Can my school change prerequisite requirements?

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Hi! I'll try to explain this as best I can. I enrolled in nursing school in June of 2015 with a lot of transfer credits. This semester I took more general ed requirements so all I have left is A&P 2, Micro, a religion class, and four nursing classes. My plan was

Spring '16 A&P 2, Nursing 1

Summer '16 Micro, Nursing 2

Fall '16 Religion, Nursing 3

Spring '17 Nursing 4

And then I would have my associates and be able to take the NCLEX.

Unfortunately, I failed A&P with a 72.7 (needed a 73), and so I was bummed out, but decided I would just push each of my general eds back a semester, so I could still take those four nursing classes in the time planned. I signed up for Nursing and Anatomy 1 and it even said on the registration website they could be taken simultaneously.

Then I got a call from my school. They changed their prerequisite for Nursing 1 in mid September, saying that now students need to take anatomy 1 PRIOR to nursing. They didn't change it on the registration website accidentally. This will cause a delay in earning my degree. It will also cause me to lose financial aid next semester, because the religion class is full this late in the game, and micro can't be taken simultaneously at this school.

I did my research and the commission that accredits my school had a list of standards for accreditation, one of which is

"When programs are eliminated or program requirements are changed, the institutionmakes appropriate arrangements for enrolled students so that they may complete theireducation with a minimum of disruption."

This causes a huge disruption with both my financial aid and my graduation date. I have a meeting with the VP of my school and the nursing director tomorrow. My argument is that the catalogue and handbook said I could take Nursing 1 and Anatomy 1 simultaneously when I enrolled in the school, so they can't change that. Do you think I have a chance?

I thought it might hurt to ask. Because it's really unlikely they'll change an a&p prerequisite. Now you've had a meeting, asked a big favor. Down the line once you're in the program you may need another favor or have a grievance or something, and they already know you to ask for things, that might hurt your chance next time. It's like playing the game. For ex, I could have asked about some things but I waited, then came the time I really wanted to change my clinical site and I asked and it was granted. If I had asked something else before it may not have been. Choose wisely!

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I'm so confused. Are you a nursing student or a pre nursing student? How can you take nursing without AP?

At my college we took A&P concurrently with our nursing classes.

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Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.

They can and do it often. Hopefully they will grandfather you in but don't be overly hopeful for that. My school changed a requirement, not a pre-req, but something that impacted my schedule without even communicating it with anyone. This isn't the first time they have done that either but I just have to roll with it. As far as your financial aid, if your in an associates program, look up your bachelor pre-reqs and take on of those instead so you do not loose it. I extended my pre-reqs a year longer than I have initially anticipated and ran out of my programs co-reqs and pre-reqs. I have taken all of my bachelor pre-reqs in order to stay in school and not loose my financial aid. It's not wasting money since I would have eventually needed the classes anyways.

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Don't you have catalogue rights to the year you started the school? My school has changed requirements but they only affect the new people coming in, not those of us that have been attending the school.

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Prenursing- just found this website yesterday and clicked student because I'm in school- didn't even know there was a prenursing tab until after I posted. My school allows nursing to be taken while I take A&P 2 and up now.

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Specializes in ER.

I think the debate is whether you were actually enrolled. When I went to school, enrolled was usually when you had started the nursing classes. You can try to clarify with your school what is meant by enrolled. Having a seat didn't guarantee enrollment.

I was grandfathered in when they changed the way they admitted students with the point system.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I'm a little confused are you still taking pre-req courses or have you been admitted to the nursing program already? If you have been admitted to the program and the requirements have changed, then you may have an argument to be grandfathered in under the standards that were in place when you were admitted. However, if you are still taking pre-reqs and the requirements for getting into the nursing coursework have changed, then you may not have much to stand on - it doesn't hurt to ask if they would grandfather you in, but the chances of it happening are much less likely.

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I'm confused. Your above plan doesn't make any mention of A&P; only A&P 2 is mentioned, and according to your original plan you were going to take it this spring. Does this mean you took A&P 1 this semester and failed it, in addition to bio? If A&P 1 is the prerequisite for Nursing 1, what does failing bio have to do with anything?

ps: But what I really want to know is, what is up with a school that allows you to take A&P 1 without bio as a prerequisite??

pps: Completion of A&P 1 and 2, and usually microbiology, is a pretty standard prerequisite for admission to nursing programs. It just makes sense -- how are you meant to understand how a body is malfunctioning if you don't yet know how a body is supposed to be functioning?

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No bio was already taken. A&P 1 was allowed to be taken concurrently with Nursing 1 up until this semester.

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It's frustrating because they're saying I'm not enrolled because I haven't taken nursing classes, so the catalogue rules when I came in aren't guaranteed to me and the rule their accreditation board had doesn't apply to me.

So then I came up with a backup plan of taking micro and A&P 1 at the same time this semester but they don't allow that. So I figured I'd just take micro at a community college and transfer it in. But they don't allow that because I'm an enrolled student.

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Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.

Why do they "not allow it?". Your paying for these classes, it's not really their business how you choose to take them. I took A+P 2 w/ Micro at the same time, it certainly wasn't a fun time but I pulled an A in both. I get irritated with schools when they try enforce high school type rules -- I am 28 years old with three kids, I would not be impressed if my school told me I couldn't take two classes together.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
Why do they "not allow it?". Your paying for these classes, it's not really their business how you choose to take them. I took A+P 2 w/ Micro at the same time, it certainly wasn't a fun time but I pulled an A in both. I get irritated with schools when they try enforce high school type rules -- I am 28 years old with three kids, I would not be impressed if my school told me I couldn't take two classes together.

Unfortunately, they can impose any rules they want.

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