Editing Herzing Issues: Clinical Placement (section)

=== HU-138: Janel Rizo BSN RN (Adjunct Clinical Faculty) emailed students at 10:33 PM stating "Last I heard it seems we weren't cleared to start" with casual sign-off "Hope to see you all next week"; faculty uncertainty and late-night casual tone for a significant placement failure; recipients included Doreen Palmer and Ann Zientara ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:12em" | Severity
| High
! style="width:12em" | Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Late-Night Clinical Faculty Notification of Placement Not Cleared / Casual Tone for Significant Failure
! Date added
| 2026-06-02
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Janel Rizo BSN RN (Adjunct Clinical Faculty) / Ann Zientara (Florida Clinical Coordinator) / Doreen Palmer
|}
'''Finding.''' Adjunct Clinical Faculty member Janel Rizo BSN RN (jrizo@herzing.edu) emailed students at 10:33 PM to notify them that their clinical rotation was not cleared to start. The full message read: Hi students, Last I heard it seems we weren't cleared to start. Hope to see you all next week! The email was sent to multiple recipients including Doreen Palmer and Ann Zientara plus four additional recipients. Two concerns are documented. First, timing and tone: a notification that a clinical rotation is not cleared to start was sent at 10:33 PM with a casual sign-off, "Hope to see you all next week!", and qualified, secondhand language, "Last I heard it seems we weren't cleared to start," which does not convey the certainty or seriousness students need to plan around a placement that is not proceeding. Second, faculty uncertainty: the phrase "Last I heard it seems" indicates the clinical faculty member herself did not have definitive information about whether the placement was cleared, reflecting the same information breakdown documented elsewhere in the clinical placement process. This email corroborates the multi-site placement readiness failures documented in {{HU|HU-136}} (Student K, Ascension Saint Thomas West) and {{HU|HU-137}} (Student R, Palmetto General).

'''Evidence.''' Email from Janel Rizo BSN RN, Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Herzing University Online (jrizo@herzing.edu, www.herzing.edu), sent 10:33 PM to Palmer, Doreen; Zientara, Ann; plus four recipients. Full text: Hi students, Last I heard it seems we weren't cleared to start. Hope to see you all next week! Janel Rizo, BSN, RN, Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Herzing University Online. Shared via the Nursing 2027 GroupMe by a student, Student R, who remarked, "Look what I just got at this hour."

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>Hi students, Last I heard it seems we weren't cleared to start. Hope to see you all next week! Janel Rizo, BSN, RN, Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Herzing University Online.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' ACEN Standard 5 requires that clinical placements be confirmed and communicated to students through reliable, authoritative channels. A clinical faculty member communicating that a placement is not cleared to start using qualified secondhand language, "Last I heard it seems," indicates the faculty member lacks definitive placement information, which is itself a communication and coordination failure. 34 CFR 668.14 (administrative capability) requires institutions to maintain functional administrative processes for clinical placement confirmation and student notification. A 10:33 PM notification with a casual tone for a significant placement failure does not meet the standard of clear, timely, professional communication students need to manage their academic obligations. The student receiving the email noted the late hour, remarking, "Look what I just got at this hour."

'''Impact.''' Students who received this 10:33 PM email learned only the night before, or shortly before, their scheduled clinical that the placement was not cleared, and even then through uncertain language, "Last I heard it seems." Students could not reliably plan whether to report to clinical, arrange travel, or coordinate work and family obligations. The casual "Hope to see you all next week!" provided no confirmed alternative start date. The faculty member's own uncertainty signals that the information breakdown extends to the clinical instructors responsible for supervising students, not just the placement coordinators.

'''Notes.''' New personnel identified: Janel Rizo BSN RN (jrizo@herzing.edu), Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Herzing University Online. Ann Zientara is identified as a recipient and, per the Nursing 2027 GroupMe, the coordinator who has been coordinating Florida clinical placements, based on a student's statement that she is the one who has been coordinating. Doreen Palmer is identified as a recipient, likely a student or co-faculty member. This email was shared in the Nursing 2027 GroupMe by Student R (see {{HU|HU-137}}). Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-136}} (Student K, Ascension Saint Thomas West postponed), {{HU|HU-137}} (Student R, Palmetto General not approved), {{HU|HU-128}} (Week 3 no placement), {{HU|HU-071}} (Spring 2025 placement crisis).

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