Evaluating Persistence Among ASN, TBSN, and ABSN Private University Students

Abstract

Background: The nursing shortage increases as large populations of working bedside nurses retire. In order to replace those positions, prelicensure nursing programs must continue to graduate prepared nursing students. While prelicensure programs continue to produce future nurses, the graduation numbers are not high enough to combat the future shortage due to high attrition rates from prelicensure nursing programs. Method: Senior associate degree nursing students, traditional bachelor’s degree nursing students, and accelerated bachelor degree nursing students participated in the study. A modified version of the College Persistence Questionnaire was used. Results: Findings indicated no significance difference among prelicensure student perceptions of persistence in the six areas on the College Persistence Questionnaire. Prelicensure nursing students’ ranked degree commitment, institutional commitment, scholastic conscientiousness, and support services above the mean BISR question rank. Conclusion: To increase graduates, prelicensure nursing programs need to evaluate students who have been successful throughout the program.