Screwed Over by My School

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I have been completely screwed over by my school.

I finished all requirements for my program, was pinned, and "graduated" this May. However, on June 1st I received an email from the Records Dept saying my record was "deficient", Nursing Dept clarified that was not the case and filled out the forms to fix my problem. About a month later only my lecture grade had been changed from an incomplete to my appropriate letter grade but my clinical grade was still a unsatisfactory. The Nursing Dept filled out ANOTHER form to fix the issue.

By July 6th my grades were fixed and I submitted my application to the Nursing Dept (that's what we do at my school). A week later, it turns out my transcripts were still not released to the Nursing Dept for them to send to the BON. When the Nursing Dept contacted the Records Dept the said they would not be releasing them until AUGUST 15th. A FULL MONTH LATER! Why so long? I don't know! Anyway, the Nursing Dept assured me they would request that their release be expedited. I contacted various individuals in the Records Dept multiple times via telephone and email to ask about the status of the release of my transcripts and I got ZERO response from anyone! I contacted the President of the University and no response.

On August 11th my transcripts were FINALLY released to the Nursing Dept and personally walked over to the BON. However, the transcripts list my degree date as AUGUST 8, 2015. OH. HELL. NO. I graduated in May. I have already had my NCLEX delayed for 3 months. And the Records Dept still will not contact me.

I will guess I will reach out to the President's Office one more time, not sure if I should mention if I once again receive no response that I will be contacting the BON, the Tennessee Board of Regents, hiring a lawyer, and contacting local news stations.

Suggestions, recommendations, helpful advice, contacts?

Thank you for listening!

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That sounds frustrating. I can only hope I'd have the patience to deal with that situation. BUT, in the grand scheme of things, how much does your transcript saying August vs May matter? Drop the negative energy being put into trying go make the school "fix it" and just focus on passing NCLEX and getting licensed. That's the date that matters.

Besides, I'm sure the school used the date that they received satisfactory verification to actually confer your degree. You (and a lawyer or the news outlets) will likely be unable to change that. Good luck to you and happy studying!

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

It's fixed. Stop being so angry and get on with things. Sheesh...

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Ehhhh I agree with there probably being not much to do at this stage but the loss of 3 months of potential income would have me upset.

I doubt the BON would care but you might find a sympathetic ear in career services or the President's office.

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Specializes in Ortho.

What school is this? Or at least what's your general area? I'm in TN too and this kind of sounds like some issues I've had at my school. Nothing this serious....but issues with financial aid and bookstore things.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

The issue is fixed. You "graduated" in the semester when your grade was changed (summer) not when you walked across the stage.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

So what are you hiring a lawyer & in all a huff about? Why didn't you get off your butt & go there in person in the first place? It's easy to ignore phone calls but harder to ignore someone in person. Now you just sound ridiculous.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.
So what are you hiring a lawyer & in all a huff about? Why didn't you get off your butt & go there in person in the first place? It's easy to ignore phone calls but harder to ignore someone in person. Now you just sound ridiculous.

Ha. I totally missed that part in the OP.

Are you serious, OP? You are going to make a fool out of yourself and destroy your career before you even start. Over what? Nothing.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Ha. I totally missed that part in the OP.

Are you serious, OP? You are going to make a fool out of yourself and destroy your career before you even start. Over what? Nothing.

Don't forget going to the news as well!

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Suggestions, recommendations, helpful advice, contacts?

Here's mine: pass NCLEX and get a job. You must be well prepared for the exam with the extra study time this debacle allowed you. Frustrating? No doubt. Worth hiring an attorney over? (To use your own sentiment) OH. HELL. NO.

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I will guess I will reach out to the President's Office one more time, not sure if I should mention if I once again receive no response that I will be contacting the BON, the Tennessee Board of Regents, hiring a lawyer, and contacting local news stations.

Suggestions, recommendations, helpful advice, contacts?

YES, I have all of the above: stop it, and stop it now. It was an annoying situation. Your school's administration is less than great, but the problem became a non-issue the day it was corrected.

You have not been denied a degree, you got that. You have not been denied an ATT because of your school's clerical gaffs, you will pass the NCLEX on the very same day you would have passed had this situation NOT occurred. In short, you have not been harmed, so there is nothing to 'make whole' by starting a frivolous lawsuit. Really, what do you think you would be alleging in your complaint? You were inconvenienced, not harmed.

The period of time from which you were first notified of the issue (June 1st) until the time it was resolved (August 11th) is a shade over 2 months. AT MOST you could argue that your ATT might have been delayed two months; for many schools and many BoNs this period of time is consumed in the processing of perfectly normal applications and transcripts. So you might not even get those two months on the table as an issue to litigate.

And THEN what? If you fail the NCLEX, you cannot claim it was because of the delay in processing your school transcript; you should have been studying for the NCLEX since (at least) the day you graduated. You are not harmed for the delay, you are well within the normal time-frame for scheduling the exam in the first place. If you pass the exam.....what then will be the point of paying attorney fees to file this silly complaint?

IT IS DONE.

But you know what COULD happen, should you continue to lose your mind and follow through on the idea of filing a lawsuit? What could, and probably WOULD happen, is that because the nursing community is a pretty small world (employers and employees know each other, staff moves between facilities regularly, instructors at schools are familiar with processes and the people behind them at healthcare facilities).....you would likely find your application shredded before even having it read. Yep....they'll see YOUR name on it, and run like hell from the litigious new grad who fumes over nonsense and makes mountains out of molehills. NOT someone most employers eagerly take on, I assure you!

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I agree this is making a mountain out of a molehill. Bureaucratic snafus like this happen fairly often. They're unpleasant and frustrating but your situation has now been straightened out and you're in a position to move forward with the NCLEX and your career. Over the course of your nursing career, this will be just a minor "speed bump." Your degree was not officially conferred until the grade thing was corrected, so you officially graduated in the summer. Best wishes!

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