Troubles for Nursing Schools at Two Black Colleges in North Carolina

Nursing students nationwide are given the National Council Licensure Examination. Almost 87 percent of the nursing students pass the examination on their first attempt. Nursing schools are required to have a pass rate of 75 percent to ensure accreditation.

But new data shows that two nursing schools at historically black universities in North Carolina are not meeting the minimum standard. At North Carolina Central University in Durham, the passing rate has been 65 percent the past two years, the lowest rate of any nursing school in the state. At North Carolina A&T State University, the examination passage rate dipped to 69 percent in 2005 from 81 percent in 2004. The two nursing schools must improve their passage rates or face action by the state nursing board. Loss of accreditation would be a possibility if low passage rates persisted for several years.

At Winston-Salem State University, another historically black institution, 87 percent of nursing students passed the licensing examination in 2005. But this was down from 97 percent in 2004.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.