She blew the whistle; Public college blew the response.
When I read a story like this, my faith in college administrators diminishes.
According to the AJC story by Alexis Stevens, Sara Castle was thrown out of nursing school at Appalachian Technical College In Jasper in August 2007, just 13 weeks before graduating. Castle alleged that her expulsion came after she reported a slack instructor who was dismissing students from their clinic training early on a regular basis.
Appalachian Technical College fired the instructor, but Castle, 55, says she was then expelled for blowing the whistle.
A jury agreed Thursday and awarded her $450,000 in damages. Castle said she and other students would arrive for clinical training early in the morning. By 8 a.m., the instructor would dismiss students even though 740 hours of hands-on training are required for the degree.
It took the jury less than a hour to find for Castle and against the college. That means Georgia taxpayers are stuck paying the bill. (Even if there is insurance, the costs ultimately falls back on taxpayers.)
The story doesn’t get into whether there will be any repercussions to Appalachian Tech leadership. In fact, the state is considering an appeal of the decision, according to the story, although the rapid jury verdict indicates that Castle mounted a compelling case.
I called the attorney general’s office Friday as it represented the college in court to ask about its response to Castle’s allegations. In essence, the AG’s office says the trial was supposed to be limited to a due process issue and that’s what it went into court ready to address. “The state is looking at our options for how to proceed on this case because the admissible evidence does not support the jury verdict,” say AG spokesman Russ Willard.
So, why was Castle expelled? Willard says call the state Technical College System of Georgia to find out that information. I am doing so now and will let you know what folks there have to say about Castle’s expulsion.
(It’s almost 2 p.m. and no call back yet from the Technical College System. Its main PR guy is away, so someone else is supposed to call me back. I am leaving shortly for a family funeral so I may not get information on this until Monday.)
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61 comments Add your comment
S. West
August 31st, 2009
4:40 pm
What scares me more is that there are a bunch of brand-new nurses running around Georgia with degrees and passing Board scores (it’s only a written test, after all) and licenses but who can’t demostrate competency clinically. When’s the school’s accreditation up for review?
Embarrassed
September 1st, 2009
3:17 pm
Sighs…… I am hesitant to comment on this post because I’m a current student at the school mentioned above. I will be VERY careful not to denigrate them. However, I am very ashamed to say that I’m one of their aspiring nurses. I was unaware of the scandal prior to registering. I am just now hearing about this incident, God knows that if I knew beforehand…..
Under what circumstances was Sara expelled??? Did they have a valid reason, or was it done out of malice? I am sickened at the thought of administrators expelling her because she blew the whistle. What does the school really stand for? Again, I leave this post with my head down, ashamed, after once being proud.
ALF
September 2nd, 2009
11:40 am
When / If we have kids, we are homeschooling. Our children will learn more and have less homework. The school systems just fill the kids days with busy work. As for this case, if the state funds this school then they should pay. If your concerned about how your tax dollars are spent then be an involved citizen and make sure the state is funding things that benefit society. Also a government system can’t possibly watch every school they are funding, nor should they, so they shouldn’t be involved. As a human I love to think of a country where everyone is educated to at least a basic level and want to contribute to this cause along wi. I give my money to a system that distributes
ALF
September 2nd, 2009
11:49 am
(Oops my computer freaked here’s the rest of my comment) …As a human I love to think of a country where everyone is educated to at least a basic level and want to contribute to this cause, along with other causes. So I give my money to a system that distributes it fairly, I hope. However, people are corrupt at every level, in every career, every social class, every race, both men and women. Even me. I wouldn’t trust myself with the temptation of too much power and money nor do I trust some government official. Charity is not for the government. Besides I need to feel good about the charities I support. It’s good to give and a burden to be taken from (taxes).
John W.
September 3rd, 2009
6:37 pm
I’m not sure what the circumstances are with this situation–I’ll admit on the surface it sounds unfair that the student was not allowed to continue in her program, but there may be issues we don’t know about. Regardless of this one particular incident–one bad instructor should not result in an indictment of the whole system, the technical college system, or education in general. There have been a lot of generalizations on here which may be true at times, but often are not. There are a lot of excellent teachers at all levels of education, and there are some who aren’t very good at all. I’m afraid that is the same for any profession. Tenure, in my opinion, offers the greatest opportunity for abuse or lack of professionalism, because there is a level of protection which allows people to get by with whatever they want without fear of losing their job…and if I am correct, that is only in the University System schools. I suspect many who have commented would not put up with what most teachers do for five minutes…again, not making excuses for the bad ones, but acknowledging the good ones!
Turtlemom
September 4th, 2009
8:26 am
“Pedagogical understanding and technique are important, but often there is no substitute for extensive content knowledge, which does not come completely with a degree or credential: it is a process that requires a life-long commitment.”
Students at any higher level institution (college, tech school, jr. college, etc) are not children. Thus “Pedagogy” is not needed. “Androgogy” – teaching of adults – is needed.
As a registered nurse with both a Masters and PhD in nursing, and as a former Asst Prof of nursing in a university in another state, I have seen much of what has been bandied here. It is not restricted to the Tech Colleges. There are professors who do not teach well, who do not require full clinical times, everywhere. I was fortunate to not have any of those myself, and did not do this to my students. They “worked their heinies off” (and I worked mine off, too) and deserved the grades they received. I know first hand the need for competent and dedicated nurses, and I pride myself that my students became competent and were dedicated to their chosen profession.
I used principles of Androgogy, putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the students. I set up specifications for the grades to be given – from C to A. At the time I was teaching, a D was unacceptable and required retaking the course. Missing clinicals was also unacceptable and required retaking the clinical. This was difficult for me, as I had to be there to supervise, but I did it because it was necessary.
Ms. Castle was obviously the kind of student I would have wanted in my classes. If I could still teach, I would love to, but I’m too disabled and getting too old. I hope Ms. Castle will return to school – perhaps at Kennesaw University, and finish her nursing education. We need her. There are numerous schools that should welcome her.
Curious
September 8th, 2009
7:23 am
I would love to know what the author of this article found out from the college last week. Did they respond to her?
The Court
April 5th, 2010
1:18 pm
On 3/22/2010 the court in this case issued a judgment as a matter of law to the defendants in this case. Ms. Castle gets nothing.
Of course, I doubt this blog will be updated to reflect that fact.
Maureen Downey
April 5th, 2010
1:43 pm
@the court, Let me write an entirely new entry. I am not sure anyone would go back and read this older one.
Maureen
cosmo
June 10th, 2010
9:30 am
Maureen, are you going to write a new Blog entry on this?
Maureen Downey
June 10th, 2010
9:34 am
@cosmo, I need to do so. Thanks for reminding me. I had received the court documents but never got a callback from the state folks. I will check back when I return from Savannah.
Maureen