Nursing Education and Systematic Program Evaluation Purposes Benefits and Historical Perspectives
Systematic Program Evaluation in Nursing Education, Purposes and Benefits of Program Evaluation in Nursing Education, Relationship of Program Evaluation to Accreditation In Nursing Education, Historical Perspective of Evaluation Process In Nursing Education.
Systematic Program Evaluation in Nursing Education
Program evaluation is a systematic assessment and analysis of all components of an academic program through the application of evaluation approaches, techniques, and knowledge to improve the effectiveness of the program in reaching the program goals.
A program evaluation plan is a document that serves as the blueprint for the evaluation of a specific program. The evaluation plan describes the goal, methods used, frequency, and the individual or group responsible for each component of the evaluation along with the expected results or the desired goals of each component.
The purpose of this topic is to provide information on why and how to conduct comprehensive evaluation of nursing education programs. Background information about program evaluation and its benefits is followed by a description of the processes of conducting a program evaluation.
Purposes and Benefits of Program Evaluation in Nursing Education
The purpose of a comprehensive, systematic evaluation of a program is to determine the extent to which all activities for an academic program meet the established desired goals or outcomes. Program evaluation is conducted for all levels of educational programs from licensed practical or vocational nursing to Doctor of Nursing practice and Doctor of Nursing Philosophy (PhD) to determine the effectiveness of the program and make improvements in the program.
Program evaluation may be developmental, designed to provide direction for the development and implementation of a program, or outcome-oriented, designed to judge the merit of the total program being evaluated. It also evaluates what was planned, what was implemented, and what students experienced to identify discrepancies (Merritt, Blake, McIntyre, & Packer, 2012).
The more advanced a program is in its implementation, the more complex the program evaluation. Specific purposes of program evaluation are as follows:
- To determine how various elements of the program interact and influence program effectiveness
- To determine the extent to which the mission, goals, and outcomes of the program are realized
- To determine whether the program has been implemented as planned
- To provide a rationale for decision making that leads to improved program effectiveness.
- To identify what resources and how those resources can be used most efficiently to improve program quality and effectiveness.
Relationship of Program Evaluation to Accreditation in Nursing Education
Accrediting bodies exert considerable influence over nursing programs. Accrediting bodies including the state board of nursing, professional nursing organizations, and regional accrediting bodies for universities are involved in ensuring that standards are met and quality maintained. Nursing programs have historically depended on accreditation processes to guide program evaluation efforts.
Some nursing programs do not fully engage in program evaluation until preparation of the self-study for an accreditation site visit has begun. To fulfill its purposes, program evaluation must be a continuous activity. Program evaluation built solely around accreditation criteria may lack examination of some important elements or understanding of the relationship between elements that influence program success.
However, more nursing programs are using accreditation criteria as the framework for building an evaluation plan. Although the use of only accreditation criteria may not consider some elements of what might influence program effectiveness, building the assessment indicators identified by these bodies into the evaluation process ensures
ongoing attention to state and national standards of excellence.
Historical Perspective of Evaluation Process in Nursing Education
The earliest approaches to educational program evaluation were based on Ralph Tyler’s (1949) behavioral objective model. Tyler’s behavioral objective model was a simple, linear approach that began with defining learning objectives, developing measuring tools, and then measuring student performance to determine whether objectives had been met. Because evaluation occurred at the end of the learning experience, Tyler’s approach was primarily summative.
Formative evaluation, which includes testing and revising curriculum components during the development and implementation of educational programs, became popular during the 1960s and continued into the 1970s.
Outcomes assessment became the focus of educational evaluation in the 1980s. In 1984 the National Institute of Education Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Postsecondary Education endorsed outcomes assessment as an essential strategy for improving the quality of education in postsecondary institutions (Ewell, 1985).
By the mid-1980s the regional accrediting agencies began mandating outcomes assessment in their accreditation criteria (Ewell, 1985). By the early 1990s the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) added assessment of learning outcomes to its accreditation criteria.
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) also included outcomes assessment in its initial accreditation standards, first published in 1997, as has the NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA). The United States Department of Education also emphasizes outcomes, particularly outcomes maintaining to progress and graduation rates. In the past decade most of the nursing literature related to program evaluation has focused on specific elements of program evaluation, rather than on comprehensive evaluation.