Following opposition, Milwaukee planning body votes down request by for-profit college
After several speakers testified against what they called "predatory" practices by for-profit colleges, Milwaukee's City Plan Commission on Monday declined to approve a zoning change request that would allow the Arizona College of Nursing to operate in the city.
The commission's vote to place the request "on file" rather than recommending it for later approval signaled a first win for advocates in a longer zoning process.
"The Arizona College of Nursing is so well positioned to join a long line of predatory institutions of learning that have harmed Black and brown students," Quinton Cotton, a representative from the Committee for Equity in Nursing Education, testified during the meeting. "Advancing this proposal would undermine the city's important contributions to undo historical racial harms that have been enabled by policy decisions."
The specific request is to allow a college to operate out of 9000 W. Chester St., a multi-use property not currently zoned for use by a college. That minor modification could still pass with approval from other city bodies in the multistep zoning process.
In a statement on Monday evening, Arizona College of Nursing Director of Communications Melany Stroupe said a Milwaukee campus would help address a need for nurses in Wisconsin. She pointed to the college's founding in 1991, community partnerships, scholarships for Black and Latino students and student support services.
“Arizona College of Nursing is committed to helping Wisconsin reduce its nursing shortage by educating skilled nurses who are trained to serve their communities, and we are proud that we place over 90% of graduating students within 100 miles of their campus and of our students’ nursing exam (NCLEX) pass rate of 89%, which is in line with Wisconsin’s average pass rate," Stroupe said in an emailed statement.
More: Nurses, educators: For-profit Arizona College of Nursing should not come to Wisconsin
Concerns about Arizona College of Nursing reached Milwaukee city attorney's office
Monday's decision by the plan commission to put the zoning change request "on file" is just a recommendation, Chair Stephanie Bloomingdale said during Monday's meeting. The request to change permitted uses at 9000 W. Chester St. will next go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee, then the full Milwaukee Common Council for votes.
"Placing it on file is basically like putting it in the file cabinet. It just sits there. It's a denial," Bloomingdale said.
The plan commission's decision went against against the recommendations of the Department of City Development, which recommended approving the zoning change request.
The department of city development "reviewed the specific objections" to the Arizona College of Nursing, city planning manager Sam Leichtling said during the meeting. Department staff consulted with the city attorney's office on the degree to which they can consider those objections in making any recommendations for next steps.
The department of city development eventually recommended approving the zoning change in favor of the Arizona College of Nursing. The department determined the question at hand was limited in scope and related specifically to land use issues, Leichtling said.
More: Arizona College of Nursing, a for-profit school, plans to open campuses in Milwaukee and Madison
Plan commission received five letters in opposition to Arizona College of Nursing in Milwaukee
The commission received five letters in opposition to the Arizona College of Nursing's plans for Milwaukee, then heard from nine speakers with similar concerns during the meeting.
"AZCN, like all for-profit colleges, targets low-income Black and Latinx students. It manipulates their desire toimprove their lives with misleading marketing information. The predictable results are high drop-out and defaultrates that leave students poorer and more in debt than when they enrolled," reads a letter from Lisa Conley, president of AFT Local 212, the union representing faculty and staff from Milwaukee Area Technical College as well as engineers and production specialists from Milwaukee Public Television.
Several of those opponents referenced a lawsuit in Texas brought by former Arizona College of Nursing students accusing the school of fraud, breach of contract and deceptive trade practices.
Other letters of opposition were written by representatives from the Milwaukee Black Grassroots Network for Health Equity, the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals and the Committee for Equity in Nursing Education, among others.
"We cannot let the urgency of a staffing crisis in healthcare allow us to open our collective arms to an organization as troubling as the Arizona College of Nursing," reads a letter from President of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals Connie Smith to the City Plan Commission.
Three health care organizations submitted letters of support for new for-profit college in Milwaukee
Representatives from Watertown Regional Medical Center, ProHealth Care and Children's Hospital and Health System Wisconsin submitted letters of support for the Arizona College of Nursing to the plan commission.
Each institution wrote that they "(recognize) the pivotal role that nurses contribute in the delivery of patient care, improved outcomes, and safety. With an aging population and workforce, the need to expand nurse capacity is essential now and in the years to come."
By 2040, more than one in four registered nurse positions in Wisconsin could go unfilled, according to a 2022 projection report.
Wisconsin is home to more than 40 in-state nursing programs, but still sees more than 1,000 qualified applicants for Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs denied admission annually. Just one in-state nursing program, Rasmussen University, is a for-profit.
Stacy Wenner, a director of nursing systems at Children's, wrote that the Arizona College of Nursing could help diversify the nursing workforce. The college places an emphasis on diversity by making scholarships available to underrepresented students, Wenner wrote.
The Arizona College has plans to open a campus in Madison in 2025.
Cleo Krejci covers higher education, vocational training and retraining as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. Support her work with a tax-deductible donation at bit.ly/RFADonation.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Arizona College of Nursing meets roadblock in zoning new Milwaukee site
