Fake Nursing Professor Taught 10+ Months—Asst. Dean Says Speaking Up Got Her Fired

An unlicensed instructor allegedly taught nursing at a Boise college for nearly a year, raising serious questions about oversight, student safety, and workforce integrity that every nurse should know about.

Unlicensed “Professor” in Boise Classroom

For roughly 10 months, a man identified in local reports as Daniel Foti taught nursing fundamentals and accompanied students to clinical sites at Eagle Gate College’s Boise, Idaho campus, despite not holding a nursing license in Idaho or any other U.S. state, according to state regulators and media investigations.​​
Under Idaho law, nursing faculty must be licensed as nurses, meaning he was never legally qualified to teach those courses or supervise clinical learning.​​

Students say that from early in the term they noticed he struggled with basic nursing content, skills, and rationales—raising red flags that something was wrong.​​

Assistant Dean Terminated After Complaint

Multiple Eagle Gate students told reporters they repeatedly questioned his competence and credentials to program leaders.​​ A former assistant dean, RN Carrie Herber, says she checked public records when concerns surfaced and could not find an active license under his name, then escalated those findings to her dean.​​ She even filed a complaint with the Idaho Attorney General. 

Herber reports she was later terminated from her position and has since filed complaints and is exploring legal action, saying she believes she was pushed out after insisting the program take the licensing issue seriously.​​

What Regulators and the School Say

Idaho’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses and the Idaho Board of Nursing confirmed there is no nursing license on record for the instructor, and the Board noted that, because he was never licensed, its power to sanction him personally is limited.​

Eagle Gate’s parent company, Unitek Learning, has stated that it believes it was misled and that problems were identified in his “professional licensing background” shortly before he resigned; the company says he stepped down as they were preparing to terminate his employment.​​

The school has told media it acted quickly once it verified the problem and considers itself a victim of fraud, while students and former staff say the college ignored warnings for months.​​

Impact on Students and Nursing Practice

Eagle Gate has reportedly offered affected students refunds for the nursing fundamentals course and related fees—around $6,000 per student—and required additional skills validation or remediation to confirm competency before progression.​​
Some students say the financial gesture does not erase the lost time, shaken confidence, and anxiety about NCLEX readiness and clinical safety after almost a year under an unlicensed instructor.​​

The incident also raises questions for employers and boards of nursing about graduates whose early foundations were taught by someone without a license, even if they later remediate and pass standard program checkpoints.​​

Why This Matters for Nurses Everywhere

• Credential verification gaps: The case highlights how failures in basic background and license checks can allow unqualified individuals to end up in faculty roles—mirroring broader national concerns about fraudulent nursing credentials and oversight gaps.​
• Patient safety culture: When students learn under someone who lacks licensure and up‑to‑date practice knowledge, it undermines a safety culture that the profession depends on, from fundamentals lab to bedside care.​​
• Retaliation fears: The former assistant dean’s account underscores how fear of retaliation can chill internal reporting, making it harder for nurses and educators to speak up when something feels unsafe or unethical.​​

Takeaways for Working Nurses and Students

• Always verify: Students can independently verify faculty RN licenses through state board lookup tools; staff nurses can do the same for new hires, “educators,” and anyone presenting as a licensed nurse.​​
• Document and escalate: When skill gaps or red flags appear in an educator or colleague, documenting specific incidents and escalating through formal channels creates a clearer record for regulators and accrediting bodies.​​
• Watch program responses: The way a school responds—speed of action, transparency, remediation for students, and cooperation with regulators—says a lot about its safety and ethics culture.​​

For nurses, this story is not just about one bad actor in Boise; it is a reminder that protecting the profession requires vigilance about who is allowed to teach, supervise, and represent nursing.

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