ORANGEBURG COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
Weeks after a ruling that put the graduation of several nursing students at SC State into jeopardy, the state Board of Nursing says they'll be modifying the ruling to allow current juniors and seniors to move forward with their nursing degrees.
According to a release from the university, the board has decided to give SC State one semester to help students retake standardized tests this fall. They now have one more chance to meet national standards.
Last month, SC State's president stood before the state nursing board, saying she would voluntarily shut down the program in a few years because of low pass rates.
The state board agreed, saying underclassmen should leave the program right away and only upperclassman meeting national standards on certain tests should stay.
We found out Monday 58 out of 66 seniors were asked to leave. Tamarah Johnson was one. Turns out SC State had told them they could pass with standards lower than the national ones so they thought they were good to go.
"We've done everything they asked," said Johnson. "We've jumped through loops. We've cried many nights, we've stayed up so many nights studying and they just tell us, 'You're not good enough, basically.'"
The state board says level two scores are required nationally, but a syllabus provided to us from SC State says the students only need to get to level one to pass.
After hearing the stories and seeing the number of seniors who would not be able to graduate the state board of nursing gave them a break.
"I'm just so happy that they changed their mind and they're actually gonna give us an opportunity to take our exam again and show we can make a level 2, we can make the national average like they wanted," said Johnson.
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