North Idaho College radiography grads post perfect job, exam results

North Idaho College’s 2026 radiography class finished with a 100% job-placement rate and a 100% first-attempt pass rate on the national licensing exam, a clean sweep that sends new technologists straight into North Idaho’s health-care workforce. The class was honored at a pinning ceremony on May 14 in Coeur d’Alene, and several graduates had already stepped into jobs by then.

NIC says the Radiography Technology Program has held a 100% job-placement rate since 2019 and a 100% first-attempt pass rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists national board exam since 2018. The college’s program is a competitive-entry associate degree track that admits 10 students each year, with applications reviewed in the spring before classes begin in August. NIC says graduates are prepared for hospitals, private clinics, doctors’ offices and other settings that need qualified imaging staff who can work safely around sensitive equipment.

That local payoff matters in a county where health care remains one of the clearest pathways from classroom to paycheck. When a program sends every graduate into a job and every graduate through the licensing test on the first try, it helps hospitals and clinics fill openings with workers who are ready to start immediately, rather than needing extended retraining.

The results also stand out because the national exam has gotten tougher. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists raised the radiography exam cut score effective Jan. 1, 2023, and NIC still reports a perfect first-attempt pass streak through 2026. In 2025, the college said all eight recent radiography graduates passed on their first try, and six scored in the 99th percentile or higher. NIC also noted that the 2024 national average first-attempt pass rate was 79%.

The program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology, a key marker for employers evaluating whether graduates are ready for clinical work. Among the recent graduates, Bethany Littman of Coeur d’Alene was identified as working at Kootenai Health, giving the numbers a direct local face and showing that at least some of the new technologists are staying in the Coeur d’Alene job market. Michael Lesperance was also pictured at the May 14 ceremony.

For North Idaho College, the class is more than a ceremony photo. It is evidence that a small, selective training program is feeding a regional health system that continues to need radiography talent.