Editing Herzing Issues: Licensure Eligibility and State Board Compliance (section)

=== HU-094: Authorization to Test (ATT) wait times exceeding 90 days in Alabama post-graduation; Student AH (veteran) documented 90+ day wait; delays post-graduation NCLEX eligibility and employment ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED
|-
! Issue type
| Post-Graduation NCLEX Eligibility Delay
! Date added
| 2026-05-05
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Registrar / Compliance / State BON Liaison
|}
'''Finding.''' Per the tracker's evidence, Student AH (Jul 13, 2025), a veteran, documented an Authorization to Test (ATT) wait exceeding 90 days in Alabama following program completion. Student BJ noted that some states offer a two-week priority ATT process for veterans and military spouses, but Student V, a military spouse, confirmed that not every state offers this and reported waiting almost a month. Student AH's 90+ day wait is approximately triple the typical timeline. During this window, graduates cannot take the NCLEX, cannot obtain licensure, cannot begin employment as an RN, and are servicing student loan debt without income. This delay is compounded by the Alabama Board of Nursing enforcement issues documented in {{HU|HU-085}}, where virtual clinical hours were insufficient for NCLEX eligibility, requiring 24 additional UAB hours that would further extend the post-graduation timeline for affected Alabama students.

'''Evidence.''' Student AH (Jul 13, 2025), reporting a wait approaching 90 days in Alabama and identifying as a veteran; Student BJ (Jul 12, 2025), noting a typical one-month wait with two-week priority for veterans and spouses; Student V (Jul 12, 2025), a military spouse, reporting that not every state offers priority processing and that she still waited almost a month; an anonymous member (Jul 13, 2025), also in Alabama, expressing reluctance to wait another three months after graduation; Anonymous member 601 (Jul 23, 2025), asking whether others in Alabama had taken the LPN NCLEX mid-program to begin working sooner, indicating Alabama students actively seeking workarounds to the ATT delay. Source Group: Herzing Direct Entry MSN Facebook Group Export (Dec 2022 to May 2026), Exhaustive Line-by-Line Review: 34,887 lines, 1,350 posts, 14,112 comments, 8 passes (Volume 7).

'''Reported statement.''' Student AH reports being at nearly 90 days waiting on the ATT in Alabama and identifies as a veteran.

'''Standards.''' 34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)(v): institutions must disclose whether their programs lead to licensure in specific states on a timely basis; if the institution is aware that Alabama's ATT process takes 90+ days for its graduates, this timeline should be disclosed to prospective Alabama students. 38 U.S.C. 3452 (GI Bill): veterans using VA educational benefits have a protected interest in timely access to their chosen career pathway, and a 90+ day post-graduation delay in NCLEX eligibility may implicate VA benefit usage review. NCSBN NCLEX Candidate Rules: state boards control ATT issuance, but institutional delays in transcript submission or record certification can extend state processing timelines, and the institution bears responsibility for ensuring timely submission of all required documentation to state boards upon student graduation.

'''Impact.''' A 90+ day ATT gap means Student AH graduated as an MSN and then waited three or more months before being eligible to take the NCLEX. During that period, student loan repayment obligations began, employment as an RN was impossible, and the investment of approximately $60,000-$95,000 in tuition produced no employable credential for 90+ additional days. For veterans and military families, this timeline may affect housing allowance calculations, VA benefit periods, and employment transitions. The Alabama-specific context is further complicated by {{HU|HU-085}}: Alabama students who needed to complete 24 additional UAB hours to satisfy Board of Nursing in-person hour requirements would face an even longer post-graduation gap before ATT issuance.

'''Notes.''' The ATT delay may be partially attributable to the Alabama Board of Nursing's heightened scrutiny of Herzing's program, documented in {{HU|HU-085}}. If the Board is conducting additional review of Herzing graduates' clinical hour compliance before issuing ATT authorization, individual students bear the consequences of a systemic institutional compliance problem. Cross-reference: {{HU|HU-085}} (Alabama BON enforcement, virtual hour limits, NCLEX ineligibility), {{HU|HU-070}} (Virginia BON direct-care hour requirement). Verification: institutional records of time-to-ATT by state, documentation of transcript submission timelines to the Alabama Board of Nursing post-graduation.