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

do it again," Flack says.

Also, the program at WSSU has evolved into a

diversified one--something that happened without planning.

Although "the Black student population increased five

times, about 50 percent of [current] students are African

Americans and 50 percent are [of] European

[extraction]--white, European

American, European, and

International," according to Flack,

who adds that some student transfers

are licensed practitioners and

paramedics seeking a Bachelor of

Science in Nursing.

"We're probably averaging about

a 93 to 94 percent pass rate on the

NCLEX-RN," she says.

North Carolina Central and

North Carolina A&T also faced

threats of closure but have increased

their pass rates above 90 percent, as

required by the governing board.

In the 1990s, South Carolina has

had a spate of difficulties with

nursing programs. Clemson

University received a deficiency in

1995 when its graduate passing

percentage dropped to 81.6 percent.

Lander University's percentage

dropped to 71.4 percent in 1993. The four-year

programs at the University of South Carolina and the

Medical University of South Carolina have received no

citations since 1992.

Outside the Carolinas

Each state has different criteria for their programs,

although most rules are consistent with the National Council

of State Nursing Boards. Virginia programs do not face the

threat of closure by nursing boards.

In order for programs to work, the student-faculty ratio

should never exceed ten-to-one, according to Tucker-Allen,

who also criticizes schools which add programs without

doing the proper preparatory research.

In Virginia, the schools monitor themselves--cutting

programs for lack of production, poor quality, or inefficient

cost--says Nancy Durrett, the executive director of

Virginia's board of nursing. Although the board has a

twenty-page criteria to follow which is consistent with the

National Council of State Nursing Boards, there is no rate

requirement. Hampton University and Norfolk State

University are the only HBCUs in Virginia that have

four-year nursing programs.

The pass rate for Hampton University students

averages between 85 and 95 percent, says Dr. Arlene

Montgomery, interim dean of nursing. The program also has

a tutorial component with computerized testing that helps

give students an idea of what to expect on the NCLEX-RN.

Until recently, there

also was no pass rate criteria

at Howard University in Washington, D.C.,

according to Dorothy Powell, college of nursing

dean. However, she adds, the nursing board in the

District of Columbia has drafted new regulations

which requires that nursing programs maintain a

standard level of performance.

"The 80 percent [pass rate criteria] is just being

implemented because of the difficulty of how the

District is operated. Unlike other states the staff is

small," she said.

Howard has about 400 students in its program

and multiple ways an applicant can enter the

program.

"There have always been regulations for how

to operate. Howard is going to do all its power

to be in compliance. We're always going to do our

business," promises Powell.