For-Profit Schools’ May See a More Favorable Future

The Obama administration through its Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a legislative ally in Sen. Tom Harkin (Democrat from Iowa who has now retired), created numerous rules and regulations that significantly impacted for-profit schools.  While good intentions were made to address the abuses of some schools, the approach place all schools into the same category.  This resulted in multiple school closures which significantly impacted students, employers, and contributed to limiting student access to education.

While Pres. Trump and his new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have yet to clearly articulate plans for this sector, it does seem probable that there will be a more favorable regulatory environment for for-profit schools. Gainful employment rules which linked financial performance and placement of graduates to schools’ ability to access federal funds has resulted in a significant number of closures.  This means the Federal government who one would assume should do no harm to students by their actions left thousands with no degrees and substantial debt.  While some may view this approach as appropriate to weed out” bad apples” it had a negative effect by placing all schools into the same basket. Clearly regulations that address abusers of the system need to be in place and hopefully the new administration will seek a middle of the road approach to monitoring such.  For more information regarding these issues please read the New York Times article by Patricia Cohen at the following link: For Profit Schools, an Obama Target, See New Day Under Trump (Retrieved from the Internet on February 22, 2017).

Nursing Schools in a For-Profit Sector

The number of for profit nursing schools has mushroomed in the past number of years.  The creation was driven in part by the nursing shortage and lack of traditional government supported programs to graduate adequate number of nurses needed for the workforce.  Many of these schools are closing because of poor academic outcomes often combined with a lack of adequate financial resources. While antidotal a frequent cause seems to be related to inexperience academic leaders and faculty who lack the experience and expertise to be successful with non-traditional students.  

For-profit schools provide a very valuable service primarily to socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who want to become nurses. The public university system admissions are extremely competitive and often lacks scheduling flexibility so that many of these students cannot attend the program.  Community colleges which many require one or more years of prerequisites to be completed before being placed on the competitive waiting list, meaning that the number of students admitted into the programs are limited. Most for-profit schools who admit qualified high-risk students do so with the understanding they too deserve an opportunity to meet their dream of becoming a nurse.

Without a doubt educating this high-risk group is challenging.  They typically have social and economic challenges which can impact their ability to focus on their academic careers. This means that schools within this sector must have significant resources to support students to address not only the educational content but also the other non-educational challenges. Therefore, it takes a unique mix of faculty, curriculum, and academic supports to achieve success.

Clearly some of the for-profit schools are doing good job at educating these individuals by achieving acceptable outcomes while others fail in their attempt.

There are numerous issues surrounding the creation of these alternative nursing programs and specific strategies for success are needed.  These include capital needed to sustain a program for the long term, clearly articulated accountability guidelines between the “business side of the operation” and professional education; administrative structure that support successful outcomes; the skills set required for Deans and faculty that are in some cases different than those needed in traditional programs.  An understanding of the regulatory environment with special attention to student outcomes, retention, career placement and program satisfaction is required.  Strategies to address these issues including achieving excellence in the classroom, use of high stake testing, practice of using publisher and testing preparation companies, retention strategies, post-graduation engagement best practices as well as use of consultants maybe required.

RL Anders and Associates

Getting Nursing Students Off on the Right Foot
Traditionally nursing programs have a define nursing orientation protocol. It may be viewed as yet another task that needs to be completed as the new cohort of students enters the nursing program.  The critical importance of a well-organized and informative orientation may be over looked by academic leadership and faculty. However, orientation is an opportunity for students to have a solid foundation to launch their nursing career.

The orientation should be scheduled at least one week prior to the beginning of the term and should be required for all incoming students. Students need to be made aware of this requirement during the admissions process so they can plan accordingly. The orientation when well design can provide a very stimulating and encouraging foundation as the students’ nursing education journey begins.

Faculty facilitating the orientation should be enthusiastic, engaging, and someone with whom the students can identify. This creates an initial bond as the orientation begins.  The purpose of the orientation is to provide the participant information about the College, nursing program, and expectations.

