Letter to the Editor

Dr. Rhonda Maneval, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Nursing & Professor

Dear Editor,
 
The School of Nursing would like to clarify certain inaccuracies that appeared in both the Print and On-Line versions of The Chronicle article Nursing Student’s Failing Grades Accidentally Exposed by Professor. (Volume IX, Issue 9).    In an effort to cooperate and provide a full account of the event, Executive Associate Dean Rhonda Maneval  made complete responses to all questions posed by the article’s author. The Chronicle has confirmed that a premature submission of the Print version of the article resulted in inaccuracies. Most notably, that Executive Associate Dean Rhonda Maneval failed to provide a comment to The Chronicle reporter. Dr. Maneval in fact, responded to all of the posed questions, and a more up to date version of the article, containing some of Dean Maneval’ s comments, appeared in the On-Line version.
 
The Print and On-line versions both however, mischaracterize the type of information contained in the email disclosure. The email disclosure contained information clarifying the scheduling of various clinical assignments at the start of the semester. In certain limited instances, course information notes, (related to the scheduling of clinical assignments) such as the failure of a specific class appeared in a tab section of the clinical assignment document. The article’s characterization that “grades” were “exposed” is imprecise, as it may inaccurately lead the reader to assume that numerical grades were disclosed. Such is not the case. The Print version in one instance does accurately describe the featured student’s inadvertently disclosed information as “ a note next to her name stating that she did not pass the second attempt of the math test”.
 
The School of Nursing would also like to note that Dean Maneval promptly met with the student identified in the article, sharing the portion of the disclosed information pertaining to the student, and explaining the nature of the disclosure. Dean Maneval did not prevent the student in any way from viewing her personal  information. Dean Maneval explained to the student that she could not comply with the student’s request to disseminate the entire document to her or to share with her information relative to other students. The School of Nursing is unsure how the comment that the student “didn’t get to see the information” appeared in the article.
 
Lastly, as set forth in Dean Feldman’s email sent to students following the email dissemination, (a copy of which appears in the On-Line version of the article without proper crediting) the College of Health Professions and the University, values and seeks to protect the academic and other information of every student.
 
Dr. Rhonda Maneval
Executive Associate Dean for Academic Nursing & Professor
Lienhard School of Nursing