Baccalaureate nursing program admission policies: promoting success or facilitating failure?

To increase enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs, various admission strategies have been used, including rolling admission policies and multiple admissions during an academic year. However, it is not known how these admission practices affect student preparedness for, or success within, the nursing major. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare two cohorts of first semester nursing students who were admitted under a policy of rolling admissions. The study used an exploratory descriptive design with 173 sophomore students, 103 of whom comprised the fall cohort and 70 of whom comprised the winter cohort. The data revealed that baccalaureate nursing program admission policies do affect the quality of students admitted and the academic outcomes they attain. The implications of this study's findings are that admission policies with the potential to maximize student success within the nursing major are needed.