Editing Herzing Issues: Clinical Intensives and Simulation (section)

=== HU-108: 3rd semester on-site clinical hours reduced 50% mid-program (90 hours to 45 hours) without student consent; virtual hours substituted; students enrolled under 90-hour expectation ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Mid-Program Clinical Hour Reduction
! Date added
| 2026-05-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Program Chair / Clinical Coordinator / Curriculum Committee
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, third-semester Clinical III on-site hours were reduced from 90 to 45, with the remaining hours fulfilled by virtual simulation, a 50 percent reduction in direct patient care hours implemented mid-program without advance disclosure to enrolled students. This finding is distinct from {{HU|HU-080}} (mid-rotation requirement changes): {{HU|HU-080}} documents changes to the type of clinical hours; {{HU|HU-108}} documents a quantitative 50 percent reduction in on-site hours for an entire semester.

'''Evidence.''' Student H (Oct 3, 2024), from the Herzing Direct Entry MSN Facebook Group Export, Dec 2022 to May 2026, Exhaustive Line-by-Line Review of 34,887 lines, 1,350 posts, and 14,112 comments across 8 passes, Volume 7. No announcement email or formal program modification notice is referenced in the Facebook archive.

'''Reported statement.''' Student H said third semester now carries 45 on-site hours with the rest virtual, and noted the requirement had recently been changed from what used to be 90 on-site hours.

'''Standards.''' 34 CFR 668.71-75 (Misrepresentation): students who enrolled expecting 90 on-site clinical hours in semester 3 experienced materially different clinical training than disclosed. ACEN Standard 4: clinical learning experiences must meet established hour requirements; unilateral reduction of on-site hours mid-program without regulatory review or student notification constitutes a curriculum design change with potential accreditation implications. NCSBN Guidelines for Prelicensure Programs: direct patient care hours are a foundational clinical training requirement, and substituting virtual simulation for on-site hours requires regulatory approval in most state BON jurisdictions. State BON implications: if a state BON approved the program based on 90 on-site hours in semester 3 and the institution reduced those hours to 45 without BON notification, the program may not comply with the approved curriculum, potentially affecting student NCLEX eligibility (see {{HU|HU-085}}, Alabama BON enforcement).

'''Impact.''' Students who completed Clinical III with 45 on-site hours received significantly less direct patient care experience than their predecessors or than the program originally represented. This compounds the virtual hour issues documented in {{HU|HU-085}} (Alabama BON enforcement of virtual hour limits). If state BONs that approved the program based on 90 on-site hours were not notified of the reduction, students graduating under the revised curriculum may not satisfy those states' licensure requirements. The substitution of virtual simulation for on-site hours is presented as equivalent, but as Alabama's BON enforcement action demonstrates, regulators do not always accept virtual hours as equivalent to direct patient care.

'''Notes.''' This is the third documented mid-program clinical structure change: {{HU|HU-080}} (type of hours changed mid-rotation), {{HU|HU-083}} (assessment regime eliminated), {{HU|HU-108}} (on-site hours cut 50 percent). The pattern establishes that material program changes are made unilaterally and implemented on enrolled students without their consent. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-080}} (mid-rotation hour type changes), {{HU|HU-085}} (Alabama BON enforcement), {{HU|HU-083}} (milestones elimination), {{HU|HU-010}} (exit exam benchmark can change at any time).

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