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Miami-Jacobs stops pursuing accreditation for health care program
DAYTON — Miami-Jacobs Career College has stopped seeking accreditation for its troubled respiratory care program and withdrawn an appeal to the accrediting body that moved earlier this year to pull approval of the program.
Chuck Vella, college spokesman, said the school voluntarily withdrew its appeal of the decision by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care to withhold accreditation. Commission officials cited poor student performance on national exams as reason for their February decision to pull their approval.
“It is critical to note that students currently enrolled in the respiratory care program will be eligible to take the National Board for Respiratory Care Credentialing Examinations,” Vella said in a written statement. He added that current students can work through to graduation at Miami Jacobs, but declined to say how many students were in the program.
The college can reapply for accreditation in six months, said Tom Smalling, director of the respiratory care commission. The college stopped enrolling students in the respiratory care and practical nursing majors this spring after the agencies that accredit the programs both moved to pull their approvals.
Two years ago those programs had more than 400 students enrolled. Those numbers have dwindled since problems at the school came to light. Next month the college will defend its nursing program from the state nursing board, which also seeks to pull its approval.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Colleges and Universities
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By Heather
September 18, 2010 10:02 AM | Link to this
I unfortunately fell into MJ’s trap for a better life and found myself struggling to get through my courses. I had a couple teachers actually pass me even though I had failed every test given. This is not because I am unintelligent but because of their lack of teaching. I was in the Respiratory course and I made it a year. I went out to my clinics and I was scared to death. I had no idea what I was doing. I was umprepared. MJ seemed to be a good choice for a single mom who was trying to make a better future for herself and her children. Now, I am drowning in school loans that I have to pay back and I recieved nothing in return. I have never felt so used and lied to before. MJ has ruined my life! Now I struggle to keep them from calling my house 10 times a day over loans I cannot afford to pay back. I hate them for doing what they have done. They need to be shut down for good. The school is a complete joke!!
By Max
September 17, 2010 10:41 AM | Link to this
@Area Professional: You know, I’m not sure if schools actually ‘prey’ on students as much as we would think. I do think potential students are often blinded by the promises of schools and, perhaps, disportionate to the students’ academic ability. But, you raise a good point about that. Is MJ and ‘for profits’ acting much like the sub-prime mortage lenders? Then there is the ‘rights’ issue of acceptance to Ohio state schools; should they be encouraged to accept students who are otherwise academically unqualified to take their grant/loan money for a semester or two?
By dena
September 17, 2010 2:33 AM | Link to this
@Oakwood Steve, well if my blood don’t run blue then I must not be a member of your country club. My wife got her LPN from RETS. She earns 37,000 a year. A weeks wages in some parts of town but for us a big improvement. She would not have been able to do it as fast and maybe not at all at Sinclair considering the waiting list and slow response time to getting people in and trained. Stop being so narrow minded. Everyone brings value and those that fail get shut out by those that do. Like M-J. Nuff said.
By area professional
September 16, 2010 4:58 PM | Link to this
I have to say that I do agree with the fact that the smaller for profit career colleges pray on the most volnerable population. However, there is no one person to blame. The colleges pray on the less fortunate, and the less fortunate are looking for an easy ride. I know that many of the students only attend to receive the refunded excess amount of the federal grants/loans. They think nothing of the fact that these are LOANS and must be repaid. It is a pretty sad and vicious cycle.
By Max
September 16, 2010 3:36 PM | Link to this
Christopher and all, I guess what concerns me is less about the issues surrounding MJ and more about reasons why students make the choice to attend these for-profit places. I am skeptical about the obvious connections between poverty, grants-loans, and false promises of the schools as ‘The’ reason. When I was in high school it was the last years when ‘tracking’ was a policy; that is, tracking a student’s course selection towards college requirements. While this, in its time, had a inequitable flavor to it, I think it was realistic in the results. One of the unspoken downsides to business and industry moving away from Dayton is there just isn’t any place for vocational education students to train or work. So, I think it is understandable why MJ, Rets, etc. are around. But, by the time students graduate from HS, it often becomes a matter of loan and grant money rather than already working in a career/profession. Still being unemployed with a loan debt load is the result. It may be a positive thing for DPS to consider broadening its vocational ed programs to give the kids that are not college bound a fighting chance in the business world. The numbers suggest that is a majority of DPS graduates.
