by Whitney Smith | Sep 28, 2016 | News Slider
Last year, Lipscomb’s School of Nursing felt the pressure exceed their former test results to guarantee their accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the Tennessee Board of Nursing. In order to keep the school in good standing with the accrediting boards, the 2016 graduating class pushed to achieve an 85% first-time pass rate on the NCLEX. The NCLEX is a nationally recognized exam from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing that graduates of an accredited institution must pass to receive their licenses to practice. Dr. Roger Davis, Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, said that now that they have heard the results, the School of Nursing has a clean bill of health from their accrediting bodies. “We have effectively been able to raise our first-time pass rate from about 67% for the 2015 graduating class to over 85% of the total class of the 2016 graduating class,” Davis said. “At the present time we actually are running at about a rate of 97% for those that have taken it, and so we are grateful for the dedication of our faculty and staff and for the dedication of our students.” The NCLEX is used as a means of comparing nursing programs nationally and can range from 75 to 250 questions per exam. While this achievement is a huge milestone for the school, Davis said these test results alone are not the only indicators of the possible success of students. “We believe that we provide a very sound and visionary curriculum for our nursing students, and our experiences in a variety of...
by Whitney Smith | Sep 28, 2016 | News Slider
Students gathered in Stowe Hall to watch the first 2016 presidential debate on Monday, September 26. The watch party was hosted by Lipscomb’s political science department, Lipscomb Democrats, Lipscomb’s College Republicans, Lipscomb’s League of United Latin American Citizens and Young Americans for Freedom. Throughout the night, many opinions were represented through attendance, phrases printed on T-shirts and occasionally voiced through a cheer or a clap. Although this election is particularly polarizing in terms of party preference and ideology, Lipscomb College of Business alum and founder of the consulting firm the Millennial View Trevor Gormley said the most important aspect of this election for him is in the numbers. “One of the biggest issues that the country has to face is growth,” Gormley said. “From an economic standpoint we are in one of the slowest growth periods ever in history. As a person in business and finance, that’s the biggest issue for me.” For sophomore law, justice and society (LJS) major Mason Borneman, his main concerns for the next president revolve around race relations. “I believe the biggest issue is race relations because I think it trickles down into so many other issues whether that be policing which is obviously a huge issue right now for us, education and equal access to that no matter what community you come from and gun violence,” Borneman said. “I think that’s a crucial issue that definitely has a lot of appeal to race because when it comes to the amount of African Americans shot and the amount of African Americans incarcerated due to gun violence or violence in general, it’s definitely not proportionate,...
by Whitney Smith | Sep 19, 2016 | News Slider
The project team for the nMotion transit plan presented its 6 billion dollar proposal to the Nashville Metro Transit Authority and the Regional Transit Authority board earlier this month. This plan, which will be enacted over 25 years, could have significant influence on students’ public transportation choices. Junior biology major and student government secretary Vince Law said he believes public transit options like this one may have a major impact on students. “I think if the city were to invest in really good public transportation, Lipscomb’s parking would probably be a lot better just because if we were to institute maybe a no-freshman-car rule, that would be a viable option because there would be better transportation for people to get around the city,” Law said. Major aspects of this are a commuter rail and a light rail, but perhaps the biggest gain for students is the purposed addition of new crosstown and through city-routes accessible from Lipscomb. According to the recommendations, the projections of population and ridership growth are high, but senior law, justice and society major Rachel Parker has her own idea for what can be done to get Lipscomb students to take advantage of the transit and rethink the ideas they have about public transportation. “Market it to students to say, ’Yes, you can use our public transportation system efficiently to get where you want to go,’” Parker said. “I don’t think a lot of students know that bus transportation is free to students, and if they do know, it does not have a very positive connotation that you can get there efficiently.” After spending time living...
by Whitney Smith | Sep 8, 2016 | News Slider
With the general election right around the corner, senior political science and philosophy major Jay Klein has a busy semester ahead. Klein is continuing in his position as the field director for the reelection campaign of state Representative Jay Reedy (R – District 74) after a successful primary in August. “He won the primary this summer by 80%, so we’re really excited about that and hoping for a similar result in the fall,” Klein said. Although Klein is a Colorado native, he connected with the Reedy campaign during his time as an intern this spring at the Tennessee General Assembly and hit the ground running with the campaign. Through these experiences, Klein said he’s seen how important state and local government can be. “I recognize that state politics are maybe not as exciting or scandalous as national, but they are incredibly impactful in our day-to-day lives,” Klein noted. “Really, our state and local government shape the very way that we interact with each other and the world we live in.” While Klein’s political involvement is not the standard for college students, Dr. Marc Schwerdt helps provide ways students can get involved in other ways without leaving the campus. As a political science professor and Lipscomb alum, Schwerdt sponsors several politically active clubs on campus such as College Republicans, College Democrats, Pi Sigma Alpha and Young Americans for Freedom. One of those organizations Schwerdt sponsors is Lipscomb Democrats — founded by sophomores Alyssa Ollis and Mason Borneman. The group began last fall, and Ollis said she is excited to have more events this election season as more students get involved....
