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Texas Board of Nursing places SRSU'Alpine nursing program on conditional approval after three years of low NCLEX pass rates
Summary
The board changed Sul Ross State University's (Alpine) baccalaureate nursing program from initial approval with warning to conditional approval after three consecutive years of NCLEX-RN pass rates below 80% (2025 rate 57.14%). Program leaders described corrective measures including a medical-terminology requirement and expanded faculty development.
The Texas Board of Nursing voted April 23 to change the approval status of Sul Ross State University's baccalaureate nursing program in Alpine from "initial approval with warning" to conditional approval after the program recorded three consecutive years of NCLEX-RN pass rates under 80%.
Board staff told members the 2025 first-time pass rate for the Alpine program was 57.14 percent (four of seven first-time candidates passed). Under board rules, repeated pass rates below the 80 percent threshold trigger escalated oversight, including a requirement for a self-study and, where necessary, a site visit. The board's education consultants conducted a survey visit and provided a report that staff recommended the board adopt as a change to the program's approval status.
Program director Dr. Manurva Gonzalez and university leadership described steps taken to address performance: requiring incoming students to complete medical terminology as part of the core curriculum; adding an introductory pharmacology course to support dosage calculation skills; expanding live, in-person NCLEX review sessions for students who do not perform well with virtual review; intensifying faculty development on test-item writing and item analysis; and strengthening community partnerships with local hospitals that offer clinical experience and pre-graduation practical training.
Sul Ross administrators said the program is an access-focused effort in a rural service area and emphasized community reliance on the program to deliver local health-care workforce. The university reported it will graduate a larger cohort (19 candidates) in the current cycle and has added faculty to improve student-faculty ratios.
After board discussion, a member moved and the board voted to change the program's status to conditional approval; staff asked the university to continue reporting improvements and to complete any board-directed corrective actions.
What happens next: the program remains on conditional approval and must comply with the board's corrective requirements; board staff will monitor follow-up reports and NCLEX outcomes to determine future status changes.
