TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Florida A&M University School of Nursing has been placed on probation for two years by the Florida Board of Nursing; however, the School of Nursing remains accredited.
According to a press release the probation is due to "first-time licensure pass rates over the past two years."
Dean Shelley Johnson, Ed.D. was hired in 2020 to revitalize the nursing program. She said the pre-licensure program will be re-evaluated again in January 2022 to determine if probation will continue for the second year.
FAMU says the SON administrators submitted a detailed plan of action to improve the first-time pass rate for all graduates of the program in response to the probation.
While improvements were integrated in fall 2020, Johnson says additional evidence-based improvements will come over the next few months to strengthen teaching and learning outcomes.
FAMU SON says the changes will be communicated via town hall meetings, handbook updates, the SON website and course syllabi.
“The data shows we are trending upward and our preliminary interventions are working,” said Johnson. “If you compare the first quarter data in 2020 to the first quarter data in 2021, you will see that there has been approximately a 20-percentage point increase from December 2019 graduates, which was 57 percent, to the December 2020 graduates, which was 76 percent. This increase occurred with only partial remediation measures applied.”
Johnson said FAMU SON has been placed on probation for this year based on the past two years’ first-time NCLEX Pass Rates.
In 2019, FAMU said nursing students had a first-time National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) Pass Rate of 63.44 percent, followed by a 66.67 percent pass rate in 2020.
The Florida Board of Nursing requires that nursing programs meet the national average NCLEX first-time pass rate, which is approximately 91 percent.
“Our goal for 2021 is to reach the first-time NCLEX pass rate of 90 percent,” Johnson said in a letter to students. “We will work together to assist you in passing the comprehensive predictor, reaching complete readiness for NCLEX success and passing the NCLEX on the first attempt.”
FAMU SON was founded in 1904 as a hospital-based program and is the oldest continuing baccalaureate nursing program in Florida and the oldest continuing baccalaureate nursing program at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
