Variables to predict student success in the first year of an associate degree program

The United States is currently suffering from one of the most severe nursing shortages ever experienced. Four major factors have been identified as reasons for the development and expansion of the nursing shortage. These factors include: (1) a decreasing enrollment in nursing education programs; (2) a decreasing number of nursing school graduates; (3) a decreasing number of nursing faculty; and (4) an aging workforce.;Because of the well documented nursing shortage, it is important to find all variables that influence the success of nursing students (American Academy of Colleges of Nursing, 1999). Knowing all the variables that predict success of the nursing student can help nursing programs retain students who are successful academically. Therefore, it is important to determine if there is any relationship between: (1) academic achievement, as measured by prerequisite grade point average, of first year associate degree nursing students; and (2) academic aptitude, as measured by the American College Test, and the academic achievement, as measured by grade point average, of first year associate degree nursing students.;The limitations of the study are as follows: (1) the study used a convenience sample instead of a random sample of the population, limiting generalization to the entire population; and (2) the study is only looking at Associate Degree Nursing programs, limiting generalization to Baccalaureate and Diploma Nursing Programs, and (3) the study is concerned only with the students who were admitted to the nursing programs and did not involve the students who were not admitted.;The researcher utilized the Pearson product moment correlation for data analysis. Results of the Pearson product correlation moment produced means and standard deviations for prerequisite grade point average, American College Test, and nursing grade point average. The Pearson correlation coefficient r for prerequisite grade point average is significant at the +.36 level, with a p < .001. The Pearson correlation coefficient r for the American College Test has no significance at the -.01 level, with a p = .923. The analysis results demonstrated that the prerequisite grade point average was significantly predictive in determining whether the student passed their nursing courses during the first year. Further research needs to be conducted utilizing current admission criteria of associate and baccalaureate nursing programs to strengthen the reliability and validity of this study. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).