title: Nursing students' attendance at learning activities in relation to attainment and passing courses: A prospective quantitative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Students' motivation and ways of engaging in their schoolwork are important for their performance, including passing exams. Attendance at learning activities has also been argued to be of major importance, although no causal relationship with passing exams has been established in nursing education.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to describe the impact of attendance at nonmandatory learning activities on attainment, in terms of passing or failing of exams, in nursing education courses including both mandatory and non-mandatory activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective quantitative design.
  
  
  METHODS
  The nursing education programme at a Swedish university.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nursing students (n=361) from two courses and four classes within the nursing programme.
  
  
  METHODS
  Attendance was registered at every non-mandatory teaching activity by asking the students to note their attendance on a list. Data such as sex, age, and whether the students had passed the exam were also collected for each course and each semester separately.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased participation was associated with an increasing proportion of students passing the exam. The chance of passing the exam increased by 13% for every additional learning occasion attended. Logistic regression showed an OR of 5.4 for an attendance of 100%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An increase in attendance gave a higher proportion of exam passes. Encouraging students to attend non-mandatory learning activities could be of value, and potentially contribute to an increased graduation rate for nursing students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden; Stroke Unit, Skaraborg Hospital, 541 85 Skövde, Sweden. Electronic address: asa.rejno@hv.se.
authors.forename: Åsa
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Rejnö
authors.affiliation: The Skaraborg Institute for Research and Development, 541 30 Skövde, Sweden. Electronic address: per.nordin@skaraborg-institute.se.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden. Electronic address: susanne.forsgren-gebring@hv.se.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forsgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden. Electronic address: yvonne.sundell@vgregion.se.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sundell
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, 461 86 Trollhättan, Sweden; Faculty of Professional Studies, Nord University, Bodø, Norway. Electronic address: gudrun.rudolfsson@hv.se.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rudolfsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013338:Students, Nursing; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Attainment; Attendance; Examination pass; Nurse education; Prospective study