SPRINGDALE, Ohio — ATA College in Springdale is closing its Practical Nursing diploma program after the Ohio Board of Nursing concluded it failed to “meet and maintain the minimum standards” for nursing education programs under state law.
The closure will impact 86 students, according to a statement provided by Metis Holdings Inc., the Louisville, Ky.-based parent company of the for-profit college.
WATCH: How students in the program are reacting to the closure
“These students are being personally counseled on their options and supported by our faculty and staff,” wrote Metis spokesman Kyle Riggs, in an email response to the WCPO 9 I-Team. “We remain fully committed to supporting our students and honoring all regulatory requirements.”
ATA College is one of five practical nursing degree programs operating in Greater Cincinnati, according to a January 2025 report by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
State records obtained by the I-Team show ATA’s program was placed on “provisional” status by the Ohio Nursing Board in 2018 due to low test scores on the National Council Licensure Exam, or NCLEX, a standardized test that students must pass to get a nursing license.
The state requires schools to achieve at least 95% of the national average on the percentage of students who pass NCLEX on their first try. ATA hasn’t come close to that goal in each of the last five years, according to a March 20 letter to ATA from Erin Keels, president of the Ohio Board of Nursing.
Riggs said all of ATA’s current students “remain in good standing” and eligible to take the NCLEX test. ATA has submitted “teach-out” plans to state officials and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. That will “ensure compliance and continuity for students,” who also have the option of transferring to another school, Riggs said.
Cherokee Brown, an ATA student, questions whether the school is living up to those promises.
Brown said three teachers have left the college, and two of her classes are being taught by the school’s dean.
“We all want to become great nurses, me and my peers. And I really don’t think we have the staff to necessarily back us up at this moment,” Brown said. “We started a class this semester. The teacher decided to quit. So, we had one week of the teacher and then the next week, he’s not our teacher anymore. We sign up for tutoring sessions. We don’t get answers. They let us tutor with maybe the front desk guy and now the teacher’s saying that we shouldn’t tutor with him because he’s not a nurse.”
Brown said she signed up for the $32,000 program in January because a friend recommended it, and the school is close to her home. She received a Pell grant to cover part of the cost and owes between $6,000 and $8,000 in student debt. She said the school never revealed it was under scrutiny by the Ohio Board of Nursing before classes began.
“I think everyone should be entitled to a refund,” Brown said. “A lot of classmates have withdrawn from the school due to this closing. A lot of schools do not necessarily want to take the credits given from ATA, which is sad to find out after we’ve already been going to school for this long.”
Riggs said students were informed in writing about the school’s provisional status and “all students sign an acknowledgment regarding nursing program pass rates at the time of enrollment.”
Refunds are provided for students who’ve completed 60% or less of the scheduled hours in a term when they withdraw from classes, according to the ATA College Catalog.
For students exploring practical nursing degrees, here are four other programs still operating in Greater Cincinnati, along with their 2024 pass rates on the NCLEX, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing:
- Cincinnati State PN program (95% of 56 students passed on their first attempt)
- Fortis College Cincinnati, practical nursing (95% of 21 students passed on their first attempt)
- Butler Tech Hamilton PN program (82% of 66 students passed on their first attempt)
- Great Oaks School of Practical Nursing (100% of 4 students passed on their first attempt)
