South University FNP-Oct 2016

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 13, 2016

Moved to the School / College Programs forum

Melody007_FNP-C, APRN · Sep 17, 2016

I just graduated from the Tampa campus. It was great!

sophBSN15 · Sep 17, 2016

That's so awesome, any tips would gladly be appreciated. Should I just stick with the digital books? How was locating preceptors? Is it possible to just double up through the whole program?

Thanks for replying.

Buyer beware, BSN · Sep 18, 2016

OP: If you want to shill for this school go right ahead. Your statements that you have researched this school are apparently not based in fact or reality. South University has a long well documented history of being investigated by the Department of Justice for false claims in the recruitment of students. As of November 2015 they paid a fine of 95.5 million dollars to resolve the case. In addition the were compelled to forgive 102 million dollars in private loans that they underwrote to students who were considered to be deceptively recruited.

These are facts that have been extensively reported on by reputable sources. So I stand by this information.

In 2014, they delisted from the stock market and were purchased by Wall Street concerns of Goldman Sachs and the private equity firm of KKR. These folks are venture capitalists and have never been known to be champions of nursing education. Just the almighty dollar as it relates to nursing education. Today their stock in the OTC market is worth less than 1 cent.

As far as your vaunted campus in Tampa,FL is concerned, according to (collegescorecard.ed.net) they have an undergraduate graduation rate of 3% and this figure supplied to the Department of Education by the school itself. This figure is tabulated over 6 years as per DoED rules.

The graduate rate for this school for any given cohort is unknown but judging by the undergrad rate it may be sub-par at best.

Due to falling recruitment rates in general for all for-profit schools including South University, and delisting from the market, public information about their financial situation is impossible to determine. This could leave students left in a lurch if, as in the case of ITT tech or Corinthian, the school and its parent company Education Management Company decide to fold the business at a moment's notice.

If this happens, you could be left stranded with a ton of debt, no degree and no transferrable credits. In other words, you are screwed.

With this school it is all about filling seats. You are a number. This is evidenced by the fact that such a they have few admission standards aside from the most basic mediocre requirements. This determination is also underscored by their questionable undergraduate retention rates, again I refer to (collegescorecard.ed.gov).

There are so many more red lights (arbitration agreement) that have been published (again by reputable sources) that I find it incomprehensible that you are touting this school to others. I can only feel that you have convinced yourself of its worth based on a desire to become an NP at all costs irrespective of your fellow nurses who you are leading astray.

As far as believing the words of the recruiters, you must know that they are trained marketers whose primary mission is to fill seats.

They get to lose or keep their jobs based on how many naive people they seat. This is code for how many people they can access their loan money for. I mention this fact because over the past several years EDMC, South's parent company, has been laying off these people by the thousands as well as closing other schools or teaching out among their brands which include Brown Mackie, Argosy University and the Art Institutes.

So if you want to promote what the facts to what is a losing proposition, please keep it to yourself and don't be a sort of "Judas Goat" to other nursing colleagues who may be too naive to understand that all schools are definitely not the same and many border on positively toxic.

I present these words as a public service to my nursing colleagues. If I could recommend this school, I would. But The facts do not support that recommendation. See for yourself. Do The research in an objective way. And please under no circumstances take the word of a recruiter that has everything to gain; but at your expense. What happened to the students at ITT tech was a disgrace, but most likely just the tip of the failed for-profit post secondary educational iceberg.

Folks there are just so many better and more cost effective choices that actually care about YOUR success.

Buyer beware, BSN · Sep 18, 2016

Post script,

OP: As far as locating preceptors or helping in any substantive way, good luck. You are on your own. That's your problem. Go ahead ask them.

Buyer beware, BSN · Sep 18, 2016

Watch Full Episodes Online of FRONTLINE on PBS | A Subprime Education

For all nurses considering attending South University please view this brief half-hour presentation. It is an eye-opener and should go a long way toward defining what the for-profit college industry is all about.

As nurses or would-be nurses you are particularly targeted and at risk because so many people are desperate to become nurses by any means necessary. This desire on your part is what feeds this beast.

If you want to go to nursing school, try the community college route. If you want to be an NP, find another not for-profit provider. There are many.

Remember colleagues, it is you and your family on the line. Do not allow them to enslave you with a lifetime of debt peonage. Loans are their real object of desire

You can become a nurse but not at the expense of providing businessmen with all the luxuries in life in exchange for all the poverty for you.

Melody007_FNP-C, APRN · Sep 18, 2016

Sorry for the lateness I am studying for the cert test. I like the digital books but I bought my own copy as I like to have access to them once school is over. Locating preceptors at first was a daunting task as I didn't know anyone as I have been away from hospital nursing since late 2010. In all honesty, once I found the first few sites the other sites were either the same place or through recommendations from other students or preceptors! Networking! I used my main Adult/Gero preceptor for Pedi, and since I had a second preceptor for adult/gero I used her for my last rotation. So the only time I was struggling was to find adult/gero once I did I had everything already lined up signed sealed and delivered. Also, I feel that the campus program is much easier to work with than online in terms of the practicums. I am a member of facebook group that is 99% online students and that is their major vent. You can double up but not during the practicums (but you can at the end). I finished my program in 20 months. We were doing GoToMeeting for the practicum courses, now they are back on campus. The instructors are good, just a few that aren't the best in other (non-nursing courses). But you get that everywhere!

Anyway good luck!

sophBSN15 · Sep 19, 2016

Sorry for the lateness I am studying for the cert test. I like the digital books but I bought my own copy as I like to have access to them once school is over. Locating preceptors at first was a daunting task as I didn't know anyone as I have been away from hospital nursing since late 2010. In all honesty, once I found the first few sites the other sites were either the same place or through recommendations from other students or preceptors! Networking! I used my main Adult/Gero preceptor for Pedi, and since I had a second preceptor for adult/gero I used her for my last rotation. So the only time I was struggling was to find adult/gero once I did I had everything already lined up signed sealed and delivered. Also, I feel that the campus program is much easier to work with than online in terms of the practicums. I am a member of facebook group that is 99% online students and that is their major vent. You can double up but not during the practicums (but you can at the end). I finished my program in 20 months. We were doing GoToMeeting for the practicum courses, now they are back on campus. The instructors are good, just a few that aren't the best in other (non-nursing courses). But you get that everywhere!
Anyway good luck!

First thank you for you post, good lord *Buyer Beware*, that was just a bit excessive. Like I said I did my research yes there's good and bad but I choose to look at the good side and make the best of it. So excited and hopefully it doesn't discourage anyone from wanting to do the same.

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Sep 19, 2016

All I can add is good luck Melody! I, and MANY of my peers from SU passed the boards on the first pass. In ANY graduate program, one will get out what they put in. There is no hand-holding in ANY of the programs that I am aware of...if there is...that would scare me as the role of an advanced practice registered nurse is to be autonomous within the guidelines set by your individual state. There have been many students with an extremely negative outlook on SU. I no longer respond as the arguments can go on forever! Again...good luck!

Melody007_FNP-C, APRN · Sep 19, 2016

Thanks, IhflanurseNP!

sophBSN15 · Sep 20, 2016

I am so excited, I can barely stand it. 2 years from now I will look back and know I made the right decision.