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Central Carolina Nursing Program Excels in NCLEX Pass Rates

by Zeniya Cooley

Sumter, SC (03/17/2025) — Central Carolina Technical College's National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate for registered nursing exceeded the national pass rate, according to recent data from the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

The data shows that 73 registered nursing tests were administered to first-time takers at Central Carolina last year, with a pass rate of 91.78 percent. In comparison, South Carolina's pass rate was 94.70 percent and the national rate was 91.16 percent.

Nursing graduates must earn a passing score on the NCLEX to practice as a licensed nurse in the United States.

Eugene Geddings, the dean of Central Carolina's School of Nursing and Health Sciences, called the exam results a "huge accomplishment." He attributed the nursing program's pass rate to incorporating test items designed to assess nursing graduates' clinical judgment into practice assessments. Geddings said including these items helped prepare students for the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN), a new version of the exam launched in 2023.

"What NCLEX is actually trying to do is they're trying to test clinical judgment, so a nurse's ability to make a decision quickly and to make the right decision in a very stressful situation," said Geddings. "Our faculty have done a good job in preparing for that and for introducing concepts into tests that they know they're going to see eventually on the NCLEX." Geddings also cited the nursing program's partnership with the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI), which offers nursing education, assessment, and training services. He said ATI helped faculty incorporate case studies into practice assessments and do test writing. Geddings added that the nursing program leverages ATI's resources for all of its courses.

Besides high NCLEX scores, Central Carolina's nursing program also boasts a 100 percent job placement rate. Geddings said graduates often land employment because of the program's clinical rotations. These are training periods during which students are assigned a clinical instructor from the college and visit a medical unit at a clinical site such as Prisma Health. At the site, students assist registered nurses in creating and executing care plans for actual patients. "They play a vital role, those clinical sites," said Geddings. "Having them partner with us and actually come over here and give us feedback, that's instrumental not only to the vitality of our relationships with them but also to our student success because you have to have that hands-on experience in order to help you learn how to be a medical professional."

One person who has benefitted from the nursing program's robust clinical partnerships is Stephen Magee, a graduating student enrolled in Central Carolina's Associate Degree in Nursing program. At the end of his first semester of nursing school, a Prisma Health representative visited Central Carolina's campus and gave a presentation about the healthcare system's READI-2Work initiative, a nursing pipeline program for junior and senior-level nursing students. Magee applied immediately and has been monitoring patients and performing various medical tasks under a nurse's supervision for a year now.

At the end of the program, he'll have the opportunity to become a preferred candidate for hiring at Prisma Health. Thanks to his extensive hands-on training and the nursing program's "rigorous" curriculum, Magee said he's fully prepared for a career in healthcare.

"I have nothing but very high regard for Central Carolina's [nursing] program and the faculty," said Magee. "They have poured so much time and effort into me to build my confidence and to build my professional knowledge as well as the tangible nursing knowledge that I need to walk into a patient's room and feel confident knowing that I can provide them care and also provide them with some peace of mind."

Eugene Geddings said that prospective nursing students can expect a challenging program with a high faculty presence and a sense of camaraderie among peers. He added that students can choose one of three paths: the traditional Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), the Transition Nursing Option, and the Practical Nursing Diploma. Students can read about the qualifications for each of these paths on the School of Nursing and Health Science's webpage.

Students can also learn about the school's other programs, including medical assisting, medical record coding, pharmacy technician, and surgical technology-which, collectively with the nursing program, enroll close to 400 students. Notably, each program reports at least a 92 percent pass rate on recent certification and licensure exams and boasts a job placement rate of up to 100 percent.

Geddings wants prospective students to know the faculty and staff at the School of Nursing and Health Sciences are always happy to support them. "If a person's thinking about going into healthcare, we're here," says Geddings. "We're supportive [and] we look to help you succeed."

To find out more about CCTC's Nursing programs, visit cctech.edu.

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Stephen Magee, a student in Central Carolina Technical College’s Associate Degree in Nursing program, practices essential nursing skills in the college’s state-of-the-art simulation lab. Magee credits CCTC’s rigorous curriculum and hands-on training for preparing him for a successful career in healthcare.

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