The private college cash grab

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Mar 1, 2015

The problem for the BONs is the current students in those schools. If they prevent the schools from accepting any new students until their NCLEX rate improves, then the cash flow is cut and they will be unable to retain instructors for the students still in the program. If the BONs close those schools, the students will need to go somewhere and will have a hard time getting other schools to accept their credits causing them to start over.

elkpark · Mar 1, 2015

Part of the problem in FL is that, several years ago, the FL state lege passed legislation making it easier to open nursing schools in the state (relaxing the requirements) and took approval authority for new programs away from the BON, with the specific intention of making the state more friendly and welcoming to the proprietary nursing schools (like FL could possibly need to be more "business-friendly," like it isn't one small step away from being a honest-to-goodness banana republic already ...)

malenurseFl · Mar 1, 2015

I was checking official nclex pass rates for all rn programs in the state for 2014. My school is maintaining 66 percent. Many others are @ 25 to 50 percent. Its down right fraudulent. I've just contacted a law firm and I hope to hear from them tomorrow.

caliotter3 · Mar 1, 2015

I do not recall being adequately prepared for passing NCLEX from my nursing program. I prepared for the NCLEX myself and passed the test after putting effort into the task. That is the task you have before you, no matter how well your program prepared you, or how poorly it prepared you. You need to find the right study method to pass, and keep taking that test until you do pass. Good luck.

malenurseFl · Mar 1, 2015

I do not recall being adequately prepared for passing NCLEX from my nursing program. I prepared for the NCLEX myself and passed the test after putting effort into the task. That is the task you have before you, no matter how well your program prepared you, or how poorly it prepared you. You need to find the right study method to pass, and keep taking that test until you do pass. Good luck.

I graduated from a public LPN program. No one failed the NCLEX. The public RN program has a nearly 100 percent pass rate. RN graduates are not being taught correctly for pass rates to be that low.

NewYorkerGirl · Mar 2, 2015

I do not recall being adequately prepared for passing NCLEX from my nursing program. I prepared for the NCLEX myself and passed the test after putting effort into the task. That is the task you have before you, no matter how well your program prepared you, or how poorly it prepared you. You need to find the right study method to pass, and keep taking that test until you do pass. Good luck.

You can't pass the NCLEX if you haven't learned the material in your 2-4 years of school. That's the real problem.

That's what happens when you live in a republican utopia like FL: they believe in caveat emptor. They won't close schools because they believe the students there deserve what they're getting. FL has a sick attitude.

I wish I had something helpful to say. Good luck to you.

heron, ASN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

Actually, I don't think they think about the students at all except as data on a loan application. Scoffing up as much of that loan money as they can is their entire business plan. Ask Goldman Sachs - they've been investing heavily in for-profit schools for years.

Psata · Mar 2, 2015

Legal action? Is this a case of buyers remorse? Would you start this thread had you successfully passed your NCLEX on your first or second attempt? There have been zillion of threads on this forum about the dangers of enrolling in these (mostly) unaccredited For-Profit Institutions, yet you went ahead and enrolled despite the potential pitfalls. I have a friend, despite my warning that the LPN-RN bride program she elected to attend was a bad idea, went ahead anyway and to date, haven't be able to pass her NCLEX exam after "many" attempts. The school she graduated from, had a 25% pass rate and other academic issues in the State of Florida. The tuition exceeds $30K and does not had any form of accreditation. I'm curious, what would be your basis for legal action and do you have the money to fund such an action? Did the School lie/mislead you in anyway?

You made your bed, now lay it, instead of looking for scapegoats. You know exactly what you were getting into!! I have heard from people that attend these programs that these Schools do not fail students and pretty much guarantee that you will graduate and this fact seems to attract many students who feel they can buy their way to an RN.

elkpark · Mar 2, 2015

I do not recall being adequately prepared for passing NCLEX from my nursing program. I prepared for the NCLEX myself and passed the test after putting effort into the task. That is the task you have before you, no matter how well your program prepared you, or how poorly it prepared you. You need to find the right study method to pass, and keep taking that test until you do pass. Good luck.

