Abstract
Student retention and success in nursing school has gained favor in educational research due to an increasing shortage of Registered Nurses. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of student placement recommendation into developmental education courses on persistence to an Associate of Applied Science Registered Nurse degree. Using ex post facto research methodology rooted in the retention theories of Tinto, Bean and Metzner, and Jeffreys, this study aims to measure the effect of high school diploma type, age, race/ethnicity, and pre-requisite courses on student placement recommendation in developmental education and persistence to an Associate of Applied Science Registered Nurse degree. This inquiry attempts to fill a gap in the scholarly literature focused on community college Registered Nurse program student retention, specifically in studying the likelihood of success for under-prepared students in nursing programs.