Sent Certified mail to Governor Greg Abbott 3/23/20:

     Good day Governor Abbott. My name is Christine Reyes and I reside with my immediate family in Haslet, Texas. I have forwarded and filled out the same information for a federal inquiry as well and will be sending it to Congressman Dr. Michael C. Burgess, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, and Texas Representative Chris Turner. I am a current student at the University of Texas at Arlington and have good reason to believe there is a faulty and/or unfair process with admission into the Accelerated Online Nursing program for students such as myself who were wait-listed for the clinical division beginning Fall of 2020. I am asking for advocacy and to please take a closer look at the recent step-down of the UTA President Mr. Karbhari. This is a developing story I received to my UTA student e-mail and has caused me concern. The e-mail mentioned comes AFTER my disappointment of being placed on a wait list from the BSN department on March 6th, 2020. I realize you cannot force or change decisions that may be final, but the protocols for acceptance rates deserve a much closer look. I have record of my emails sent to the interim UTA president Dr. Lim, and record of correspondence to Assistant Director of Nursing for the program, Mr. Arturo Elizondo. From what it appears, the University may have ramped up enrollment efforts without having any more spots for candidates each term. Furthermore, it is alleged that UTA laxed in its admissions and rapidly enrolled underqualified candidates, which is a let-down  to a qualified student like me. I have spent the last year working tirelessly to fulfill the academic core requirements, as well as the pre-requisite core nursing classes, and  set to finish those this summer, in which my course itinerary had to be proven upon application for hopeful startup in the Fall 2020. Now, I am in a predicament of “waiting” to re-apply in June 2020 to potentially begin in January 2021. I simply cannot afford to wait, as I put my education and career goals on hold for over a decade to raise my 4 children and place my family roots in Texas after relocating from New York a few years ago.

     January 2020, I was placed on the Dean’s List with Distinction and commended for my academic achievement, and notably the future “hallmark of leaders in our field” (and have included the letter for purposes of inquiry). I greatly appreciate any assistance on behalf of current student peers, and I related to this query. What I desire most is to become an RN in the state of Texas and help our country persevere during our times of health crisis, as it relates to the global Coronavirus pandemic. Currently, I hold an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts earned in 2005 from Suffolk County Community College, NY. I am employed full-time as a Physical Education Assistant and 2nd Coach to our local elementary school for Northwest ISD, committed to serving our students, parents, and community at large for the last 2 years. How can I  pursue my BSN degree without being given the fair opportunity from an accredited program that best suits my needs? Yes, UTA has a ranking procedure but they cannot expect us to re-apply 2 or 3 times to eventually work in an industry with a constant shortage of nurses.

 Thank you for your commitment to the state of Texas and higher education as I seek to finish my degree BSN-RN. I have not been given any justifiable reason as to why I was put on hold for the academic Fall term 2020. I would appreciate your inquiry and feedback concerning this matter as it affects my desired future as a professional nurse. Thank you for your time concerning this matter Governor Abbott.

God Bless and best regards,

Christine Reyes