The College of Health Sciences tracks pass rates on all the programs within the College requiring licensure or certification to practice. Benchmarks vary according to the program.
The School of Nursing tracks pass rates for prelicensure students taking the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). The School of Nursing Faculty set the benchmark for first time test-takers at or greater than the Georgia Board of Nursing (GBON) requirement or national average. This is reflected in criterion 6.52 of the School of Nursing Undergraduate Program Effectiveness Evaluation Plan.
The rationale for the benchmark is based on the GBON requirement stated in rule 410-3-.09:
| +/- | Program | Student Description | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia College and State University (BSN) | # Passed | ||||||||
| # Taking Exam | |||||||||
| % Pass | |||||||||
| National pass rates | 1st time US educated Baccalaureate degree |
The School of Nursing (SoN) also tracks pass rates for graduate students enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program. These are tracked through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners certification exam.
School of Nursing Faculty set the benchmark for first time test-takers on the exam higher than the standard set by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Inc. (ACEN). Standard 6.4.2 states that 80% percent of first-time candidates for certification exams will pass the exams. Criterion stated in the School of Nursing Graduate Program Effectiveness Evaluation Plan requires that 90% of MSN graduates who seek certification pass the certification examination on initial attempt. The rationale for setting the benchmark greater than the ACEN standard is based on the high quality of students admitted to the FNP program and the exemplary record of success on the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners certification exam.
GCSU students have continually demonstrated achievement on the FNP Certification Exam a high pass rate. This exceeds the benchmarks set by both the School of Nursing and ACEN.
| +/- | Cohort Graduating Semester | Number of FNP graduates | Number of FNP graduates successfully passing FNP certification exam on first attempt | Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2023 | 38 | 38 | 100% | |
| Spring 2022 | 36 | 36 | 100% | |
| Spring 2021 | 38 | 38 | 100% | |
| Spring 2020 | 33 | 33 | 100% | |
| Spring 2019 | 32 | 32 | 100% | |
| Spring 2018 | 20 | 20 | 100% | |
| Spring 2017 | 25 | 24 | 96% | |
| Spring 2016 | 26 | 25 | 96% | |
| Spring 2015 | 23 | 20 | 87% | |
| Spring 2014 | 29 | 29 | 100% | |
| Spring 2013 | 16 | 16 | 100% | |
| Spring 2012 | 18 | 18 | 100% | |
| Spring 2011 | 12 | 12 | 100% | |
| Spring 2010 | 13 | 13 | 100% |
| +/- | Cohort Graduating Semester | Number of FPMHNP graduates | Number of FPMHNP graduates successfully passing certification exam on first attempt | First Attempt Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2022 | 15 | 11 | 84.62% | |
| Spring 2021 | NA | NA | NA | |
| Spring 2020 | 15 | 13 | 86.67% | |
| Spring 2019 | 10 | 9 | 90% | |
| Spring 2018 | 13 | 13 | 100% |
| +/- | Year | Annual Candidates | Annual Pass Rate | All Candidates Nation-wide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | NA | NA | |
| 2023 | 10 | 90% | 79.7% | |
| 2022 | 2 | 100% | 81.3% |
National Certification Corporation (NCC)
| +/- | Graduation Year | Pass | Fail | Pass Rate | All Candidates Nation-wide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 100% | NA | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | 100% | 87% | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | 100% | 89% | |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 100% | 93% | |
| 5/01/2022 | First | 5 | 0 | 100% |
The Athletic Training Program at GCSU utilizes the Board of Certification (BOC) Athletic Training Certification Examination as one measure of assessing student outcomes. This is the national examination for the certification of entry-level professionals. Athletic training programs accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) must maintain a 3 years aggregate first time pass rate of 70%, according to CAATE standards.
Historically, Athletic Training (AT) has had one of the lowest first-time exam pass rates of all healthcare professionals, with an average near 45%. Nationally, the first time pass rate was 43.3% for 2009-2010, but increased to 60.7% in 2010-2011 and 82.3% in 2011-2012. As a result of the dramatic increase nationally, CAATE added the 3-year aggregate of 70% first-time pass rate as an accreditation standard for all AT programs, effective Fall 2012. Nationally, the first-time pass rate was 81% for 2012-2013, which is slightly higher than the current accreditation standard.
For the most current three years, GCSU's pass rate has exceeded 70% and therefore has exceeded the target of an aggregate score of 70% across the three years.
| +/- | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 3 Year Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of students graduating from program | 21 | 19 | 15 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 26 | |
| Number of students graduating from program who took examination | 21 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 26 | |
| Number of students who passed the examination on the first attempt | 19 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 | |
| Percentage of students who passed the examination on the first attempt | 90 | 89 | 87 | 94 | 0 | 71 | 100 | 70 | 100 | 90 | |
| Number of students who passed the examination regardless of the number of attempts | 21 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 26 | |
| Percentage of students who passed the examination regardless of the number of attempts | 100 | 100 | 93 | 100 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Graduation rate (taken from United States Department of Education): Measures the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate seeking students by showing the percentage of these students who complete their degree or certificate within a 150% of "normal time" for completing the program in which they are enrolled.
Graduation rate is calculated as: the sum of students with a Graduated status divided by the total number of students in the cohort (excludes students with a deceased or Leave of Absence (medical) status).
| +/- | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 3 Year Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of students graduating from program | 8 | 10 | 9 | 27 | |
| Student Graduation Rate (%) | 89 | 92 | 77 | 86 |
Graduate employment/placement rate: Percentage of students within 6-months of graduation that have obtained positions in the following categories: employed as an athletic trainer, employed as other, and not employed.
Employment rate is calculated as: the sum of students with an Employed as an Athletic Trainer or Employed as an Athletic Trainer and in a degree or residency program then divided by the total number of students in the cohort (excluding students with a Not Employed, due to military service and Deceased).
| +/- | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 3 Year Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of students Employed as AT | 8 | 10 | 9 | 27 | |
| Student Employment/Placement Rate as AT (%) | 85 | 100 | 100 | 95 | |
| Number of students employed as other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Student Employment/Placement Rate as other (%) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |
| Number of students not employed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Student Not Employed Rate (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| +/- | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 3 Year Aggregate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort Entrance Number | 8 | 12 | 13 | 11 | |
| First Year to Second Year Retention Number within AT | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 | |
| First Year to Second Year Rate Percentage | 88% | 92% | 77% | 86% |