For-Profit Nursing Graduates More Likely to Fail Licensure Test

Inside Higher Ed

January 16, 2019

A study published by researchers at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health found that graduates from for-profit nursing programs were more likely to fail the National Council Licensure Examination on the first try compared to their peers from public and nonprofit institutions.

“Students who fail can try again but they cannot get an entry-level nursing job until they pass the test,” Patricia Pittman, the lead study author and a professor of health policy and management at Milken, said in a news release.

The researchers gathered data on first-time nursing exam pass rates and sorted them by degree and ownership status from 2011 through 2015. They found that, on average, public programs had an… (continue reading)