NCLEX Pass Rates vs. Graduation Rates

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. Should NCLEX passing rates and class graduation rates be published alongside one another?

    • 10
      Yes
    • 1
      No

11 members have participated

Now that I am finished with the trials and tribulations of nursing school, I cannot help but wonder why the graduation success rate of a nursing school is not published alongside their NCLEX passing rate. For example, the school I attended (Kellogg Community College) graduates approximately 50% of a starting class. Yet it has a NCLEX passing rate of 93%. That is a significant difference. From my experiences, there were a large number of students who are going to make excellent nurses but were lost for reasons well beyond their abilities, knowledge, and skills. But, that's a story for another day. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I would have looked at things differently if such data was available. Nursing school is a time consuming and costly endeavor and such information should be readily available to perspective students. In addition, such data would promote healthy competition and ensure schools are modifying their programs to be both efficient and effective in preparing students for a career in nursing rather than placing an emphasis on passing an exam. As nurses, we should address this issue for the future and integrity of the profession.

Specializes in ICU.

Let me explain why I did not take into account the college graduation rates itself and only looked at NCLEX pass rates. My school has a great NCLEX pass rate but a terrible overall graduation rate and I'm not talking about the nursing program. We only lost one in our cohort the very last semester. The town I went to school is very poor. There is poverty and drug rate is high. But the nursing program is very well respected. I talked with HR in many of the area hospitals. If you graduate from my program, you get a job.

The poverty and drug abuse has led many to figure out how to manipulate federal grant money. They sign up, get Pell Grant money, buy stuff at the bookstore, and return it for cash. Or, because the college is very inexpensive, wait on their refunds. I have seen it first hand. Our legislators are getting really crappy over the graduation rate. But the nursing program is stellar and has a near 100% NCLEX rate. People will always find a way to abuse the system. Always. People's poor decisions in life do not affect me. I looked at NCLEX pass rates.

So far, everybody in my cohort has passed NCLEX. Almost every single, one of us had a job upon graduation. The only ones who didn't were they ones who were taking a break and not putting in applications. I had my job last November.

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NurseGirl525: Thanks for the input.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but I am referring to NCLEX rates and nursing program graduation rates. It appears that your nursing program's graduation rates are in alignment with its NCLEX pass rates. KCC is 93% NCLEX and 50% nursing program.

I saw the same thing at my bookstore. There was always students with financial aid doing school clothes shopping for their entire family when the Fall semester commenced. What a waste of funding that is supposed to go to education!

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Specializes in ICU.
NurseGirl525: Thanks for the input.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but I am referring to NCLEX rates and nursing program graduation rates. It appears that your nursing program's graduation rates are in alignment with its NCLEX pass rates. KCC is 93% NCLEX and 50% nursing program.

I saw the same thing at my bookstore. There was always students with financial aid doing school clothes shopping for their entire family when the Fall semester commenced. What a waste of funding that is supposed to go to education!

I guess to me at that time, it could have translated to the program as well. I just knew the rep my program had and it is better than the BSN programs in my area. I also knew who for sure was going to not have a problem finding a job after graduation. Even the experienced BSN nurses at my hospital say oh you graduated from so and so's program? Their grads are the best!!

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Update 06/25/2016

Just recently Kellogg Community College updated their admission requirements in an effort to improve graduation rates. Chemistry is no longer a general education requirement. A Kaplan admission test that evaluates the basic reading, math, writing and science skills of students seeking entry into a nursing program leading to RN licensure was added. Admissions are now competitive.

Don't quite understand the removal of chemistry as it provides information in terms of understanding chemical reactions, calorie consumption, Krebs cycle, acids, proteins, amino acids, and pH. Not only did chemistry prove beneficial, but so did microbiology which wasn't a requirement.

In an effort to get admitted sooner rather than later, I went what was then known as the competitive route. That required the completion of college and intermediate algebra and passing the TEAS with a minimum score. Not only did I get A's in both algebra classes, I also scored high enough on the TEAS to earn extra points. Needless to say that when I entered the program, more than 90 percent of my classmates did not get admitted via the competitive route.

To make a long story short, it appears that Kellogg is cutting their nose off to spite their face. I don't know how removing chemistry is going to improve graduation rates. In fact, it will most likely make some of the subject matter more difficult to comprehend or instructors are going to have to forgo some knowledge to explain basic chemistry.

My experience and exposure also indicated that taking extra classes (e.g., algebra and microbiology) and the TEAS test, or simply stated going the "competitive" route wasn't a good indicator of who would pass or fail. As I previously stated, over 90 percent of my classmates didn't get admitted on a competitive basis.

