Nursing Graduates Post 95% Pass Rate

Western Carolina University’s nursing graduates have posted one of the state’s top pass rates on a professional licensure examination, according to reports issued by the North Carolina Board of Nursing.

Test scores for the first nine months of 2001 indicate that 95 percent of WCU graduates who took the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for the first time passed the exam. The 95 percent pass rate is the second highest among state-supported programs that award the bachelor of science degree in nursing.

Scores from state-supported programs ranged from a high of 97 percent to a low of 78 percent.

The average pass rate for graduates from all community colleges and public and private colleges in the state was 89 percent. The average pass rate for the rest of the country is 81 percent.

“Western’s nursing program has a long history of preparing highly qualified graduates to enter the nursing workforce,” said Vincent Hall, acting head of the university’s nursing department.

“We in the department are very pleased with our graduates’ continued success.”