Need your help - trying to change school policy

[CrystalShip]

I would greatly appreciate your help. After losing two more students after 5th quarter (of a 6 qtr ADN program) our class would like to put forth a proposal to lower the percentage required for remaining in the program. It would greatly help our cause if we had information from other schools of their requirements. If you could please let me know your school, city, state, and type of program (ADN, BSN, LPN, etc), the minimum gpa or percentage a student can earn before they are dropped out or what happens if a student falls below that mark for a class. THANK YOU!

ex. Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA, 2yr ADN, min. grade to stay in the program is 82% and if you fall below that you are dropped from the program with no option to retake a class.

Again, thank you for your input, I greatly appreciate your help. If you have additional information to add about how many students have been dropped from your program that would be great too.

[quiet_one]

PC, a community college in TX , 2 year ADN. minimum grade to stay in the program is 75% and if at anypoint during the semester you make less than that on an exam you must do a test review with the instructor. If you fail to reach a 75% at the end of the course you must request readmittance into the program from the director of the program (also think you have to write a paper on how you will succeed in the course).

The program itself has very high standards for its students, we to have to make a 100% on or dosage calc (by the fourth semester...think it starts at 80% and progress up through the semesters) We are also tested over skills, the first week or two of school...stuff we have to learn on our own. We also have to take the specialized hesi exams each semester and pass with a 900 or better. also if you don't pass the comprehensive hesi, you must take a 4 week remediation program after you graduate to get your GN! Not even gonna talk about the standards in clinicals :) As a result my school has a very high pass rate 97% (really good for our small size :)

I think that the best part of our program is the ability (and sometimes requirement) to speak with the instructor regarding the test material. If for some reason you and your classmates are falling below the passing mark (82 does seem rather high) you may want to discuss with your instructor and see what they would suggest you do...their job does kinda depend on the reputation of the college and they may not want to jeopardize that by lowering the pass score...but they should also want to increasethe pass rate and help their students :)

Good Luck

[Junebugfairy]

i am a nursig student :)

ns is difficult, and it should be, you are learning lifesaving skills! (among other things, obviously)

my school has an 80% in order to pass. yes, we have lost students, yes they get mad, but that is the nature of something as difficult and rewarding as nursing.

on a side note.. all of the students who either dropped out or failed out of my class worked, and they worked too many hours to study.

[cursedandblessed]

72% to pass

2.5 gpa in pre-req's + nursing classes

100% on dosage calculations 3 tries permitted

can only repeat 2 nursing classes. but can only repeat a single class once (in other words if you fail med-surg i- you can repeat it only once, and then if you fail maternity you can repeat it only once, if you fail either of those second attempts or another class after passing on the second try you're out.)

90% first attempt nclex pass rate, 95% overall

[MermiesGreatGig]

My AAS program for RN requires a 78%

[83studentnurse]

Diploma school, NJ. 80% required to pass (80-86 is a C, 87-93 is a B, 94-100 is an A). 100% required on all 4 medication math exams. If you fail, you are able to re-take the course next year.

[drgnflydggr]

My ADN program requires an 80% average on all tests which is separate from the 80% that is required on all written work. There is a med math test with each new clinical rotation. That must be passed at 100% in three tries. All skills must be passed in 3 tries. Our grading scale has been adjusted up so that 94-100 is an A, 88-93 is a B, and 80-87 is a C. We start 60 students, and typically graduate 28-32 students. Our NCLEX pass rate is consistently 98-100%. We are allowed to leave and re-enter the program once for any reason, including grades. The policies are tough, but fair. The expectations are laid out at orientation.

[kellyp374]

Honestly....I think the standards should not be lowered. This is nursing we are talking about....would you want a Nurse assisting you that had trouble getting their degree? How about lowering the pass/fail requirements for doctors? Think that would also be a good idea?

Nope....I gotta disagree with you on this one. A potential Nurse should know his/her stuff and if she/he can't make the grades then perhaps nursing just isn't the right field for them.

[ksrose1]

I don't think that you as students will have much luck lowering the standards, but I think you might make head way in getting assistance with tudoring.

[LucyRose]

ADN program in Massachusetts. You need a 73 to pass and as a student, I think that is way too low. I know the 'C' students and I wouldn't want to be lying in a hospital bed and see them walk in as my primary nurse... I hope that doesn't sound too cruel

[Lucky0220]

This all drives me crazy! I graduated from a private 2 yr LPN with a bridge to RN if you chose to go on. I did and while the LPN program was great, the RN part was absolutely horrid. I hardly learned a thing and most of the instructors were awful and inadequate to teach the assigned material. There was so much turnover. I got through it because I had wonderful instructors in my LPN year. So many students failed out, due a multitude of reasons, some being out of their control and getting no help from administration. I feel so strongly that these schools need to increase the requirements for being accepted into the program... be it higher NET scores or whatever else the criteria is. So many people get accepted because they have the ability to get the financial aid to fund their education, but they really cannot handle the material. The "weeding out" should begin with the entry exams, not in the 3rd or last quarter of the program. These schools are brutal!

[julbug75]

Western Technical College in WI requires a 78% average on all exams. Any other assignments in the course will not matter if you do not maintain this average on the exams. You would be required to retake the course (which they will let you do only twice during the program). You must pass all generals with a C, which is 78%. They have a 95% pass rate on first time NCLEX.

Good luck with your plight!

[HospitalNurseIsOnThePhone, BSN, RN]

What you're doing is GREAT!! I am in a BSN program in South Carolina. In 4 semesters our class size has gone from 45 to 23, so I feel your pain. Any grade below 80% is failing, they don't round up (a 79.99 is FAILING) and two failing grades gets you kicked out of the program! ...and we wonder why the shortage...