Graduation Requirements
All laboratory and clinical experience must be completed satisfactorily. Required theory and clinical work must be complete and handed in on time. Grades must be “C+” or above. Towards the end of the nursing program a mandatory proficiency examination will be administered to each student, which is included in your graduation expense. Each student is responsible for the expense of this examination. The purpose of this examination is to provide the student with a predicted aptitude score in passing the state board examination. In addition the examination provides the student with an area specific learning tool in preparing for the state board examination. It also provides the faculty with a resource base in developing stronger curriculum content in weak areas.
There will be a formal graduation ceremony at the end of the program. The elected student body will plan and implement all areas of the ceremony. Faculty advisors are available for consultation and the graduation program must have prior approval of the nursing director.

State Board Licensure
Successful completion of the practical nursing program prepares the student as a candidate to sit the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). NCLEX is taken on a computer at one of may test centers across the United States and its territories. Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for the nurse licensure examination is the result of the decision made in August 1991 by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

The NCLEX is designed to test knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to the safe and effective practice of nursing at the entry level. NCLEX results are an important component used by boards of nursing to make decisions about licensure. Only boards of nursing can release NCLEX results to candidates. The NCLEX is administered in the United States, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The use of the same examination by all jurisdictions facilitates licensure by endorsement from one board of nursing to another. (NCLEX PN Candidate Bulletin. National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. January 15, 1994.) You will be given further instruction in the application process as the end of the nursing program approaches.