By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Every year, staff at Barton Community College analyze pass rates. In Barton’s nursing program, the analysis was positive for the 2023-2024 school year with 100% of their students passing the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) RN and PN exams.
Barton Dean of Workforce Training Dr. Kathy Kottas said looking at the five-year average, Barton has a 99.36% pass rate for their PN certification.
"We have one student that was not successful on the first attempt in the practical nursing program in eight years," said Kottas. "So seven out of the eight years have a 100% pass rate. That one student that didn't pass on the first attempt, was successful on the second attempt."
Pratt Community College, less than 60 miles south of Great Bend, struggled with pass rates and finding faculty for their nursing program. Barton began the process of offering their program at Pratt in 2021. Kottas said this past school year eight students graduated with an associate degree in Pratt.
"We struggled to find faculty in Pratt right off the bat," said Kottas. "We still had seven students very interested in our practical nursing program. Those dedicated seven students decided they would stick with Barton and drove to Great Bend for the first semester to be able to take the program. They were able to transition back to the Pratt campus in January after we hired staff."
Barton’s five-year pass rate average for the RN exam is 92.4%. The national average is 84.9%