Reaction was swift to the news that Southern was placing a moratorium on adding new students for the fall semester as a result of the state board's ruling, but the university's statement did not give any indication of how dire the situation actually was.
Nowhere was it mentioned that 12 of the 14 faculty members as of January are no longer with the program, nor that classes began for this fall's new nursing cohort and tuition accepted without the students having any idea that the state board might have delivered a death blow to their educational plans and leave them high and dry.
The statement also did not mention that students who planned to enroll in the nursing program for the second semester, including one who actually met with the Nursing Department director recently and was not told that the university had asked the State Board to be allowed to have the spring moratorium and be allowed to continue with fall classes. Either board decision meant that student was out of luck.
The following comments, some positive, some negative, were left on the Turner Report post:
This is all on leadership. This happened under the watch of Dean Dr. Schooler and VPAA Dr. Carson who has been the chief academic officer for years. The program was underfunded and understaffed. Professors were overworked,underpaid and pressured to keep enrollment up. A predictable outcome.
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Admin is atrocious. They all deserve to be canned. The fact that they would take students' money for a program that is suspended is immoral and fraudulent if you ask me. I hope the students sue and get their educations for free.
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MSSU Nursing program has been in trouble for several years, coming from a nursing student. It didn't happen because of the administration, because all have been working hard to make it better for us students. It has needed change for the better for several years now. They have been working on making it better. They will continue to make it better. Their students are number one and will be taken care of as always. No one is ever left out or without any help. It didn't just happen in one year and it takes time to make it better it doesn't happen overnight. MSSU Nursing needed changes and that is happening and I am sure the administration, teachers, and students will be better in the future. MSSU is a great University. We students love it. The staff is great, the administration is great, and the New President will work hard to make it great for it's students. Students are MSSU's first priority.
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MSSU is an excellent school that represents SW Missouri very well. At times, colleges and universities experience challenges within their departments. From those challenges come changes in leadership, and more positive results for the nursing department. MSSU has excellent professors, and offers many diverse programs and degree options. And also the Joplin airport, serving SW Missouri very well. Until COVID hit, they were approaching back to back years of record passenger counts.
Instead of all the negative posts constantly on here, how about smiling and looking towards more positive results and attitudes and supporting our community.
Instead of all the negative posts constantly on here, how about smiling and looking towards more positive results and attitudes and supporting our community.
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Um, no, how about stop expecting people to keep quiet about the problems here to keep yourself away from "negativity." Seriously, MSSU started the negativity by defrauding students. Holding then accountable for that action is not "negative." I suppose if the board had revoked their nursing accreditation, you would have thought it "negative." Get out of here with your oppressive peace b/s. Also, we pointed out that the professors are wonderful and are not at all responsible for the decisions that admin make. Lastly, I refuse to support a community that would rather see its citizenry die of COVID than wear a GD mask.
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As a MSSU Nursing alumni, this should have happened many years ago. Multiple complaints were made to Dr. Schooler with nothing coming out of them! Pretty certain that complaints were made multiple years in a row and you’re finally seeing what should have happened long ago. The state board is no joke and wouldn’t shut them down unless they actually found things wrong.
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As a single mother who moved from Oregon with my children specifically to enter the MSSU Nursing program Spring 2021, I am angry and beyond frustrated with the Admin at Southern. Two weeks ago I met with the interim Dean of Health Sciences (Dean Hackett) as well as interim Director of the Nursing Department (Dr. Lisa Beals) and was told there was no plan to cancel the spring class and to finish this semester with plans of starting the program in January. Now I’m left scrambling for alternatives when classes have already started this semester and deadlines are approaching.
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When they knew the program was suffering in 2017 but continued taking in 70+. students each semester only to turn out 25 nurses is something to be angry about. As a single mother of two who was entering the program in the spring, I am beyond frustrated. Not to mention how this is being handled with the applicants. ***
I'm so happy for my MSSU nursing education when it was so much better and 100% pass rate in 2006.
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If you were privileged enough to watch the video of the board meeting you would note the board asking for the administration to address to multiple, numerous concerns that the students have for the program. Administration literally just sat there, looked at each other and the only offer of how administration was going to address the student concerns was Paula Carson's statement "the students are always priority". Obviously not Paula, only your ridiculous six digit figure salary that unfortunately, comes from the pockets of these students who just want to make a better life for them and their families. I truly hope that the Board of Governors sees the lack of leadership that Paula Carson shows for the school and soon find someone to replace her and next would be Wendy McGrane and Rick Schooler. Why would a university even consider hiring a retired OB/GYN with no experience in academia, who can never be found on campus because he is too busy with his own agenda trying to develop programs that he can't even manage. Oh, and he is a professor in those programs and he has never taught. Yes, that there is QUALITY education folks.
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In the meeting with the board of nursing, MSSU suggested things like returning back to an ADN program, not taking any spring classes again and only taking fall classes (not sure how that helps with the current nursing shortage) and they were cited for 13 deficiencies that the board addressed that MSSU had made slow to no progress towards correcting those deficiencies. They also stated it would take at least a year to get their new curriculum started but had hired a curriculum firm to help out. So what are those poor students to do during that year? And who is to say that they will be able to take a class again if they have had months to fix the problems and haven't even tried? And a new advising counselor was hired to help with advising students. That sure would have been nice to have had when I was a student in the program because it was next to impossible to find my advisor due to the classes she taught.
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As a student who applied to the program in the spring, I am wondering if my application will be carried over to the next year or will I get a refund for my fee? What am I supposed to do now? I feel so betrayed that I cannot finish a program that I was told just over the summer right before school started that everything was ok. It clearly isn't. And I saw on MSSU's FB post that they are referring students to other programs in the Health Science. Uhhhh, no thanks MSSU! If you can't be honest about one program, then how do you expect students to believe in the other programs? It makes you wonder just how bad off the school really is if the largest program on campus is being threatened of closing.
(The photo is a screenshot of Missouri Southern officials presenting their case to the State Board of Nursing and answering the board members' questions during Thursday's meeting.)
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