Date of Award
2001
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Dr. Courtney Lyder
Committee Member
Dr. Thomas Thompson
Committee Member
Dr. Marian Gibney
Keywords
admissions, administration, admitted students, assessment tool, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, clinical nursing experience, committee members, diagnostic assessment system, diagnostic questionnaire, dissemination, D'Youville College, enrollment, evaluation plan, facilities, financial aid, formative committee, implementation plan, literature review, matriculation, motivation, nursing department, nursing profession, nursing program, physical plant, program evaluation, qualitative evaluation, quantitative evaluation, research questions, student motivation, students, summative committee, validation
Abstract
Enrollment in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at D'Youville College is below expectations. Although the decline in application rate reflects a national and international trend, the matriculation rate needs to improve. Without adequate numbers of matriculated nursing students at D 'Youville, the nursing program faces closure.
The purpose of this project was to develop a diagnostic assessment system to improve the motivation of admitted students to matriculate into the nursing program at D'Youville College. The research questions concerned information in the literature about motivation to matriculate by students in nursing programs, the specific content and design for a system to assess and identify strategies to improve motivation of admitted students to matriculate into the program, and plans for implementing and evaluating the system.
An assessment tool was developed to assess motivation of admitted students to matriculate. The assessment results identified important factors in the decision not to matriculate, and the respondents indicated that student motivation to matriculate could be greatly improved.
A diagnostic questionnaire was developed to identify strategies to improve motivation to matriculate. The resulting strategies involved improvements in financial aid, facilities, and paid clinical nursing experience.
The implementation plan included a financial section, a facilities section, and a nursing profession section. The evaluation plan included criteria for success of the system, and qualitative and quantitative approaches for evaluating the system. Based on the formative and summative reviews, it was concluded that these plans were valid and appropriate. Information about the system will be disseminated through presentations and by involving the appropriate committee members from the nursing department, physical plant, and admissions office that will participate in the plans for implementing and evaluating the system. These plans will be presented to D'Youville College administration.
The outcome for this project was a diagnostic assessment system that assesses and identifies strategies to motivate admitted students to matriculate into the nursing program at D'Youville College. Topics for further research include the development of a tool that allows students to provide input into their particular financial aid package, and new areas for improvement as the implementation of the system nears completion.