A letter was sent to applicants of the spring 2012 Bachelor of Science in Professional Nursing program notifying students of a deferment in the admissions process.

The letter, postmarked Oct. 28, stated: “Due to the extremely high quality of the applicant pool, the limited number of seats, and to assure equity and fairness in our decision-making, the most comprehensive review of application materials must be done; therefore, it is necessary to defer final admission decisions until fall 2011 grades are posted.”

Also stated that admission letters would be postmarked no later than Dec. 23.

UNCW’s School of Nursing pre-licensure option had 201 students in 2011. The program has a 95 percent graduate employment rate.

This decision to defer admission letters was met with concerns from both students and parents.

“I am not in the medical field. Neither is my wife,” said parent Patrick McIlmoyle. “Our older daughter previously applied to nursing school so when Katie (spring 2012 applicant) chose to enter UNCW with the intention of pursuing her BSN, we were knowledgeable about the competitive nature of nursing applications at UNC schools. We knew that often less than 30 percent of the applicants are admitted. Every school has their own method for choosing applicants. They all try to be fair. I am not concerned as much about that, because the admission decisions are never going to make everyone happy.”

McIlmoyle said his concern was with the process being changed mid-course.

“I am not at all clear about why they are doing this. I can live with an imperfect but consistent admissions process. What we are experiencing is an imperfect and inconsistent process. We cannot get an answer to the simple question, ‘When will applicants be notified of the status of their application?'” said McIlmoyle.

“The problems I had with their deferred decision were that housing and resident life told me that if I wanted to get housing on campus, I needed to let them know by the beginning of December and pay a $100 non-refundable deposit,” said applicant Katie McIlmoyle. “I also had a scholarship that needed my acceptance letter to nursing school by the beginning of December. The deadline for spring class registration is in the middle of December.”

McIlmoyle applied to UNCW’s School of Nursing along with two others. She had expected to hear back from UNCW by the end of October, beginning of November for two reasons. “Last year, students found out at the end of October. I also emailed my advisor and she told me the letters would go out in late October. However, that was not the case.”

“I think people were upset about having to wait until the end of this semester mainly because it would give those who are accepted barely any time to prepare. I think the school realized after the letter was mailed that it was not fair for students to wait that long since they usually make a decision before Thanksgiving break,” said applicant Laura Sullivan.

On Nov. 3 applicants received an email from the School of Nursing saying that the deferment decision had been reversed. Letters would be sent out before Thanksgiving.

The School of Nursing reported receiving feedback from students and parents indicating concerns that receiving a delayed admissions decision would negatively impact students’ ability to register and be accepted into the nursing courses required of them.

Dr. James McCann, Director of the School of Nursing, said, “Upon realizing unexpected consequences, the decision was changed. The concerns of students and parents were heard.”

“The decision was clearly outlined in the letter,” McCann said.

Later he added, “Our intent in changing the admissions process was to allow the school time to review applicant’s most recent grades in order to fairly and equitably determine the most qualified candidates for the pre-licensure nursing program.”

McCann continued, “However, students and parents came to us with legitimate concerns that convinced us that we should not implement the new process mid-semester and should wait until fall 2012. Long-term this will be a positive change, but we did not want it to cause short-term issues for students, and we listened to their concerns.”

Students, like Katie McIlmoyle, said that the process has been a very frustrating experience. UNCW, for her and many others, was their first choice because the School of Nursing offers a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Dissatisfaction with the situation, though it is resolved, continues.

“I would say that there will always be disputes about admission decisions,” said Patrick McIlmoyle. “My dissatisfaction is with a timely, respectful communication of the admission decision to applicants. If we get a letter telling us the admission decision within a week, I will be satisfied. But I am not feeling satisfied until we get such a letter. We have been told so many different things over the past few weeks. A level of good faith has been broken and that will not easily be repaired.”