The United States is now in the midst of a major nursing shortage that is predicted to get worse over the next ten years (Kurzen, 2005). The Health Resources and Services Administration reports that all 50 states will suffer from a nursing shortage by 2020 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). This means that there will be a shortage of over one million nurses by 2020 (Kuehn, 2007). Nursing shortages create situations in which there are not enough nurses to care for patients nor enough nurse faculty to educate the next generation of nurses (Erlen, 2001). Requirements to be licensed as a nurse include graduation from a state approved nursing program and passing a national examination. Nursing educators must identify predictors that will enhance both persistence in nursing programs and success of passing the licensure examination so that qualified nurses are not delayed from entering the workforce. The purpose of this exploratory study was to use logistic regression analysis to identify those variables that will predict persistence in licensed practical nursing programs as well as those variables that will predict successful passing of the NCLEX-PN licensure examination on the first attempt. Research data was collected from licensed practical nurses in North Carolina. Correlation analysis was used to determine the association between each independent variable and the dependent variables of nursing program persistence and NCLEX-PN results. A logistic analysis technique was used in this study to determine the relationship between those independent variables that showed a significant correlation using the Phi coefficient and point-biserial techniques and the two dependent variables. The independent variables found to have a statistically significant association (using the Phi coefficient analysis) with the dependent variable of nursing program persistence/retention in this study were father ethnicity, gender, receipt of student loans, the taking of some remedial courses (RED 060, RED 080, ENG 060, ENG 080), the grades of some of the remedial courses (RED 060, RED 080, ENG 060, MAT 080), the requirement of a pre-nursing admission exam, and the offering of remediation at the exit exam point of the nursing program. The Phi coefficient analysis also showed a statistically significant association between the independent variables of one remedial reading course grade (RED 080), the biology transferred grade, pre-nursing college GPA, the offering of remediation at the exit exam point of the nursing program, and the dependent variable of success on the NCLEX-PN. Receipt of student loans was the only significant contributing variable in predicting nursing program persistence at the 0.05 level of significance in the binary logistic regression model. Pre-nursing college GPA approached significance at the 0.053 level in predicting NCLEX-PN success. In light of the paucity of literature regarding practical nursing program persistence and NCLEX-PN performance and the lack of consistent identified student predictors of retention, graduation, and NCLEX success, the nursing profession needs to continue research in this area. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]