By Max
September 16, 2010 12:08 PM | Link to this
While I don’t entirely disagree with the sentiments here regarding MJ and ‘for profit’ schools, I’d like to pose a question to Christopher, Scott and Margo concerning an underlying issue to this problem. The dialogue currently addressing the PK-12 education problems - everything from funding to student performance - is often skewed with the presumption it is public education’s job to prepare high school graduates for college. Nothing could be further from the truth; that is the student’s job. What is known - and GOTB has addressed this - is students who cannot qualify for admittance to a 4-year college without waiver do so with remedial classes taken as a freshman. I’d like to ask the simple question, are students being given bad information about their ability to pursue a college education by their high schools and parents? Is not MJ just filling a void for students who couldn’t get a bachelors degree at an accredited university? It has been estimated only the top 20% of any high school graduation class is academically prepared for college. Yet, public educators discuss funding and curriculum as if all are headed to continuing education. While I agree MJ, et al, essentially is providing the resemblence of education at almost the same price as the real thing, I think there are underlying reasons needing some attention which provide the environment for these diploma mills to continue operating. ‘Just a though or two….
By Steven
September 15, 2010 8:52 PM | Link to this
Who in their right mind would ever attend such an institution of higher education? This is outragous! What is their placement rate with those numbers? 2%? 3%? But as long as they get those federal Pell and Ohio OIG dollars, they don’t care.
By Chris
September 15, 2010 8:03 PM | Link to this
As a student in the RT program, I find this very saddening. Hopefully, the area hospitals will not judge ALL the students based on this accreditation issue. Some of us are hard working, dedicated to our endeavors, and strive for excellence. Personally, I’m prepared for the NBRC boards, and look forward to serving my LOCAL community in the near future.
By Mikeljon
September 15, 2010 5:43 PM | Link to this
Sounds to me like the school is trying to solve its problems with accreditation. They serve some of the most economically and educationally challenged people in the region… it’s no wonder test scores are sometimes lower. I don’t personally know what the state tests are, or how they’re administered, but I’d sure rather have a great care-giver than a great test-taker…
By Oakwood Steve
September 15, 2010 5:33 PM | Link to this
All of these for-profit schools should be shut down. They are nothing but leeches who promise poor people the world, load them up with government loans and then give them a substandard education.
By nurse
September 15, 2010 5:30 PM | Link to this
MJ actions represent the most reprehensible form of theft. They hid behind a shield of trust. I would have more respect for a crack-head punk with a gun than the staff and administration of MJ. I hope they all die broke.
By Andrea
September 15, 2010 4:53 PM | Link to this
What about accreditation for the “Medical Message Therapy Program?” Miami Jacobs graduated students that are degreed but not licensed.
By null
September 15, 2010 4:31 PM | Link to this
This is a disgrace! I feel sorry for the students that wasted their money with these programs.
By Common Sense
September 15, 2010 4:06 PM | Link to this
They knew they weren’t going to get the accreditation thats why they let it go. This school is a joke, and I feel for the folks that have paid good money for nothing.
By Max
September 15, 2010 3:57 PM | Link to this
It’s smart for MJ to stop peeling onions on this issue. Not because it would never prevail in its appeal but it is drawing attention of every accreditation is currently holds or hopes to achieve. However, that being said Sinclair cannot handle the number of applicants in RT and radiology as the waiting lists demonstrate. So, with MJ out of the RT training business what school can handle the demand? My understanding is KMC’s healthcare training program is ‘certification’ just for the KMC network. If that’s true, then is this the future of healthcare education; hospital campuses?