With that said, it appears that Kellogg has failed to look internally. Instead of analyzing areas such as methods/mode/means of instruction or too much emphasis on the NCLEX exam, they look at the student as being unprepared. Very similar behavior to not allowing the recording of lectures because of an error in judgement by a faculty member. Note that not one of my instructors referred to themselves as teachers. In fact it was often mentioned in class that "I am not here to teach you." They are facilitators, guides, or mentors. To me that always spoke volumes.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Honestly, I think going to a full-competitive process is going to significantly increase graduation rates. It's going to disqualify all the people who were marginal to begin with... the people who failed out academically rather than for personal issues (family/personal illness, pregnancy, work/money/childcare problems). My cohort lost a LOT of people after Med-Surg I and Med-Surg II, simply based on academics.

In an effort to remain a "community college for the people" they were admitting a LOT of people who truly had no business being in the program, academically speaking. When I went through the program, they had just started allocating a small percentage of the openings to competitive positions, while the majority were still the standard wait-your-turn-on-the-list openings.

I'm guessing that they've analyzed who was failing out and realized that allowing lower-academic-performers in, while a nice idea in general, simply wasn't doing anyone any favors in the end. By making the whole program competitive, they're going to keep that type of person out of the program in the first place.

As for chemistry class, it's really a teeny tiny portion of everyday nursing. (I've been a nurse for three years now and have never needed to think of the Krebs cycle on the job!) Most people who meet the ACT requirements and who pass Physiology with the required minimum of a B- will have already completed chemistry in high school anyway -- what's the point of making them take the class all over again if they can already meet the requirements? I took high school chemistry way back in 1984, never took another chemistry class ever, and I passed Physiology with a solid A.

I am starting to wonder why you're so committed to making this program look bad, though. Things that make you go hmmmm.....

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Brillohead: From what I researched, chemistry is still a part of every nursing program within the area (2 year colleges or 4 year universities). That alone speaks for itself. Having said that, while I was at Kellogg there was discussion about limiting the number of attempts at chemistry from 3 to just one. That makes sense. Eliminating it completely will most likely translate in a student being required to take chemistry when and if the seek a BSN.

My experiences were similar to your cohort in terms of Med Surg I and II. If you request scientific data from the school as I did under FOIA you would notice some disturbing trends with specific classes and/or instructors. Considering Kellogg tries its very best to make all classes identical in terms of material covered in the same class, one would seriously question why one Med Surg class had no failures, while another class being taught simultaneously had a failure rate of 41%. The same can be said for Med Surg II: one class had a failure rate of 5%, while another class had a rate of 63%. Those statistics were similar from one year to the next. For the years that I was there, the same instructors taught the same classes. I find it hard to believe that most of the "lower academic performers" were all in the same class.

In terms of your wondering, please keep in mind that the direction and subsequent reputation of the program can, and will impact us all in the future. While a student, I voiced similar concerns with the faculty and through the Student Nurse Association. Was I then, and am I critical now? Yes! The path of least resistance is convenient and safe, but it limits growth and development.

FYI, nursing is my second career. I have a BA and MA. Amongst a variety of work experiences, I was an adjunct professor for a number of years. Academia and its politics is a familiar playground.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Oh, I'm well aware of the politics of academia... in fact, one of my friends is under a gag order to not discuss what has happened there as a condition of her separation from the organization. (I'm also a second-career nurse. Politics are abundant in pretty much every industry, trust me.)

But now that I'm out and practicing, *my* performance is what will impact me in the future, regardless of the reputation of the program down the road. If you go 50+ miles in any direction, nobody has even heard of KCC, and nobody cares.

I have a license in good standing with the State of Michigan BON. I have positive recommendations from managers with a variety of organizations from working in different capacities as a nurse. I'll be adding ACLS, PALS, and BSN behind my name in the coming years. Those are the things that will matter in the future -- nobody cares or even knows about KCC.

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Brillo: Thanks for the input! Trust me, I get what you are saying. I just found and continue to find the hypocrisy of the program to negatively impact the time and money students pay in an attempt to become nurses. I recall during orientation how they talked about teaching students to "critically think" and how they don't promote or encourage "nurses eating their young." However, your example of the gag order is one of the many situations I saw and heard of their bullying or incivility. Their covering up such behavior prevents their program from becoming a truly great educational experience. Given the fact that they are the only 2 year program within a 25 mile radius, they rather have a captive audience. Not to mention that two wrongs don't make a right.

Anyhow, thanks for the exchange in experiences, ideas, and thoughts. I wish you all the best in your nursing career.

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