Editing Herzing Issues: Faculty Instruction and Curriculum Design (section)

=== HU-064: Herzing institutional memorandum (May 4, 2026) states updated catalogs 'supersede all previously published versions'; framework permits retroactive changes binding enrolled students without proactive individual notice ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Retroactive Policy Supersession Framework / Inadequate Change Notification
! Date added
| 2026-05-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Academic Affairs / Compliance / Office of the Registrar
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, a Herzing University institutional memorandum dated May 4, 2026, distributed to all students, states that updated catalogs supersede all previously published versions and that students are responsible for adhering to the most up to date policies, a framework that contractually permits Herzing to change material program requirements at any time and retroactively bind enrolled students to those changes without proactive individual notice.

'''Evidence.''' Photograph of a Herzing University official memorandum (May 4, 2026), shared via a Facebook post, addressed "To: All Herzing University Students" regarding "Catalog and Policy Changes Effective Summer 2026 Semester." Source Group: Defense Bundles and Institutional Materials (May 2026).

'''Reported statement.''' <blockquote>Students are responsible for adhering to the most up-to-date policies as published in the current students catalogs. Updated catalogs, and the policies contained therein, supersede all previously published versions. Students should seek clarification from the Director of Campus Operations or Academic Dean for Online Learning if they are told or read any information inconsistent or contradictory with the student catalogs.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' 34 CFR §668.41-43 (disclosure requirements): retroactive changes to program requirements may violate disclosure obligations. Contract law and promissory estoppel: students who enrolled based on specific program representations and made irreversible commitments have a reliance interest. OCR Dear Colleague Letter (2011): enrollment agreements and published policies constitute binding commitments to students.

'''Impact.''' The retroactive supersession framework, combined with the documented pattern of mid program policy changes ({{HU|HU-010}}, {{HU|HU-032}}, {{HU|HU-033}}) and enrollment misrepresentations ({{HU|HU-022}}, {{HU|HU-046}}, {{HU|HU-058}}), creates a legal environment in which Herzing can alter any program requirement after enrollment and defend the change by pointing to the current catalog, regardless of what students were told at enrollment.

'''Notes.''' The memo was distributed via Facebook, not confirmed to have been received through individual direct email or Canvas notification, which means students with email accessibility barriers ({{HU|HU-054}}) or limited Facebook access may not have received it. A separate Facebook post in the same archive contains screenshots of a complete 49 question pharmacology exam with all correct answers highlighted and publicly shared on Facebook, direct photographic evidence of the academic integrity failures documented in {{HU|HU-037}} and {{HU|HU-051}}.

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