Miami-Jacobs wants to reopen nursing program

DAYTON — Miami-Jacobs Career College has asked the Ohio Court of Appeals to allow its practical nursing program to reopen through July 24 so current students can finish the term and transfer to another school.

The college then intends to close its program and help its 17 students transfer to one that is fully accredited in the Dayton area, according to a filing with the 10th District Court of Appeals in Columbus.

Miami-Jacobs’ nursing program was closed May 18 when the Ohio Board of Nursing withdrew its conditional approval and denied full approval. The private, for-profit college noted it reserved the right to apply for conditional approval of a new program through the Ohio Board of Nursing “at some point in the future,” according its June 8 court filing.

The college argues the state nursing board made the decision to deny approval of the program based on information that was more than two years old. The nursing board said it “has no confidence” that the college will comply with Ohio’s minimum standards to safely and effectively educate nursing students, according to court records.

Miami-Jacobs created its nursing program in 2006. It has 17 students who were on track to graduate in December, March 2013 and July 2013, according to a transcript from a May 23 hearing. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Frye ordered in January 2011 that no new nursing students be admitted. No new students were admitted, but students were accepted after the case was sent back to the Ohio Board of Nursing, according to a court transcript.

State law does not set any time restrictions on a school filing for approval of a new program after one is closed, according to the nursing board.

The college declined to comment on the latest court action, according to spokesman Chuck Vella.

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