TAMPA, Fla. — Both current and former students at Tampa Medical College say they passed their classes but were not allowed to take the national test required to get a nursing license — prompting new complaints filed with the state against a nursing school we first investigated in 2021.
Tampa Medical College is a small, private nursing school located in the Tampa NetPark complex, but most students attend online classes.
It is owned and operated by Fadziso Jena, a former certified nursing assistant whose license expired in 2010.
The college's website says, "Begin your journey with us and go anywhere you want," but students tell us that after they invested time and money, their nursing careers went nowhere.
A $30,000 program with no path to the exam
Kevin Bryant enrolled at Tampa Medical College to become a registered nurse, spent almost $30,000 for the program, and completed his regular coursework.
But he says the college would not clear him to take the NCLEX, the national exam required to become a licensed nurse, because he could not get through its exit-testing process.
"When you get to the end of the program, you say, 'Oh, here's an 80-question test.' But when you go take the test, it's a 400-question exam that's verbal," Bryant said.
"One question might be 10 parts, and they'll tell you you've got to get nine out of 10 to be right," Bryant said.
What we found inside an exit exam
We obtained one test from another student.
While it is numbered 1-12, it actually has more than 300 questions.
The directions repeatedly say students must pass four out of five questions.
But if you look closer, the questions each have multiple parts.
One "question" on fluids and electrolytes alone contains dozens of prompts, requiring students to explain everything from body fluid compartments to hormones, labs, treatments, and patient education.
We also found two completely different sections both labeled "Question Three."
Later, two different sections are labeled "Question Five."
In another section, the same question about pallor appears twice.
Those issues don't tell us whether a student should pass.
But they provide context for repeated student complaints to the state licensing board about the length, content, and grading of the school's exit tests.
"Jena is the one that is grading certain parts of it when Jena is not a nurse at all. She's not even a CNA anymore," Bryant said.
15 complaints to state regulators
Kevin filed a 168-page complaint with the Commission on Independent Education, the board that regulates nursing schools in Florida.
He complained of "exit exam abuse."
The I-Team obtained 15 complaints against Tampa Medical College through an open records request.
A 2022 complaint says, "When it's time for our finals or any tests, the information does not match. They are making it impossible for you to pass."
A 2023 complaint says, "We have as a class been making complaint after complaint about incorrect tests with wrong answers, incomplete questions… and information on tests not covered in class or books."
And a 2024 complaint said, "These tests are subjective at most and should not be allowed to keep a student from passing," adding, "The test had multiple errors and duplicate questions."
Current students raise the same concerns
Two current students told us they faced similar problems.
"Question one might have maybe 6 other questions in there. Question 2 might have 7. It all depends on how she feels," one student said.
We are concealing their identities because they are still in the process of trying to graduate.
Both question her credentials as a former nurse's aide to administer the extensive exit exam.
"How is she able to grade and test someone on clinical knowledge when she has no clinical background and decide, yes you can, no you can't?" one current student said.
"She don't want you to go until you pass this verbal slash written, whatever it is with her that she came up with," another current student said.
The numbers behind the complaints
And that raises a question we can measure: How many students actually reach the NCLEX?
The 2026 Florida Board of Nursing's "State of Nursing Education in Florida" report shows only five Tampa Medical College took the registered nursing NCLEX, and, of those, just three passed — a 60 percent pass rate, compared to an 86.7% national average pass rate for first-time test-takers.
The report shows only one TMC student took the NCLEX practical nursing exam and failed, making Tampa Medical College among the lowest-ranked colleges in Florida in that category.
Those outcomes came up at a recent meeting of the Commission on Independent Education, which licenses and regulates Florida nursing schools.
At that meeting, a CIE board member asked: "Your graduation rate is really low. Can you explain that?"
"That's what we discovered. What was happening was students were doing very well online, and then when it's time to take their exit, which they have to do on campus, they don't do very well," Fadziso Jena said.
The board member followed up: "So these students made it all the way through the program and didn't graduate?"
"Yes. Because, well, they didn't… No, it's not that they didn't graduate. A lot of them would end up… we had a lot of students graduate now, like in December, but we had to go back on the back end, put them on the exit course again, remediate, spend a lot of time remediating because they were not passing the exit," Jena said.
Bryant complained of "Exit Exam Abuse" in his complaint to the CIE, writing, "These practices inflicted material hard: financial, academic (inability to pass exams designed to be failed), and professional (delayed NCLEX eligibility)."
He wrote, "They were not accidents, but a deliberate scheme to control graduation rates, mask poor outcomes, and exploit students financially."
A former instructor's view
When we first asked Jena about the program back in February, she referred us to then-instructor Danielle Decker, who was also a graduate of the school.
We asked Decker if Tampa Medical College was graduating enough students and putting them into nursing positions.
"I'm not privy to the actual number of students that she allows to go take the boards, or who, I shouldn't say allow, but who qualify to go take the boards," Danielle Decker said.
"Say she has 100 students and she sends 100 students who are not ready to take the NCLEX, and 100 students fail, then she gets put on probation. She's in trouble," Decker said.
When asked how many students who enroll end up becoming nurses, Decker said, "it fluctuates", but admitted she had no idea.
Decker no longer works for Tampa Medical College.
She and her husband Ronnie Decker, also a former student and instructor, are now suing Tampa Medical College for non-payment.
This isn't the first investigation
This story didn't begin with Tampa Medical College.
We investigated this school in 2021, when it was called Medical Prep Institute and its nursing program had faced probation over poor NCLEX performance.
Former students then complained about exit testing and being unable to take their boards.
The state closed all 15 complaints after receiving responses from the school.
