Help change the HACC Nursing program policy regarding failed courses in order to gain fair opportunity for students with diverse backgrounds to successfully complete the HACC Nursing program!  

Everyone struggles with school from time to time, especially those of us working full time jobs, caring for children, or who have disabilities that affect school performance. The general HACC policy regarding failed courses is that a student can repeat a failed course 3+ times in order to achieve a passing grade. Did you know that the HACC Nursing program actually limits the number of failed credits (in major courses) to a total of 6, even if you retake the course and pass?This means that you can only ever retake one 3-credit or 3+ credit course in the HACC Nursing program. If you fail a second major course of 3 or 3+ credits, you will be KICKED OUT of the program completely! Even if you retake a course and pass, it is still counted against your failed credit count. I believe the policy is unfair and also unclear in the Nursing Handbook. 

To put this into perspective, this means that you can only ever repeat ONE 3-credit/4-credit/5-credit course throughout the program. Of the 14 classes required for a Nursing AA degree at HACC, 5 are worth anywhere between 3-5 credits (approximately 36% of the major curriculum). You can only retake one class in this credit range. If you fail another, you will be kicked out of the program! It doesn't matter if you have retaken and passed a prior class. The majority of HACC nursing classes, by a slim margin, are 2-2.5 credits (approximately 43% of major the curriculum).

As a comparison, the PA School of Health Sciences' AA RN program allows 2-3 failed major courses (depending on the year track), and the majority of the courses are 3+ credits. The number of failed credits or repeat courses is NOT regulated by the PA Board of Nursing and is strictly an institutional decision. 

Help change this arbitrary policy to ensure fair opportunity for students with diverse backgrounds to successfully complete the HACC Nursing program!