beware nursing schools in texas!

kittyn, MSN, NP · May 7, 2008

Howdy all,
I'll be posting this in the pre-student nursing forum too, but if anyone is just starting school, or not yet "in" and you are in texas, I suggest you seek out your school advisor and ask some questions.
I find it unbelievable, but there are a few schools in texas that are failing 70-90% of their nursing students. I guess the state board doesn't care. It only rates schools by their pass rate on the nclex, but in my opinion, a school that is taking in 100 students a year and graduating 10 should be shut down if they don't have a 100% first time pass rate.
I don't want to name names' but go ahead and ask the admissions counselor what their graduation rate is. If it is less than 25%, I'd go somewhere else, PRONTO.

Thanks for the heads up! :up:

AtomicWoman · May 8, 2008

It's good advice to ask this no matter where you want to go to school. I asked about the retention rate at a number of schools, because I think it's an important indicator of how supportive the school is of its students. Who wants to go somewhere that is eager to fail a bunch of students??

lillyofthevalley · Jun 11, 2008

Good to know but i'm a nursing student in texas and the school that i got was acccepted was 100% for 7 consectitive years. the BON set really HIGH standards if a school wants to keep accredidation from them. So 25% is a little hard to believe. If you ever want to know anything about the pass rate for nursing schools in texas, refer to Texas BON, instead of school counselors. you can get alot of mixed up information if you listen to every one else, and not research viable sources. Someone told me that HCC was 100%, comes to find out, one year only 88% passed, and thats too low for me. Research, Research, Research! Thats the only way that you can ever reach success.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2008

So 25% is a little hard to believe.

The OP (original poster) was referring to a 25% graduation rate, not a 25% NCLEX pass rate. These two matters are uniquely different.

morte, LPN, LVN · Jun 11, 2008

Good to know but i'm a nursing student in texas and the school that i got was acccepted was 100% for 7 consectitive years. the BON set really HIGH standards if a school wants to keep accredidation from them. So 25% is a little hard to believe. If you ever want to know anything about the pass rate for nursing schools in texas, refer to Texas BON, instead of school counselors. you can get alot of mixed up information if you listen to every one else, and not research viable sources. Someone told me that HCC was 100%, comes to find out, one year only 88% passed, and thats too low for me. Research, Research, Research! Thats the only way that you can ever reach success.

lily, this thread is about GRADUATION rates, not pass rates, two very different things

akijitsu · Jun 11, 2008

Lilly,

Definetly be aware of the graduation rate, the nclex pass rate does not really tell you much.

The BON standards are the same for all schools in Texas to retain accrediation, and that is an 80% first time pass rate for the NCLEX.

This, unfourtunately, is the ONLY method the BON uses to evaulate schools and it is totally inadequate when used by itself.

HCC, for the past 5 years, has been very close to 95% NCLEX first time pass, and they are graduating about 50% of their students.

Some other schoools are graduating only 15% of their students and have about the same pass rate on the NCLEX, which to me indicates they are doing a poor job educating their students.

lillyofthevalley · Jun 11, 2008

when i was done writing my reply to this thread, i read the first message to see i f i answered your message, after reading what you were saying i tried to edit it but then it said that i took too long to do it so...i couldnt edit it anymore. Sorry about that. I realize that the turnover rate is important in grading a school, but your post about some nursing school in texas as insufficient raises skepticism.As it should. We do have our share of weed- out courses, but studying is studying. I truly believe in taking control of your education, and the ones have perseverance to make it, MAKE IT. and the ones that dont, dont.

My nursing school accepts 30 students every year, and the graduating class has never been smaller than 19. But all of them passed the nclex-rn. Our tests and courses are closely tied to the nclex-rn. You graduate, then most likely you will pass. A lot of the nursing schools down here, ESPECIALLY community colleges, accept around that many students. So if students drop out for academic reasons, or other, the percentage is great even if it was 10 students.

There is a college in Texas where the turnover rate isnt as high. The name of the college is Galveston College. But the percentage of students that pass the nclex-rn is as low as 60% so tell me which one is more important? Id rather bust my tail studying and learning, and i fail then ok. At least i wouldnt have been in nursing school for two years, then not pass the test. :cool:

akijitsu · Jun 11, 2008

Lilly,

I couldn't agree more that an NCLEX first time pass rate of 60% is too low. In fact, I know someone who went from HCC to the school you speak of, and he said he didn't even have to crack a book to get a B. Meanwhile, he was doing all he could at HCC and wasn't even passing!

From the statistics you mention, your school sounds like a good one. They don't loose very many people start to finish, AND they have an excellent first time pass rate!

I'm sure you know what I mean when I say it that a school that accepts 100 qualified students (as an example), fails 90 of them, graduates ten, and then has a 90% first time nclex pass rate, is a really poor school!

While not exact, there are lots of schools with the numbers similar to the ones mentioned above!

lillyofthevalley · Jun 12, 2008

I understand what youre saying. I would hate for you to get accepted in a nursing school, and be subject the "weed-out" epidemic that goes on in Texas nursing schools. I work for a college so its easier for me to get the "down-low", sort of speak, on other schools, especially nursing. So i had no problem finding actually really good nursing schools in Texas. You seem like a VERY serious nursing candidate, and i know you will be smart enough to overcome the typical nursing school politics. Good luck in all you do and i would gladly give you info for nursing school the meet your high standards. (which i happily understand) :redbeathe

loricatus · Jun 12, 2008

The Texas University I attended was very close to being sanctioned for the low NCLEX pass rate. Their solution was to start the weeding out process to make sure NCLEX pass rates increased. It started with having to take multiple HESI exams that if not passed, you don't graduate, then went on to more policies to reduce the graduation rate.

I do know that a couple of students who had federal student loans reported the university for collecting tuition under false pretenses. Since the policies were instituited after they entered the program, they had some legal standing to argue their point. Never found out the outcome; but, it might be something to think about when in a class where the instituition collects tuition with the intention to fail more than half the class. The word Fraud just seems to pop into my head.

coolpeach · Jun 12, 2008

I am in Texas, and will start Brookhaven in the fall. I have been told that they are a really wonderful supportive school with great pass rates, and almost all of their student make it through the program and pass.

That being said I have always been told that there is a weeding out process no matter where you go. I have envisioned it as being something like a nurse boot camp LOL. I have prepared myself for it, and I am ready.