College Features the Third-Largest Group of Associate Test Takers from New Jersey
Graduates of the County College of Morris (CCM) Nursing Program have among the highest first-time passing rates in the nation on the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), even exceeding students from baccalaureate programs in four-year colleges and universities.
Nursing students work with instructor in simulation lab.
“In 2017, with only three quarters reported thus far, we have had 118 graduates take the NCLEX-RN with a 94.92 percent first-time passing rate,” says Kathleen Horan, MSN, APRN, chair of the Nursing Program at CCM. The overall national average for first-time test takers from all types of programs is 87.85 percent, according to 2017 statistics from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. When divided further by educational level, the average first-time passing rate for Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates is 90.35 percent and the average for Associates of Science in Nursing graduates is 85.3 percent.
“Not only do we exceed the average national first-time passing rate, but in 2017 we did so with the third-largest number of first-time test takers from associate degree programs in New Jersey,” Horan says. “This highlights the efforts of the dynamic nursing faculty at CCM to educate and support consistently large classes of successful students, which is something we are very proud of.”
The CCM Nursing Program offers a balance of general education and nursing courses leading to an Associate in Applied Science degree. The program prepares graduates for employment as registered nurses in a variety of healthcare settings including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, clinics and community health. Day and evening options provide an opportunity for students to select a schedule that best fits their lifestyle.
“It may sound like a cliché that people go into nursing because they want to help people and make a difference, but it’s really true,” Horan says. “Our graduates are successfully employed in many areas of nursing including medical-surgical, critical care, emergency care, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry and other highly specialized nursing fields. Many of our alumni also go on for further education and are managers, educators, and clinical coordinators in healthcare facilities in the northern New Jersey area and beyond.”
The Nursing Program is fully accredited by the New Jersey Board of Nursing and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. These accreditations qualify graduates to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam.
CCM credits from the Nursing Program are readily transferable toward a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at many state and private colleges and universities. The college also holds transfer agreements with The College of St. Elizabeth, Rutgers, Drexel University, Montclair State University and Ramapo College to make it easier for associate degree graduates to transfer their credits.
For more information on the CCM Nursing Program, visit https://tinyurl.com/yccjsfe3 or contact nursingdepartment@ccm.edu.