Update on Advice Needed

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UPDATE ON 'ADVICE NEEDED"

I received a call today from the Chair of the Division. She stated "I was unable to resolve the situation". She claims that "..because I did not receive your letter of appeal until December 19th, I was unable to to meet with the nursing faculty with the nursing faculty until today (Jan 2). "......Problem is that my first appeal letter was received by her on December 7th. It was forwarded by my attorney. She responded with a letter demanding that the letter be written and signed by me pushing the process back until December 19th. I responded with a letter stating..."As previously discussed you in fact received a letter from my attorney on December 7th, 2006, who is my legal representative and , as such, had my permission to speak on my behalf. We cooperated with you; however, and sent another letter. You were aware of the appeal well before December 19th, 2006. It is unfortunate that nothing more could be done at this time.." I asked her to relay to me what was discussed about my evaluation. They are now claiming that I not only made a mistake regarding the PAC access but also now made a medication administration error I believe they are falsifying the document. I requested a copy of the evaluation document as I have not had the priveledge to see it, nor defend myself and it is a a part of my student record.

She has until tomorrow (January 3rd, 2007) to respond in writing and I reminded her of her deadline. Being that President Ford's death made today a Federal Holiday for the postal service I don't think she will make this deadline. Any suggestions on how to use her lack of timeliness against her? Any ideas of how to prepare against their falsification of my evaluation record? All suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Sorry to hear what you are going through. This is not what nrsg school is supposed to be but you can consider it to be a warning about what it can be like out there in the "real" world of work. When I was in school, there was an older lady (ethnic minority) who sued the school when she failed. We heard about her lawsuit, but until I left, no one ever saw her again, nor did we hear how her case went. In the course of events, I met a few nurses who had been booted from this BSN program (same clinical supvr, same tactics, and unprofessional behavior). The ones I met were fortunate enough to be able to pick up in a nearby ADN program and finish their RN. None of these people had comments that they had been treated in a fair and objective manner; yet they were able to finish school elsewhere. My point: As I have discussed with others about this problem, you are probably fighting a losing battle. I commend you for your courage and fighting spiriit. However, at some point, you need to look at salvaging your final goal: RN. Very shortly you will probably find that you spent money on an attorney that could have been spent on finding another program that would allow you to finish. I do not post this to discourage you, but to convey to you that every person that I met or heard about that was targeted for elimination from my program, was in fact eliminated. To me, the failings of the nrsg program are evident when these people prevailed elsewhere to become RN's. Unfortunately, today it is not so easy to find secondary programs. Best wishes to you. And I do hope that you become one of those few who do win your case.

I hope I win too!! HaHa. The problem that in 3 semesters what I have seen is NOONE fights this school. We are in a small area and they are soooo intimidated. Well, I'm not afraid. Heck, I'm losing a semester anyway because they fail us so late it is too late to get into a program that fast as the new semester is just weeks away when they fail us (added to that the time of year and schools were closed for 2 weeks for the Holidays) so I may as well spend my spare time fighting a system that is illegal as it is so saturated with unfairness and unreasonableness. To fail someone after passing them off TWICE for skills, passing their clinical is just ridiculous, especially one week before finals. They have to change this system. Period. If I lose at least I can sleep knowing that I fought tooth and nail for my individual rights.

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UPDATE: I received her letter via Federal Express today. Yesterday she was smugly laughing "Well....I'll do my best..." when I was adamant that she respond by January 3rd. I reminded her that the student code of conduct states that she has ONLY 15 days to respond, in writing, and I guess underneath her smugness she figured not to mess with that. Maybe they are a little rattled????? I would hope so but they are used to wearing people down. It indicates to me that she is seeing that I'm not wearing out and that she had better stick to the rules. Thoughts, anyone?

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Specializes in ICU/PCU/Infusion.

What did she say in the letter? Any good news? I hope so! :)

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She just stated that she was 'not able to resolve the situation' and forwarded it on to the Provost (President of Student Affairs). The problem is that I STILL don't have a copy of my documentation. So, I sent off another letter today stating that I had not received what I had requested for my records so that I can prove that I had asked to see my own student documents in one letter and the second confirms she did not cooperate. Now they are breaking FERPA laws as this law states "A student has the right to inspect and review their educational records". This school is infamous for this and they are determined. I have requested it in writing twice.... Fools.....

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Specializes in Emergency.

Could you not just go to the office at 8am tomorrow when they open, and just request them? Ask them to photocopy them in the office & they can keep their original copy--it never even has to leave their hands or the office. Bring a written copy of your request with you. This way you'll have them quickly, won't have to wait for the mail, and save yourself another letter to write.

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Now they are breaking FERPA laws ...

you rock.

