A A systematic process is used to determine program effectiveness.

Elaboration: The program uses a systematic process to obtain relevant data to determine program effectiveness. The process:

• is written, ongoing, and exists to determine achievement of program outcomes;

• is comprehensive (i.e., includes completion, licensure, certification, and employment rates, as required by the U.S. Department of Education; and other program outcomes);

• identifies which quantitative and/or qualitative data are collected to assess achievement of the program outcomes;

• includes timelines for collection, review of expected and actual outcomes, and analysis; and

• is periodically reviewed and revised as appropriate. Program Response:

UMSON regularly collects data on student, graduate, and alumni satisfaction, as well as graduate achievements to evaluate program effectiveness. The following key indicators for assessing overall performance and

achievement of program outcomes in the BSN, MS, DNP, and post-MS APRN certificate programs include: a)

completion rates, b) NCLEX-RN® _{first-time pass rates by BSN and MS-CNL graduates, c) certification}

examination pass rates by MS-CNL graduates, advanced practice nursing graduates, and students who

completed the post-MS APRN certificate program, c) employment rates, and d) course and program satisfaction data collected from students, graduates, and alumni. Aggregate data is compared to prior year and trend data, selected established benchmarks, and, when available, state and national standards or norms.

All students complete a course evaluation questionnaire (CEQ) and faculty evaluation questionnaire (FEQ) at the end of each course. (See the CEQ/FEQ evaluation form in Appendix IVA-1.) UMSON has invested in software designed for the online course evaluation. This new software, Campus Labs, is a platform and service provider for higher education assessment, combining data collection and reporting, and allowing the delivery of all evaluations using a single online modality. It was launched in the fall 2013 semester for all programs. Upon program completion, all graduating students are asked to complete a 56-item Program Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), which assesses five aspects of program satisfaction: 1) program utility and efficacy, 2) curricular options and individualization, 3) time efficiency and student demands, 4) faculty-student

relationships, and 5) learning resources. (See the PAQ evaluation form in Appendix IVA-2.) Two global questions assess overall satisfaction with the program and willingness to recommend it to other potential students. An employment survey was added to the PAQ in December 2013. The PAQ is administered twice a year, in May and December.

Alumni are surveyed every three years by the University of Maryland, Baltimore Office of Institutional Research and Planning, targeting BSN and MS-CNL graduates. Beginning in 2013, a survey of alumni from the MS and DNP Programs were surveyed, and the survey will be conducted every four years by the UMSON Office of Evaluation. The latest BSN and MS-CNL alumni survey was conducted in 2011, and the last MS and DNP alumni surveys were conducted in 2013.

Longitudinal summary data are compiled and incorporated into a dashboard report for the Dean’s

Administrative Council, enabling the Council to track key trends and take necessary steps to keep program content, structure, and activities aligned with the goals articulated in UMSON’s strategic plan. A new dashboard report to capture data for initiatives consistent with the strategic plan for 2012-2017 is under

71 Program-specific data is also compiled to closely inspect the program’s effectiveness. For example, each academic year, student evaluation data is compiled for courses with multiple sections in the course director’s annual report, which is reviewed at the Entry-Level Curriculum Committee. For the MS specialties and DNP Program, specific student course evaluation data, such as core courses of a specialty, are also included in the specialty evaluation report. This aggregate data provides program-level information in determining whether a specialty program has been effective.

Office of Evaluation

The UMSON Office of Evaluation has primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing aggregate data on student outcomes, satisfaction, and faculty performance (see Master Evaluation Plan in Appendix IA-6.)

The Office of Evaluation provides the CEQs and FEQs for all course sections during the fall, spring, and summer terms. At the completion of the semester, quantitative results (individual item means and summative scale means) of the course evaluations are provided to the department chairs, assistant deans, program directors, courses coordinators, and faculty members teaching the course. Open-ended student comments on the faculty evaluations are provided to individual faculty members teaching the courses and the department chairs. If student comments warrant further action, the department chair, the respective assistant dean, and the faculty member work together to design a plan to address concerns. Results are delivered to faculty members within two weeks of receipt. At the end of each academic year, a report is prepared on the number of courses evaluated during each term and the summative results for the various degree programs. Three summative scales (course, faculty, and online components of the course, if applicable) are calculated. This report is reviewed by the Deans and Chairs Committee and each curriculum committee, and action is taken when necessary. The latest report was reviewed at the Deans and Chairs meeting (12/10/13). Since student ratings of the course evaluation and faculty evaluation were above the UMSON benchmarks, no action items were

identified. The report is available to all faculty and is posted on the UMSON intranet at http://www.nursing.

umaryland.edu/Intranet/Evaluation/Reports/.

There are a variety of other reports generated by the Office of Evaluation. They prepare the Program

Assessment Questionnaire for the Deans and Chairs Committee, and it is reviewed annually and made available to the Curriculum Committee and department chairs to take action, when necessary. For example, the 2012- 2013 PAQ report was reviewed at the Deans and Chairs meeting (10/15/2013); some issues/concerns appeared in the student comments to the open-ended questions. Action items were identified and responded to by the responsible parties. The responses were documented and reviewed in a later Deans and Chairs meeting

(7/22/2014) to ensure that the loop was closed. The Office conducts MS and DNP alumni surveys and assists the UMB Graduate School with its BSN alumni report. The office also prepares an annual report on faculty

productivity, collected by the department chairs through the Faculty Progress and Productivity Report (FPPR). The Office conducts and analyzes survey results as requested by departments, faculty committees, specialty areas, and school administrators. The Office assists department chairs in preparing annual USM reports on teaching workloads for each academic year. The Office also prepares evaluation reports for the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, including the Summer Institute for Nursing Informatics and Evidence- Based Practice conferences.

To ensure that the evaluation data is captured and analyzed, an Evaluation Advisory Committee was formed in 2012 to help the Office of Evaluation develop a comprehensive Master Evaluation Plan for UMSON to assist in the creation of major plans related to the evaluation. The committee ensured that the evaluative elements were listed with a time frame for data collection and responsible parties for collecting that data in the master plan. The committee has made great strides in setting benchmarks for the relevant evaluative elements. However, since our comprehensive Master Evaluation Plan is newly developed, it is still under review and revision. For instance, as UMSON is preparing for the self-study, the committee noted that information and evaluation data regarding academic support services were not being consistently collected by the program and administrative units. Hence, more effort will be made to modify the data collection plan for academic support services.

The Office of Evaluation also seeks suggestions/recommendations from faculty members to ensure that the collected evaluation data is being distributed to the appropriate responsible parties. For example, the student evaluations of clinical instructors were not being consistently reviewed by both the course director and the

72 clinical coordinators for each course. There was some variance in who had access to these evaluations. The director of the Office of Evaluation presented the issue at the Faculty Council meeting (5/5/14) to seek their recommendation. The Faculty Council decided that both the course director and clinical coordinator, who are responsible for ensuring course quality, should have access to the evaluations regardless of the clinical instructor’s role as a faculty member.