Scary...is it fair?

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A fellow classmate got 74.23%..nano points from 75% and did not make the class. If you were the Dean would have allowed passing? Factoring in mind that the individual has many other degrees..

Maybe I am just a softie at heart.............

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

Our program is the same, and I've heard most do the same....I agree that it's heartbreaking and so hard to deal with when you're watching friends and people you've grown close to get left behind...

But, I also agree that there has to be a line drawn in the sand and that's that. As someone else pointed out, the NCLEX doesn't cut you any slack, so it's best to get used to it now.

I, too, try to stay on top of things as much as possible early on so I'm not sweating it out by finals as I've seen others have to do. I usually know that I have to just about not show up to at least get a "C". My usual stress involves how many points I need to maintain a B or drop to a C.

I have one question and I am not being ugly nor do I want to start a debate or anything... What if it where you all who failed by nano points? Would you want the dean/instructor to make an acception or would you still feel like you got what you deserved? Pending you tried and worked your you know what off or the dog ate the homework or your child got sick and you absolutely had no choice but to miss the class, etc..... What are some of your feelings on that?

I have one question and I am not being ugly nor do I want to start a debate or anything... What if it where you all who failed by nano points? Would you want the dean/instructor to make an acception or would you still feel like you got what you deserved? Pending you tried and worked your you know what off or the dog ate the homework or your child got sick and you absolutely had no choice but to miss the class, etc..... What are some of your feelings on that?

I'd expect to be treated the same as anyone else who failed..to also fail. Whether I failed by my own hand of not showing up, not applying myself, family sick, myself sick, dog ate homework..whatever if I didn't make that minimum score I should not move on. I'd be kicking my self in the can AND making sure to change my ways, whether it be how I study or how I perform in clinicals etc so when I repeated the mod again, I could sail through.

I play by the rules, and expect others to play by them too.

When you are at below the MINIMUM passing level and you struggled just to get that, I have my doubts about whether or not you will succeed and make it to the end.

For example, the first mod of school, the minimum passing score was a 70. Some BARELY made it..meaning just got the exact score on the final needed to pass at a 70. Those same students, moved on to mod 2. Where the passing level is 75, again, they scrapped by most of the mod(some were truly trying, but couldn't retain the info). And when Finals rolled around, they didn't make it. We had people in my class who were from the class before who failed, they went through with us and again failed.

They are able to repeat the mod they failed and continue from there..IF they can get to the end and get the minimum passing grade.

Again, I truly feel bad when others in my class failed by nano points, but it is what it is. As the other poster said, NCLEX would "give you a break" because you just failed by such a slight amount and pass you. When you pass people, when they didn't perform to the expect outcome, they only people you are hurting is that student you are passing. Because come NCLEX time, I doubt they will pass.

My school recently did away with rounding because of that problem Don3218, because a girl passed and one didn't and the fireworks were very very bright to say the least :argue: and yeah if it was one of us, we would be mad, and we would want them to check that they counted everything.. but at the end of the day you know it is on you.

RNmomtobe.. I know what you are saying, and you are probably thinking that it is harsh and it is but, I am in that boat right now, not grade wise.. but I missed a clinical day to go to my boyfriend's sister's funeral this rotation, and I was told "you probably won't pass because you are missing a day of lecture plus a clinical (we aren't supposed to miss ANY days this year, d/t the short rotations) but guess what? I went. and if I don't pass, it is on me. I am stressing and studying like crazy but it was my choice. I am the one that will live with it.

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere. I would feel horrible, just as I felt horrible when a couple of people didn't pass last semester by a few points. But it's clearly written in our handbooks what the guidelines are for pass/fail, and as future nurses who often hold the fates of human lives in our hands, we should be able to understand these. If a student is that close to failing, I guarantee it didn't happen at the last minute. This was most likely a situation that developed over the course of the semester and perhaps repeating the semester isn't such a horrible thing (if this option is available). It might go a long way toward strengthening a student's understanding of the material -- and the commitment -- involved in becoming a future RN.

If you let someone within a few nano-points of passing squeak through, then the next guy who is within a few nano-points of that person get by, then toss in the next guy is now within one of point of that guy which has now got us down to the 75% mark get by, where does the madness stop?!?!? :uhoh3:

You know it is tough, I know she studied her *** off you know...but I guess it wasnt meant to be... maybe it is an application/critical thinking problem that we all encountered at the commencement of nursing school. Ah mean who knows, I am just trying to stay afloat, if other nursing students have done it then so can we....

