Stone Academy To Close Its Campuses In Connecticut

WEST HAVEN, CT — Stone Academy announced Tuesday that it will be closing its doors after more than 150 years in operation, according to multiple reports, including WFSB 3.

Stone Academy plans to close its three campuses in East Hartford, Waterbury and West Haven before the completion of training for those currently enrolled at the school, but a closing date wasn’t announced.

In response to Stone Academy’s notice, the Connecticut Office of Higher Education – which has regulatory oversight over the state’s private career schools – announced that it is offering students assistance that “includes guidance on accessing transcripts, tuition refunds, loan discharges and adjustments to veteran’s benefits, and providing support for those students who intend to continue their course of study at another school,” according to a news release.

Timothy D. Larson, Executive Director of the Office of Higher Education, said the office had been working with the school for many months to “address a number of serious compliance issues that included unqualified faculty, invalid student clinical experiences and recording attendance.”

The Office of Higher Education identified eight compliance violations and notified the Board of Examiners for Nursing, the US Department of Education, and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools of thee violations, according to the news release.

“Stone Academy initially agreed to an independent audit of their student and faculty records to determine the scope of the problem but after the United States Department of Education put Stone Academy on Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 (HCM2) status, the institution informed OHE that it would no longer be doing the audit and would instead shut down operations,” officials wrote in the news release. “In addition, the school’s accreditor ABHES issued a show cause letter to the school outlining 12 significant compliance issues.”

Officials said the Office of Higher Education will “seek to work with an independent auditor to evaluate each student’s academic record so that the staff can provide guidance on academic status, refunds and/or transfers to another institution.”

“The Office of Higher education will hold information sessions to best assist each student with their individual plans of action,” Larson said. “I urge students to watch for communications from the Office of Higher Education for the date, time, and locations of these sessions.”

Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, said that Stone Academy appears to have done a “poor job of educating its practical nursing students and noted that the highest pass rate for the day and evening programs at all three Stone Academy locations was an unacceptable 70%,” according to the news release.

“The news that Stone Academy is closing its three campuses is extremely disappointing especially given the need of health care professionals in the workforce today,” Juthani said. “But their 2022 pass rates for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) were far below the required 80% pass rate. A career that involves caring for others is a true calling, and this news cannot deter the goals these students have set for themselves. We are confident that the Office of Higher Education will help guide them toward a path of success that includes instruction from experienced and highly qualified mentors.”

The CLEX Pass Rates for 2022 at the campuses were as follows:

• East Hartford (Day): 67 percent
• East Hartford (Evening): 43 percent
• Waterbury (Day): 58 percent
• Waterbury (Evening): 70 percent
• West Haven (Day): 47 percent
• West Haven (Evening): 43 percent