Nursing Education & Program Evaluation Models, Plans, Mission and Goal
Program Evaluation Models Evaluation Models in Nursing Education, Program Evaluation Plan in Nursing Education, Mission and Goal Evaluation In Nursing Education.
Program Evaluation Models Evaluation Models in Nursing Education
Models provide an organizing or systematic approach to overall program evaluation. Although it may be helpful to use a specific model to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the program evaluation, most are no longer commonly used in nursing education. Many of these models are complex and difficult to apply.
A study by Sauter (2000) found that most baccalaureate nursing education programs do not use a theory-driven approach to evaluation but instead are influenced by professional accrediting bodies. Currently, most schools continue to use nursing accreditation criteria as a framework to develop an evaluation plan that is systematic and comprehensive.
In all evaluation models, a commonality is the cycle of defining what is to be evaluated, how the evaluation will be conducted, a report of the findings, and recommendations for subsequent revisions. It is always important to repeat the cycle to ensure continuous improvement.
Regardless of the model or theory used, program evaluation is needed to make decisions about the program, the curriculum, and the improvements needed to offer high quality programs. The evaluation plan can be divided into areas so that all aspects of the program are examined and analyzed for program decisions. Although the evaluation plan is important to the continued process, the use of assessment data to guide change involves the commitment of faculty to collect and examine the data and decide what and how to make improvements based on that data.
Program Evaluation Plan in Nursing Education
The program evaluation plan provides a road map for organizing and tracking evaluation activities. The plan is a systematic and written document that contains the evaluation framework, activities for gathering and analyzing data, responsible parties, time frames, accreditation criteria and standards, and the means for using information for program decisions.
The program evaluation plan provides the mechanism for maintaining continuous evaluation of program effectiveness. Accrediting agencies require a systematic evaluation plan. Some may mention specific components that are needed in the plan. Accrediting agency guidelines may be good to reference as the evaluation plan is developed.
This sample demonstrates how all elements of the program evaluation plan may be articulated, including the program’s theoretical elements, assessment activities, responsible parties, time frames, and related accreditation criteria. There are a variety of approaches to the evaluation plan.
This example illustrates the important components of the plan. The theoretical elements and assessment strategies that are suggested here are not all-inclusive but may assist nursing faculty in further development of their own program theory and program evaluation plan.
Mission and Goal Evaluation in Nursing Education
Program evaluation must begin by determining that the appropriate mission, philosophy, program goals, and expected outcomes have been defined. The mission and goals need to be examined for agreement with the university mission and goals. The expectations of both internal and external stakeholders must be considered.
Internal stakeholders may include administrators, faculty, students, and university governing boards. External stakeholders may include religious organizations for private schools with religious affiliations, regional accrediting bodies, national discipline-specific accrediting bodies, state education commissions and boards of nursing, the legislature, the community, and professional organizations.
There should be congruency between the expectations of stakeholders and the program’s mission, philosophy, goals, and outcomes. For private institutions with religious affiliations, some perspectives may be prescribed and must be included in mission, philosophy, goals, or outcomes. The mission of the nursing department or school should be congruent with the university’s mission.
Incongruence could indicate that the university would not be supportive of the nursing program. Comparison of key phrases in the department’s mission with key phrases in the university’s mission may be done to assess congruency between mission statements. The identification of gaps between the two mission statements provides information about areas where attention is needed.
The assessment should be performed periodically and whenever changes are made to either mission statement. The evaluation plan should be designed for use in all program levels including doctoral level. Although existing accrediting bodies do not evaluate PhD programs in nursing, use of an evaluation plan for assessing quality is an important aspect of program quality improvement.
Quality indicators are identified and accessible online for use in evaluation of PhD nursing programs. There should be consensus among the faculty regarding the nursing school or department’s mission and philosophy. A modified Delphi approach to determine the level of agreement among the faculty for each statement in the mission and philosophy is a useful strategy.
The Delphi approach is useful for both the development and the evaluation of belief statements (philosophy). It gathers individual viewpoints and visions to reach a consensus. This approach allows for participants to be in multiple locations and can be done without the need for frequent face-to-face dialogue in a manner that protects the anonymity of participants.
In this method, questionnaires that list proposition statements about each of the content elements of the belief statement are distributed. A common breakdown of Delphi responses is a five-point range from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” so that respondents can indicate their level of support for each proposition.
Respondents are provided with feedback about the responses after the first round of questionnaire distribution, and a second round may occur to determine the intensity of agreement or disagreement with the group median responses (Aguilar, Stupans , Scutter, & King, 2013).
After several rounds with interim reports and analyses, it is usually possible to identify areas of consensus, areas of disagreement so strong that further discourse is unlikely to lead to consensus, and areas in which further discussion is warranted. In the evaluation of an established belief statement, the same process will provide data about which propositions continue to be supported, which no longer garner support, and which need to be openly debated (Aguilar et al., 2013).
The result provides a consensus list of propositions that either support the belief statement as it is or suggests areas for revision. All accrediting bodies have expectations related to mission, philosophy, program goals, and expected outcomes.
Clear statements of mission, philosophy, and program outcomes are expected. For example, the required outcomes in the accreditation criteria for baccalaureate and higher degree programs for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA), and CCNE include outcomes such as graduation rates , job placement rates, licensure and certification pass rates, and program satisfaction (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2013; Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education [CCNE], 2013; NLN CNEA, 2015).
Expectations exist regarding congruency of the program’s mission, goals, and outcomes with those of the parent institution, professional nursing standards and guidelines, and the needs of the community of interest. Professional organization guidelines and standards may be considered in the program’s mission, philosophy, and goals.
They may include but are not limited to the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the National League for Nursing (NLN), and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. Other nursing organizations may be included as appropriate and as desired by the program faculty.
Program goals and outcomes should be congruent with the chosen and required nursing organization standards and guidelines. Standards and guidelines that are often used include ANA’s Standards of Practice (American Nurses Association, 2010), the Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 2012), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report (2011) and Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (Cronenwett, Sherwood, & Gelmon , 2009).
Other important external stakeholders to consider in the development of the mission and goals include local constituencies, such as health care agencies, that provide clinical learning experiences or employ graduates of the program. A survey of current and potential employers of graduates will help faculty to determine the knowledge and skill requirements of the marketplace and satisfaction with the program’s graduates.
Many nursing programs establish advisory committees to provide additional information and selected focus groups to add richness to the information. This information is used to ensure that program goals and outcomes are appropriate, to address marketplace needs, and to provide input for curriculum planning.
They are also used to develop evaluation questions and tools for determining whether market needs are being met. The mission and program goals should be clearly and publicly stated. Nursing schools that offer several different nursing programs will need to clearly articulate the purpose and program goals of each of the programs offered. Public announcement of the mission and program goals should be available through the Internet and in printed program brochures and catalogs.