“The Miami-Jacobs students really fall to the bottom of the pool because they don’t have the breadth of clinical training that the other students have,” Miami Valley spokeswoman Nancy Thickel said. A Kettering Health Network spokesman confirmed they don’t typically consider the college’s students either.
Many graduates of the troubled school say the college’s reputation is hurting their job prospects. “When people see Miami-Jacobs, they tell you they don’t hire Miami-Jacobs grads,” said Gevena Milbry of Trotwood, a Miami-Jacobs graduate who testified Jan. 20 before the Ohio Nursing Board. She borrowed $25,000 to earn a degree from the college.
The board shut down the school’s practical nursing program after that hearing, but a Franklin County Common Pleas judge last week granted an emergency stay, allowing the school’s students to continue toward their degrees.
College officials declined an interview request, but have continued to defend the program, arguing in court documents that the school has reinvented itself and hired an outside consultant to help meet nursing board standards. The school also submitted 16 letters to the judge from satisfied students, faculty and employers. Current student Diana Asher said much of the controversy stems from students who, she said, didn’t try hard enough. “You get out what you put into it,” she said. “The instructors went above and beyond to make sure we received a great education.”The nursing board found that Miami-Jacobs repeatedly used unqualified administrators and instructors and did not meet curriculum standards — problems echoed by dozens of students who complained to state officials. Miami-Jacobs graduates who take the state nursing licensing exam passed at a rate about 20 percent below the state average.
Billy Joe Deck of Beavercreek, who testified against the school, said he feels fortunate now that his daughter Hayley was kicked out after failing a test. “If she kept going, I’d be out $30,000 and she’d have an education not worth the paper it is printed on,” he said.
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