Editing Herzing Issues: Grading and Academic Records (section)

=== HU-088: HESI final examinations cover content not taught in courses; documented across multiple cohorts with direct student testimony and faculty acknowledgment ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Curriculum-Assessment Misalignment
! Date added
| 2026-05-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Program Chair / Curriculum Committee / Faculty
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, multiple independent student accounts across multiple cohorts documented that HESI final examinations test content that was not taught in the corresponding courses. A student pseudonymously identified as Student D (February 14, 2025) reported that instructors themselves say they are not aware of how HESI test content is developed, so the material students are assigned does not match the material they are tested on. Sherpath was separately documented as teaching content unrelated to what HESI actually tests.

'''Evidence.''' Student D (February 14, 2025, 19 reactions) reported that instructors are not aware of how the HESI test content is developed, at least as instructors themselves describe it, and that the material students are assigned does not match the material tested on HESI. The anonymous member identified as member 946 (December 13, 2024) reported content on the pathophysiology HESI that had never been covered. Another anonymous member (March 13, 2025) reported finding incorrect content in Sherpath and being told simply to report it, and stated that the HESI exams have nothing to do with what is taught in Sherpath. Student AV (February 16, 2025) reported that HESI tests material not covered in class. An anonymous member (April 3, 2026), after scoring over 1,300 on an exit exam, expressed surprise that the exam covered material the cohort had not learned. Student B (March 24, 2025) reported that RealizeIt does not prepare students for HESI and barely prepares them for in-class exams. Source group: Herzing Direct Entry MSN Facebook Group Export (December 2022 to May 2026), Exhaustive Line-by-Line Review of 34,887 lines, 1,350 posts, and 14,112 comments across 8 passes (Volume 7).

'''Reported statement.''' Student D states that instructors are not aware of how the HESI test content is developed, at least as instructors themselves describe it, and that the material students are assigned does not match the material they are tested on in HESI. The member identified as 946 states there was content on the pathophysiology HESI never covered in class. Another anonymous member states that the HESI exams have nothing to do with what is taught in Sherpath.

'''Standards.''' ACEN Standard 4: curriculum and assessment must be aligned, and examinations must assess content students were taught. Standard assessment practice in higher education requires that high-stakes examinations be constructed from course content objectives. Faculty reportedly acknowledging they are not aware of how HESI test content is developed, while that test constitutes 45 to 82 percent of the course grade, constitutes a fundamental curriculum design failure. 34 CFR 668.71-75 (misrepresentation): marketing a course as teaching nursing content while administering exams on different content misrepresents what students receive for their tuition.

'''Impact.''' Students who master all course content may still fail HESI exams because the exams test content not covered in the course, making failure a product of curriculum-assessment misalignment rather than student incompetence. This is illustrated by the student who scored over 1,300 yet still expressed surprise at untaught content. The pattern creates a situation where only students who self-source external resources (YourBestGrade, NAXLEX, Simple Nursing, Bootcamp) are positioned to pass, effectively requiring additional paid resources to compensate for curriculum-assessment misalignment. This compounds {{HU|HU-078}} (systematic external resource reliance) and {{HU|HU-074}} (high HESI weighting).

'''Notes.''' Faculty reportedly acknowledging they do not know how HESI content is developed is a critical program design failure. An institution using a third-party examination as 45 to 82 percent of course grade has a responsibility to either teach to the examination content or disclose that the examination tests beyond course content and provide preparation accordingly. Neither is occurring, per the tracker's evidence. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-074}} (HESI weight escalation), {{HU|HU-076}} (Realizeit format mismatch), {{HU|HU-044}} (Sherpath incorrect content), {{HU|HU-083}} (Milestones elimination and no retake).

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