The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) received high marks from the 2017-18 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)/Benchworks Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Exit Assessment. With 7 as a perfect score, SIUE posted a 6.77 mark in overall program effectiveness.
The SON rated 6.13 or better in 26 of 27 measured factors that included faculty and instruction, curriculum, administration and academic advising, support services, and numerous learning variables. The assessment represented post-master’s and family nurse practitioner (FNP) students, who provide the exit assessment as each class completes the program.
The SON’s 6.77 in overall program effectiveness was superior to all institutions at 5.97 and Carnegie Class institutions at 6.15. The Carnegie classification includes all accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. that are represented in the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
“The program effectiveness is further supported by the 100 percent first-time pass rates of our FNP DNP 2018 graduates,” said Andy Griffin, PhD, CRNA, APRN and assistant dean of graduate programs. “The perfect pass rate is obviously outstanding, but even more so when comparing it to an overall national first-time pass rate of approximately 82 percent.”
Comments from the student reviewers included:
- “The required number of clinic hours was extremely helpful in building confidence for clinical practice.”
- “Faculty expertise, rigor that was practical for the program, scholarly activities, amazing support of faculty and staff, and organization of content overall.”
- “I liked the leadership, DNP project content and the systematic ways that SIUE set it up for the student to succeed in the course.”
- “I enjoyed the instructors who went above and beyond. Thankfully, there were quite a few of them.”
- “The close interaction between staff and students.”
Photo: Andy Griffin, associate professor and assistant dean of graduate programs in the SIUE School of Nursing.