February 9, 2007

TO: Robert Mrtek, Chair

Senate Committee on Educational Policy

FROM: Midge Grosch

Director, Programs and Academic Assessment

I am forwarding for the information of the Senate Committee on Educational Policy the attached Transition of existing RN Completion Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program to an On-line Degree.

The proposal does not require any committee or faculty approval in the College of Nursing, but carries the administrative approval of the college.

Attachment

Cc: P. Lewis

D. Sobotka

Title: / Transition of existing RN Completion Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program to an On-line Degree
Sponsor: / College of Nursing
Description: / The RN completion BSN degree from the College of Nursing provides an opportunity for RNs with an associate’s degree in nursing to obtain a baccalaureate degree with credit given for previous course work.
The program consists of the following courses:
Course # / Course Name / Semester Hours
NUSC 242 / Concepts and Processes in Contemporary Nursing / 4
NUSC 210 / Health Assessment / 3
NUSC 322 / Intro to Nursing Research and Statistics for Evidence-Based Practice / 4
NUSC 390 / Nursing Management and Leadership in Healthcare / 6
NUSC 385 / Clinical Concepts and Processes in Populations-Focused Nursing / 5
NUSC 397 / Issues in Nursing Practice / 3
varies / Elective from 300- or 400- level nursing courses and selected with an advisor. / 5
Total / 30
The only change occurring is the delivery format of the courses from what has evolved as a blended program (although not identified as such) to an on-line program that meets the university standard of at least 75% of the instruction occurring on-line. All courses in the program have been converted to an on-line format in consultation with the Assistant Director of the Office of External Education, Dr. Renee Welch who is an expert in instructional design and on-line pedagogy. The 5 credit hours of electives were already on-line as the college offers many undergraduate on-line electives (examples: NUSC 316 Nursing Informatics, NUSC 393 Readings in Evidence-Based Practice, NUSC 375 Older Adult Health, NUSC 350 History of Nursing).
NUSC 242, 210, 322, & 397 will be totally on-line with all course delivery and requirements accomplished through web-based technology. NUSC 385 & 390 have practica (or clinical) components. For NUSC 385, of the 5 credit hours, 3 credit hours are the practicum and 2 credit hours are the theory portion. For NUSC 390, of the 6 credit hours, 3 credit hours are the practicum and 3 credit hours are the theory portion. The theory portion of both courses will be taught on-line while the methods and procedures for the practica will remain unchanged. Thus, 24 out of the 30 credit hours (80%) of the program will be on-line.
Please note, this change (effective Fall 2007) does not affect the tuition for currently enrolled and matriculated students. However, there will be no more face-to-face classes offered in this program beginning with the effective date. Thus, switching modalities from face-to-face to on-line only affect a small number of students who did not complete required course work in 2 semesters. As all courses in the current program are heavily tech-enhanced or blended, such change will not represent a radical departure from what is currently delivered modality.
Several quality indicators will be used to measure the success/outcomes of this on-line program. We perform post-graduation assessments on all baccalaureate graduates in keeping with standards of our discipline-specific accreditation. As such, we will continue to monitor job placement for our graduates and compare these to job placement from when the program was primarily face-to-face. In addition we will monitor attrition rates and graduation rates and these too will be compared to rates from when the program was primarily face-to-face. Finally, we will specifically survey satisfaction with the on-line format in the first several cohorts enrolled.
Justification: / The nation is facing a severe nursing shortage. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) estimates that RN vacancies will reach 800,000 by 2012. The reasons for the shortage are complex and quick fixes are not possible. The complexities of today’s health care environment, which include a higher level of inpatient acuity, increased use of technology and informatics, consumer-driven quality demands, and a shift to community-based care, dictate that the shortage must be addressed not simply with more nurses, but with higher educated nurses who are prepared to manage care across the continuum of care while facilitating change. Thus, the demand for baccalaureate prepared RNs, in particular, has far outpaced the supply. In addition, the baccalaureate degree is the gateway to graduate education in nursing. Nurses with graduate degrees, the majority of which will enter advanced practice, will be pivotal in providing increasingly larger amounts of primary health care services to vulnerable populations and those with health disparities. Furthermore, the baccalaureate degree provides the foundation for a career in nursing education, so increased numbers of baccalaureate prepared nurses will provide a supply of future faculty members that can help alleviate the critical nursing faculty shortage (the AACN suggests that lack of faculty is and will continue to be the primary driver of the nursing shortage). In addition, the main professional organization representing nursing, the American Nurses Association (ANA) along with numerous other nursing and health care organizations have long established that the baccalaureate degree is the minimum requirement for entry into practice as a registered nurse.
Therefore, scaling-up our RN completion BSN degree program fits well with our college’s mission to advance nursing leadership in pursuit of enhancing the health and well-being of the citizens of Illinois and beyond. Traditional face-to-face RN completion programs present many obstacles for working RNs including difficulty in coordinating work and school schedules and the challenges of balancing work, school, and home demands that characterize many contemporary adult learners. Moving the program to on-line allows great flexibility in allowing students to complete course requirements at convenient times, thus, we have the potential to enroll many students who could not complete a baccalaureate degree in a traditional face-to-face program including individuals who are underrepresented in the ranks of nursing.
On-line RN completion programs are not novel. In fact, New York Regents College’s (now Excelsior College) RN-BSN program was among the first on-line programs of any type. The AACN reports that there are currently 20 RN completion programs in the U.S. Furthermore, the Collegiate Commission on Nursing Education (CCNE), which is the U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting body for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, endorses and encourages the use of on-line education in nursing.
The only college affected by the proposed change is Nursing.
Catalog Statement: / There are no proposed changes to the catalog statement except a notation that the program is on-line.
Minority Impact Statement: / It is anticipated that the transition to an on-line program will increase our minority enrollments as part of our overall marketing plan by forming connections with the associate degree programs of the Chicago City Colleges, which have a high percentage of minority students.
Budgetary and Staff Implications: / There are no direct costs or faculty implications as currently used resources will be shifted. As the program scales-up, we will be prepared to hire additional faculty to teach additional course sections. We are in the process of hiring an instructional designer to assist with the on-going development and revision of this and other programs. On the revenue side, we anticipate increased revenue from the portion of the e-tuition that is returned to the college.
Library Resource Implications: / No implications noted. The Health Science Library has all necessary electronic resources needed for success in the program.
Space Implications: / No implications noted.
Unit (e.g. department) approval date:
College (educational policy committee, faculty) approval dates: / This change constitutes an administrative action that does not require committee or faculty approval.
Contact Person: / F. Patrick Robinson, PhD, RN
Executive Assistant Dean
Proposed Effective Date: / Fall, 2007

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