A Continuous quality improvement (CQI) process for online education using knowledge capture and management

Online education is an integrative process requiring continual revision of courses and incorporation of changes in order to maintain and build content that is up to date and relevant for students. This presentation will discuss a newly incorporated process that has been initiated in this online NP program to evaluate each course throughout as well as at the end of each semester and incorporate changes and revisions into future courses. Capturing valuable knowledge for course revision is a challenge in the middle of a busy semester. Yet reports and evaluations performed at the end of the semester risk the missing portions of what was generated in the 'living moments' of the course with the potential for valuable knowledge being lost. Using online tools embedded in the course, faculty can easily capture corrections, new ideas, student feedback and other course evaluation continuously as well as at the end of each semester.

Continuing quality improvement (CQI) is an ongoing process requiring the involvement and support of all faculty. This CQI process for online course improvement begins with a identifying a place on the online course platform open only to instructors to add ideas for improvements as they come up in the course. At the end of the course the instructor completes a course summary evaluation by 3 weeks after the course ends. In the case of multiple sections of the course, the course coordinator then compiles the multiple course reports and creates a summary report which is submitted to the Master’s Program coordinator and the appropriate Senior Associate Dean. Course reports are then reviewed and feedback provided to instructors who discuss possible changes as a group and make suggestions for improvement. Courses are then updated and enhanced based on the feedback for the new course design. Then, the cycle begins again for course improvements and course objectives are reviewed to be sure that they are relevant to the updated course and the curriculum.   This information is fed into the school’s Committee on Program Evaluation where suggestions for further improvement will be discussed and courses revised.