CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Twelve Mountain State University nursing students have been collectively suing MSU, former president Charles Polk as well as a board of trustees for fraud, breach of stipulate as well as deliberately misleading them about a severity of a program's accreditation problems, according to court documents. Students in a soon-to-be-defunct nursing program blamed a actions of Mountain State officials for their "loss of employment, loss of educational opportunities, significant debt, mental anguish as well as loss of professional reputation," according to an amended censure filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court on March 23.Last month's amended censure consolidates some previous student lawsuits which had already been filed in court. This is one of a first times Charles Polk as well as a MSU trustees have been specifically listed by name in a lawsuit addressing a school's accreditation failures.The trial date is set for January 2013, said Stephen New, a Beckley attorney representing a twelve MSU students. He said about 30 additional nursing students would file a joint suit against MSU officials in Kanawha County court later this week. The lawsuit in Kanawha County, which represents only one of several pending suits against MSU across a state, alleges which MSU administrators intentionally tried to hide a accreditation problems from students. It additionally highlights serious hurdles facing hundreds of students who have been still caught up in MSU's accreditation problems.School of Nursing officials were told a school would remove its national accreditation with a National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission in Jul 2010, two years after school officials were warned of problems. The accreditation was a kind of third-party guarantee which a program is meeting established quality standards. In February, a state nursing board said it would revoke MSU's nursing program as well as a school must shutter a program in August for many of a same deficiencies identified by a national accrediting body. Students in a nursing program say MSU administrators -- from former nursing vanguard Nancey France to suspended president Charles Polk -- misled students for years in both course sessions as well as emails, waging a campaign of misinformation about a school's accreditation situation as well as self-denial report about a severity of a problems so students would continue profitable tuition as well as fees, according to a amended complaint. Students like Heather Brewster, a nursing student who was scheduled to graduate in May 2013, began a nursing program in August 2010 as well as was told which a program was both nationally accredited as well as state accredited, according to a complaint. Those assurances came despite report dating behind to Jul 2008 which laid out problems which could potentially cripple a nursing program. In a Jul 2008 letter to Charles Polk, a executive director of a national accrediting body told Polk which a NLNAC had placed MSU's program on warning as well as would reevaluate a accreditation situation in spring 2010, at which point accreditation could be revoked, according to a lawsuit. In Jul 2009, a state nursing board launched a full investigation in to MSU's School of Nursing amid concerns which a school had repeatedly failed to meet state accreditation requirements.MSU officials failed to discuss it Brewster as well as a other students named in a lawsuit about a problems, but rsther than told students at a January 2010 course session which "anything a plaintiffs as well as others listened was only rumor which a plaintiffs should ignore," according to a lawsuit. Students lay which because of a loss of both state as well as national accreditation, they will be unable to sit for their licensing exams, cannot apply to a master's in nursing program, have been saddled with significant monetary debt, as well as will be forced to withdraw from clinical programs they have been currently enrolled in. Students have said they have been having incredible trouble anticipating an additional school which will accept MSU's nursing credits, meaning which if they transfer schools, they will have to begin from scratch. So far, MSU has refused to refund any tuition money to a students, has refused to address a problems in a nursing program as well as has offered no apologies, according to a lawsuit. The students in a lawsuit have been seeking a full refund on their tuition, along with punitive damages as well as lawyer costs. Reach Amy Julia Harris at amy.har...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4814.Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc
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