Editing Herzing Issues: Clinical Placement (section)

=== HU-191: The reporting student is recorded as one clinical hour short for NSG525 Clinical II, and his clinical instructor told him verbally on the last clinical day that he cleared the shortfall with Dr. Rachel Powell and that it would not be a problem, but no written confirmation from Dr. Powell or Herzing exists ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:12em" | Severity
| Medium
! style="width:12em" | Status
| POSSIBLE as to whether the shortfall has in fact been cleared with Dr. Powell and will not affect the reporting student's standing; CONFIRMED only as to the fact that the instructor made this verbal statement to the reporting student and that the reporting student is recorded as one hour short, both of which rest on the reporting student's own account since no written record exists
|-
! Issue type
| Unwritten Verbal Assurance of Compliance from Faculty, No Institutional Confirmation of Record
! Date added
| 2026-08-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | The reporting student's NSG525 Clinical II clinical instructor (name to be confirmed); Dr. Rachel Powell (Director of Clinical Placement and Compliance)
|}
'''Finding.''' According to the tracker, the reporting student is recorded as being one clinical hour short of the total required for NSG525 Clinical II. On his last clinical day, his clinical instructor told him verbally that the instructor had cleared the shortfall with Dr. Rachel Powell, Director of Clinical Placement and Compliance, and that it would not be a problem. No email, Canvas message, or other written communication documents either the instructor's outreach to Dr. Powell or any confirmation from Dr. Powell that the shortfall is excused or otherwise resolved. This entry is added against the backdrop of an August 3, 2026 Canvas notice for the same course instructing students to confirm their logged hours include both live clinical and V-Sim simulation hours, and the broader pattern already documented in this tracker of clinical hour miscounts, disputed hour requirements, and unwritten assurances from clinical placement staff in other students' cases. The claim that the instructor's outreach and Dr. Powell's confirmation occurred rests entirely on the reporting student's own account, since no written record exists.

'''Evidence.''' The reporting student's own account of the clinical instructor's verbal statement on his last clinical day. Canvas notification, "Important Notice: Clinical Hours, Clinical II (NSG525-7E), 2026 Summer C16," sent August 3, 2026, instructing students to review their clinical hour log for both live and V-Sim hours to successfully complete the course. No corroborating written communication from the instructor or from Dr. Powell has been located or produced. Student: The reporting student. Source Group: Verbal statement made to the reporting student by his NSG525 Clinical II clinical instructor on his last clinical day, reported by the reporting student; Canvas notification, Important Notice: Clinical Hours, Clinical II (NSG525-7E), 2026 Summer C16, August 3, 2026, 16:54 UTC, instructing students to review their clinical hour log and ensure it includes both live clinical hours and simulation (V-Sim) hours; no email, message, or other written record of the instructor's statement or of any confirmation from Dr. Rachel Powell exists as of the date this entry was added.

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>He cleared it with Rachel Powell and it would not be a problem.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' Compare against the Herzing University catalog, catoid 80, and the Prelicensure Student Handbook provisions governing required clinical hours and any procedure for waiving or excusing a shortfall. HLC Criterion 2.A (integrity in institutional decision making and record keeping) and 34 CFR 668.14 (administrative capability, including reliable internal communication supporting accurate academic records) are potentially relevant, particularly given the pattern already documented in this tracker of undocumented grade and hour related decisions, including the unexplained NSG521 grade change addressed in {{HU|HU-159}}. An unwritten verbal assurance from a clinical instructor, even if made in good faith, does not by itself constitute an institutional record that the requirement has been satisfied or waived, and leaves the reporting student without documentation if the matter is later disputed or if his account is later graded, audited, or reviewed for licensure eligibility purposes.

'''Impact.''' If the shortfall is not in fact resolved in Herzing's own records, the reporting student risks a last minute discovery of a clinical hour deficiency with no documentation to support the instructor's assurance that it had been cleared. Clinical hour totals bear directly on course completion and, ultimately, on licensure eligibility, so an undocumented one hour gap is a small number with a disproportionately large potential consequence if it surfaces later without support.

'''Notes.''' Recommend that the reporting student request written confirmation from Dr. Rachel Powell, in his own name, that the one hour shortfall has been reviewed and will not affect his grade, progression, or licensure eligibility documentation, and that he retain that confirmation regardless of the instructor's verbal assurance. The clinical instructor's name should be added to this entry once confirmed. This entry should be reclassified from POSSIBLE to CONFIRMED once written confirmation is obtained, or escalated if no such confirmation is provided. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-159}} (undocumented NSG521 grade change and the same underlying concern about decisions made without a written record), the existing {{HU|HU-135}} cluster documenting 8 hour clinical shift accommodation and hour count disputes in NSG525 Clinical II, {{HU|HU-190}} and {{HU|HU-190a}} (Fall 2026 clinical placement and scheduling concerns, same course area), and the general pattern in this tracker of students receiving verbal or informal assurances from clinical placement staff that are not later confirmed in writing.

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