Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: I want your opinion of our local poor black university's mishandling of its low graduation rate within its nursing program.

After four years of passing grades, all of the senior students were given a written exam to measure how well they would do on their actual state nursing license exam. What is truly amazing is that only seven students passed. Those seven students were the only ones allowed to graduate.

Naturally, the remaining failing students complained that the school did not adequately prepare them academically or emphasize the importance of the exam.

I am disgusted by any test that unfairly keeps minorities down. It reminds me of the old Jim Crow laws where otherwise qualified black citizens had to pass a citizenship test if they wished to vote. These people were not given any study materials, either. Although this nursing exam is not a racial issue, it sure seems that the students are victims of poor leadership and mismanagement.

The school leaders avoid accountability by claiming the students failed themselves. The state nursing board's reaction is to remove the accreditation of this nursing program. This means even if the students were to retake and pass the exit exam, they still will not be able to use their now worthless degree.

These students essentially wasted four years of their lives. They sacrificed their time and money. It sickens me when I hear of anyone's academic dreams being crushed, especially minorities. They worked so hard and now get nothing for all of their work.

Society as a whole would benefit from having more minority nurses. I know because I work with them. — Phil

Dear Phil: I see nothing wrong with students being required to take an exit exam. This is very common, especially for professional schools.

You stated only seven students passed the exam. You did not say how many took the exam. If seven students are 80 percent, there seems to be no problem. If seven students are only 10 percent of the senior class, there is definitely a problem with the school — especially if all the students were given passing grades in their classes.

Regarding accreditation, if the school was accredited at the time of the students' graduation, their degree will always be accredited, even if the school loses its rating later. Accreditation is not something a school loses over night. If the school has problems, the accrediting committee gives it warning and time to fix the problems. The students should have plenty of time to know what is going on and the ability to transfer to another school.

As you said, the matter does not appear to be a minority issue. It is most likely an issue where the school's money need was higher than its commitment to education. This happens to a lot of poor or marginal schools.

The school's nursing program was probably funded in part by a health care provider that needed nurses, especially minority ones. The health care provider probably paid the school a large sum of money based on a certain number of students being in the program. It was to the school's financial advantage to keep the students enrolled as long as possible. The problem with this method is a school's reputation will suffer if, in the end, its students fail to pass their license exam. Therefore, to protect their reputations, schools usually don't graduate those students who can't pass an exit exam.

Schools that are not financially strapped will give an exam that will measure a student's ability to pass a license exam in the first or second year. It is done early to keep students from wasting their time and money.

I feel sorry for both the students and the school. 

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