Everest School of nursing

[Motoxer28]

higher cost for higher learning

by kris hundley, times staff writer

published friday, july 3, 2009

their ads promise a fast path to a high-paying future. come to our school — everest, keiser, or itt technical — and we'll train you for america's hottest jobs, whether your interests are air-conditioning repair, accounting or medical assistant.

the recession has been good for proprietary schools, for-profit postsecondary institutions that are seeing their enrollments spike as people look for second chances in a lifeless job market. while public universities are in a holding pattern with tighter budgets and bigger classes, the for-profit sector is spending lavishly on new branches and sophisticated marketing.

log onto everest university's web site and you don't get a catalog. you get a live chat with a sales rep. in just minutes, you too can become a student.

these schools say they provide critical job training without taxpayer subsidies, but there's a catch. they survive on a firehose of billions in federal and state student grants and loans, funneled through enrollees who need only be willing to sign now, pay later.

nimble at adjusting to the job market, schools that once scheduled classes in massage therapy and pastry arts are moving up the academic food chain to high-demand fields like nursing. florida, anxious to encourage such startups, last week relaxed the state board of nursing's oversight of new programs. now if benchmarks are met, a program is automatically approved, no site visit required.

meanwhile, the state agency that licenses all private postsecondary schools is coping with a 55 percent increase in new programs this year. whether an institution is training truck drivers, bartenders or trauma nurses, the state's paperwork is the same.

everest, formerly known as florida metropolitan university, is one of a number of for-profit schools getting into the nursing education business. on everest's brandon campus, students are put on the fast-track from novice to registered nurse in an intense, 21-month curriculum. similar associates programs at community colleges take two years.

but speed and access to an rn degree do not come cheap. everest's program costs about four times as much as programs at public institutions. some everest nursing students wonder if they are getting their money's worth.

they say instruction is poor and hands-on time with patients in clinical settings is limited.

they've found it impossible to transfer credits earned at everest to other nursing schools.

and the first class of everest graduates stumbled when it came to passing the nationwide licensing exam, the key to qualifying for an rn job.

of 14 graduates in the first class to take the test, 57 percent passed on the first try. the next group of four graduates all failed. statewide, about 87 percent of all nursing graduates pass the board on the first try.

everest officials say it's common for first classes at any school to do poorly on the test. the school said it has improved its curriculum and better results should follow. though five of the 18 students who graduated in october have yet to pass the boards, everest says all have jobs.

landing work is important because students at for-profit schools graduate with heftier debts than students at other schools. meanwhile, default rates by students at these schools have been twice the rate by students at public colleges and universities.

• • •

here's why you can sell a $40,000 associates in nursing program when there's a $10,000 program in the same market: the less expensive programs, at public schools such as st. petersburg college and hillsborough community college, have four applicants for every seat....

[classykaren]

And people wonder what is wrong with Florida?

[alhbre99]

I am a student at this school. Yes the school is expensive. However, the article was extremely biased. The quotes from students were taken out of context. Most of the information came from students who are no longer in the program because they were unable to pass the classes or clinical. I for one was sad to see them go. Part of nursing school is learning the skills required to become a qualified nurse and unfortunately it does weed out the students who can't pass for whatever reason.

[scrapworking]

As noted, often credits earned at these schools (not just Everest, Galen is another that I have personal experience with) is non-transferable, so if you ever want your BSN, you pretty much have to start over. No, thanks...

And it's happening all over the country, not just Florida.

[classykaren]

It is not just that this takes away money from our Public schools

[scrapworking]

Public schools? How so?

Sorry that the long, detailed post with specific experiences with previous poster in this thread and Everest was deleted. I'm sure due to instructor's names being posted. It was quite interesting and informational.

[classykaren]

How so? because that 16,000 to 20,000 that everett and Keiser charges could be money put into our Public schools to improve them at about5,000 per student

[scrapworking]

Oh, I see....gotcha! Makes sense to me.

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

sorry that the long, detailed post with specific experiences with previous poster in this thread and everest was deleted. i'm sure due to instructor's names being posted. it was quite interesting and informational.

just a reminder. the terms of service that everyone agrees to upon registration states:

no potentially libelous information about specific schools, instructors, or health care facilities/entities should be posted in these forums. while it is important to be able to network, everyone should be mindful of the following:

1. it is a small world - when we narrow it down to a state and throw in some personal info, there is actually a pretty good chance someone may recognize you if you are not careful. your privacy is paramount to us.
   
2. while allnurses.com is a wonderful place to vent (without excess personally identifiable details) it is not the place to express why ("x" specific person, place or program) is terrible. gripe away, but since we cannot permit allegations to be made about named entities, your care in not naming them is very much appreciated.
   
3. please do not give out personal information about others. do not name names where anyone could identify the person in any facility including your nursing programs.