Editing Herzing Issues: Grading and Academic Records (section)

=== HU-159: Official Herzing transcript dated 04/23/2026 documented a grade of A in NSG 521 Fundamental Concepts and Health Assessment and a 4.00 cumulative GPA; a later Unofficial Transcript dated 06/05/2026 shows that grade changed to a B with the cumulative GPA dropped to 3.75; the A-to-B grade change is now CONFIRMED by the before-and-after transcripts; FERPA and grade-change-process concern; same course as the denied Fundamentals final retake (HU-155) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED (grade change from A to B documented by before-and-after transcripts: Official 04/23/2026 showed A and 4.00 GPA; Unofficial 06/05/2026 shows B and 3.75 GPA)
|-
! Issue type
| Grade Change After Official Transcript Documented an A (NSG 521) / Records Integrity
! Date added
| 2026-06-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Office of the Registrar / Dr. Stephanie Black RN DNP (Dean of Prelicensure Nursing) / NSG 521 Course Faculty
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, the reporting student's Official Academic Transcript, dated 04/23/2026 and bearing the Office of the Registrar seal, documents that for the 2026 Spring term (01/05/26 to 04/22/26) he earned a grade of A in NSG 521 Fundamental Concepts and Health Assessment (5.00 credits, 4.00 quality points), along with an A in NSG 522 Clinical I, a Term GPA of 4.00, a Program GPA of 4.00, a Cumulative GPA of 4.00, and 37.00 total credits earned. An Unofficial Transcript dated 06/05/2026 shows NSG 521 with a grade of B and 15.00 quality points, a 2026 Spring Term GPA of 3.29, and a Cumulative GPA of 3.75. The two transcripts, issued roughly six weeks apart for the same closed 2026 Spring term, together document a grade change from A to B that lowered the cumulative GPA from 4.00 to 3.75. If the grade was changed after the term closed and after an official transcript documented an A, the change would need to be supported by a documented, properly noticed grade-change process. This course is the same NSG 521 whose RN Fundamentals NGN Final Exam retake request was denied ({{HU|HU-155}}), so the grade dispute and the final-exam dispute concern the same course.

'''Evidence.''' Official Academic Transcript, Herzing University (5218 East Terrace Drive, Madison, WI 53718; www.herzing.edu/online), Office of the Registrar, dated 04/23/2026: Student, the reporting student; Student ID [student ID redacted]; Original Start Date 9/3/2025; Program, Master of Science in Nursing; Cumulative GPA 4.00; 2026 Spring term shows NSG 521 (5.00 credits, grade A, 4.00 quality points) and NSG 522 Clinical I (2.00 credits, grade A, 4.00 quality points); Term GPA 4.00; Program GPA 4.00; Total Credits Earned 37.00; marked Official with registrar seal and signature. Per the Herzing grade scale on the transcript key, an A carries 4.00 quality points and a B carries 3.00 quality points, and graduate degrees require a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Unofficial Transcript, Herzing University, dated 06/05/2026: Student GPA 3.75; Term 2261 (2026 Spring) shows NSG 521 (5.00 credits, grade B, 15.00 quality points) and NSG 522 Clinical I (2.00 credits, grade A, 8.00 quality points); Term GPA 3.29; Cum GPA 3.75. The 06/05/2026 transcript also lists 2026 Summer courses in progress, named in full as NSG 523 Medical Surgical Nursing I, NSG 524 Mental Health Nursing, NSG 525 Clinical II, and NU 725 Technology and Nursing Informatics, along with a Fall 2025 CR 021 Clinical Readiness Pre-licensure Nursing course marked Pass. Source group: Official Academic Transcript, Herzing University, Office of the Registrar, dated 04/23/2026 (student-provided), compared against the student's report of a subsequent grade change in NSG 521.

