Baccalaureate nursing grads achieve 100% pass rate on national licensure exam

Purdue University Calumet’s baccalaureate degree nursing program is one of just two in Indiana to achieve a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) among 2007 academic year graduates.

The NCLEX-RN tests the competence of candidates for licensure as registered nurses. The pass rate is based on the success of first-time exam takers.

“The nursing program is one of the outstanding undergraduate programs on our campus, and its graduates are extremely well prepared for careers in nursing,” Purdue Calumet Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Peggy Gerard said. “The 100 per cent pass rate on the NCLEX exam reflects the high quality of our School of Nursing leadership, faculty and students, and has resulted from their emphasis on student success.”

Of the 21 nursing programs included in the NCLEX-RN report for Indiana, the only other school to share a 100 percent pass rate distinction with Purdue Calumet’s 14 baccalaureate degree nursing graduates was the University of Southern Indiana.

According to Undergraduate Nursing Program Coordinator Kathleen Nix, Purdue Calumet has continued a trend of improvement after having achieved passing rates of 92 percent and 84.62 percent in 2006 and 2005, respectively.

“The improvement every year is a testament to the hard work of our faculty in the continuous evaluation and improvement of the program to insure student success,” Nix said, “not to mention the hard work put in by these students as they matriculate and prepare for this exam.”

The national NCLEX-RN pass rate for 2007 was 85.5 percent.

More information about Purdue Calumet’s nursing programs can be obtained by visiting http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/nursing or by phoning the School of Nursing at 219/989-2814 or 800-HI-PURDUE ext. 2814.

News Release Date: March 12, 2008