Developing Effective Program Goals

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Developing Effective Program Goals

• AHIMA
• Department of Education and Accreditation

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Contents

• GOALS
• What are program goals?
• The four areas of focus for program goals
• How to write appropriate program goals.

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Contents (continued)

• Standards (Target Outcomes)
• Definition of standards
• How to choose appropriate standards to measure
  your goals.
• How goals and standards relate to the program
  evaluation plan.

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What goals are

• Goals answer the questions, What is our purpose?
  What ends do we want to achieve?
• Goals are outcomes that reflect a programs
  quality.
• Goals form the basis for program planning
  evaluation, and implementation.

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The four areas that goals must address

• Students
• The Program
• Faculty
• The Community of Interest

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When writing goals ...

• Express goals as outcomes.
• Set goals at the program level.
• Include the four focus areas.

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Compare these goalswhich one is more appropriate?

Faculty will continuously monitor the curriculum
and make updates and amendments as required.
The program will offer an up-to-date curriculum
that prepares students to enter the profession.
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Compare these goals which one is more
appropriate?

• To encourage students to attain self-confidence
  and an enthusiasm for life-long learning.

• To produce students who demonstrate professional
  and ethical behavior in the workplace.

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Compare these goals which one is more
appropriate?

• The college believes that it should invest its
  educational resources in support of practical
  curricula that will facilitate the progression
  from the senior college experience to ones
  chosen field.

• Students will participate in a variety and depth
  of professional practice experiences.

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What Standards Are

• Standards answer the question, How will I be
  able to tell that this goal has been met?
• Standards describe target outcomes, not
  processes. They are the results, not the methods
  by which results are achieved. They are a
  yardstick, not a to-do list.
• Standards are observable measurements.
• Standards should be directly linked to their
  particular goals.

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GOAL To produce graduateswho meet the entry
level competencies of AHIMA.Which of these is an
appropriate standard?(which one will tell you if
your graduates meet the ELCs?)

• The curriculum will be reviewed on an ongoing
  basis to insure compliance with required content
  areas.

• 90 percent of graduates will pass the
  certification exam.

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GOAL To produce graduates whomeet the entry
level competencies of AHIMA.Which of these is an
appropriate standard?

• The program will retain qualified faculty who are
  dedicated to student success.

• Employers of our graduates will express
  satisfaction with their performance on the job.

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GOAL To produce graduates whomeet the entry
level competencies of AHIMA.Which of these is an
appropriate standard?

• 90 percent of students will receive above-average
  ratings from their site supervisor in the PPE
  courses.

• Professional Practice courses will be designed to
  include hands-on experience in all the required
  domains.

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GOAL To produce graduates who meetthe entry
level competencies of AHIMA.Which of these is an
appropriate standard?

• 100 percent of students will be assigned
  independent projects that foster problem-solving
  and critical thinking.

• 90 percent of graduates will obtain appropriate
  jobs in the HIM field within 6 months.

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Before After Samples

• The following slides show examples of program
  goals and standards. The Before slides
  illustrate incorrectly written items. The after
  slides demonstrate how these items can be
  corrected to reflect appropriate goals, target
  outcomes, and evaluation methods.

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Program A Before1. GOAL To provide
competent, reliable health information graduates
who will become gainfully employed in the HIM
field.

• Standard
• A. To provide graduates who demonstrate AHIMA
  competencies.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. 75 of students will receive favorable PPE
  evaluations.
• B. 75 of students will pass the RHIT exam.
• C. 75 of students will be employed in the HIM
  field within one year of graduation.

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Program A After1. GOAL To provide HIM
graduates who will meet the entry-level
competencies and become gainfully employed in the
HIM field.

• Standards
• A. 75 of students will receive favorable PPE
  evaluations.
• B. 75 of students will pass the RHIT exam
• C. 75 of students will be employed in the HIM
  field within one year of graduation.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Review of PPE evaluations.
• B. RHIT exam scores
• C. Alumni follow up and employer surveys.

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Program B BeforeGOAL To provide an
educational opportunity for current employees in
the HIM field.

• Standards
• A. The HIT program will provide a flexible
  schedule, including evenings and weekends.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Review course schedule each semester to assure
  that courses are offered in evenings/on weekends.
• B. Survey students annually, requesting input on
  best times to offer HIT classes.

