HICP: coordinated effort against HICP (volunteers needed!)

[BMBiology]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I would like to dedicate this thread to BMBiologIEY, who tries to impersonate me on this forum and as a result, has inspired me to fight harder.

I am extremely glad to see some HICP students are fighting but we need to do this together to be effective. For those who were expelled for filing complaints against HICP, you guys need to contact the American Civil Liberties Union:

http://www.acluhawaii.org/
ACLU of Hawaii
Executive Director: Vanessa Y. Chong
P.O. Box 3410
Honolulu, HI 96801
Phone: (808) 522-5900
E-mail: [email protected]

They are a group of extremely dedicated lawyers across the country that defend civil rights for NO charge!! Your rights have been violated, let them know and they will defend you!!

We need to organize! There are 3 fronts that we must fight and win:

(1) Inform regulator organizations (ACPE, DCCA) to investigate HICP
(2) Contact local media and encourage them to investigate HICP
(3) Contact businesses/organizations that are working or planning to work with HICP

Regulator Organizations/Agencies
ACPE:
Phone: (312) 664-3575
http://www.acpe-accredit.org/about/staff.asp

Peter H. Vlasses, PharmD, BCPS
Executive Director
[email protected]

Jeffrey W. Wadelin, PhD
Associate Executive Director, and
Director, Professional Degree Program Accreditation
[email protected]

Deparment of Commerce and Consumer Affair:
Hawaii (808) 974-4000 (ext. 7 - 3222)
Lanai/Molokai 1-800-468-4644, (ext 7-3222).
Prior Complaints: (808) 587-3222 (press 1 at the menu)
http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/ocp/consumer_complaint/

Honolulu office (main location):
Leiopapa A Kamehameha Building
235 South Beretania Street, Suite 801
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
phone: 586-2630
fax: 586-2640

Local Media
Kristen Consillio of the Pacific Business News
[email protected]

KITV 4 NEWS INVESTIGATES
801 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Tipline: (808) 535-0411
Fax: (808) 536-8993

KGMB Channel 9 (Hawaii CBS Affiliate)
[email protected] or call 973-9889

KHNL Channel 8 (Hawaii NBC)
Telephone: 236-3978 (leave name and phone number)

Honolulu Star-Bulletin Newspaper
529-4747

Organizations/Agencies that are working or planning on working with HICP

Maryl Group Inc: Construction
Phone: (808)331-8100
Fax: (808)331-3291
Web: http://www.maryl.com
Email: [email protected]

American Dental Assocation: Accreditation Agency
http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/accred/commission/complaint.pdf
Telephone: U.S. 312-440-4653
E-mail: [email protected]

American Dental Association
Commission on Dental Accreditation
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Dentistswithoutborders: Dental rotation sites
[email protected]
Dr. K. Sharma
Email: [email protected]

Bank of Hawaii: House HICP
Hawaii – Call 1-888-643-3888

University of Hawaii Pharmacy:
Email:[email protected]
(808) 933-0668


After the news article is posted, we need to email it to all of the organizations/agencies above. Please add additional organizations/agencies you feel we should contact as well! I will keep on updating this post. I NEED SUGGESTIONS!! I will also need volunteers. I have work tomorrow and it is a bit late. I will coordinate this tomorrow. Lets bring the fight to their steps!

 

[J Lucas]

Wow, you are really turning this into a personal crusade huh?

 

[DayDreamer]

Thanks for all your efforts. It's hard for students to figure out where to go because you are just a student and I've never thought about other avenues that could help us. Thanks again!

 

[aubieRx]

. Please add additional organizations/agencies you feel we should contact as well! I !

what about the governor of hawaii???

http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/gov/contact.html

a fraudy professional school is a big enough deal to attract the state government's attention

 

[JohnUNLV]

Here is the link to the article in the Star Bulletin written by Stewart Yerton. He didnt have enough time and space to list every incident and offense, he mainly focuses on the 3 students who were illegally kicked out of school.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/14/news/index2.html

 

[JTD1972]

Here is the link to the article in the Star Bulletin written by Stewart Yerton. He didnt have enough time and space to list every incident and offense, he mainly focuses on the 3 students who were illegally kicked out of school.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/14/news/index2.html

I think people should go to Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com/ and give them this link. There is a box on the site (SEND NEWS TIPS TO DRUDGE [ANONYMITY GUARANTEED]) where you can type in links and make a statement. Maybe if enough students write in, they'll post the link. Drudge report is the biggest news outlet on the net. It's worth a try.

