dover business college fails whole class

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Sep 17, 2011

I have also never heard of an NLN exit exam. And I graduated in 2007. Were you given study materials directly for this exam? I would also contact the NLN and let them know, and see if you have the ability to re-take the exam? Seems like a scam if you then have to pay another multiple thousand dollars to go through the program again! And the fact that all 10 of your classmates also failed to get the minimum acceptable grade.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Sep 17, 2011

The NLN exit exam is similar to HESI (just another company a school may choose to go with, but the sane premise). Is the school NLN accredited? If so, thru WILL be answering to a higher authority. Regarding the passing grade for the exit exam, this is also something that is influenced by the accrediting bodies (ie, NLN). it's tricky: NLN does not lie to see the %s too high, or too low. They need to be realistic and achievable.

If your school recently experienced a period of low NLCEX passing rates, this may he the reason the stakes were raised. I know students font like to hear this, but schools do not want people who are a risk of failing to even be eligible to sit for NLCEX; it brings down their stats, this affecting their reputation, as well as accreditation.

JeneraterRN · Sep 17, 2011

In 2009, our class was the first in our school's history to be required to take the NLN exit exam. We too were required to pass with an 85. Most made the requirement, though one or two failed because of it.

clearblue3 · Sep 17, 2011

If this is the exam you take to start the program, then yes we had to take it, but we only had to get a 50% or better. We were the first class to have to take it so they might have raised the percentage since then. I am not sure! We still had quite a few people fail it because they didn't study for it.

Isabelle49 · Sep 17, 2011

If this college has an entire class that can not pass perhaps they should recognize that they have been ineffective in their teaching and examine what they can do to remedy the situation.

I totally agree with what you say. Does this school require a higher score on the NLN than others, because they know they are not delivering what would be considered an acceptable education to students. They know the students wouldn't be able to pass Boards and that would definitely be a bad reflection on them. I think this is definitely something that should be brought to the BON's attention and to whatever regulatory body exists in the state in which the school operates. They could be raking in the tuition and not delivering the goods!

How many students were in the class that failed the NLN?

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Sep 17, 2011

Sounds like a way to make extra money so you have to take another semester with them! I know several people who went to Alverno and were failed and had to retake a semester, more money in their pocket, and not just for the nursing program. Alverno doesn't even give real grades, just pass or fail, and you have to jump thru so many hoops to pass. I'd say the workload is closer to an MA degree than a BA/BS. Also its a very expensive private college with lots of marketing hype, it will put you into hock of 60-80+ thousand and I even know someone who graduated from there years ago and has worked as a janitor ever since! I wonder how many other grads are working in similar low-paid jobs where college isn't necessary. I bet there's lots struggling to pay off the outrageous tuition with nothing to show for it!

I think you may need to get a lawyer to fight for you to ensure you get your degree and protect you from spending more hard-earned money taking the semester over! I don't think they can refuse to graduate the class over one "NLN" exam. It is not even boards so I don't think it would even count. Yes if they have a lot of nurses who don't pass boards, it goes against them and their accredidation, but to simply refuse to graduate you rather than let you take the chance of doing poorly on boards. I don't think that's right. I bet if an attorney got involved they would change their tune in a hurry. Also don't be afraid to let the media know the stunt they are pulling. If the media gets wind of this they might put enough pressure on them to fix things for you grads.

Seems to me if they don't think the whole class did well enough on some fake NLN test than it is up to them to remedy the situation with further training and review and to revise the teaching plan for future students, but it should not be used against you to keep you from getting your diploma!

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 17, 2011

The NLN is not the end all that will determine if one can pass NCLEX. Sure it can help predict but the NLN is nothing like the NCLEX in my opinion. I would not attend a school that even if you pass your classes would not let you graduate based on a one time practice test. It's absurd IMO. Why bother to have. Individual class grades and minimums there if in the end it doesn't matter because it comes to this test, I have never understood that. Set minimum passing levels for each class and. If. The student meets all of them then let them graduate and try NCLEX for themselves. Even NCLEX gives you more then a one shot deal. Just my opinion.

To the OP sorry for such a crappy situation. I hope you can find some sort of resolution.

pumpkinseeds · Sep 17, 2011

I've seen this type of thing before.

It might be a money grab - every repeated class is a bunch of income for the school.

It might be a way to skew their board scores. In my (now very ancient) days as a student, a few of my classmates were not good test takers. Their clinical skills were good, but they had a hard time with the test. I on the other hand whizzed through the test, often making the highest score, but I sucked at clinicals. I'm surprised I could figure out which end to catheterize. Guess which students were hounded by the teachers? Poor test takers tend to flunk boards. The schools can't brag about their astronomically high pass rate. So, they kick out the good students who might, just might, bring down their pass rate.

