From Cape Cod Community College
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing informed Cape Cod Community College that 80 of 85 members of the 2018 Nursing program graduating class took and passed their National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX) on their first attempt between July-September, giving the college a current pass rate of 94-percent for first-time test takers during the 3rd quarter. Another two graduates have also retaken and passed the test.
NCLEX is the standardized exam that state boards of nursing use to determine whether a candidate is prepared for entry-level nursing practice. Earlier this year, the Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN) requested that CCCC improve test scores after first-time pass rate scores fell below 80-percent.
“Our College has educated many of our region’s most talented health care providers,” said John Cox, President of Cape Cod Community College. “If you’ve received medical care in the region, there’s a great chance you’ve been cared for by a 4Cs graduate. While we were disappointed to learn about our NCLEX first-time pass rate scores dipping below 80-percent, we were confident that we would see a sharp rise this quarter. Thanks to the hard work of our Nursing faculty and staff, we’re proud to say our pass rates are higher than ever.”
Following BORN’s notice, the College’s Nursing faculty led the charge to make significant changes in how graduates are prepared for the constantly changing NCLEX test.
“Our Nursing faculty and staff members know better than anyone else, those previous test scores were not reflective of how talented our students are,” said Arlene Rodriguez, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at CCCC. “They responded immediately by providing more personalized advising and outreach to ensure our graduates were prepared for the test. As we move into our fourth quarter, we’re confident that our scores will remain high.”
Moving forward, the College will continue to work to provide Nursing students with more frequent NCLEX test preparation and plans will continue to review other ways to ensure first-time pass scores remain well over 80-percent.