'We want them to be held accountable': Local nurses, advocates protest for-profit nursing college in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — A local advocacy group is warning people about what they call "predatory" practices by some colleges across the country, and here in Wisconsin, specifically, when it comes to nursing programs.
On the last day of National Nursing Week, nursing advocates from Milwaukee gathered to protest for-profit colleges, which they say are harmful to students and the nursing industry.
"For-profit schools are just that. They're here to make money and not to really produce the quality education. They don't," said Erica Sinclair, a spokesperson for the Committee for Equity in Nursing Education.
She joined other activists, local leaders, and nurses outside the Arizona College of Nursing in Milwaukee Monday, holding signs that read, "Stop for-profit college scams!"
The school opened in January, despite criticism from groups like the Committee for Equity in Nursing Education and the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses.
"They don't care if this person that's coming in has the right skillset that they need to be as nurse. They're just pushing them through, and then they fail, and then they're set with this ungodly debt," said Connie Smith, union president for the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses.
They claim for-profit nursing schools use advertising tactics to draw in students for a high price and often don't provide the level of education needed to enter the workforce.
"The clinical sites are non-existent, especially for the schools that we're talking about, so where do you get your opportunity to practice what you've learned in a book, or online?" Sinclair said.
The groups are asking the Wisconsin state Legislature to hold higher standards for for-profit schools, such as requiring them to devote 50% of spending to instruction, and limiting the revenue they can spend on advertising, among other demands.
"We want them to be held accountable, to make sure that if they're going to be here, that they can have higher passing rates," Smith explained.
They also want more funding for the state's 42 other established nursing programs, asking Governor Evers to use some of his $4.5 billion budget surplus toward the University of Wisconsin system and state technical colleges.
"We don't need any more nursing schools. We need the ones that we have to be supported," Sinclair said.
In response to the protest, Arizona College of Nursing provided this statement to CBS 58:
"Arizona College of Nursing is proud to be in the Milwaukee community and stands firmly behind our Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, designed to prepare students for successful nursing careers through a rigorous, student-centered curriculum that adheres to regulatory and accrediting standards. We are proud of our student outcomes and look forward to helping to address the nursing shortage in Wisconsin.”