Evaluation of an Online Graduate Nursing Curriculum: Examining Standards of Quality

Abstract

Recent offerings of online courses have outpaced the evaluation of the quality of those offerings, particularly at the program level. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the quality of a set of 16 graduate nursing courses developed for three master's specialty programs. An interdisciplinary group of nursing faculty and instructional technologists collaborated in the development of a quality assessment tool and evaluated 16 online graduate nursing courses. Faculty members for each of the courses were interviewed as part of the process. The collaborative design and development process is discussed, as well as evaluation techniques and the data collection instrument. Examples of best practices and areas for improvement in online courses are presented. The findings will help others as they develop and evaluate online curricula. This project provides a model for interdisciplinary collaboration on the evaluation of online programs that can be reviewed, modified, and implemented at other institutions. Instruments are included as supplementary material.

Returning in‘new normal’– a thematic analysis of Twitter chat by pharmacy students

“…Avery et al iterated that the 'clear articulation of course mechanics' is one of the best practices for online education. [26] Notably, some participants mentioned that the examinations should be replaced by thoughtprovoking educational activities and assignments in the courses. The educators, however, must ensure that the critical thinking activities designed to replace the examinations are still able to achieve the course learning outcomes with appropriate pedagogical considerations.…”

Attaining Quality Matters Certification for a Registered Nurse–Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program

“…Each of these eight standards was created and is updated based on published best practices in educational literature. [14][15][16]19,23 Since 2014, all faculty currently teaching in the RN-to-BSN program have been trained in the QM rubric and are implementing many of the eight standards within their course design. While multiple faculty have begun the process of seeking official QM course certification, only four courses have been QM approved.…”

“…For instance, students have attributed poor satisfaction with and even dropping out of online programs due to not believing they controlled events or outcomes 13 . Students have chosen not to continue with an online course format because of a lack of standardization in the presentation of courses, an increased difficulty navigating through various course designs, 5,14 and a perceived lack of engagement and support 7 . Again, factors related to declines in enrollment, retention, and graduation rates were of highest concern for academic programs 4 .…”

“…The eight standards include Course Overview and Introduction, Learning Objectives, Assessment and Measurement, Instructional Materials, Learning Activities and Learner Interaction, Course Technology, Learner Support, and Accessibility and Usability. Each of these eight standards was created and is updated based on published best practices in educational literature 14–16,19,23 …”

Time on Task: Perceived and measured time in online courses for students and faculty

“…The advantages of online courses are well documented. [1,2] Online courses have been found to be as effective as traditional courses [3,4] and have spread rapidly world-wide. [5] Reports exist in the literature on the organization of online courses [6] as well as the quality of online instruction.…”