Sunday, June 24, 2007
Nursing Student Sues School for F
June 24, 2007 -- Columbia University gave him an "F," but he deserves an "A" for audacity.Nicholas Perrino was kicked out of the Ivy League institution's School of Nursing for missing an exam, and now he is suing to get back in.
"I should have went to Yale," moaned Perrino, who is representing himself in the case.
The 27-year-old Illinois native said he was working toward two master's degrees last summer, when his grandparents became gravely ill, forcing him to take a few days off.
He told his instructors he would be absent for a skills exam and tried to arrange a makeup, Perrino claims in documents filed June 15 in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Instead, he says, the school failed him in the course - part of a fast-track master's program.
Without the test, the school wouldn't let him continue his nursing coursework.
Filing academic grievances and appealing to the Columbia provost got him nowhere, he said, and he was withdrawn from the School of Nursing.
"It's insane," Perrino said. "It's not like I killed someone."
Perrino, who says he spent $65,000 on tuition, did complete a master's degree in public policy. He says he had a nearly spotless academic record at the School of Nursing.
A Columbia spokesman said he could only confirm Perrino had been a nursing student, and cited privacy rules preventing him from discussing the case.
Perrino is asking a judge to remove the "F" from his transcript, reinstate him at the school and reimburse tuition costs for classes he has already taken.
Found in the NY Post: http://www.nypost.com/seven/06242007/news/regionalnews/f_student_sues_columbia_nurse_school_regionalnews_kathianne_boniello.htm
Posted by HypnoKitten at 9:15 PM
I'm actually the student who filed suit against the University's School of Nursing. Let me file you in on what the NY Post failed to reveal:
I did in fact inform the instructor of the clinical course in advance of my family emergency (5-6 days in advance...as soon as I knew why and when I would need to be out of town). Originally there was some confusion as to why I would not be present for the skills exam, however, after further clarification and discussions with the program director, it was agreed upon that a) I had a serious family emergency and that the precedent at the school was to allow students excused absenses due to these rare and infrequent situations and b) that a make-up skills test and date would be arranged for me.
Such arrangements were verified via an email from the program director within a few days of my return to New York City. However, the school never followed through with its word and decided to simply fail me in the course nine days later...essentially stating that I did not complete the skills test.
Moreover, another student in the class failed at least one part of the skills test. As per the course syllabus, she was allowed to re-take the appropriate testing. This took place the next week. The school could have easily informed me of this date and had me perform the skills at that time. In my estimation, the six skills on the exam would have taken one student approximately 20-25 minutes to perform. The preparatory set-up is also minimal and I even offered to set up myself because of the inconvenience.
I attempted to appeal this decision to fail me in the course via a procedure known as an Academic Grievance. I was told in the summer of 2006 (immediately after being informed of this grade) that assembling such a faculty panel for a grievance proceeding was not possible in the summer--this is a direct violation of student policy at the university. All students are entitled to having a grievance hearing within 5-10 days of request. I later submitted another formal Academic Grievance via email (which was deamed an appropriate route)...but the school essentially ignored it.
Any student who receives an "F" in a clinical course at Columbia University School of Nursing must be reviewed by the Committee on Admissions. This committee is supposed to review the entire academic record of the student, the circumstances behind the poor grade, and determine if the student should be allowed to re-take the course the following year. For some unknown and unexplained reason, this committee decided I should NOT be allowed to re-attempt this course.
My GPA at the School of Nursing was 3.7. My GPA at the School of Public Health (where I was a dual degree student) was around 3.9.
I appealed these decisions to the dean of the school and then to the provost/president of the University...both of which upheld such decisions.
The skills test of the clinical course itself wasn't even graded. I was essentially prevented from continuing on into the graded part of the course. This suggests per the student handbook that I should have been given an INC (incomplete) rather than an "F" since I didn't actually fail any of the graded material.
And lastly, had I known that my family emergency wouldn't be deemed excusable (like everyone elses at the school in the past had been) and then unexcusable, and had I known that the school would lie about making "arrangements" for a make-up test for me and simply fail me instead...I would have withdrawn from the course. This would have given me a "W" on my transcript instead of an "F", and it wouldn't have counted against my graduate GPA. In that case, since I wouldn't have received an "F", the Committe on Admissions wouldn't have to review my standing at the school and would not have been able to dismiss me for any reason.
-Nicholas M. Perrino
*the NY Post misquoted me. I actually said "I should have ATTENDED Yale." I should have went to Yale is improper grammer.
**The quote about killing someone doesn't make sense out of context as the NY Post has it. I was actually stating that one was to fail a clinical course would be to kill someone in the hospital (i.e. a patient) because of negligant or careless practice.
Should an academically well-performing student at the school have been failed and then dismissed from his master's program for missed ONE class--a class he chose to miss because of a family emergency he informed the school of 5-6 days ahead of time? Does that seem reasonable?
Hope this helps.
Hello from Down Under in Australia. I only just found your blog tonight, but will be adding a link to it. My blog is at http://agedcareact.wordpress.com/ and it covers health and nursing issues in Australia.
Belinda
I am not at all surprised by the schools decision. I too think this is very unfair to you and the entire Nursing student body at Columbia.
I have been an R.N for 22 years and see that nursing student are still treated just a little bit different.We are still seen as having a vocation rahter than a career. Of course you should be more dedicated to your vocation than your family.
This kind of thing is not new. I wonder if it will ever stop? I think not. Nurses are dedicated to thier patients . Is it so surprising that we shold also be dedicated to our family?
Good luck to that student and I hope he does win his suit.
rheachel rn
The rules don't matter. The policies don't matter. Your grades don't matter. Your grandparents' health doesn't matter.
Bureaucrats are senseless and inebriated with their own puny powers. And you are their victim.
You might be able to get some satisfaction in this case. But it won't be for any reason other than completely imbecilic, random, capricious application of administrative bullshit. Period.
No wonder there's a nursing shortage.
How do I get a mention on the list of nurse blogs?
Nicholas,
Thanks for the clarification. I really feel for you. What a fiasco. Hope you can get it resolved.
I hope you win your suit. I am a student at a nursing school in Ohio and I was failed in a nursing clinical course because the instructor did not like my care plans. This is after I consulted with 3 of the instructors in the course about the care plans more than 6 times(mind you I have never had issues with care plans until this class). With three teachers having three different perspectives and grading my papers at random times, what I wrote was never satisfying. I was told that I failed the course on the last day of class. Did I endanger a patient? No. Do I have a 85% in the course? Yes. I have my appeal hearing this week. I pray that I win just as I pray that you win your suit.