 

[SomeGuy]

For those who were expelled for filing complaints against HICP, you guys need to contact the American Civil Liberties Union:

I'm sorry, but the ACLU would have no interest in a private company with zero municipal/state/federal funding squashing someone for speaking their mind. Free speech rights only protect you from the government, not corporations. Corporations are free to not enter in contracts as they please if you say something they don't like. Cancelling (yay for Canadian spellings!) a contract is a slightly different matter, it really depends on the terms within.

Anyone have a copy of any of the contracts that students signed with this company?

Though I'd definitely imagine news companies would take an interest in this. Fraud, people getting screwed, lies, drama, good guy turned bad, trying to do it again, this has it all!!!

 

[BMBiology]

After reading this article, I am so proud of you guys

When Pejman and Pooyan Mesdaghi were accepted for the inaugural class of the Hawaii College of Pharmacy last year, they thought they were on the road to becoming doctors of pharmacy, the first step toward lucrative careers in a helping profession.

Now the brothers from Utah find themselves at the center of a maelstrom involving the fledgling school in Kapolei.

H.A. Hasan, dean of the college, said the Mesdaghis and their classmate Ammata Vongsouvanh have led student protests that crossed the line from acceptable student demonstrations to rioting and were inciting more trouble.

The students say they are merely trying to get answers from administrators concerning the school's accreditation and a proposed new policy.

According to the policy, Hasan said, only 100 students from the school's class of 231 would be promoted to their second year. Another 100 students would be required to perform their first year's work over again, regardless of whether they passed their courses -- and pay another $28,000 in tuition for the first year. The rest of the students could take classes somewhere else for a year, then return as first-year students.

The Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh say it is patently unfair for the school to make students who have passed their courses repeat their first year.

Hasan said students who don't like the college's policy do not have to stay there.

"That's their choice," said Hasan, a former Waipahu High School special education teacher who has a doctorate in education from the University of Washington. "If they choose not to (stay), that's their choice."

In a culmination of the tensions, administrators this week suspended the Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh, ordering them to stay away from campus and refrain from talking to their classmates. Hasan also has obtained a temporary restraining order against the students. Hasan said the moves were necessary because the students had incited a riot at the school and were planning violence.

Pejman said he came to Hawaii not to be a campus revolutionary, but simply to work hard and earn a doctorate. His father, Pejman said, has spent $100,000 to send the brothers to the school, including $56,000 for one year's tuition for the brothers, plus living and travel expenses.

"We thought when we got into pharmacy school that we'd made it," said Pejman, 25, who was secretary of the student council. "We thought all we'd have to do was study hard. We didn't know we'd have to deal with all of this other stuff."

John Quinn, a former classmate who left the college in April because he did not believe he was getting a solid education there, said the Mesdaghis have done little more than ask tough questions.

"They're the most mild-mannered guys," Quinn said. "All they have is a voice."

"They're good students," said Tony Mai, the former student council president who also has left the college. "They're just the more active ones willing to do something."

Hasan disagreed with the assessments.

"These gentlemen have had a history of concerning us," he said.

In any case, Hasan said, the school is regrouping, having secured its largest faculty team ever -- including 26 full- and part-time faculty -- and hoping to be accredited next year. The school also has secured more than 150 sites where students can gain practical experience, he said.

"This is the strongest we've ever been," Hasan said.

The latest tensions cap off a turbulent academic year during which the college demonstrated scant progress in obtaining accreditation and one faculty member after another left the school.

From the beginning, the Hawaii College of Pharmacy faced challenges.

When it began classes, Hasan said, the school had only five full-time and four or five part-time faculty members for more than 230 students. The large class, Hasan said, was a function of the school not wanting to reject applicants, then having an extraordinarily high percentage of those accepted show up for class.