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>[Official Academic Transcript, 04/23/2026]: NSG 521 Fundamental Concepts and Health Assessment, 5.00 credits, grade A, 4.00 quality points. Cumulative GPA: 4.00. Total Credits Earned: 37.00. [Unofficial Transcript, 06/05/2026]: NSG 521 Fundamental Concepts and Health Assessment, 5.00 credits, grade B, 15.00 quality points. Cum GPA: 3.75.</blockquote>
The A on the 04/23/2026 Official transcript became a B on the 06/05/2026 transcript, and the cumulative GPA fell from 4.00 to 3.75.

'''Standards.''' FERPA (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99): students have the right to inspect their education records and to request amendment of records they believe are inaccurate, and to a hearing if an amendment request is denied; a grade reflected on an official transcript is an education record, and any change should be documented and explainable to the student. Institutional grade-change and grade-appeal policy (Prelicensure Student Handbook): grade changes after a grade is posted should follow a defined process with notice to the student and a stated basis. HLC Criterion 2.A (institutional integrity): academic records must be accurate and fairly maintained. The transcript itself states that the record is official when it bears the Office of the Registrar seal and that alteration of the transcript may be a criminal offense; this entry does not allege improper alteration, but documents that an official record showed an A and that the student reports a later change to a B, which should be reconciled through the documented grade-change and FERPA amendment processes. Cross-reference {{HU|HU-155}} (NSG 521 RN Fundamentals NGN Final Exam retake denied), {{HU|HU-019}} (NSG 521 testing-time accommodation), {{HU|HU-156}} (proctoring), {{HU|HU-157}} (CARES closure), {{HU|HU-158}} (decision-maker availability).

'''Impact.''' If the NSG 521 grade was changed from A to B after the official transcript documented an A, the change would lower the reporting student's quality points for a five-credit course from 20.0 (A) to 15.0 (B) and reduce his 4.00 cumulative GPA, affecting his academic standing in a graduate program that requires a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and any honors or progression implications. A grade change made after an official transcript has issued, without a documented and properly noticed basis, raises records-integrity and FERPA concerns and undermines the reliability of the official record. Because the same course's final exam retake was denied ({{HU|HU-155}}), the student is left with both a denied remedy and a disputed grade in the same foundational course.

'''Notes.''' The confirmed element is that the 04/23/2026 official transcript shows NSG 521 as an A with a cumulative GPA of 4.00. The A-to-B change is now confirmed by the Unofficial Transcript dated 06/05/2026 (NSG 521 as a B, cumulative GPA 3.75) compared against the Official Academic Transcript dated 04/23/2026. The changed grade (B) appears on an Unofficial Transcript while the A appears on the Official Academic Transcript. A remaining open question is who authorized the grade change, on what date, on what stated basis, and whether the student received notice and an opportunity to appeal. This transcript also serves as authoritative documentation of the reporting student's full record to date, including all A grades in Fall 2025 (NSG 520, NSG 633, NU 730, NU 780) and transfer credits in SC 186, SC 154, SC 166, SC 254, and MA 320. Course-name note: the transcript lists the course as NSG 521 Fundamental Concepts and Health Assessment, while {{HU|HU-155}} refers to the NSG521 RN Fundamentals NGN Final Exam, which is the final exam within this same course. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-155}} (retake denied, same course), {{HU|HU-019}} (NSG 521 accommodation), {{HU|HU-156}}, {{HU|HU-157}}, {{HU|HU-158}}. A possible follow-up noted in the tracker is to file a FERPA amendment request and a grade appeal if the change is confirmed and undocumented. Update (2026-07-17): {{HU|HU-179}} documents Dr. Franklin's letter confirming Dr. Black approved a retake of this same exam based on ProctorU's admission of fault, and {{HU|HU-180}} documents that Dr. Soles, the instructor of record, was not notified of an additional retake attempt and the resulting grade change, discovering it only by checking Elsevier herself. {{HU|HU-180}} also documents the multi-step grade-change process (an interim Incomplete grade, then a Canvas roll and registrar sync) that may partly explain how a transitional grade could have appeared on the 06/05/2026 unofficial transcript, which remains an open item to confirm rather than a settled explanation. Cross-reference {{HU|HU-179}}, {{HU|HU-180}}.

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