In any case, I have a difficult time believing that EVERY SINGLE STUDENT was so poorly educated or unintelligent as to flunk this test.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

OCNRN63, RN · Sep 17, 2011

I have also never heard of an NLN exit exam. And I graduated in 2007. Were you given study materials directly for this exam? I would also contact the NLN and let them know, and see if you have the ability to re-take the exam? Seems like a scam if you then have to pay another multiple thousand dollars to go through the program again! And the fact that all 10 of your classmates also failed to get the minimum acceptable grade.

We had them in the early-mid 80s when I was in school. You had to pass them in order to graduate. I did not go to a for-profit school.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Sep 17, 2011

Kimberly: before you go depleting your life savings on a lawyer, I would strongly suggest you gathering all yuor information and facts. I've never taught in an LPN program, but I have taught in a for-profit school, and my current school is in the process of going through NLN reacrreditation, so I know a couple of things about some things I may be wasintg my breath here, but I just want to touch n some of the things that were stated here (by others):

The NLN is NOT a FAKE exam! If your school is actually using an NLN exam as a measure of predictability for NCLEX success, then it is legitimate. While they cannot hold you back from graduating, they can use this a way to gauge whether or not you are ready for NCLEX. I believe these rules vary from state to state, but where I live, they cannot hold you back from graduating (you are not recieving a degree, so I don't know how that factors in). You MUST remember the schools' stance (whether they are a shady for-profit, or a highly regarded ivy-league school): they want the highest NLCEX passng rate possible. I know everyone poo-poos standardized exams, but they exist for a reason to see where one school ranks compared to a the rest of the nation (who is using them). Perhaps (playing devils' advocate) the exams you were given in your program were too easy?

I'm gonna ask the question again: how were the recent NCLEX scores at this schoil? Did the pass rate go down? This is a key factor. I have experienced this in both schools I've worked in. When this happens, many things are examined:

-How are we teaching? what are we teaching? Are we loading you up with content, rather than teaching critical thinking?

-Who are we teaching? Are the students in the program really suitable candidates? Or (and this happens in the case of for-profit schools sometimes) are we teaching anyone who wants to be a nurse, whether or not they have met some sort of criteria (GPA, entrance exam grades).

So again, any time there is a decline in pass rates, things HAVE to change. Because (as many have said the BON Needs to know about this).=, they probably already do. They watch schools VERY carefully.

What I really wonder about here, is the fact that there were only 10 students. To me, this makes it difficult to assess what's going on here. I've never worked with such a small #. When I opened the thread, I was expecting the "whole class" to be about 40-80 students. It is such a small number. Did the class start out with only 10? How well did these students do all along?

And finally, what has the school given you as your next course of action? Are you able to retest? Are they asking you to remediate in some way before you sit for the exam? Chances are they are not going to be comfortable with no one sitting for the exam from this class (THAT would raise a huge red flag). This is usually the idea behind the exit exams. When people say "They told me I wasn't gonna pass NCLEX b/c I failed the exit exam... well I did PASS, so there!" Well, why did you pass? Chances are this was a wake up call. The NLN diagnostic predictor exam (not sure if this is the specific one you took) clearly states (and the faculty is supposed to say this to the student) "based on this exam score, without further preparation, it is likely that you will not pass the NCLEX exam". Translated: you need to study more, take a review, something more before you sit for the exam.

CFitzRN, ADN · Sep 17, 2011

I've seen this type of thing before.
It might be a money grab - every repeated class is a bunch of income for the school.
It might be a way to skew their board scores. In my (now very ancient) days as a student, a few of my classmates were not good test takers. Their clinical skills were good, but they had a hard time with the test. I on the other hand whizzed through the test, often making the highest score, but I sucked at clinicals. I'm surprised I could figure out which end to catheterize. Guess which students were hounded by the teachers? Poor test takers tend to flunk boards. The schools can't brag about their astronomically high pass rate. So, they kick out the good students who might, just might, bring down their pass rate.
In any case, I have a difficult time believing that EVERY SINGLE STUDENT was so poorly educated or unintelligent as to flunk this test.
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln

This made me laugh because I am a "test/book smart, clinically dumb" type of person too. "...surprised I could figure out which end to cath..." hahaha! I know what you mean... Glad I'm not alone. This won't surprise you but I am a case manager/supervisor for a home health agency. No bedside work...

ktliz · Sep 17, 2011

Exit exams are common for the BSN programs in my area, but they are never a one-shot thing. Usually you remediate and retest until you pass. Some schools charge extra for remediation/retesting, and some don't. But, I have never heard of being required to retake an entire semester!