Outcomes Data

NCLEX Pass Rates Certification Pass Rates Employment Rates Graduation Rates

NCLEX Pass Rates

The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) is the test that all state boards of nursing use to determine qualification for licensure for graduates of nursing programs. The first-time pass rate on the NCLEX is a commonly used metric of quality for nursing programs across the country, and is one metric we are required to report and share with the public.

The NCLEX Pass Rate is the percentage of first time NCLEX-RN test takers who successfully pass the test. The table below reports first-time pass rates for the University of Rochester School of Nursing, as well as the average pass for all nursing schools in New York State and nationally across the United States.

Certification Exam Pass Rates

Similar to NCLEX pass rates, certification pass rates is the percentage of first-time test takers who successfully pass a certification exam. We are required to report certification pass rates for all programs that are designed to prepare advanced practice nurses for national certification and licensure. We report numbers for certification exams for each of the specialty tracks in our nurse practitioner program. Note that some nurse practitioner specialties have exams offered by multiple certification agencies. For this reason, we report more than one pass rate for some specialties.

Employment Rates

Federal regulations and accreditation standards stipulate that we report employment rates for all academic programs. Employment rates reflect the percentage of graduates from a program who are employed in any setting within 12 months of graduating.

Graduation Rates

Graduation rates are the calculated percentages of students who graduate or complete their program within a specified timeframe. Each of our academic programs have a set specified timeframe for completion. The rates are calculated using a cohort model, with APNN cohorts defined by the semester in which they start, and all other program cohorts defined by a calendar year. Our accreditor, the Collegiate Commission on Nursing Education (CCNE) expects us to aim for a graduation rate greater than 70 percent for each program.