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NMC nursing program to ally with Kaplan
The Board of Regents was presented yesterday with a plan to bring the Northern Marianas College’s nursing program up to national standards by partnering with the Kaplan nursing program.
Currently the national average for nursing graduates passing the NCLEX-RN exam, which is required to be licensed as a registered nurse, is 80 percent.
Rosa Tudela of NMC’s Nursing Program disclosed that in 2011, 66 percent of NMC’s nursing graduates passed the exam, and in 2012, out of 16 graduates, seven were tracked to have taken the exam with only three passing.
In 2013, NMC graduated 36 nursing students, with six students taking the exam. Two passed.
Tudela said the lack of students taking the exam might be because of the test fee, which is about $400, or due to a lack of confidence from inadequate preparation.
By partnering with Kaplan, the college’s nursing program will integrate exam preparation into the program, Tudela said.
“The more you practice exams, the more you think that way [in line with the national exam], she said.
Tudela said students would have access to 21 hours of online instruction, and practice for diagnostic exams, admission tests, and end-of-course tests, among others. A Kaplan representative would also arrive for faculty training and orientation.
Nursing instructor Johnny Aldan noted that the University of Hawaii at Manoa had the same integrated nursing program with Kaplan and had a passing rate of 100 percent.
Tudela said she initially planned for the program for spring and fall semesters 2015 but would like to see it integrated as soon as this semester as the college admits a new cohort of nursing students.
“[The program] won’t cost the college any money,” she said, adding that costs will be allocated as fees on tuition for nursing students.
She noted that fees can be built into the computer or skills lab fee so that students may use financial aid to cover the program’s cost.
She said integrated testing with remediation would could about $250 per nursing student.
NMC president Dr. Sharon Hart said the program’s goal is to reach the national passing average of 80 percent.
