Students scammed by N.J. nursing school?

ALL CHANEL Jacobs wanted was to be a registered nurse.

The South Philadelphia woman withdrew from Community College of Philadelphia, which had a waiting list for nursing, after she got accepted into a 15-month program at Jersey College School of Nursing in May. But instead of getting her license, Jacobs claims she has been cheated out of her education - and $29,000.

Jacobs claimed the school failed her and several other students five times on the final exam but never showed them their scores and later accused them of cheating.

"They never let nobody see their grades," said Jacobs, a 38-year-old licensed practical nurse. "All they did was gave us a piece of paper, told us to sign it and told us that . . . [a list of areas on the paper] was your weakness."

Jacobs isn't alone. For the past few months, she and more than a dozen classmates have protested outside the school's Ewing campus. They insist the school did everything it could to keep them from passing the test, all while pocketing their tuition.

"By the time it got down to the exit exam, they already had their money," said Belinda Allen, 41, of Camden County, who was also enrolled in the RN program. Allen said she took out a private loan to pay for the classes and her bills while she focused on school.

"I've been traumatized by this whole experience," she said.

According to the women, one final exam was scrapped because of technical problems with the computers. A second was thrown out because "too many people passed it," according to the school. That's what prompted the cheating accusations - which Jacobs and Allen strongly deny. At least one other exam was also disqualified because of alleged cheating.

School officials claim they hired a private investigator who determined that students were obtaining answers to the exams online and got signed affidavits from students as proof, but the officials declined to release the findings. Four students were dismissed, but "a lot more" were involved, according to college president Steven Litvack.

"When we learned of this we immediately instituted procedures," Litvack said. "About half the class passed and half the class has not been able to achieve the [necessary] results."

He denied that students' test scores were kept secret, insisting the school went out of its way to help students pass the exam, including offering them remediation and additional chances to take the test.

"At the end of the day, we want them to be successful," Litvack said.

Nathaniel Davis, an attorney representing 20 students from the school, said there are lots of questions to be answered, including why the students passed all of their courses but have not been able to pass the final exam, which the school says is comprehensive. He also alleged the students asked the school to bring in someone from the testing company to help them prep for the exam, but the school declined.

"Did these people want them to pass?" Davis asked.

He said he plans to decide within the next week whether to go to arbitration - the required course of action in the school's enrollment agreement - or take the matter to court.

Additionally, Jacobs and Allen said they have taken their complaints to state agencies, including the attorney general, but have not gotten any resolution.

A spokesman with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, which handles licensing for colleges and universities, said last month that the department is aware of the complaints but could not comment further. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs said it could not confirm nor deny whether there are open complaints against the school.

Allen said she's so frustrated, she has enrolled in another college, despite the financial burden.

Davis said all the students want is to take the state boards for a chance to get their license. What does passing the school's final exams have to do with allowing the women to take the state boards, or licensing exam?

"It seems like the school is hell-bent on not letting them take the boards," he said, "but keeping their money."