BECKLEY -
A Beckley attorney said his office has handled lawsuits for nearly 50 Mountain State University students following accreditation issues with the traditional nursing and LPN to BSN cohort programs.
About 13 lawsuits were filed by students who participated in the traditional nursing BSN program, and others were filed by about 35 students who had already obtained LPN degrees and were participating in various satellite campuses throughout the state in MSU's cohort program.
Beckley attorney Stephen P. New said his clients do not plan to pursue class certification, however. He said even if other students get class action certified, he anticipates his clients will opt out of a class action.
"We're just in the process of arriving at the truth. We look forward to our trial," New said, noting traditional nursing students' trials are slated for February 2013.
Three of New's most recent lawsuits were filed in early April by four students enrolled in the LPN to BSN cohort program.
Amber Whitener and Stacie Scott, both of Beckley, and Sonia Godbey and Joseph Godbey, both of Alderson, filed their lawsuits April 5 in Kanawha County Circuit Court against Mountain State University, its board of trustees and its former president, Charles H. Polk.
Whitener and Scott enrolled in the program in August 2010 and were scheduled to graduate in May 2013 with an LPN to BSN degree. Meanwhile, the Godbeys enrolled in 2009 and were scheduled to graduate early this year.
All three suits mentioned series of letters sent to the university informing officials of problems with accreditation. A July 2008 letter sent to the university from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission said the commission voted to place the LPN to BSN program on warning and scheduled an evaluation for 2010, according to the suits.
In the 2010 visit, NLNAC evaluators noted there was not a successful mechanism for faculty to participate, the nurse administrator did not have adequate time or resources to perform her role because of a lack of oversight at multiple locations and faculty did not have the minimum of a masters' degree with a major in nursing, the suits stated.
The suits cited another letter dated July 2010 where the NLNAC CEO notified Polk that the board voted to deny continuing accreditation for the bachelor of science in nursing program.
The 2010 letter also said the decision is based on the NLNAC policy that continuing accreditation was denied to programs with conditions or warning status found to have continued noncompliance with accreditation standards.
All three students said the university did not inform them of the contents in any of the letters and encouraged them to continue taking classes.
The West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses later unanimously voted to require MSU's school of nursing to cease admissions to all nursing programs from November 2011 until the university satisfied obligations to the board.
The board also voted to place the school of nursing on provisional accreditation and ordered it to obtain or maintain full accreditation. The board terminated accreditation for the school of nursing in February 2012.
Students asserted university officials did not inform them the board's investigation and misled them in believing the loss of full accreditation was a "rumor."
"The loss of accreditation, as well as other actions taken by the defendant MSU, has adversely affected and will continue to adversely affect the plaintiff," Whitener's suit stated. "The plaintiff will be unable to take the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, successful performance of which is required for licensure as a nurse."
The suits stated students would not be able to apply for masters of nursing programs and must withdraw from clinical programs.
"The plaintiff will be unable to obtain desired positions in nursing, have extremely limited job options, will be unable to obtain a nursing license, which is essential for employment and will be unable to pursue her career as a nurse in the time frame which she has expected," Whitener's suit stated.
Students also asserted the university refused to refund tuition money and refused to address problems facing students.
"Instead, the defendant MSU has misled the plaintiff into believing that she has remained in a fully accredited NLNAC program and has added requirements making it more difficult for the plaintiff to graduate," Whitener's suit stated.
An MSU spokesman said he could not comment on pending litigation.
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