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Program B AfterGOAL To provide an educational
opportunity for the community of interest, and in
particular, for employees currently in the HIM
field.

• Standards
• A. HIT courses will include students who are
  currently working in the HIM field.
• B. Courses will be offered on a flexible schedule
  to include evenings and weekends.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. HIT student profile questionnaires
• B. Review of published course offerings each
  semester.

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Program C BeforeGOAL To promote interest,
enrollment andretention in the HIT program.

• Standards
• A. Actively market and recruit students for the
  HIT program.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Enroll 10 new students annually.
• B. Retain 75 of enrolled students.

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Program C AfterGOAL To increase enrollment
and retention by actively marketing and
recruiting students for the HIT program.

• Standards
• A. Enroll 10 new students annually.
• B. Retain 75 of enrolled students.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Enrollment figures from registrars office
• B. Retention rate calculated each semester.

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Program D BeforeGOAL To provide ongoing
educational and professional growth opportunities
for faculty.

• Standard
• A. The college will provide faculty with the time
  and resources to attend professional development
  programs.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Faculty will meet the CE requirements of AHIMA.

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Program D After GOAL To retain faculty
members who are involved in ongoing educational
and professional growth activities.

• Standards
• A. All credentialed faculty members will meet the
  CE requirements of AHIMA.
• B. All faculty members will participate in at
  least one education-focused program such as those
  offered by AOE.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Documentation of completion of AHIMA CE
  requirements.
• B. Documentation of participation in at least one
  education-focused program.

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Program E BeforeGOAL To prepare students with
the necessaryeducational base required to meet
the entry level competencies

• Standards
• A. All competencies for an entry-level HIT will
  be included in the curriculum.
• B. Student exams and projects will correspond
  with course objectives.
• C. Syllabi will contain a statement regarding
  projects on specific HIM topics.

• Evaluation methods
• A. Review syllabi annually to ensure all
  knowledge clusters are included.
• B. All exams and projects will be reviewed and
  compared to course objectives.
• C. 100 of syllabi will be reviewed to make sure
  they contain this statement..

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Program E After1.GOAL To prepare students
with the necessary educational baserequired to
meet the entry level competencies.

• Standards
• A. All knowledge content areas will be included
  in the curriculum.
• B. All areas in the Domains, subdomains and tasks
  will be included in the curriculum.
• All courses will include practical applications
  of concepts.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Knowledge content assessment form.
• B. DST assessment form.
• Review of course syllabi

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Program F Before2. GOAL The assessment plan
will reflect assessment activities designed to
provide continuous quality improvement for the
curriculum.

• Standards
• A. The assessment plan will include appropriate
  assessment activities.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. 100 of activities in the assessment plan have
  been accomplished.
• B. All faculty will receive reports of changes to
  the curriculum.

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Program F After3. GOAL To offer a
high-quality, comprehensive curriculum based
upon continuous assessment and quality
improvement.

Standards A. The curriculum will include all
required knowledge cluster content as identified
in the AHIMA model curriculum. B. The curriculum
will reflect current practice within the
profession. C. Working graduates will express
satisfaction with the preparation they received
from the program.
Evaluation Methods A. Knowledge cluster content
assessment form. B. Assessment and input from
professional Advisory Board. C. Graduate
follow-up surveys.
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Program G Before

• GOAL To secure adequate enrollment in the
  program.

• Standard
• A. A minimum number of students are registered in
  the HIA program.

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Program G AfterGOAL 1 The program will
maintain adequate enrollment.

• Standards
• A. A minimum number of 12 students will be
  enrolled in each phase of the program.

• Evaluation Methods
• A. Registration Records.

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Program Evaluation

• Goals are the basis for program planning,
  evaluation and implementation.
• Program evaluation is the plan for how the
  program will achieve its goals.
• When a program is meeting its goals, evaluation
  provides quality monitoring and improvement.
• When a program is not meeting its goals, it may
  call for a change of plan.

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Conclusions

• Goals describe the purpose of the program. They
  are required to meet four major areas.
• Standards (Target Outcomes) describe the
  observable, measurable outcomes that will
  indicate if the program is meeting its goals.
• Evaluation methods describe how the standards
  will be measured.
• .

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Questions?

• Please email
• pat.hertel_at_ahima.org
• Thank you!