A total of 60 Alcorn State University nursing students will graduate Saturday after more passed exit exams on a third try Wednesday.

However, 29 others would have to return for summer school, starting May 30, if they wish to pursue nursing careers.

After previous rounds, 39 students were eligible to take Wednesday’s test at Alcorn’s Natchez campus, said university spokesman Christopher Cason. The number of students who took the exam was not available, he said.

Dr. Mary Hill, dean of nursing at Alcorn, &#8220obviously wanted to see a 100 percent pass rate, and they did everything possible to achieve that,” Cason said.

He said Hill’s decision to allow multiple retests was based on reviews of student work throughout the semester.

The exams are not state board licensing exams required to work as registered nurses. They are national standardized exams designed to test a student’s knowledge.

Some students blamed their failures on faculty turnover, which they said was caused by wages for nursing instructors being lower than for nurses. Others have said material on the national tests was not covered in class. During its regular session this year, state lawmakers awarded raises of at least $10,000 to nursing school faculty members.

The failure rate made headlines because it followed years of almost all students passing the exam. Last month, 70 out of 89 students failed the initial exam. Initial reports cited 70 out of 91, but, Cason said this morning, those figures were wrong.

After the initial test, students were offered a second chance to pass and chose one of two dates to retest. On April 19, 37 students retested, and 16 passed. Another test was offered April 30. Results from that exam were not available, Cason said this morning.

Cason said to his knowledge the multiple rounds of testing were not costing ASU extra money, but if they did, &#8220it’s well worth the investment.”

The rash of failures was not exclusive to Alcorn.

Days after the failures there, 36 percent of Hinds Community College nursing students failed end-of-the-year tests. Hinds students were not given a chance to retake the test and must return in the fall.

Cason said the 26 nursing faculty and staff members would work throughout the summer to review the program.

The 34 associate degree and 26 bachelor’s degree students who passed exams will join more than 600 students at Alcorn’s commencement Saturday in Lorman.