possible that if previous cohorts have had trouble passing NCLEX, the powers-that-be are trying to boost their first-time pass rates by "weeding out" students they think might not pass. Not every student who is admitted to a nursing program can or should finish but I think the "weeding out" process should take place earlier rather than later. End of the program---that's rather brutal.

If your instructors, advisors, and dean are not hearing your concerns, it might be time to take them further. Your class may have to get the attention of the college or university president or file a formal grievance.

One or two people failing---that's to be expected. Two-thirds of the cohort failing---there's something seriously wrong.

BTW, thank you for not posting the name of your program. It might be possible for someone to identify you if you provide too much information and this matter is serious enough that you need to remain as anonymous as possible.

I wish you well and hope this comes to a satisfactory resolution for all of you.

Very sound advice. I have a friend currently in a similar situation. Thank you

[sertile]

Okay, sorry again for the delay! I've been up to my eyeballs in legal mumbo-jumbo, but you've given me lots of input and I'm going to try and respond to everybody.

newRNstudent02 - I can still retake the class, the issue is when. It's normally only offered once a year in the spring, which would mean waiting an entire year... and it bears repeating that this was our LAST class before graduation

jjjoy - We DO plan to appeal (most of us, anyway - some are afraid to stand up to administration), and the school DOES have a lot of problems... We've looked into transferring, but most of our credits would be dropped, we already put $30,000 into this, and like I said, it was supposed to be our very last class. Also, believe me when I say "critical thinking" skills were not an issue, especially not at this point. None of us are freshmen.

TheCareerStudent - As far as I know, 95% attrition rates are NOT the norm, and any school that came even close to that would have gone out of business a long time ago. Admission into this program is VERY selective, and we've only lost one other student due to grades since we started. Wiping out 1/3 of the class was unprecedented.

Moogie - They may be trying to "weed" people out, but if they were going to do that it really should have been in the first semester, NOT the last... unless it comes down to a financial issue, but I don't want to start getting into conspiracy theories. And yes, this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. We've been told that only one student has ever failed Med-Surg II in the past, and that was due to a clinical failure. The teacher has taught the class before, but is currently going through a divorce, and I believe she let her personal life interfere with her job, with us as the victims.

UPDATE: We've been trying to meet with the Dean since last Thurs, to no avail. As of yesterday we were denied meetings with the Dean, President, VP, Dept. Head, and the instructor in question. There had been no communication to speak of, and we were even denied the opportunity to review the test or view our final grades. That is, until another student and I made a trip to the hospital's legal dept. and had a word with one of their corporate lawyers. We now have a meeting scheduled with the President, the VP, and the Dean for tomorrow where we'll be presenting information and testimony relating to a grade appeal.

I have also filed an official FERPA request for my grades and copies of the test, which are currently being (illegally) withheld, and plan to secure legal counsel today, prior to the meeting. Finally, we've made contacts in the local press in case we're forced to really play hardball and go public with details of the case.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Thanks for the update! Let us know what happens. May the force be with you!

[jjjoy, LPN]

And to clarify, I did figure that you all probably had proven critical thinking skills. I very intentionally put the words "honing critical thinking skills" in quotation marks. I just remember too many times when a test question was contested and clarification or correction was asked of the instructor, the instructor would brush off the concern with a statement like "if you were using your critical thinking skills that question would make perfect sense to you. We can't waste class time on this." Thus, with such a small margin of error between pass and fail, passing tests in some classes wasn't about having mastered the material covered, it was more about test-taking strategies for sometimes poorly written questions.

Still, I think one would get further with a "here's what I did wrong, here's what I learned, here's what I'm going to do" appeal than a "the instructor provided inadequate preparation and lousy tests and I shouldn't have been failed" even if that's true.