Seeking the cure - nursing program at South Carolina State University - special report: health sciences

Black Issues in Higher Education, Nov 28, 1996 by Linda L. Meggett

ORANGEBURG, S.C.--Facing the threat of closure,

the nursing program at South Carolina State

University is searching for a cure to its problem of

low passing rates among graduates who take the

National Council Licensure Examination for

Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

S.C. State has asked an administrative law

judge to overturn the state Board of Nursing's July

decision to end its four-year nursing program. The

decision was made because, despite having the

highest passing percentage since its inaugural class

of 1992, the program was still 10 percent below

the national average.

Schools in South Carolina with students

taking the NCLEX-RN for the first time must have

a failure rate no greater than 5 percent below the

national average to avoid a deficiency citation. The

1996 passing percentage for S.C. State--which had

just five graduates take the test, with one failure--was

80 percent. Nationally, 90 percent of those

taking the NCLEX-RN passed the exam. Virginia

programs need an 85 percent passing rate to avoid

a deficiency notice from the nursing board.

The number of students in S.C. State's

program has always been low--as have the passing

percentages. The first graduating class of nine

students had a 77.7 percent pass rate. In 1993, five

students graduated and 40 percent passed. The

next year, the number of graduates grew to

fourteen, but only 41.7 percent passed. And in

1995, eleven students graduated, but the pass rate

was a mere 45.4 percent.

"When we went to the appeal, we were

optimistic that we would be allowed to

reopen the program--especially with the

statistics," says Cherie Smith, president of the

student nursing association. "Because we are

so small, we suffer more. In my class, we only

have ten students and if one person fails we're

already at 90 percent."

"I am surprised that S.C. State has not

come up to snuff," says Dr. Sallie

Tucker-Allen, a fellow of the American

Academy of Nursing. "I'm disappointed. We

really need Black schools of nursing."

The National League for Nursing has

consultants who work with schools having

problems and, according to Tucker-Allen, the

league makes a special effort to assist

historically Black colleges and universities

(HBCUs) before they reach the point where

they face closure.

Says Smith: "We were, and still are, in a

state of shock, but the only thing we can do

as students is to do well."

More than sixty students are currently

enrolled in the four-year program. However,

no new students will be allowed to register for

prerequisite classes to enter the nursing

program. Juniors and seniors will be able to

continue their studies during the next two

years. Sophomores are faced with the options

of changing their majors or transferring to

another nursing program.

Registered nurses with associate degrees

or diplomas can still participate in the

two-year program to earn their baccalaureate

degrees.

Attempting to Improve the Prognosis

"Even with the first class, we began to

analyze the predictors," says Dr. Sylvia

Whiting, professor and interim chair of the

nursing department. "That kind of analysis

continued as we added all kinds of tools to

track these students."

In 1993, the school added a system to

determine the potential success on the

national exam and compared it with their grade

point averages (GPAs) and Scholastic

Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.

"We tried to look at what the students

could do. Our philosophy was that all

students ought to have a chance to be

admitted," says Whiting. "We tried to mold

students with [required] 750 SAT scores and

2.3 GPA and so on. We gave them every c

chance. We tried to pull them through and

[the students from whom we expected

problems] were fairly well identified by

1995."

Students are allowed to take the

NCLEX-RN three times, and, according to

Whiting, most of those who fail the first time,

pass the second time.

The department had wanted to raise the

grade point average to 2.5, SAT scores to 850,

and the passing grade to 75. However,

university policy dictates that

70 is the minimum passing grade. "We knew

people who scored lower than 75 were going

to score low on tests," concedes Whiting.

After the nursing board ruling to end the

program, the school gave permission to raise

the passing grade to 78, "which we think will

make a major difference," says Whiting.

"There have been major changes that put

students under greater pressure, but they

seem to be doing well," she adds. "Students

were required to take tests on the clinical and

if they went lower than the 43 percentile,

[they] were required to retake the test.

Seniors take more comprehensive tests,

but many students just don't do well on

standardized tests. "We have to drill over and

over again to prepare students," Whiting

admits.

Instead of closing the program, the school

should be given a chance to make it work,

suggests Smith. "We didn't start out with all

the computer programs that we have now.

Change comes over time and I feel they didn't

give us enough time.

"My class was the first affected by [the]

new entrance and retention requirements,"