Board grants Quest Nursing provisional approval and allows class admission after debate over consultant findings

The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians voted on June 6 to grant Quest Nursing Education Center continued approval on a provisional basis and to allow the program to admit a replacement part‑time day class of 30 students beginning June 10, 2025.

The decisions followed extended discussion about the Nursing Education Consultant (NEC) report, the program’s handling of corrective items, and whether staff had adequately communicated deficiencies. Quest’s program director, Dr. Stacey Alitu, told the board she “does not understand why we are being considered for provisional approval” and said she had not received clear, timely notice of the consultant’s findings. Dr. Alitu described the site-survey interactions with the first consultant as “very unpleasant” and said she felt bullied during the visit.

Tara Davila, the board’s staff representative, told the board there was no new information beyond the NEC report. Board members asked for specifics about which violations had been corrected; Dr. Alitu said some items had been fixed, that a new consultant (Jessica Gomez) had since taken over, and that the program was preparing for accreditation review in July.

Public commenters and the program’s counsel urged the board to consider the impact on students after Quest’s March class was denied on short notice. James Harris Smith, counsel for Quest, said the March denial interrupted 26 students’ education and described the school’s efforts to accommodate affected students and absorb costs, saying the school had spent about $5,000 per student to provide alternate training.

Board members voiced substantive concerns about attendance recordkeeping, curriculum documentation and a quiz pass rate cited in staff materials. Board Member Natalie Nieves noted attendance tracking and documentation as key unresolved issues and referenced a recorded quiz pass rate of 68% for one assessment. In response, program staff said they maintain electronic attendance through a Moodle learning‑management system and an Excel backup and that in-person paper sheets were available but that the consultant had objected to electronic records.

After discussion, the board split the questions as requested by staff and the new consultant. Actions taken by the board included: (1) granting continued approval for Quest’s vocational nursing program on a provisional basis for up to two years effective 12/12/2024; (2) approving the program’s request to admit a part‑time day class of 30 students beginning 06/10/2025 with a completion date of 09/30/2026; and (3) adopting certain NEC staff recommendations (items 2, 3, 5 and 6 in the NEC report) while directing consultant Gomez to visit campus to work with the program on remaining items.

The motions carried on roll-call votes with the six board members present voting in favor. The board recorded the approvals with conditions and signaled staff would revisit outstanding NEC recommendations as Gomez works directly with Quest in the coming weeks.

Quest’s counsel and staff pressed the board to consider the student impact of further denials. Program officials told the board the program’s tuition charged currently is $30,000 per student (not inclusive of all costs) and said they offer work‑study options to help students pay. The board’s provisional approval was framed by members as a way to allow students to continue while requiring the program to correct documented deficiencies and provide verifiable records.