The Arizona State Board of Nursing has a special meeting set for next Thursday for a potential final decision on the fate of Aspen University's nursing program. It could result in the program being immediately shut down, which would impact hundreds of students.
The board of nursing tells us they have been working very closely with others in the nursing community, especially the Arizona Board of Private Post Secondary Education, in an effort to figure out options for students — both at the financial and educational levels.
"I want them to let us finish our teach-out," says Lindsay Laube, an Aspen University nursing student.
Laube is hoping to graduate this June from Aspen University's nursing program in Phoenix. She is asking the state board of nursing to give students the chance to prove themselves.
"The class that graduated in February was still an old curriculum. So, this coming class in April is going to be the first class on the new curriculum," says Laube.
RELATED: Aspen nursing students speak out ahead of potential program shutdown
Aspen's nursing program has been under investigation since 2021, in part for not meeting the minimum pass-rate standard on the national nurse exam. The program later agreed to voluntarily surrender its state-issued approval, after finishing a "teach-out" of its remaining students. But, late last month, the board of nursing voted to put the program on notice of their intent to effectively close the program early over concerns of public safety and students' ability to practice safely. A final decision, on the fate of the program, is set to come next Thursday. Ahead of that, ABC15 reached out to the board of private post-secondary education.
"We talked about the worst-case scenario; our board will have open town hall sessions with students beginning a day or two after a decision would have been made," says Kevin LaMountain, the Executive Director of Arizona Board of Private Post Secondary Education. "And then during that process, we will talk about the opportunities that are out there and then connect those students with the various schools that they may be able to transfer into."
LaMountain says they have connected with public and private institutions to see what options students might have. The good news is there will likely be a streamlined transfer process.
"The unfortunate piece to that is, if they were to transfer for a baccalaureate degree, the BSN program to another BSN program, it is more than likely they would start over and have to start from day one," says LaMountain.
We're told there is an option through Maricopa County Community College though, where students might be able to transfer some credits for their associate program.
When it comes to recovering financial costs, the board of post-secondary education has been working with the U.S. Department of Education on that.
"There's... certainly some processes that they have that are streamlined that would be able to have a student eligible... to receive a discharge for the federal loan," says LaMountain.
On the state level, there's also a Student Tuition Recovery Fund.
Regardless, Aspen University nursing students have banded together and created their own alliance. They have also hired a lawyer.
"It really would not, it wouldn't be fair to make us start all over... and, when we could potentially be testing into a cohort that is, you know, at the same knowledge level that we're at," says Laube.
It's unknown what will happen but the board has options, including potentially shutting down the program that day or at a later date.
