american university of antigua
Former nursing students of the American University of Antigua (AUA) are accusing the institution of cheating them out of valuable time and money and giving them worthless degrees, after the state of New York rejected the qualifications they spent two years working for.
Now, the AUA’s President Neal Simon is promising that students will get back the tens of thousands of dollars they paid in tuition fees if the state continues to refuse them the opportunity to work.
These developments have come two months after The Daily OBSERVER and Observer Radio were severely criticised for a series of stories that reported the AUA’s School of Nursing was not accredited.
In a report aired on Fox 5 News yesterday, three students spoke about their dreams of working as nurses being crushed because the nursing programme is not approved by the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council and is therefore not accredited in New York. So, although they have Associate Degrees, they’re unable to get jobs.
“I think it’s just important to expose the situation so that no one else could fall prey to this circumstance,” Ishmael Jeffers said in the television interview, a sentiment also expressed by another graduate Rosie Velasquez and another former student who left the programme early after spotting the problems.
They said that on entry to the nursing school they were assured, both in the university literature and responses to their direct questions, that once they graduated they would be eligible to sit the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). Passing that test would allow them to work in the nursing sector.
However, Velasquez said that after graduating and returning to her New York home, her application to take the exam was denied because, according to the letter she received, the school is not being recognised by the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council.
“They lied to me. I was cheated. I went to Antigua, I left my family and I gave them two years out of my life to come back to nothing,” she lamented.
Jeffers added: “Everybody’s intention was to start a career which we’ve been robbed of now.”
According to the Fox 5 report, since the offshore medical school began its nursing programme in 2009, none of the graduates has been able to take the exam to become a nurse in New York, even though the university said students from Florida have been able to take the exam in that state.
AUA’s president acknowledged that the first graduating class ran into problems last year and since then AUA has not accepted another nursing student.
But those who had already completed the programme have been left out of pocket since their degrees are, at this point, just pieces of paper.
To go to the AUA School of Nursing, Velasquez said she had to borrow money, of which she still owes US$47,125.77. Her student loan totaled US$91,331.39.
But the AUA president said if the situation is not rectified, students will get their money back.
“We will reimburse the students the cost of education, which includes their tuition and the housing, etc the plane fare down to Antigua. Yes we will reimburse them,” Simon told Fox, although not saying how long he would wait before paying refunds.
He has insisted, though, that even though students got a raw deal, it was not his university’s fault.
Although faced with the reality of the graduates’ situation, Simon stuck to his previous position that a charter which the AUA received in 2003 specifically stated that the university “was approved and that our graduates are eligible for licensure.”
He also produced a letter, signed by Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, which stated that the government had granted a charter to AUA and its school of nursing and that the programme was fully approved and accredited by the minister of health.
However, that has not been enough for the New York State Education Department, which is currently trying to get to the bottom of the situation, according to the television report.
Back in March, OBSERVER carried a series of stories pointing out that some of the programmes offered by AUA, including nursing, were not accredited. In response to the reports, Executive Director of the Antigua & Barbuda National Accreditation Board Glenford Joseph said his agency had registered the School of Nursing and was in the process of doing so for the School of Medicine, the Veterinary School and the pre-med college.
“The government of Antigua & Barbuda stands by the American University of Antigua, which is registered and licensed by the state of New York,” he said at the time.
However, the Nursing Council said in a statement that it had not been involved in the registration process and accused the Accreditation Board of violating its own regulation to consult with various professional disciplines in the decision-making.
The Spencer administration had also issued a statement denouncing the OBSERVER reports.
The blame in this case lies squarely at the feet of the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council and the Government. I say this because before a University operates in the state of Antigua and Barbuda they must get permission. The government would then have to inform the Nursing Council so that both parties can set operational standards. It is in this forum that the Nursing Council should have informed the University that they do not meet the Nursing Council’s standards. I find this very embarrassing as an Antiguan because this could have been avoided. Nursing Council wake up and stop operating so backwards tell dem wa dem need fu are you approve dem program.
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Btw the purpose of posting the quote from AUA’s site is to answer the question for anyone who is wondering why people would leave the U.S., where the main office for AUA is located and recruits students, to attend a foreign nursing program. AUA is affiliated with a viable school in the U.S. and uses their affiliation to promote their program
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If the president of the school had any intention to give students money back that would have happened already…the problem began since Jan 2010
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what is going on with the education system in Antigua and Barbuda? First a Hospitality school which exploits it students and does not adhere to the published curricula and now a medical school operating a nursing school which is not accredited by the local nursing council. At least the Dean says he will refund the 3 students who went to FOX News after they found out that they had dodgy degrees s m h
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If you need more to put the dots together this is a direct quote from AUA’s site: “Upon successful completion of the ASN program*, graduates will be eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX®-RN), granting them entrance into the CUNY Lehman one-year RN to BS in nursing program (*total of 90 transferable credits is required).”
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join the line ABHTI, ABIIT, AUA and all Antiguan based schools are not worth the time and effort because there is no accountability and they do what they want. Antigua needs a national education council to ensure that all schools are accredited and that they keep up their quality standards to maintain that accreditation.
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Not sure exactly what “Johnas” is referring to with AUA College of Medicine AUACOM alumni not being able to practice in the US. It’s demonstrably not true. AUACOM has alumni in 32 States and 3 Canadian Provinces so far.
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This graduates of AUA who are practicing are able to do so because they are uneffected with the present situation. Once a student takes the USMLE step during the time that AUA has been listed on IMED, their scores will not be revoked if AUA gets removed from the IMED list.
The only individuals who will have to deal with this problem are those who are current AUA students. Let’s not not be misleading here Mr. School Official, even though that’s what you get paid for.
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I looked at the story in march and the observer stated that doctors were not allowed to practice after graduating. I saw no mention of nurses. I’m not denying this story about the current nurses is true, I mean, why would someone come from the US to go to nursing school in a foreign country? It would have been far easier and cheaper to go to a community college back in the US. But the Observer story back in march makes no mention of this, although this article states it did. If there is another article i’m missing, can someone please provide a link to it?
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Questions, the story you read is the only story the observer provided. you’re right, there was no mention of the nursing school…they spoke of the medical school. they just have this story twisted.
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so tell the nursing board to accredit AUA and move things along. Why antiguan can be so ignorant?
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“her application to take the exam was denied because, according to the letter she received, the school is not being recognised by the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council.”
This is indeed devastating because the head of the Antigua & Barbuda Nursing Council, Elnora Warner, needs to stop playing around with these three poor students and the school itself. Yes, AUA should have gotten to the bottom of things, but what’s stopping Elnora Warner? People are going to choose AUA over her nursing program? Give me a break..
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This has been common knowledge for a long time nursing and doctor accreditation handed out in Antigua are worthless in the U.S and the European Union.
Students studying in Antigua for nursing and doctors degree’s are wasting their time and money.
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AUA medical school is accredited by the state of NY
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I personally know several AUA graduates who are practicing physicians in the U.S…some after being accepted into elite residency programs following their graduation from AUA..might not be the same for nurses.
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