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Board continues Donnelly College under conditional approval, bars new admissions pending follow-up
Summary
The Kansas Board of Nursing Education Committee continued Donnelly College’s conditional approval after a site visit found 12 substantive recommendations largely unmet, directed no new admissions until follow-up and required evidence of progress on faculty training, simulation, and clinical scheduling.
The Education Committee of the Board of Nursing voted to continue Donnelly College’s conditional approval and to prohibit new admissions until a follow-up site visit and board review, after hearing detailed findings from an October site visit and multiple committee members.
During more than an hour of questioning, interim director of nursing Laura Samson said she has begun implementing a 12-point plan addressing recommendations from the site visit, including faculty education, simulation-lab repairs and improved clinical scheduling. Samson said the college has ordered a new maternal simulation mannequin, established clinical placements for the spring and enrolled students in remediation and ATI-based review programs.
Committee members and site visitors described persistent problems documented at Donnelly. A staff site visitor summarized that 23 complaints had been received so far in the year, many tied to clinical coordination and faculty issues. Committee member and site visitor concerns focused on depth of faculty experience and the institution’s capacity to mentor and supervise new or inexperienced instructors.
One committee member warned the college’s situation was severe. “I thought maybe the best path was for Donnelly just to close, revamp, reorganize, get some training done, spend some real concentrated effort on that, and then ask to be reapproved,” the member said, noting the potential harm of teaching students while core program functions are being rebuilt. (Attribution: Committee member)
Other members urged a measured approach. Supporters of continued conditional approval acknowledged the college had made tangible steps—assigning mentors, enrolling staff in educator training and signing up for ExamSoft/exam-analysis assistance—but said it would take months to implement the recommendations and to demonstrate improved outcomes.
The committee’s motion (mover not specified in the record) continued Donnelly’s conditional status, directed no new admissions until a follow-up site visit and board action, and required submission of progress updates. The motion carried by voice vote. The committee recorded that 9 of the 12 site-visit recommendations remained uncompleted at the time of the meeting and that 1 recommendation was already met.
The committee asked staff to schedule a follow-up report for the March board meeting and to prepare a site-visit recommendation for the board to act on. The committee chair said the board has helped other programs recover when they combine training, mentoring and clear progress benchmarks.
Next steps: Donnelly will provide interim reports and evidence of completed items, and staff will coordinate timing for a follow-up visit. The committee did not set a specific readmit date; admissions will be allowed only if the follow-up visit and the board recommendation support that change.
