Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 61

Internet Learning
with a 94% graduation rate and a first-time
NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination)
pass rate consistently over 90%
for new nurse graduates entering the nursing
field. The New America Foundation,
based in Washington, DC, has honored by
UT Arlington as a Next Generation University,
in part, for its success with online
degree programs. More than 10,000 students
were enrolled in online classes and
degree programs in Fall 2013.
The College of Nursing began its
development of high-volume, online programs
in 2008 when it offered the university’s
first Academic Partnership degree-granting
option – an RN-to-BSN
completion program. Prior to the initiation
of this program in 2008, the College
of Nursing graduated approximately 100
RN-to-BSN completion students per year.
In the 2012–2013 academic year, 1,746 students
graduated from that program. This
is the power of a dynamic, online program
designed to be accessible and affordable.
MOOC Development: Purpose, Audience,
and Objectives
After monitoring the expansion of
MOOCs into higher education, in the summer
of 2013, the University, the College of
Nursing, and Academic Partnerships – a
Dallas-based organization that assists universities
to develop and offer scalable online
programs – designed the university’s first
MOOC. The MOOC movement provided
UT Arlington and its partner, Academic
Partnerships, an opportunity to expand the
online RN-to-BSN program through what
is called a MOOC2Degree initiative. It was
determined that this MOOC would be specifically
designed to:
• Provide potential students with the
ability to “Test Drive” UTACON’s Academic
Partnership RN-to-BSN program.
This would ultimately lead to increased
student enrollment.
• Provide a seamless process for awarding
academic credit for students who
complete the MOOC and enroll in the
online RN-to-BSN program (this would
help streamline the enrollment process
for students).
• Provide continuing professional education
to nurses in a key area within the
healthcare field.
• Expand our brand and reputation as a
leader in nursing education.
• Provide a community service by offering
access to important information to
nonnurse healthcare providers and the
general public with the opportunity to
receive a certificate of completion.
Instructional Design
This MOOC was designed specifically
to achieve its articulated purposes.
This started with the selection of the
MOOC topic. The topic is important to
practicing nurses and other healthcare professionals
as well as one where there was an
adequate amount of available open-access
material to use for learning. The MOOC
was entitled “Enhancing Patient Safety
through Interprofessional Collaborative
Practice” and was designed to be completed
in six weeks with the seventh week open
for those learners who wished to take the
proctored final examination.
As the primary intent of the course
was to allow students to “Test Drive” online
education, no payment was required until
course completion when the learner decided
on his or her desired endpoint – credit
toward a required course in the RN-to-BSN
program or Continuing Education Units
(CEU) credit. Consistent with the core belief
of open access in MOOCs, the costs to
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