SANBORN, N.Y. (WKBW) — Tuesday marked the first day of the school year at SUNY Niagara, but for Luis Garcia, he found out he had no classes to attend.
SUNY Niagara canceled evening LPN classes days before the start of school. While some students transitioned to days, other students were forced to drop out before they started.
"It was on Thursday, the weekend before school was supposed to start," said Garcia. "Without that class, there was no way for me to pursue this."
Garcia was enrolled in the college's evening Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certificate program. He spent about $400 on books and supplies and took a new job, so his evenings were free for class.
"Upset to the point of shock, said Garcia. "When you don't have much expression in those moments because it seems so unreal."
SUNY Niagara's VP of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maher Ghalayini, said the three evening instructors scheduled to teach the program left the college for 'industry jobs' just before the semester.
"We're very sorry this happened," said Ghalayini. "[That] left us in a situation where we had to readjust and readapt our cohorts to minimize the impact on the bulk of our learners. The program is currently continuing. We have allowed students to join other sections. The course that is in other sections is equivalent to the practical nursing course."
WATCH: 'Upset to the point of shock': SUNY Niagara cancels evening LPN classes days before school starts
Students will have to attend the LPN program in either the morning or the afternoon. The school tells me it will reimburse out-of-pocket expenses to Garcia and anybody else forced to drop out.
"The college understands Luis Garcia’s frustration and has offered to refund all of his enrollment-related expenses, including reimbursement for books and supplies that he has purchased.
Unfortunately, three instructors scheduled to teach our evening LPN certificate program left the college just prior to the fall semester. Replacing them on such short notice was not possible, so we reached out to affected students to try accommodating them. Most were able to move into daytime courses and work toward the same certificate. However, this was impractical for Garcia and one other student.
The college was looking forward to offering an evening LPN certificate program because we recognize that some students are busy during the daytime. We regret this unforeseen situation and hope that we can work with Garcia to resolve it."
