Nov. 22, 2017 — For the fourth time, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Nursing graduates scored a 100% pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the state boards that allow them to practice nursing.
The latest 100% pass rate is for the 57 CSUCI Nursing graduates who took the state boards between July 1 and Sept. 30. All 57 passed on their first attempt.
CSUCI Nursing graduates also managed a 100% pass rate for the 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2015/16.
“We have not fallen below the 90% ever,” said Nursing and Health Sciences Chair Lynette Landry Ph.D., R.N. “The national pass rate was 81.4%. I’m very excited. To me, it’s reflective of the quality of our faculty and their commitment to student success.”
The average pass rate for the state of California for 2016 was 88.2%.
Landry said that integral to the success of the Nursing graduates is Professor of Nursing and former Nursing Chair Karen Jensen, who retired but still teaches part time.
Both Jensen and Landry credit the 100% pass rate in part to a remarkable faculty, who go above and beyond for their students, and always model professional behavior.
“There is a lot of student mentoring that goes on in the department,” Landry said. “More so than I’ve seen in other institutions. There is a collegiality and sharing among faculty, within the department and externally.”
This news is especially welcome because Nursing faculty had just streamlined the nursing program from 136 to 120 units of instruction at the direction of the Chancellor’s Office, and there was concern about how this would affect student outcomes.
“The faculty was very careful about not removing too much and still giving them a baccalaureate,” Jensen said. “This is the first class that went through the program with 120 units.”
Both believe the selection process for Nursing students is also a factor. Out of 400 to 500 candidates, just 40 are accepted.
“I think we do a really good job of selecting students,” Jensen said. “It isn’t all about grade point average. With our supplemental criteria for admission, we look at whether they have done volunteer work and know about nursing, whether they are bilingual, and we do give an entrance exam.”
“You have a strongly motivated group of people who are multicultural and they support one another,” Landry said. “They become lifelong friends.”
Jensen believes the support the Nursing students give one another can’t be underestimated. As an example, Jensen refers to her so-called “miracle class” at the Goleta campus a few years ago.
“We admitted 22, and graduated 22 on time,” Jensen said. “And all 22 passed the boards on their first try. I’ve been in educational administration for 30 years and had never seen that. Never. And they weren’t 4.0 students, either. They simply made a pledge that no one was going to be left behind. And when anybody had trouble, they all helped. It was absolutely phenomenal.”