Accountability for Program Evaluation in Nursing Education
Accountability for Program Evaluation In Nursing Education and Benefits.The Accountability for Program Evaluation in Nursing Education.
Accountability for Program Evaluation in Nursing Education Systems
Responsibility for development and implementation of the program evaluation plan rests with the nursing administration and faculty. The Accountability for Program Evaluation process for development and implementation may vary across nursing schools, depending on such factors as the number of faculty in the nursing school and the institutional resources available to support the evaluation.
In some schools, an evaluator position is created to manage program evaluation practices, including the development and implementation of the program evaluation plan. An office of evaluation may be necessary in large schools, providing support staff to coordinate data collection at multiple levels.
A common approach in small- and moderate-sized nursing schools is to appoint a standing committee of faculty who provide leadership and coordination of evaluation efforts. Regardless of the plan, the nursing faculty must determine accountability for each element of the evaluation plan.
Without clear accountability and firm time frames, it is easy for evaluation efforts to get lost in the press of daily demands on faculty and administration. Another issue of concern is the reporting and recording of evaluation data. Information is of little value to decision making unless it is channeled to those who are responsible for making decisions.
Accountability for Program Evaluation Careful attention to this issue not only increases the likelihood that decisions will be based on actual data but also facilitates analysis of the value of the data. Evaluation data also serve as a rich resource when responses to external reports and accreditation expectations are required. One of the dangers is data overload. Because data are used for making decisions, it is best to determine what information is necessary and what is interesting but not important.
Over time, a goal of evaluation is to streamline the amount of data collected. Asking questions such as “Why do we need this data or information?” and “How will these data or information assist in making decisions for improvement?” will assist in eliminating data overload. The location of evaluation information is also important. Access to the information increases the likelihood of its use.
Benefits or Outcomes of Accountability for Program Evaluation
An official location for evaluation reports ensures that they can be found when they are needed. Advances in technology have made the development of computer databases an important source of information that can be accessed by multiple stakeholders from a central location or file server.
Finally, the outcome of evaluation efforts in terms of creating change is an element that is sometimes omitted in record keeping. Accrediting bodies are as concerned about the actions that result from analysis of evaluation data as they are that a plan is in place. The best plan loses value if it does not create change when a need for intervention is indicated by the data.
Program evaluation is a comprehensive and complex process. Use of a systematic approach to program evaluation increases the likelihood that all program elements will receive appropriate attention and that evaluation activities will lead to program improvement. This chapter provided an overview of the evaluation process and its use as a guide for improvement for nursing education programs.
The program evaluation plan serves as a road map to ensure that program evaluation activities are appropriately implemented. Development and implementation of a carefully designed program evaluation plan will support continuous quality improvement for nursing education programs.
A Short Summary Accountability for Program Evaluation
All nursing education programs conduct program evaluations to address accountability requirements and to provide information for planning and controlling program implementation. Stufflebeam’s CIPP model, supported by triangulation of multiple data collection modes, provides such a theoretical framework for evaluations. This article proposes a comprehensive CIPP evaluation framework for nursing education programs.
While this evaluation framework is applicable to any nursing evaluation program, it is practically useful for collaborative nursing programs because it allows for a complete evaluation of each partner in its context. Under the leadership of this author, the collaborative evaluation committee of the York-Seneca-Georgian-Durham Bachelor of Nursing program in Ontario developed and utilized a CIPP process evaluation.
Read More : https://nurseseducator.com/program-evaluation-models-plans-mission-and-goal-in-nursing-education/
Also Read: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S8755722319301875