Abstract
The central issue is that NCLEX-RN standards have been raised requiring nursing graduates to demonstrate greater knowledge on the national licensure examination in order to be licensed. This has ramifications for nursing programs and their ability to sustain a high percentage of graduates from diverse backgrounds who go on to pass the NCLEX as first-time test takers. This study investigated the practices and programmatic features of Sacramento City College’s nursing program, a successful program characterized by its history to produce graduates from diverse backgrounds who passed the NCLEX-RN. The findings of this mixed methods study, which used data sources from faculty and graduate surveys, curricula documents, and NCLEX reports, supported observations and published recommendations of best practices noted by nursing education experts. The study also presented factors not commonly found in the research, such as maintaining a rigorous nursing program and high NCLEX passing rates while upholding diversity trends within its student body and the open access policy on a ix community college campus. In conclusion, the study explicitly recognized that the state’s investment in nursing education cannot be evaluated by simply examining NCLEX success – the ultimate return on investment in nursing programs is having graduates practice nursing in California.