According to the website of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (https://www.ncsbn.org/181.htm), entry into the practice of nursing in the United States and its territories is regulated by the licensing authorities within each jurisdiction. To ensure public protection, each jurisdiction requires a candidate for licensure to pass an examination that measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse.

NCSBN develops two licensure examinations, the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) and the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) that are used by state and territorial boards of nursing to assist in making licensure decisions. Late-stage RMU Nursing students and Nursing graduates take the NCLEX-RN examination to qualify for licensing in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

RMU's Nursing program began in the fall of 2003. NCLEX-RN pass rates for all Pennsylvania RN programs from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2011, including RMU, are available here.

One of the Department of Nursing's established objectives is to have its students achieve a NCLEX-RN pass rate of 90% or higher. The Department and its faculty have used the NCLEX exam results to institute improvements that will hopefully move RMU's NCLEX-RN pass rate past the stated objective. The NCLEX-RN pass rate for the state of Pennsylvania is currently 87.7% and it is 87.8% nationally.