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Distance education poses challenges in the process of learning that are unique to its method of delivery. In distance education attrition rates often exceed those associated with traditional programs (Killion et al., 2011). Strategies designed to facilitate student success in online education will promote student retention and support national initiatives for the advancement of education of the RN workforce as many nurses seek educational advancement through distance education (CCNE, 2013b; IOM, 2010). The purpose of this non-experimental exploratory project was to examine the difference in student satisfaction and end-of-course grades in an online RN-BSN completion program. Courses were developed in alignment with nationally recognized evidence-based design standards versus courses designed traditionally. Retrospective data was used to compare satisfaction ratings and end-of-course grades for students enrolled in courses of an online RN-BSN completion program two semesters before or two semesters after the courses were aligned with evidence-based design standards. A total of 782 participants were included in the project (n = 710 women and 72 men). The study sites’ end-of-course survey was used as the instrument to measure student satisfaction. Using independent sample t-testing and Mann Whitney U testing, analysis demonstrated no consistent statistical difference in student satisfaction scores or end-of-course grades. It is likely that faculty training related to evidence-based design standards two years before the program’s formal alignment initiative contributed to the lack of significance in the findings. A longer period for monitoring the impact of the evidence-based design structure is a recommendation for further study. |