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
A fellow classmate got 74.23%..nano points from 75% and did not make the class. If you were the Dean would have allowed passing? Factoring in mind that the individual has many other degrees..

As much as I'm a softie too, I'd have to say No because it sets a dangerous precedent: if I let her go, then I'd have everyone within nano points of passing coming in to argue their cases, throwing in every possible shread of evidence that they can find (and IMO, there's a lot better reasons to use in pleading their case than having many other degrees--those degrees only indicates past passing performance and tell me nothing about how the student is doing NOW).

And once I've said "Yes" to the first one it becomes that much harder to say "No" to subsequent people. I keep that up, and pretty soon passing=75 becomes passing=74 which soon becomes passing=73 and so on.

What if it where you all who failed by nano points? Would you want the dean/instructor to make an acception or would you still feel like you got what you deserved? Pending you tried and worked your you know what off or the dog ate the homework or your child got sick and you absolutely had no choice but to miss the class, etc..... What are some of your feelings on that?

Ultimately, it's my fault if I don't pass. It may not seem fair if my performance had been altered by things outside of my control (sick child, etc.), but then it goes back to the whole "where do they draw the line?" question. If they make allowances for one student, then they're going to have that much harder of a time telling someone else "No". And (though in my mind I may think otherwise ;) ) the fact is I'm no more special than any other student in that class--we all have things in our life that may intrude on our education and we need to make what decisions we think are best for ourselves, and accept the consequences.

That doesn't mean I won't go and feverently plead my case, but if it turns out that they deny me a passing grade, I guess can't blame them.

At my uni if somebody fails a subject by one or two percent they will pass them if their grades in other subjects are decent and their attendance was good. I guess we don't have it as tough as you guys, they will look at overall performance for a very marginal failure and give a pass or fail based on other factors.

Obviously skills have to be up to standard and clinical pracs have no room to move.

Specializes in Cardiac Care.
I have one question and I am not being ugly nor do I want to start a debate or anything... What if it where you all who failed by nano points? Would you want the dean/instructor to make an acception or would you still feel like you got what you deserved? Pending you tried and worked your you know what off or the dog ate the homework or your child got sick and you absolutely had no choice but to miss the class, etc..... What are some of your feelings on that?

Well, I, too, would be extremely upset at the situation, but ultimately, it would be my responsibility to own up to the fact that I didn't do well enough to pass. And these policies by the schools are not news to the students. We went over every piece of information in the student handbook (which details this very thing) and had to sign, date and submit the paper that says we read and understand it. And it really is too bad that it happens. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. But the rules exist, everyone is aware of them, and everyone is expected to abide by them. I know that people will sometimes study their ***es off and it's not good enough. Others will not do the work and succeed. It's not always fair, but the rules have to be consistent. And as has been mentioned several times, one has to draw the line somewhere.

W.O.W that is pretty interesting rubystar....:)

At my uni if somebody fails a subject by one or two percent they will pass them if their grades in other subjects are decent and their attendance was good. I guess we don't have it as tough as you guys, they will look at overall performance for a very marginal failure and give a pass or fail based on other factors.

Obviously skills have to be up to standard and clinical pracs have no room to move.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

"Back in the day" when we had pencil-and-paper state boards, anyone who failed but were close to passing could appeal to have the test hand-scored. I can't say I recall anyone having a fail changed to a pass, though. I'm not sure if the NCLEX on computer has any type of appeal process.

It's got to be just awful to fail by fractions of a point, but I agree that the line has to be drawn somewhere. Making exceptions would soon make passing the school's responsibility, not the student's.

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
A fellow classmate got 74.23%..nano points from 75% and did not make the class. If you were the Dean would have allowed passing? Factoring in mind that the individual has many other degrees..

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The passing grade in my school was 80%. No rounding up 79.9999% was failing.

In addition the grade came in several categories: Clinical, Case Studies, Tests, Clinical skill performance. One had to make at least 80% in each portion. Even if one had 100% in everything and 79.99% in one, you were failed.

It does not matter whether you are working your way through school, have a large family, have several degrees - why should it?. If as a nurse, you are only good 80% of the time, what happens the other 20% of the time. Yoiu could have a degree in rocket science, the patient would still be harmed.

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