Starting the orientation with motivational information such as showing one of the Johnson and Johnson Discover Nursing videos can set the mood for the day.  The Dean/Director of Nursing should provide a brief welcoming address to the students, followed by faculty introducing themselves.  This could be followed by a “warm up” exercise by which the students introduce each other (either in small groups or depending on the size to the larger group).  Another idea is to use folded tent cards with names written on one side, name tags, etc. to foster recall of student names.  This may also be a time in which the students share with each other and/or the larger group why he/she wants to become a nurse.

Many exercises are available to provide guidance for such. First Year Orientation Ice Breaking or Introduction is an example used in Notre Dame.

Heart of the Orientation
Introduction to the nursing curriculum is provided using the catalog (copy provided to each student with signed acknowledgment of such) to explain the philosophy, mission, curriculum, attendance, course sequences, etc.  A detailed orientation to the Student Handbook (again with students signing for such) should provide the bulk of information shared.  If there are also special notification such as the medication administration, academic integrity policy, etc. acknowledgment of receiving such should also be done.

In addition to the information shared previously, it may be useful to incorporate some form of gaming into the orientation to assist the students in remembering critical requirements.  Small prizes such as pencils, note pads, buttons, etc. could be used to reinforce correct answers to critical elements that students need to know.  An example of gaming maybe to break the students into small groups (number off 1-4).  They are then asked to complete a “scavenger hunt” to find answers to critical elements of the orientation.  Faculty can identify the critical elements they want to reinforce as they defined what is required in the hunt.

Time Management 
New students can be quickly overwhelmed with meeting the demands of the various the nursing curriculum.  It is suggested each student be provided a daily calendar or show how on their smart phone devise or computer how to use such an application so they have a starting point in how to manage their time.  A review of basic time management principles should be included.  With demands for homework, exams, clinical schedules and personal and family obligation (work, children, etc.) it is very easy to lose track of critical activities that need to be accomplished.   Some examples of time management can be found at https://sao.nd.edu/studentgroups/groupresources/halls/fyo/LargeGroupExercises1.pdfNursing School Time Management Tips .

Family and Significant Others
It is critical that at least a portion of the orientation be a time where the student and his/her significant others participate in a discussion about the time commitment and expectations in nursing school.  It truly takes a “village” to educate a nurse.  Many of those who fail to succeed are due to not having the financial and family supports in place to ensure time to focus on studying, etc.
This is also a good time to have a refresher discussion about financial aid and available resources such as work study, etc. It is suggested a template for a creating a budget be provided.  Reviewing as a family both the budget and the time management plan can be a very useful tool.  This component of the orientation should be held late in the day so family and significant others can attend.  Serving a light “supper” may encourage attendance.

Post Test
At the end of the session a short post test assessing knowledge of critical items should conclude the sessions.  Once the students complete the assessment the answers should be reviewed with them and information clarified.  Using power point slides that has the questions would be one way to conduct the review.

Acknowledgement and Evaluation
Students should sign an attendance form at the end of the day so there is a record of their participation.  This form could also serve as the acknowledge of receiving the catalog and student handbook as well as other important documents.

The orientation evaluation form should be completed by the students.  As with all evaluation assessments this information will provide feedback to the organizers of the orientation.  It is recommended the students be provided an electronic copy of all power point slides and other handouts used in the orientation.  This may be done as an Orientation Manual so the student has a handy reference to the material.  Essential information such as catalogs and student handbooks should have embedded electronic links so students can simply click on the link and be taken to take to the resource material.

Follow Up
It is suggested about six weeks into the new term a short follow up session be held with the students.  This session at which perhaps a light lunch (pizza, salads is provided) is an opportunity for students to provide feedback regarding how they are doing in the new term.  The students may again be provided a short survey and the results discussed using a Q and A format.
Additional sessions will be necessary to orient students to specific resources such as the library, educational supports such as Elsevier, Kaplan, ATI, HURST, etc. Students will need to fully understand how to use the various learning resources used within the curriculum.

Summary
Orientation of new students is critical.  While it not expected that the students retain all the material, the use of gaming and quizzes at the end of the session; and by providing an electronic orientation manual will reinforce critical outcomes.

Author
RL Anders and Associates provides academic institutions at very reasonable rates support for nursing programs including program accreditation.  Please view our web page RL Anders and Associates or blog RL Anders: Books, Blog, etc. for further information.