Nurse Education Program Performance: Evidence from Licensure Exams

This policy brief provides an overview of the performance of nursing schools across the country. Using licensure exam passing rates as the main indicator of program quality, we examine features of higher education institutions (HEIs) that are correlated with program performance. Data on passing rates between the years 2010 and 2016 are sourced from the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) and data on features of schools come from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Overall, evidence shows a wide disparity in passing rates across schools, ranging from 3% to 100% in 2016 for schools with at least 10 exam takers, with a large number of underperforming nursing programs operating around the country. The passing rates in nursing board exams are consistently lower in small private HEIs that are newer schools and located in Mindanao and NCR. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) on average have higher passing rates than other types of HEIs. Policy recommendations and directions for further research to improve outputs of nursing education in the Philippines are discussed.