Remember, it does not matter what you think, or what the director thinks or what the instructors think --- what matters is what the court has already said. The ivory tower does not exist in hyperspace apart from the law.

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Could you not just go to the office at 8am tomorrow when they open, and just request them? Ask them to photocopy them in the office & they can keep their original copy--it never even has to leave their hands or the office. Bring a written copy of your request with you. This way you'll have them quickly, won't have to wait for the mail, and save yourself another letter to write.

I could, but I am making a paper trail on their dishonesty and lack of integrity when dealing with their students......I can wait because they are just sinking their own ship by blatantly disregarding laws set in place to protect not only the student but them.

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you rock.

Remember, it does not matter what you think, or what the director thinks or what the instructors think --- what matters is what the court has already said. The ivory tower does not exist in hyperspace apart from the law.

Thank you Jov! I was on the right path with my research but having trouble connecting the dots until your brilliant insight....I owe you!!

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Specializes in Emergency.
I could, but I am making a paper trail on their dishonesty and lack of integrity when dealing with their students......I can wait because they are just sinking their own ship by blatantly disregarding laws set in place to protect not only the student but them.

True. But after two written attempts, and a simple solution staring you in the face why not take it....use it to your advantage. First, you'll be proving you're willing to do anything to get back in the program, even if YOU had to go above & beyond. And second, you'll actually get your case taken care of faster. The documentation trail already exists: two written requests without adequate response. If someone asked you why you couldn't have just gone and picked up the papers yourself, and you responded "I just don't want to, I shouldn't have to, thats their job" it sure doesn't make it sound like you're really wanting to clear this up. I understand that the school is wrong, and that you are trying to prove a point, but pick your battles......is it really worth it to continue to delay your case b/c you refuse to go get documents yourself? By having this delayed for this reason are you not sinking your own ship? The sooner your case is taken care of, the more likely it is that you will actually be allowed to continue in your program. If you finish this program, you can always make appeals afterwards to the college dean or the Board of Directors or whoever about their academic policies & Nursing Program.

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True. But after two written attempts, and a simple solution staring you in the face why not take it....use it to your advantage. First, you'll be proving you're willing to do anything to get back in the program, even if YOU had to go above & beyond. And second, you'll actually get your case taken care of faster. The documentation trail already exists: two written requests without adequate response. If someone asked you why you couldn't have just gone and picked up the papers yourself, and you responded "I just don't want to, I shouldn't have to, thats their job" it sure doesn't make it sound like you're really wanting to clear this up. I understand that the school is wrong, and that you are trying to prove a point, but pick your battles......is it really worth it to continue to delay your case b/c you refuse to go get documents yourself? By having this delayed for this reason are you not sinking your own ship? The sooner your case is taken care of, the more likely it is that you will actually be allowed to continue in your program. If you finish this program, you can always make appeals afterwards to the college dean or the Board of Directors or whoever about their academic policies & Nursing Program.

I totally hear what you are saying but when it comes to a legal issue like an appeals process every move I make must appear to be professional and non threatening. If I go in there they could easily (and believe me, I wouldn't put it past them) say that I was behaving unprofessionally...they could accuse me of anything. Unfortunately, a paper trail is safer because it shows the context in which I speak and operate. I would love to be able to go in and nicely ask for my own documentation. They would not give it and then I run the risk of my emotions getting the better of me. This is the only way to have evidence of my requests because otherwise they would say they knew nothing about it. The only way, at this point, to finish the program (until, God Willing, I win the appeal) is to repeat the entire third semester and sit through every class and clinical and pay them all that money when I was successfully completely everything until the final week. So...I'm taking the chance on the appeal. Like I had said, either way I lose this semester unless the Provost decides to do her job and tell the department their practices are unfair. But, I totally understand what you are saying. This school is corrupt and untrustworthy;however, and I'll stick with building a paper trail on them which will hold up in a court. Thanks for you insight.

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I when it comes to a legal issue like an appeals process every move I make must appear to be professional and non threatening. If I go in there they could easily...say that I was behaving unprofessionally...they could accuse me of anything. Unfortunately, a paper trail is safer because it shows the context in which I speak and operate.

Supermom, you are so wise to do it this way. You must maintain legal evidence while appealing.

Furthermore, they broke the first rule of negotiations...never put the other person in the position where they have nothing to lose...

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Exactly! If I let them do it their way I'd either repeat 3rd semester without a fight (and out of a few more thousand dollars), or if they denied my readmission(which they have been doing to all 'failures' since last semester) I would have had to wait until next September to begin 3rd somewhere else. Either way, I was faced with a minimum of one year left. They left me with nothing but time on my hands to study their appeals process and the law which protects our individual rights and our property (OUR EDUCATION- YOU OWN IT EVERYONE...NOT THEM...)

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