Reformation of the Nursing Program at Cedar Crest College

On behalf of the students at Cedar Crest's Nursing Program, it has come to our attention that the program offered to us has not been suitable or beneficial toward the steps needed to graduate successfully. Regardless of the 98% first time NCLEX passing rate that is proudly shown by the college, what goes behind that effort and how it is handled as a whole is unacceptable. There have been countless attempts by students to contact the program, speak with advisors, and bring up questions to professors in an effort to reform the course. None of these have been successful in entirely getting anything done. I am writing to you in hopes to speak up for the students, advisors, and professors that feel they do not have a voice in this matter to have anything improved.

The nursing program at Cedar Crest prides itself on having the finest tools and equipment facilities in the country. It does no good when no one is able to use them by the time they start the nursing program. The fact that around 75% of the students will not pass by the time they finish their junior year is concerning. A college that has been at the forefront for being an advanced liberal arts college has one of the most preposterous nursing programs in the area. It is designed to set students up for failure without any remorse and it has gone on for too long. No student should have to lose their sanity, morals, or money to a program where it is supposed to open opportunities to help individuals enter the healthcare field. On behalf of the student nurses, we want to say enough is enough and change is demanded from the Nursing Program at Cedar Crest.

Failing an exam, ATI module, or a whole class by less than a fraction of a point is nothing to look over. The nursing students, including myself, work very hard to try and decipher the information that is given to us on a daily basis. In return, the faculty play favoritism between the students, are rigid in their policies, and overall do not facilitate productive learning in class. That is not to say all the professors are like this, but in some retrospect, it has been seen in many over the years.

Exams throughout the course have questions that are unrealistic with the majority of questions that have not been covered in lecture. Not only are they complicated, students are not able to get back their exams to see what they got wrong. Some have brought up concerns about the legitimacy of the exams being graded. To many of the students, the new system of not showing exams back to see what they have gotten wrong shows no signs of assistance when trying to improve their knowledge. Offering a bogus grid that shows almost the entire chapter of what they need to study based on what questions were wrong does not do any justice, especially when it may have been one question. It does no good to study a whole chapter for one question answered incorrectly. Not one student when asked has ever found this useful when trying to study.

Furthermore, emailing students about tutoring times does not let them know what they got wrong on their exam either. Tutoring would be more helpful if the leadership students or faculty were given more information other than the same material that was discussed in class already. New material to review, or more suggestions on how to improve or decipher NCLEX-style questions are some ways to improve it.

The staff also offers students no assistance in dealing with personal/emergency matters, but instead, are responded to with a half-felt apology that does nothing to improve the situation. In addition, ATI books are given to the students but are not explained entirely in how they can use it to their full potential. It is wonderful that $800 text books designed to further student education is added to our tuition, however, does not show to be helpful when the majority of the information is disregarded or said to be a contraindication by the professors. What good are the textbooks if the prototype of the drugs, side effects, or how NCLEX-style questions are laid out if the majority of the information it is not accepted or used in class? Getting a shoulder shrug or being told by the professors that their hands are tied and are only being told what is given to them in the program is unacceptable!

When it comes to grading, professors are quick to notice APA writing errors and will mark accordingly, but will show errors in their writing of exams, emails and throughout the canvas system. Simple errors are common and human, but it is shown to be a one-sided expectation that does not allow students to fix it without drastic repercussions.

Clearly, reform is needed. Many inconsistencies have been shown throughout the program. Professors have different grading styles and expectations per each assignment, so grading is not reliable between them even with the same submission. It is not fair that students can receive different grades based on added material the professor wants outside of what is given on the syllabus. This can be applied to lab worksheets as well as homework assignments. Although it was brought up by the program that they implement similar grading styles, it still fails to show overall consistency with each student. Change is not evident with the faculty so, not by choice, students are either forced to exit the program or look for other nursing programs due to situations that could have been easily addressed if the program was not so rigid based on policies that do not facilitate any sort of leniency.

From the students in the program, not rounding a grade for one point does not show effectiveness in learning. We understand nursing as a whole is an intense and rigorous journey. However, it should not have to seem unreasonable by working through impossible barriers to fight for fractions of a point. Single parents with children, students with financial struggles, and many others who sacrificed their time have fought up the ladder to get into the program. It does not seem fair that the program can be taken away from us just for simple errors that could have been easily fixed or amended.

The program should allow the students to get their input and say into what matters and what can be changed from professors, not the other way around. The surveys given at the end of the program to many of the students do not find it helpful when they cannot benefit from the advances next semester or have been taken out of the program. Some of the faculty that are fearful of their jobs have expressed their concerns for the students and also agree with our frustrations but have been told that the students themselves need to speak up. Merely going to the head of the department or any faculty for that matter in the nursing program has not been effective especially due to the lack of diversity and minority representation within the faculty. Time for change is evident and the students in the nursing program will not be silenced any longer. From the nursing students at Cedar Crest, we hope you can hear our plea and can work with us to have action taken upon this program that is so desperately in need of restructuring.

Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.