AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM PREADMISSION GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA), AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST (ACT) SCORES AND DEGREE COMPLETION AND SUCCESS ON THE NATIONAL COUNCIL LICENSURE EXAMINATION-REGISTERED NURSES (NCLEX-RN)

AbstractAN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM PREADMISSION GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA), AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST (ACT) SCORES AND DEGREE COMPLETION AND SUCCESS ON THE NATIONAL COUNCIL LICENSURE EXAMINATION-REGISTERED NURSES (NCLEX-RN).Associate Degree Nursing programs in Alabama have more applicants than available spots, making them highly competitive programs to gain entry. The community colleges that offer these programs are facing many challenges including performance-based funding, open-enrollment policies, and high attrition rates. Given these conditions, program directors institute an application grading process in an effort to select applicants whom the programs believe is most likely to graduate and to be successful on the NCLEX-RN licensure exam. This study examines the relationship of the American College Testing (ACT),) and students pre-admissions GPAs in an attempt to interpret which academic factor makes a better predictor of student success. The study revealed that GPA was the only statistically significant indicator for student success in both program completion and NCLEX-RN pass on the first attempt.Keywords: Student Success, Alabama Community College Nursing, ACT Scores, GP