The large class size also meant a financial windfall for the college. With more than 230 students paying $28,000 each in tuition, the school raked in more than $6.4 million in tuition from its inaugural class.

The high teacher-to-student ratio was not the only thing that has bothered some students. The college also has yet to gain any accreditation status with the field's main accrediting organization for doctoral programs, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in Chicago.

Accreditation is more than academic. Unless they attend an accredited school, students cannot obtain traditional student loans and graduates cannot take exams required by states to obtain a pharmacy license.

Typically, schools apply for accreditation before they start accepting students, said Jeffrey Wadelin, who is in charge of accreditation programs for the council. This initial "pre-candidate" status requires schools to meet the council's basic standards. Institutions that do so receive site visits by ACPE evaluators before they earn the pre-candidate status, which is a usual first step toward full accreditation, Wadelin said.

The process, Wadelin said, is rigorous enough to weed out many people considering starting pharmacy schools.

But Hawaii College of Pharmacy began accepting students before it had gotten pre-candidate status. Under ACPE rules, that meant the college had to apply directly for candidate status, which carries even tougher requirements. As with schools seeking pre-candidate status, those seeking candidate status are subjected to a site visit by the ACPE after the council deems the school has an adequate plan in place.

The Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh said administrators initially eased students' worries about the school's lack of accreditation by saying the school was on track. But, they said, they and other students became increasingly worried as the year progressed.

In January, the accreditation council posted a notice on its Web site that it had denied the college a site visit. More troubling to some students, the council did not ask the college to revise and resubmit its application, as the council had asked Texas A&M University-Kingsville School of Pharmacy to do. In contrast, the council "advised (the college) to withdraw its application" entirely.

"The majority if not all of the students were concerned" about the notice, said Mai, the former student council president.

Hasan said the school has been in contact with the accreditation council and is tailoring programs according to guidance from the group. In fact, Hasan said, the plan to hold students back and thereby reduce class size and the school's student-teacher ratio has been fashioned with guidance from the ACPE. Students held back will have to go for four years instead of three. They will have to pay tuition for only the first three years; the fourth year will be free, Hasan said.

"All I think about is getting candidate status," he said.

Wadelin confirmed that ACPE staff have met with Hasan and provided guidance. But he said the school still must draw up a program and submit it formally to the organization for review.

"Any inference that we approved a plan submitted by them is false," Wadelin said.

Accreditation was not the only issue troubling students over the course of the year. They also were concerned about instability among the faculty. In three instances, one professor started teaching a certain class, only to be replaced by another during the term, after the first professor left the school, Mai said.

Among the faculty who left during the year, Mai said, were Randell Miyahara, a professor and assistant dean; A.D. Borja-Barton, a professor and assistant dean; Forrest Batz, a professor who joined the faculty after school had started; John Pang, the associate dean; and N.V. Bhagavan, the school's original dean who also taught biochemistry.

Bhagavan, who is a professor of biochemistry at the University of Hawaii, said he left in March for health reasons and that the college was in good shape at the time.

Hasan declined to discuss the faculty departures.

Both sides agree that tensions began to escalate on May 25.

According to the Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh, on that date, a school administrator, Scott Banks, called a meeting to announce the departure of Batz. Some students, concerned about the departure of a key faculty member, held a sit-in, demanding to talk to Hasan, the Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh said.

Pejman Mesdaghi acknowledged that students became rowdy. But Pejman Mesdaghi said he was not to blame for the sit-in.

"It wasn't me, it was the whole class," he said.

Hasan, who said he had demonstrated for civil rights in the 1960s, said the sit-in was actually a riot which the school had to call police to stop.

Last weekend, the Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh attended a meeting of students at the home of a classmate.

The Mesdaghis and Vongsouvanh say they and the other students were simply discussing ways to get straight answers from the college about accreditation and the school's plans for next year.

Hasan said the students discussed more riots and using violence. Hasan said he was not at the meeting but that some students reported what had taken place to the administration.

 

[BMBiology]

Pejman Mesdaghi said he never discussed inciting riots or using violence.

"None of it is true, I have so many witnesses," Pejman said of Hasan's allegations.

On Tuesday morning, Hasan, the college's founder, David Monroe, and a member of the college staff went to the Mesdaghis' home to deliver a letter suspending the students and prohibiting them from talking to classmates.

