Student Wrongfully Dismissed

[thinksdifferently]

I would like to tell you about a situation that happened to a friend recently.

A student was dismissed from taking a final which resulted in an "F" in the course. It was their final course of the entire program. The cause for dismissal, "Violation of Classroom Rules," during an informal, optional quiz review.

Initially, there were false allegations made by another student that he had been reading questions to himself and recording it on his mobile device. Upon investigation, there was no probable evidence to prove that this student was cheating. The student was already passing the course and none of the questions reviewed were going to be repeated on the final; therefore, it showed no intent to cheat or gain an academic advantage.

After academic dishonesty was ruled out, faculty members decided to switch things around and cite the student for violating classroom rules by having a cell phone out instead. The violation resulted in an inability to take the final, fail the course, and subsequently repeat the class next year.

The student is an excellent scholar with a clean record and no previous history of offenses; holds numerous character references, tutors students, teaches children part-time, and has proven clinical competence throughout the program. Upon graduation, the student would of been ACLS, BLS, ECG, and Critical Care certified -- a truly ambitious, self-determined individual.

The student was disciplined with guidelines not set forth by the syllabus. He was also denied his first amendment rights. There were repeated attempts to speak with the instructor. Though the student posed no threat, security was notified twice to remove the student from campus.

The student does not feel that the totality of the circumstances were considered. These circumstances include the nature of their violation, their true intentions, the degree of premeditation, their acceptance of personal responsibility, the need for any unfair advantage, history of offenses, their academic history/honors, their pro-active approach to correcting their mistakes, and considering if there were any actual or potential harm that have caused to other students or to the school.

The penalties they imposed were not fair, humane, and proportionate to the infraction. As a result of the faculty's misapplication of policy and procedure, there will be a direct impact on the livelihood of the student's future which will result in a loss of income from a delay in their RN licensure.

What actions could this student take?

[sunnycalifRN]

The school of hard knocks. If there is a rule stating no cell phones out, then he violated the rules, plain and simple. Maybe the student will learn from this incident and learn to follow the rules.

BTW, there is no First Amendment right on a school matter . . .

[thinksdifferently]

To clarify, the cell phone policy is applicable to a theory environment. This was a quiz review -- optional and informal. Guidelines also stated nothing about mobile devices under their quiz review section. Again, the student was "disciplined with guidelines not set forth by the syllabus."

In addition, there were other students who mistakenly had their phones out -- students who were actually seen by the Instructor of Records. No disciplinary actions were taken against these individuals, therefore, this could be interpreted as implied consent.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

The same policies apply to informal, optional reviews. If there is a no cell phone policy for the classroom, then it applies here as well. If the student violated the rules, then the school is within their right to impose a penalty. As far as whether that penalty is too harsh, we are not in a position to evaluate the totality of the situation, since we were not there, we do not know the student, and we have no way of knowing the full situation.

That being said, the school must certainly have some policy or process in place for appealing such decisions. The student should utilize that process.

[jimmy328, RN]

if what you say is all accurate, i believe this student was railroaded and made to be an example. this school sounds like the school i went to, broward college (bc) in broward county fl. i am delighted this crap is behind me, because bc would not have hesitated to get rid of me being that i butted heads with a couple of clinical instructors. if i was one exam away from graduation and set back a year, this would have ruined me. i was already set back a year because i had to repeat two courses which set me back one year.

i’m sure all rn schools have rules regarding cell phones; yet, we do make mistakes and forget to turn them off and many of us use recorders during lectures. he’s probably not the only student that left the cell phone on. it is bizarre they felt it necessary to call security. again, if everything you said is true regarding your “friend”, most schools have a grievances department or avenue students can go through. however; i think these departments are not necessarily student advocates. if this fails, he may want to start interviewing attorneys; he may or may not have a case. the bottom line though, it is an uphill battle.

my condolences and i pray he has a favorable outcome.

[itsmejuli]

Did you look in the student handbook to see if there is an appeals process or how to file a written complaint? Perhaps the student can request a formal meeting with the Dean.

[thinksdifferently]

Jimmy,

I agree. It was a mistake. Though it is not an excuse, it sounds like his misstep here resulted from a habit and a lack of awareness of holding his phone. He never denied he made a mistake. He apologized. Despite that, he was punished severely and, as you mentioned, to probably be used as an example. If that's the case, sounds like malicious intent on the faculty members behalf. No one could understand why the disciplinary actions were warranted. How many times have you heard a cell phone ring during class? It's a violation of classroom rules according to their handbook yet we give them the benefit of the doubt. A verbal warning or a written reprimand would of been understandable, but to deprive someone of their education and make them retake a course they were already passing doesn't seem to quite make sense.

Itsmejuli,

There is a grievance, but it's a 2-3 month process but he would prefer to rectify the issue at that level, have the final exam proctored, and graduate this coming December.

[MagsMom]

Most (if not all) reputable universities and colleges have procedures set forth for all sorts of appeals. The student in question should be investigating all options at this point - speculation about what the guidelines were, fairness, and who is at fault are all moot points. The student has failed the course and it seems like the worst thing that is happening here is the course needs to be repeated next year - at least they were not dismissed from the program.

[SteffersRN87, BSN, RN]

It may have not been stated in the class syllabus, but there may be a school policy regarding cell phones. When I was in nursing school, students were not allowed to have a cell phone visible during exams. If one was seen by a faculty member or another student reported it, the individual would be dismissed from the program on the grounds of professional ethics and academic integrity.

[ukstudent]

i would like to tell you about a situation that happened to a friend recently.

initially, there were false allegations made by another student that he had been reading questions to himself and recording it on his mobile device. upon investigation, there was no probable evidence to prove that this student was cheating. the student was already passing the course and none of the questions reviewed were going to be repeated on the final; therefore, it showed no intent to cheat or gain an academic advantage.

i was interested by how this was worded. you obviously are biased in this students favor, but even here it seems that the "student" did in fact record questions and answers into his cell phone. just because he already passed that test and the questions were not going to be used again for this term does not make this not cheating. the questions will be used again the following term, he could have been selling the questions. even if not selling, his having a copy of how the teacher words questions to learn from while other students don't, is also a form of cheating.

while i was in school, when we had a test review, we were not allowed to record or copy any of the questions in any form. if found to have done so would have resulted in being dismissed from the program.

[Mr I Care]

Your friend should seek an appeal.

[MedSurgeMess]

As far as security, I have seen people in nursing school get angry over things and make threats and/or refuse to leave after consult with the school of nursing. Due to the fact you never know how one will react or what weapon they may or may not be carrying, this is probably a staff safety issue. You may know your friend to be nonviolent, but the instructors and staff at the school don't necessarily know, or may worry that he may react negatively to the situation.