Editing Herzing Issues: Enrollment, Registration, and Billing (section)

=== HU-114: Conflicting chain-of-communication directives: AVP Danielle Laban (May 6, 2026) told the reporting student to cc her and Dr. Franklin on communications; Dr. Prashad (same day, same hour) directed him to start with faculty only; Dr. Tressler also directed him to faculty first; three leadership figures issuing contradictory escalation instructions simultaneously ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Conflicting Institutional Communication Directives
! Date added
| 2026-05-07
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | AVP Danielle Laban / Dr. Raywattie Prashad / Dr. Jessica Tressler
|}
'''Finding.''' On May 6, 2026, the reporting student received contradictory chain-of-communication instructions from three institutional leaders within the same day. Dr. Prashad (7:29 AM, May 6): "I am also asking that if you have concerns, please follow the chain of communication and start with your faculty." Dr. Tressler (May 5): "I would like to gently remind you of the program's chain of communication. Questions or concerns should first be directed to your course faculty." Dr. Laban (2:48 PM, May 6, the same day as Dr. Prashad's directive and approximately 7 hours later): "You are always welcome to cc me or Dr. Franklin on communications if you feel it would be helpful for us to be aware or to provide additional support." The reporting student documented that AVP Danielle Laban had previously told him during a one-on-one conversation to "keep the leadership in the loop when issues arise," instructions he was following when he escalated the duplicate work concern directly to Dr. Prashad, Dr. Black, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Gregg. Faculty then cited chain-of-communication violation for the same conduct the AVP had authorized. The conflicting directives place the reporting student in an impossible position: following one administrator's instructions necessarily violates another's. Dr. Laban's May 6 email also directed future formal grievances to Dr. Nicole Franklin, while also stating she remains available for ProctorU, accommodations, and student services concerns, and confirmed a meeting with the reporting student and Dr. Franklin the following week.

'''Evidence.''' Email: Dr. Prashad to the reporting student (May 6, 2026, 7:29 AM): "I am also asking that if you have concerns, please follow the chain of communication and start with your faculty." Email: Dr. Tressler to the reporting student (May 5, 2026, 2:38 PM): "I would like to gently remind you of the program's chain of communication. Questions or concerns should first be directed to your course faculty." Email: Dr. Laban to the reporting student (May 6, 2026, 2:48 PM): "You are always welcome to cc me or Dr. Franklin on communications if you feel it would be helpful for us to be aware or to provide additional support." The reporting student (inline reply to Dr. Tressler, May 6, 2026): "I have been directed by AVP Danielle Laban to keep the leadership in the loop when issues arise and I intend to follow those instructions." The reporting student (to Dr. Prashad, May 6, 2026, 8:22 AM): "A for communication, I will cc Dr. Laban on my communication since I am being asked not to direct it to program leadership." Personnel identified: Dr. Jessica Tressler (jtressler@herzing.edu), lead faculty MSN-DE; Dr. Raywattie Prashad (rprashad@herzing.edu), Program Chair; Dr. Danielle Laban, AVP; Dr. Nicole Franklin, formal grievance handler; Dr. Heather Gregg (hgregg@herzing.edu); Stephanie Black (steblack@herzing.edu); Tanetshia Brown (tanetbrown@herzing.edu). Source Group: Email chain: the reporting student to Dr. Prashad / Dr. Black / Dr. Brown / Dr. Gregg, May 4-6, 2026; Dr. Tressler reply May 5, 2026; Dr. Prashad reply May 6, 2026; Dr. Laban reply May 6, 2026.

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>Dr. Prashad, May 6, 7:29 AM: I am also asking that if you have concerns, please follow the chain of communication and start with your faculty.

Dr. Laban, May 6, 2:48 PM, same day: You are always welcome to cc me or Dr. Franklin on communications if you feel it would be helpful for us to be aware or to provide additional support.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' HLC Criteria for Accreditation 2.C: institutions must maintain clear, consistent, and accessible processes for students to raise concerns. Contradictory directives from multiple administrators on the same day do not constitute a clear or accessible process. 34 CFR §668.97 (student complaints): institutions must maintain functional complaint processes; a process whose correct steps are contradicted by administrators within the same email thread is not functional. Due process principles (Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565, 1975): students facing adverse institutional action have a right to fair notice of procedures; conflicting procedures deprive the student of meaningful notice. The pattern of citing chain-of-communication violations for conduct explicitly authorized by the AVP is particularly problematic: it creates a mechanism by which any student advocacy can be characterized as procedurally improper regardless of what the student does.

'''Impact.''' The reporting student is simultaneously instructed to: (1) start with faculty only (Dr. Prashad, Dr. Tressler); and (2) cc leadership freely (Dr. Laban). Any email he sends can be cited as violating one set of instructions. This dynamic mirrors the pattern documented in {{HU|HU-066}} (retaliation post-EthicsPoint) and {{HU|HU-105}} (chilling effect on student speech): advocacy is structurally discouraged by making compliance with institutional procedures impossible. The May 6 directive from Dr. Laban to connect the reporting student with Dr. Nicole Franklin for formal grievances also confirms there is an ongoing formal grievance process, cross-referenced with {{HU|HU-066}} and {{HU|HU-067}}.

'''Notes.''' This issue also reveals that Dr. Jessica Tressler (jtressler@herzing.edu) is lead faculty for the MSN-DE program but does not appear as faculty on the reporting student's degree audit, a transparency concern the reporting student himself raised ("do you mind telling me who you are, I don't see you as the faculty for my courses in my degree audit"). Dr. Tressler confirmed she is program lead faculty, not course faculty. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-023}} (inter-departmental communication failures), {{HU|HU-031}} (contradictory faculty guidance), {{HU|HU-045}} (faculty/administration non-responsiveness), {{HU|HU-066}} (retaliation), {{HU|HU-105}} (chilling effect).

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