The Mesdaghis said they were not there. Vongsouvanh, who said he was there, said that Hasan noisily banged on doors and windows and yelled at those inside to "open the door."

Hasan said he felt the need to deliver the letter in person to prevent the students from disrupting campus.

The Mesdaghis don't buy that, saying the visit was meant to intimidate them.

"If you were afraid of me," Pooyan Mesdaghi said, "would you come bang on my window?"

A hearing is scheduled in state Circuit Court on July 25 to determine whether the court will grant an injunction against the students. The Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection has received complaints from students against the school and is "closely and carefully examining the allegations," said Steve Levins, the office's executive director.

In the meantime, Pejman Mesdaghi said, he continues to hope the school can get on track and that he can return. He denies trying to hurt the college.

"Two years until I'm a doctor," he said. "Why would I want the school to end?"

 

[aubieRx]

I think people should go to Drudge Report http://www.drudgereport.com/ and give them this link. There is a box on the site (SEND NEWS TIPS TO DRUDGE [ANONYMITY GUARANTEED]) where you can type in links and make a statement. Maybe if enough students write in, they'll post the link. Drudge report is the biggest news outlet on the net. It's worth a try.

i gave drudge the url of the hicp thread a week ago 😀 bet he was too busy to get the gist of it tho

 

[JohnUNLV]

i gave drudge the url of the hicp thread a week ago 😀 bet he was too busy to get the gist of it tho

Send him the link to the star bulletin website along with a note about other circumstances.

 

[aubieRx]

i did but i think drudge may have bigger fish to fry atm. There is an article about china threatening the us with nukes up now 🙁

 

[JTD1972]

You know who else might be interested in this? Bill O'Reilly. Don't know how popular he is on here but I've seen him take on many stories like this. That's the number 1 rated news program on TV. If someone could send him a well written letter stating all the facts and concerns of the students, there's a chance he could do a segment on it. "Who's looking out for you?" Check and see if Bill is.

 

[JTD1972]

i did but i think drudge may have bigger fish to fry atm. There is an article about china threatening the us with nukes up now 🙁

I've seen Drudge post links to some pretty dumb stuff also, like a two headed cat. Right now there is a link to "Woman grows Penis...".

 

[aubieRx]

You know who else might be interested in this? Bill O'Reilly. Don't know how popular he is on here but I've seen him take on many stories like this. That's the number 1 rated news program on TV. If someone could send him a well written letter stating all the facts and concerns of the students, there's a chance he could do a segment on it. "Who's looking out for you?" Check and see if Bill is.

Im not a huge bill fan .. But he does argue a good point in matters such as this so I may use some of my spare time to write him a good letter.

got some free time to kill this summer 😴

 

[aubieRx]

I've seen Drudge post links to some pretty dumb stuff also, like a two headed cat. Right now there is a link to "Woman grows Penis...".

haha thats true. drudge is definitely quirky at times but I am a big fan of his.


edit: well anyway I just sent bill oreily a letter. Its a shot in the dark ! doubt anything will come of it but wouldn't it be cool if it did ?

 

[aubieRx]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1443175/posts?page=2

I posted the story in free republic which is a conservative news forum.

These guys were responsible for getting dan rather fired for the bush forgeries

don't know if they will be interested in this story but I figured I would take a chance.

 

[JTD1972]

well anyway I just sent bill oreily a letter. Its a shot in the dark ! doubt anything will come of it but wouldn't it be cool if it did ?

Good job aubieRx. You never know, he might have his staff look into it. If enough people write, I'm sure someone will look into it.

 

[aubieRx]

here is what someone who sounded like they knew what they were talking about at free republic said:

Unless they can prove their claims that the college promised that their courses would be accredited, they may not have a suit. There are hundreds of unaccredited colleges and business schools in the United States which will happily take your money and give you an education that is equal to that found in a normal college, but which isn't transferable or upgradeable in any way. It's perfectly legal, and it's the responsibility of a student or parent to ensure that they are taking classes at an accredited school before registering for any classes if the students field or educational goals require it.

