Complaint Review: The Bryman School

On November 8, 2007 I had a meeting at The Bryman School about the externship required for me to graduate from the surgical technology program the school offers. During the meeting, I was informed by the director of education in order to complete the required externship, I would have to accept a certificate to graduate or be dropped from the surgical technology program when the applied science degree was already included within the cost of tuition I paid to attend The Bryman School.

The reasoning for this is because the school ran out of time to graduate me from the surgical technology program with an applied science degree. To soften the blow, the director of education offered a refund of $2,400 back to an alternative student loan I have to make the transfer over to the certificate more desirable. I declined the offer which was really just an ultimatum in the sense, f you do not accept the certificate of completion with the refund of $2,400, we will not award you anything and keep your $24,400.25 you paid us.

The reason I did not accept this ultimatum because any surgical technician job description mentions an applied science degree as a requirement in order to be considered for employment. I do not already have an AAS degree, so a certificate is not going to qualify me for employment to work as a surgical technician.
Not only is the ultimatum completely unreasonable, but the director of education agreed with me that the position I am in with the school is a direct result of the school over-enrolling the surgical technology program with too many students- I recorded the entire meeting on a mini-cassette recorder and the statement I am referring to is captured on tape.

Since the The Bryman School did not put a cap on the number of students entering the surgical technology program for the graduating year of 2006, this flooded the instructors with too many students and backed up the extern process to a snail's pace.

Towards the end of the meeting the director of education did apologize, mentioning this situation has never happened since she has been working for The Bryman School. I find this exceptionally hard to believe- when I was attending the Senior Review Lab twice a week for nearly a year after I completed the last surgical technology class I needed to qualify to begin the required externship, there were numerous students I spoke with personally who were indeed in the same position I was in with the school. The files on these students could be subpoenaed from the school archives for class of 2006.

It was also puzzling to me students who finished the surgical technology program after I did were given externships before I was given mine. I began attending The Bryman School on May 9, 2005 and completed my last class on September 4, 2006. I did bring this up to the last program manager who was working at The Bryman School during this time, (the school has gone through at least four since I began going to the school) and she could not supply me with an answer. I was eventually given an externship on August 31, 2007, 11 months after I completed my last class. This was only until I went to the president of The Bryman School to complain about the excessive length of time I had to wait until I received the externship the school was to provide me.

I relied on the school's promise to supply me with an externship in order to graduate with my applied science degree in hand. But unfortunately I was told the externship facility was too busy to accommodate me as a student. This was based on the feedback I received from an extern coordinator. From what I was told, my externship was not ended due to negligence to adhere to sterile procedure, in fact my performance there for those two weeks was 100% satisfactory. The preceptor weekly evaluation form included with the complaint documents this. With both weekly meetings the extern coordinator had at the charge nurse, the facility was satisfied with my performance for the whole duration of my externship there.

For roughly three weeks until November 8, 2007 (the date of the meeting I had with the director of education when I was notified the school ran out of time to graduate me with the applied science degree I earned) I was placed on 30 Day Review. Historically, 30 Day Review was designed for students who were fired from an externship due to negligence or professional immaturity. I explained to the program manager I was not fired from my previous extern site, my performance was 100% satisfactory but I was placed there anyway.

Meanwhile, other students where going on externship while the school would not allow me to go when I had no issues of negligence or professional immaturity. It was shortly thereafter on November 8, 2007 when I was dropped from The Bryman School with no degree, after paying $24,400.25.

The Bryman School failed to comply with the time frame put in place by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education in order for me to be awarded an AAS in Surgical Technology. According to The Bryman School's curriculum for surgical technology, an externship provided by the school must be completed after all classes have been passed within this prescribed time frame.

As a direct result of The Bryman School's negligence to comply with time frame put in place by the ASBPPE, I was not able to complete the externship and was dropped from the Surgical Technology program when I had successfully passed all the classes that lead up to the required externship. Now I have $24,400.25 in student loans with no degree awarded to me because The Bryman School failed to follow through with their own guidelines and the guidelines put in place by ASBPPE.

Since the school did not uphold their own requirements rightfully owed to me within the surgical technology curriculum, the $24,400.25 I paid to attend The Bryman School should be refunded to me. If The Bryman School will not fulfill their own bargain and comply with their own inherent responsibilities to me as a student, there is no ethical reason why The Bryman School should rightfully keep the $24,400.25 paid to them.

The voice of reason
Scottsdale, Arizona
U.S.A.