When asked whether they had followed up with any of the students, the Commission on Independent Education sent a statement saying, "The Commission reviews and addresses complaints concerning licensed institutions in accordance with state law and applicable administrative rules."
What the school says
Jena declined our request for an interview.
In an email she wrote that the complaints were flawed and that Tampa Medical College has made "changes to its exit examination approach, including the removal of oral and written examination components for online students," which she characterized as "in response to pressure from this reporter."
She added, "We are deeply concerned why we are being held to the standard that others are not being held. We should not be expected to lower academic standards or pass students who have not met published requirements."
"It's led to people being taken advantage of, with paying all of this money and getting to the end of this program and not being allowed to graduate and go to the NCLEX," Bryant said.
Tampa Medical College's application for accreditation is scheduled to be considered later this month.
How to file a complaint
To voice a concern against a nonpublic post-secondary institution in Florida, please write a letter or send an e-mail containing the following information:
- Name of Student (or individual wishing to voice their concern)
- Address of Student (or individual wishing to voice their concern)
- Phone Number
- Name of Institution
- Location of the Institution (City)
- Dates of Attendance
- A full description of the problem and any other documentation that will support your claim such as enrollment agreements, correspondence, etc.
- The process of the Commission involves contacting the institution to obtain their response to your concern. If you do not want the Commission to contact the institution you are attending, you must state so in your documentation; however, doing so will greatly hinder the Commission’s ability to assist you with your concern.
Send Letter To:
Commission for Independent Education 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL. 32399-0400
Or E-mail: CIEINFO@fldoe.org
Or Fax: 850-245-3238
Jena's full response to our questions (as she wrote it)
Tampa Medical College strongly disputes several characterizations in your summary of the 15 complaints. Student allegations should be clearly identified as allegations, and the College's responses and supporting records should receive fair consideration. We have requested public records request, and our new attorneys and we also forward this old attorney who will be contacting CIE on Monday morning for these records.
"Surprise Exit Exams" — 13 of 15 complaints. The College denies administering unannounced exit examinations. Please identify the examination dates, notices, and records supporting this characterization and explain how the complaints were counted.
"Flawed and Unfair Testing" — 5 of 15 complaints. Please clarify whether this language describes students' opinions or an independently established finding. If you have concluded that an examination was flawed or unfair, please identify the evidence and evaluation criteria supporting that conclusion.
"Refusal to Review Failed Exams" — 3 of 15 complaints. Please distinguish between reviewing a student's performance or appeal and providing access to secure examination questions and answers. Restricting access to secure exit examination content is not unique to Tampa Medical College; other nursing programs also maintain examination security restrictions. Please explain why the College's practice is being singled out and whether comparable practices at other nursing schools were evaluated using the same criteria.
"Mentions of the Owner, Jena / Grievance Process" — 4 of 15 complaints. Mentioning the owner does not establish that she participated in a grievance or disciplinary hearing, much less handled one improperly. Jena Fadziso's direct involvement in such proceedings is rare. Please identify the specific proceedings in which she allegedly participated, the actions attributed to her, and the evidence supporting any concerns about her conduct or the College's grievance process.
We also dispute the following descriptions of the College's responses: "Discrediting the Student." Please identify the specific statements supporting this characterization. Presenting records that contradict an allegation should be evaluated on the evidence.
The "Student Signed the Catalog" Defense. Acknowledgment of published policies is relevant to whether students received notice of academic requirements. A signature alone does not resolve every complaint, but the policy, notice, and consistency of its application deserve consideration. Please clarify whether you are suggesting that the College should have departed from its published policies or applicable legal requirements. If a particular policy or its application is being challenged, please identify the specific concern and supporting evidence. Please also explain why the College's reliance on acknowledged policies is being characterized negatively and whether the same criteria are applied to other institutions
"Justifying Actions as Necessary for Public Safety" The College takes academic integrity seriously, particularly in nursing education. We maintain that documented incidents involving cheating or unauthorized possession of a phone during an examination must be considered when evaluating the resulting disciplinary decisions. The College is also concerned about examination outcomes following changes to its exit examination approach, including the removal of oral and written examination components for online students—changes in response to pressure from this reporter. Decisions about academic assessment should be guided by educational evidence, student competency, examination integrity, and applicable requirements but now we virtually being pressured to become a diploma mill. Over the past five years, the College has faced sustained scrutiny that we believe has caused substantial reputational and financial harm. Our student population declined by approximately 48% of documented students over the last year, beginning around the time the reporter resumed communications with a student who, according to our records, was found with a phone during an examination and was removed by authorities. That student also submitted complaints to multiple agencies across the country.
According to the College's records, the completed agency reviews resulted in no findings against the College. As a minority- and woman-owned institution, we are deeply concerned why we being held to the standard that others are not being held. We should not be expected to lower academic standards or pass students who have not met published requirements. Please identify any specific requirement you believe is inappropriate and the evidence supporting that conclusion. We also question why this College has received sustained attention while other nursing schools, including schools with extended periods of probation, appear to have received no reporting. Are we the only school with students complaining to CIE and are our complaints unique? Complaints should be evaluated fairly and consistently, with consideration of each institution's responses and supporting evidence. We have also noted that the coverage has omitted students who successfully completed their programs and offered positive accounts of their experiences. We also request acknowledgment that some students included in the previous reporting appeared on the Nightingale list. We have maintained documentary evidence of students threatening to contact the reporter unless their demands are met, as well as communications attributing withdrawal or enrollment decisions to information the College disputes as inaccurate or misleading. Given our concerns about the curious timing and fairness of this coverage we know what this about, we have anticipated this report to the governing authorities and will review it upon publication and move to on to next steps.