However, if the school promised that they would be issuing accredited degrees and credits when they weren't capable of doing so, then these students have a pretty clear cut case of fraud. Not only will they be able to sue for their money back, but they can probably claim considerable damages considering that they've wasted a year of their lives on this school. At the very least they should be able to claim a full years worth of lost income, at whatever going rate pharmacists typically start at, since their entry into the job market has now been forcibly delayed for a year.

didn't they have on the website at the beginning of the year that HICP had precandidate status? If so then that might be enough for a lawsuit still...IF not there is the possibility that this school is unpleasant but legal

 

[J Lucas]

NowI am confused now. I can't tell who is trying to help HICP actually get accredited and who is trying to totally destroy the school. What are you intentions? If HICP gets accredited then those 240 students will most likely end up being Pharmacist but that means Hasan and his business cronies will also win. If the ACPE does not accredit HICP then hasan will lose and the students will lose. Whos working for which goal? You cant help the students without helping HASAN

 

[JohnUNLV]

NowI am confused now. I can't tell who is trying to help HICP actually get accredited and who is trying to totally destroy the school. What are you intentions? If HICP gets accredited then those 240 students will most likely end up being Pharmacist but that means Hasan and his business cronies will also win. If the ACPE does not accredit HICP then hasan will lose and the students will lose. Whos working for which goal? You cant help the students without helping HASAN

We (all HICP students) already lost. Therefore we don't want them to ruin anymore lives.

 

[aubieRx]

NowI am confused now. I can't tell who is trying to help HICP actually get accredited and who is trying to totally destroy the school. What are you intentions? If HICP gets accredited then those 240 students will most likely end up being Pharmacist but that means Hasan and his business cronies will also win. If the ACPE does not accredit HICP then hasan will lose and the students will lose. Whos working for which goal? You cant help the students without helping HASAN

I am only interested in the legality of something like HICP which has raked in around 7 million dollars from people expecting to become pharmacists..

If it is illegal then it is up to the authorities to deal with it. None of us here have the power to destroy the school. We merely have the power to spread news of the school.

I personally do not care that much either way because it is not my problem. But I find it interesting that such things can exist in the united states.

perhaps it is a legal business ; perhaps it is not. I am sure there is a lawyer somewhere who knows the answer.

I would have thought that a professional school would have already been accredited (or well on the way to becoming accredited) before it was allowed to take on students. It seems logical doesn't it?

If you are going to profess to offer a service then you ought to be able to actually offer the service if you know what I mean. This isthe last I have to say on the issue of HICP because I feel like it is none of my real business. 😳 and with that I go on to other things.

 

[johnniewest]

Yeah, use that as a premise for a lawsuit, and also use this: "When it began classes, Hasan said, the school had only five full-time and four or five part-time faculty members for more than 230 students. "

No sane individual can honestly say a graduate school with that faculty/student ratio "is on track for accreditation." You might also want to attack the quality of education like when (Dr.)^3 Orr (JD only in Cali) showed up the first day to outline the pharm law class and then two unqualified people took over the class after that.

didn't they have on the website at the beginning of the year that HICP had precandidate status? If so then that might be enough for a lawsuit still...IF not there is the possibility that this school is unpleasant but legal

 

[hiprayer]

I just wanted to say thank you all for being concerned. When things get tough only the strong ones can fight for whats right. As everyone now knows there are some students doing something about this. As far as my other fellow classmates........I still am supportive of whatever you guys do. Even if you still believe I respect you for still trying. I know this is a tough situation and only we know what is really going on and how hard it is to let go. Just follow your heart and do what is right. We are the victims here, we have done nothing wrong. We all have great passion for the profession. Dont let anyone take that from us.

Thank You ALL!!!

 

[BMBiology]

I have heard that Hasan/Monroe read this forum very often and they have been a "step ahead" of the students. I will no longer solicit volunteers but instead I will directly ask the people I trust and I will not post our process here.

 

[bananaface]

I have heard the Hasan/Monroe read this forum very forum and they have been a "step ahead" of the students. I will no longer solicit volunteers but instead I will directly ask the people I trust and I will not post our process here.

Perhaps you could use this to the students' advantage and take this opportunity to explain how to get a school accredited. 😉