A new preparation program has paid off for the School of Nursing to the tune of an eighth place ranking out of Illinois’ 65 nursing programs.

May graduates from NIU scored in the 98th percentile on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Examination. Nursing school graduates are required to pass the examination to become registered nurses who can work anywhere in the country.

Scores in the 98th percentile also place the program 129th out of 1,357 colleges nationwide.

The results excited Marilyn Frank Stromborg, chair of the School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Sciences.

“We are really proud,” she said. “It’s a wonderful accomplishment. They should feel very good about it.”

Casey Marks, director of testing services at the National Council of State Boards, was impressed.

“Northern’s program has shown a lot of improvement,” he said. “Obviously, the results mean that they were better than 98 percent of their peers, and that is pretty darn good. Every program would aspire to have numbers like that.”

Stromborg attributed the high scores to a new preparation program that was installed over the past five years. The newer standards include more clinical hours and higher grade point averages to stay in the program.

Some students question whether the standards should be so high given the current worldwide nursing shortage.

“I think it’s both good and bad that they have such high standards,” said Jennifer DiPietro, a freshman nursing major. “It’s good that they know they are getting responsible people, and that it’s not a joke because people’s lives are at risk. But it’s bad that they won’t accept someone who wants to become a nurse just because they are a poor test taker.”

Stromborg refused to consider lowering standards because of a shortage of nurses.

“When you are a nurse, you are not allowed a bad day,” she said. “A bad day for you could mean someone getting hurt. The standards we have in our school you will find across the country, because it is such an awesome responsibility to be a nurse. Our job is to protect the public and to produce a product that is safe.”