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Publications & Resources > The Standard > December 2004

  Last modified Dec. 2, 2004

Proposed Bylaw Revision

RN Applicant Exam Fee Increase

Because of a significant increase in the purchase price of the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination, Council is proposing to increase the fees applicants pay to write the exam.

Currently, the College charges RN applicants $200.93 to write the exam. This fee covers the exam purchase price and administration costs. In June 2005, the cost for the College to buy the exam will rise to $315. (All fees quoted in this article and the proposed bylaw do not include GST. This is paid by the applicant.)

Council is proposing to raise the exam writing fee to $315 in June, 2005. This would cover the cost of buying the exam, but not of administering it. Administration costs would be covered by using member fees to provide a one-time subsidy of $131,822, or $0.94 per member. On January 1, 2006, the fee will increase to $373.83, which would cover all costs.

It is unusual for Council to propose using member fees to subsidize the application processes. However, Council decided to make an exception in this case, because the 2005 graduates are the first that must take the longer and more expensive BScN program. Also even with the subsidy, the cost of the examination will increase more than 50%.

Council considered the subsidy in light of the College’s current financial situation and believes that College has the financial ability to lessen the impact of this significant cost increase to students.

From 2007 to 2010, Council is proposing smaller annual increases to the exam writing fee that will cover the expected rise in exam costs.

Members are invited to respond to the proposed increases to the RN exam writing fee, including the recommendation to use member funds to subsidize the fee. Send your feedback to the address below.

The feedback will be presented to Council before it makes a final decision on the proposal at the March 2005 meeting. The deadline for receiving member feedback is February 4, 2005.

Background

The College purchases the national RN exam from the Canadian Nurses’ Association (CNA), which is responsible for the exam’s design, maintenance and marking. In June 2005, the exam format will change from all multiple-choice questions to include short-answer questions. The addition of short-answer questions was initiated by regulators from across Canada to better test critical thinking and problem solving skills; a critical piece of evidence of knowledge and safe practice. The new format is more expensive to develop and to mark; therefore CNA has increased the exam price and the cost of rescoring.

Starting next June, the CNA will increase the price to $315 per exam. In addition, it will implement ongoing annual increases to cover inflationary pressures on the cost of maintaining and marking the exam. CNA will also raise the fee to rescore the exam.

The proposed increase by CNO applies only to the Registered Nurse exam. The format for the Practical Nurse exam is not changing in 2006, and the College has not been informed of any cost increases to purchase the exam.

A national exam has considerable advantages for applicants and members including limiting costs and facilitating inter-provincial mobility for Ontario nurses.

The examination fees are included in the College’s Fees Bylaw, and the following is the proposed amendment to increase the exam fee. The complete bylaw can be found on the College’s website (www.cno.org).

Proposed change to the bylaw on examination fees

9.01 A person who applies to attempt an examination which is a requirement for a certificate of registration in a general class as a registered nurse shall pay a fee of

  1. $200.93 if the examination is to be taken prior to June 1, 2005;
  2. $315.00 if the examination is to be taken on or after June 1, 2005 but prior to January 1, 2006;
  3. $373.83 if the examination is to be taken onor after January 1, 2006 but prior to January 1, 2007;
  4. $383.18 if the examination is to be taken on or after January 1, 2007 but prior to January 1, 2008;
  5. $392.53 if the examination is to be taken on or after January 1, 2008 but prior to January 1, 2009;
  6. $401.88 if the examination is to be taken on or after January 1, 2009 but prior to January 1, 2010; and
  7. $411.23 if the examination is to be taken on or after January 1, 2010.

9.03 A person who applies to have the results of an examination referred to in Article 9.01 re-scored shall pay a fee of:

  1. $35.00, if the examination to be rescored was taken prior to June 1, 2005; and
  2. $46.73, if the examination to be rescored was taken on or after June 1, 2005

Your Feedback Is Important

Council invites members to respond to the proposed increases to the RN exam writing fee, including the recommendation to use member funds to subsidize the fee for a short period.

Council will consider the responses before making a final decision at the March 2005 meeting.

Send your written feedback to Jenna Hofbauer, Council Affairs Coordinator. Deadline: Feb. 4, 2005

E-mail: jhofbauer@cnomail.org
Phone: 416 928-0900, ext. 6603, or 1 800 387-5526, ext. 6603
Mail: College of Nurses of Ontario, 101 Davenport Rd., Toronto, ON, M5R 3P1

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