Post by krazykev on Feb 9, 2008 9:19:00 GMT -5
By Amanda Lehmert
Staff Writer
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008 3:00 am
GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T nursing students last year showed a 15-point improvement on the national licensure examination over the previous year.
Eighty-four percent of students who took the National Council of State Boards of Nursing exam in 2007 passed, compared with just 69 percent of students in 2006 and 2005.
After years of struggling with low test scores, A&T and UNC system leaders count the achievement as progress. But the program is still on warning from the state's board of nursing and the UNC Board of Governors to raise its scores this year.
"It's about continuous, quality improvement," said Janice Brewington, A&T provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
The national examination tests the basic competencies a person must have in order to become a nurse in North Carolina.
The UNC Board of Governors requires that at least 85 percent of the students in a nursing program pass the test.
In 2006, three UNC programs — A&T, N.C. Central and UNC-Charlotte — faced sanctions from the Board of Governors for falling below that benchmark for at least two consecutive years. Those programs were forced to limit their student capacity by 15 percent and had to re-evaluate the way they did business.
Since that time, the A&T staff started to work with individual students weekly to identify their weaknesses.
The university also brought in consultants to help the faculty on writing tests that would better prepare the students for what they will face on the licensure examination.
A&T also raised the bar academically, increasing the minimum grade point average to enter to program to 2.8, out of a possible 4.0.
"We got there by lots of hard work by the students and the faculty," said Patricia Chamings, A&T's interim dean of the school of nursing.
The changes paid off in 2007. When only students who graduated in 2007 are considered, 89 percent passed the licensure exam, Brewington said. The passing rate was brought down by students who had graduated in prior years but had just taken the exam last year.
"A&T made a good bit of progress," Allen Mabe, vice president of academic planning for the UNC system, told the Board of Governors earlier this week.
But the university will face the same enrollment reduction in its program again next school year until it can reach the 85 percent pass requirement.
The UNC general administration will also ask A&T to consider whether the dean of nursing should report directly to the chancellor, a change that proved useful at other programs.
A&T leaders said they will build on what's already in place and start working with students at the sophomore and junior levels. They will also use money from the state to recruit top students to join the program.
"They are moving in the right direction," said David Kalbacker, spokesman for the N.C. Board of Nursing, "but they need to go further."
Staff Writer
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008 3:00 am
GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T nursing students last year showed a 15-point improvement on the national licensure examination over the previous year.
Eighty-four percent of students who took the National Council of State Boards of Nursing exam in 2007 passed, compared with just 69 percent of students in 2006 and 2005.
After years of struggling with low test scores, A&T and UNC system leaders count the achievement as progress. But the program is still on warning from the state's board of nursing and the UNC Board of Governors to raise its scores this year.
"It's about continuous, quality improvement," said Janice Brewington, A&T provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
The national examination tests the basic competencies a person must have in order to become a nurse in North Carolina.
The UNC Board of Governors requires that at least 85 percent of the students in a nursing program pass the test.
In 2006, three UNC programs — A&T, N.C. Central and UNC-Charlotte — faced sanctions from the Board of Governors for falling below that benchmark for at least two consecutive years. Those programs were forced to limit their student capacity by 15 percent and had to re-evaluate the way they did business.
Since that time, the A&T staff started to work with individual students weekly to identify their weaknesses.
The university also brought in consultants to help the faculty on writing tests that would better prepare the students for what they will face on the licensure examination.
A&T also raised the bar academically, increasing the minimum grade point average to enter to program to 2.8, out of a possible 4.0.
"We got there by lots of hard work by the students and the faculty," said Patricia Chamings, A&T's interim dean of the school of nursing.
The changes paid off in 2007. When only students who graduated in 2007 are considered, 89 percent passed the licensure exam, Brewington said. The passing rate was brought down by students who had graduated in prior years but had just taken the exam last year.
"A&T made a good bit of progress," Allen Mabe, vice president of academic planning for the UNC system, told the Board of Governors earlier this week.
But the university will face the same enrollment reduction in its program again next school year until it can reach the 85 percent pass requirement.
The UNC general administration will also ask A&T to consider whether the dean of nursing should report directly to the chancellor, a change that proved useful at other programs.
A&T leaders said they will build on what's already in place and start working with students at the sophomore and junior levels. They will also use money from the state to recruit top students to join the program.
"They are moving in the right direction," said David Kalbacker, spokesman for the N.C. Board of Nursing, "but they need to go further."
