News

Grambling State University Keeps Undergraduate Nursing Program

GRAMBLING, LOUISIANA (April 10, 2015) Grambling State University and the Louisiana State Board of Nursing have reached an agreement to maintain Grambling’s undergraduate nursing program.

Grambling officials have agreed to enter into a signed consent agreement with the Louisiana State Board of Nursing during a board meeting on April 9. The final terms of the agreement are still in negotiation, but it grants Grambling an extension to meet required licensure examination pass rates.  

“I want to personally thank our alumni and community partners for lending their support for Grambling's undergraduate nursing program. I also want to thank our legislative delegation, especially Senator Rick Gallot, Representative Patrick Jefferson and Representative Katrina Jackson. Their continued support and thoughtful contributions toward crafting a sustainable solution are greatly appreciated,” GSU Interim President Cynthia Warrick said.

The School of Nursing has been an important part of Grambling for over three decades and has prepared more than 2,000 students to enter the healthcare industry. In order to obtain a license to become a registered nurse, students must pass a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). State regulations require an accredited nursing program to maintain a licensure examination pass rate of 80 percent among first time test takers. 

The nursing program has been struggling with maintaining exam pass rates above 80 percent since 2010. The faculty, staff and students have worked diligently to improve the curriculum and implement measures to increase our students’ exam pass rates.

Some of these measures included establishing a mentoring program and creating new workshops to help graduating seniors prepare for the NCLEX exam, adjusting the curriculum to include more materials based on NCLEX preparation materials, and implementing a remediation plan and enhancement sessions for students. With these new measures in place, our student exam pass rates rose from 64 percent in 2013 to 75 percent in 2014.

In 2012, the School of Nursing received continued accreditation through 2020 with conditions from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). On April 2, Grambling received official notice from ACEN that the program had received accreditation through 2020 without conditions.