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Last week, Excelsior College was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it misrepresents its Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program.
Thirteen plaintiffs from across the country filed the Excelsior class action lawsuit against the Albany, N.Y.-based distance-learning institution on Oct. 26 in New York federal court. They accuse Excelsior of depicting the institution as an “altruistic educational organization, when, in fact, it is a company whose sole purpose and motivation is profit.”
The Excelsior College class action lawsuit points to representations by the institution that its nursing degree program allows students to work with “nationally recognized faculty” and that the program improves “job security, and your earning power.”
The plaintiffs say Excelsior has an easy admissions policy, but they allege the institution intentionally makes it difficult to graduate from the ADN program. Of the nearly 10,500 students attending the ADN program, only 718 reportedly graduated from the program in 2017, according to the Excelsior class action lawsuit.
“Excelsior benefits from keeping consumers enrolled for longer periods of time,” the Excelsior College class action lawsuit says. “Enrolled consumers pay annual fees and pay for every time they fail a test known as the Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination (‘CPNE’), which costs nearly $2,300 each time a consumer takes it.”
Nursing students cannot graduate without passing the CPNE, according to the Excelsior class action lawsuit.
The plaintiffs allege Excelsior schedules and administers the CPNE in an unfair and deceptive manner intended to keep students enrolled in the program for a longer period of time than is necessary.
According to the Excelsior class action lawsuit, Excelsior withholds material information about the CPNE until students are “irreversibly committed to completing the program.” The plaintiffs claim that the college forced them to wait 12 to 18 months to take the CPNE even though it had previously informed students that they would be able to take the exam within three to six months from the time of registration.
Excelsior allegedly suggests it has buildings in many locations throughout the United States, the institution runs the entire ADN program from New York and conducts the CPNE from sites that are not necessarily where its enrolled students reside.
“The test centers are not permanent in nature,” the Excelsior class action lawsuit asserts. In August, for example, Excelsior reportedly informed test-takers that the CPNE scheduling was “suspended” at four different locations in Georgia.
Many students who wanted to take the CPNE were required to travel to inconvenient locations to prepare for the exam and pay for their own travel and lodging expenses. To make matters worse, the students were allegedly failed for subjective reasons or because of errors made by the examiners.
Proposed Class Members of the proposed Excelsior College class action lawsuit include anyone who was enrolled with Excelsior at any time since Oct. 30, 2011 and who was subjected to Excelsior testing.
The Excelsior class action lawsuit seeks reimbursement for Class Members’ actual losses and seeks to compel Excelsior to take steps to be more transparent, including posting its pass/fail and graduation rates conspicuously, disclosing all fees students will be expected to pay, and informing students that their Excelsior credits may not transfer.
The plaintiffs are represented by John Hermina of Hermina Law Group and by Gregory Allen of Law Office of Gregory Allen.
The Excelsior College Class Action Lawsuit is Shewanda Williams, et al. v. Excelsior College, Case No. 1:17-cv-06263-WFK-RLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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32 thoughts onExcelsior College Class Action Says School Defrauded Nursing Students
I am a current distance student. I was told when deciding which college to go to that I would wait no longer than 3 months to take the CPNE. I am now told, after 2 years with the program, a lot of hard work and almost finishing, that I will be waiting no less than 1 year to take the CPNE. By the time I’m finished, I will have been able to obtain my Bachelors degree, not just my Associates. How do I sign up for this lawsuit?.
Thank you
I recently withdrew from Excelsiors nursing program due to my home state deciding that Excelsior grads must do licensure by endorsement and work up to 6 months outside of the state. Excelsior is still withdrawing the student fee from my bank account even though I attended no classes or took any exams in 2018.
I have spent around $20,000 only to continue to be failed in the final 3 classes with many emails from “professors” going unanswered or they refuse to answer questions. Book pages given by teachers don’t match actual book, making it difficult to pass quizzes and tests! How do I get added to this lawsuit? I will now be starting at a community college because of such frustration with this school! I would’ve never gone here if I knew it would take so long for this program just to never pass the last few classes!
I was told by Excelsior that I would not be allowed to make my last attempt at the CPNE exam because they were sure I would not receive a test date within seven months time. I was first told that the nursing curriculum had changed and therefore I would not be eligible for testing. When I asked what had changed and it was described to me, I explained that I receive that education every two years as part of my job requirement. I was then told that because of the back-up in testing sites and applicants, I would not receive a test date before my time expired. This was not my fault and I deserved my last attempt at the exam. I was denied an extension even though a former coworker of mine had received at least five extensions for testing. He also, had reached the end of his time there, but was somehow granted several extensions. My requests were denied. Please help me either receive all my credits for my time and effort. Or, a refund for the lost wages, travel costs, testing fees, and other associated financial losses. Or, allow me to be granted my last attempt at testing out of the CPNE. Please advise me on how to go about this process. Thank you for your time and responses.
My name is Angela. I would like to join this lawsuit as well and wonder how can a person go about doing so? I have been going through Excelsior College to get my RN degree and feel totally misled. I have spent so much time and money and I feel like I have been a hamster in a wheel getting absolutely nowhere with their organization. The time in the money that I have lost has caused me to go into major debt. I have been jerked around by this organization and I cannot believe that they can still operate.I contacted to local colleges in my area and none of the classes or my credits from Excelsior College will transfer so basically I’m starting all over again more money and more time.
I was told by staff during my CPNE I had proven my skills as a Registered Nurse, it was my attention to detail. I was failed for a documentation omission. I spent thousands of dollars for this degree and I have nothing to show except debt. I would like to be added to the lawsuit.
Please contact our Attorney, John Hermina at 301-776-2003.
My wife Victoria needs to be added. Please contact us. BGmedic at Gmail. Thank you.
Please contact our Attorney, John Hermina at 301-776-2003.
The college network is basically doing the same thing. I had even started payments but i didnt receive or start any courses online or in any other way shape form or fashion. Which then I found out that had no affiliation with the university in new Mexico that they claimed they were.
I got a call from the office of the general attorney of Michigan about a complaint I sent to their office in 2009 about looking into college Networks operation. The call was several years ago and I didn’t hear anything more. I had to stop paying after I lost my job just because I was an LPN and 20 days later my husband on disability took his life! I had paid towards a portion of the program already!
Please add me!! I’ve recently attempted to transfer to an actual college and was told none of my credits from Excelsior would be accepted. What a waste of thousands and thousands of dollars!
Please contact our Attorney, John Hermina at 301-776-2003. Thanks.