I disagree -- the NCLEX is supposed to measure minimum knowledge/competency to safely enter practice, and nursing programs are supposed to be providing students with at least the minimum knowledge and competency they need to safely enter practice. My school prepared us v. well for the NCLEX, and I would consider that a basic expectation of nursing school. What is the point of putting the time, effort, and expense into a nursing program if you graduate unprepared for the licensure exam?

elkpark · Mar 2, 2015

I was checking official nclex pass rates for all rn programs in the state for 2014. My school is maintaining 66 percent. Many others are @ 25 to 50 percent. Its down right fraudulent. I've just contacted a law firm and I hope to hear from them tomorrow.

I'm curious -- how is that possible? In every state in which I've practiced, over the years, the BON would shut down programs with pass rates consistently lower than ~85% or so. Is this another manifestation of the lege having relaxed the standards for nursing programs and taken regulation authority away from the BON? Are schools in FL now allowed to continue operating with such low NCLEX pass rates? WOW ...

On the other hand, if these schools are operating within the regulations and oversight established by the state lege, I'm not exactly sure how that's "fraudulent." As others have noted, some of the responsibility is on the students, to do their "due diligence" up front, research these programs, and be sure they understand what they're getting into. I've known many people personally, and have seen many people post on this site, who would do more research before buying a car or a refrigerator than they do before committing to a nursing program. That is a mistake. If these "schools" couldn't get students to enroll and pay tuition, they'd have to either change their programs or go out of business. But there always seem to be plenty of people, who either don't know any better or don't care, willing to sign up without asking a lot of questions because they are offering an easy, convenient route to licensure or because they will accept people who don't meet the acceptance standards for the more legitmate programs. I would love to see these "schools" banned and shut down entirely, as a group, but, as long as they are legally allowed to operate and people are willing to sign up for them, nothing's going to change. At least the Obama administration is trying to crack down on some of student loan program abuse and require more transparency, which I'm happy to see.

heron, ASN, RN · Mar 2, 2015

I couldn't begin to evaluate the merits of the OPs particular case, so PPs could very well be right that he totally allowed himself to be hoodwinked. We have no info on his background education, financial literacy or age, all of which influence the likelihood of his falling for a fraudulent pitch.

Personal responsibility is laudable, but I'd like to see real numbers regarding Florida's criteria for operating a school of nursing, as well as his school's admissions pitch, pass rates, employment rates and the promises made to those seeking loans. Do they lie about graduation or employment rates, or minimize the terms of the loans incurred? Don't blow it off ... it's been done and probably still is. Consider this:

The Inside Story Of How A For-Profit College Hoodwinked Students And Got Away With It | ThinkProgress

The company's bait-and-switch approach to recruiting students â€” or making sales to customers â€” lured many ambitious people who thought they were investing in future economic security, workplace dignity, or job satisfaction. But ultimately, many of them were just buying a meaningless degree at a very high price.
Corinthian has a history of bribing temp agencies to hire graduates from some of its Everest College-branded programs. The hires allowed Corinthian to report misleadingly high job-placement rates for its graduates, even though the arrangement didn't get anyone permanent work â€” graduates got a month of make-work assignments like pushing a broom for no apparent reason, then were fired unceremoniously. Lawsuits allege such bribery at a Decatur, GA branch of Everest and at multiple branches in California, and Corinthian staff in other states told the Huffington Post they were specifically instructed to find firms in their area that would hire graduates long enough to help Corinthian's statistics, and who cares if they stay?â€
In order to receive taxpayer-funded student loan dollars, schools must maintain a sufficiently high job placement rate for graduates. Corinthian and other companies like it rely almost entirely on those public dollars for their revenue. In addition to keeping that multi-billion-dollar lifeline running, the inflated stats also help the company recruit new customers.
The reality of the job market for for-profit grads is far uglier; a for-profit degree gives you the same odds of landing a job as someone with zero college experience on her resume.

Let's not pussyfoot around ... many, if not most, of these schools make their profits from federal and state loans to their students. Florida is notorious for being what one conservative calls a "nanny state" ... a government that considers maximizing corporate profits a top priority and adjusts its' policy and legislation accordingly.

Students have been flocking to for-profit nursing schools for years and posting about it here on AN. What amazes me is the fact that so few older people - myself included - who might have a clue ever bothered to point some of these issues out The most frequent advice given on AN on the subject: take out a loan.

While I agree that a lot of due diligence got skipped over the years ... but we have no business getting thin in the nose about it, because we elders either didn't realize the issues ourselves or didn't bother to let the newbies in on the secret.