Editing Herzing Issues: Grading and Academic Records (section)

=== HU-074: HESI exam grade weighting escalated mid-program: 45% in Fall 2024 to 75% in late 2024 to 82% in 2025 cohort Pharmacology (gradebook screenshot evidence: 1,700 of 2,059 total points) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| Critical
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Mid-Program Grade Weighting Escalation
! Date added
| 2026-05-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Dean of Prelicensure Nursing / Program Chair / Academic Affairs
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, the weight of HESI and final exams in MSN-DE course grades was progressively escalated mid-program without prospective student notification: from approximately 20 percent early in the program, to 45 percent by October 2024, to 75 percent as reported in September 2024, to 82 percent shown in a Spring 2025 Pharmacology gradebook screenshot with HESI exams worth 1,700 of 2,059 total points. Students who enrolled with one grading expectation are being graded under materially different and increasingly unforgiving rules.

'''Evidence.''' A Facebook post from an anonymous member (September 9, 2024) reported that exams and HESI would soon be worth 75 percent of grades. A student pseudonymously identified as Student H (October 25, 2024) reported disagreeing with a new grade weight policy raising final exams to 45 percent of grade in each course. Another student, Student BL (October 20, 2024), said the school could surely do a better job prepping students for the HESI final exam that is worth 45 percent of the grade. Student D (February 20, 2025) posted a screenshot of the Pharmacology Canvas gradebook showing 2,059 total points for the class, with exams (HESI) accounting for 1,700 of those points: HESI exam 1 worth 450 points, HESI exam 2 worth 450 points, and the HESI final worth 800 points, for a total of 82 percent of the course grade, from a student in the cohort that started January 6, 2025. Student N (February 15, 2025) noted variability, believing HESI was 20 percent for some courses and 45 percent for Med Surg. An anonymous Facebook post (April 7, 2026) reported HESI at 40 percent of the entire grade at the Clarksville and Nashville campus. Source group: Herzing Direct Entry MSN Facebook Group Export (December 2022 to May 2026), Topical/Keyword Review (Volume 6).

'''Reported statement.''' Student D's gradebook screenshot documents that of the 2,059 total points for the Pharmacology course, exams (HESI) account for 1,700 of those points, with HESI exam 1 at 450 points, HESI exam 2 at 450 points, and the HESI final at 800 points, meaning HESI exams made up 82 percent of the course grade for the cohort that started January 6, 2025.

'''Standards.''' 34 CFR 668.43 (disclosure requirements): material program characteristics, including grading structure, must be disclosed before enrollment; mid-program escalation of HESI weighting is a material change. ACEN Standard 4: assessment policies must be consistently applied. The {{HU|HU-064}} retroactive supersession framework provides the institution with claimed authority for these mid-program changes, but does not address the fundamental disclosure issue. ACEN Standard 4.6 (academic integrity): when 82 percent of a course grade depends on a single externally administered exam and the same exam questions are documented to be circulating on third-party platforms ({{HU|HU-026}}, {{HU|HU-037}}, {{HU|HU-051}}, {{HU|HU-078}}), the integrity of the entire grading system depends on exam security that is demonstrably compromised.

'''Impact.''' Students who enrolled with the original, lower HESI weighting (e.g., 20-30%) and made tuition or loan commitments based on that structure are now subject to grading frameworks where 75 to 82 percent of their course grade depends on a single high-stakes exam, with course failure and no meaningful remediation possible if they underperform. This compounds the harm of {{HU|HU-030}} (ProctorU false-flag exam zeros), {{HU|HU-034}} (ProctorU technical failures), and {{HU|HU-052}} (IT ticket closure before appeal), all of which can now drive course failure and loan default for institutional reasons. The 82 percent weighting in Pharmacology means a single technical or proctoring failure on the 800-point HESI final is mathematically unrecoverable for that course. Combined with {{HU|HU-060}} ($500 retake fee), the cumulative financial exposure for an institutionally caused failure is significant.

'''Notes.''' The grade weighting escalation appears to have occurred without prospective student notification or documentation in original enrollment materials. The progression from roughly 20 to 30 percent up to 82 percent over approximately eighteen months represents a substantial change in academic policy. Verification: review MSN-DE syllabi from each cohort to document the actual grade weighting at time of enrollment compared to the weighting applied at course completion. The Student D gradebook screenshot is the strongest single piece of evidence and should be preserved for any external review. This issue compounds {{HU|HU-010}} (exit exam benchmarks changeable at any time) and {{HU|HU-064}} (retroactive supersession framework).

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