Oregon Coast Community College is touting the growth and success of its nursing program as it prepares to graduate 28 students who completed the program this spring and had the college’s highest-yet percentage of students passing the national license test.
In a news release, the college said 96.4 percent of OCCC nursing graduates passed the national license examination this spring, up from just under 79 percent in 2021-2022 as the program’s enrollment grew by 50 percent.
All graduates must pass the national exam to become licensed registered nurses and is considered a benchmark of nursing program quality, the college said. In 2021-22 the program had a pass rate of 78.95 percent and 19 graduates. This year the pass rate was 96.43 percent with 28 graduates.
“Five years ago, our program ranked 26th out of 29 in the state,” Crystal Bowman, the college’s dean of Nursing and Allied Health said in a news release. “Today, we’re ranked seventh out of all 32 nursing schools in Oregon, and among the top 25 percent of all nursing programs in the United States.”
Bowman attributed this success to the focused efforts of faculty and staff and a commitment to student achievement.
“These results reflect the hard work and heart of a small but mighty team,” Bowman said. “We’ve overcome real staffing and resource challenges and are proud to see that our efforts are making a difference not only in exam performance but in the number of students choosing OCCC for their nursing education. The Oregon nursing community is tight-knit, and our program is increasingly viewed as a top choice.”
The college’s nursing class of 2025 will hold its traditional graduation and pinning ceremony June 13 at the Newport Performing Arts Center.
