Baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses (RNs) are poised for leadership in health care. The recent call by professional organizations for nurses to be educated and to practice at the extent of their education has led to a dramatic increase in the number of bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) programs and, consequently, BSN graduates.1-3 The National League for Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), American Nurses Association, and American Organization of Nurse Executives have called for an increase in enrollment of RNs in BSN programs and also for nurse educators to work with clinical partners to develop innovative ways to advance the number of RNs with BSN preparation.3

To meet this need, a Midwest consortium consisting of 8 campuses created an online RN-to-BSN program. The program has been widely successful and has embraced an innovative curriculum based on the use of electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) for documentation of student assignments and learning, overall program evaluation, and student professional development. The intent of the consortium was to pool educational resources and to revitalize and offer the existing RN-to-BSN program statewide to meet health care providers' needs for more BSN-prepared nurses. Faculty with online educational experience met to develop an innovative learner-centered curriculum that integrated the AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice4 with a focus on the learning needs of adult learners and included experiences that were creative, flexible, and meaningful in the context of students' current practice as an RN. The program remains successful and has grown from a beginning of 50 students statewide to 700 year to date.

Uses of e-Portfolio

The e-portfolio is a key tool for the RN-to-BSN statewide program. The portfolio is housed in a learning platform and implemented on several levels. Level 1 is to demonstrate student learning and competency achievement throughout the curriculum through the completion and posting of specific assignments in each course. Level 2 is use of the e-portfolio for program evaluation through the selection of assignment artifacts in all courses in the curriculum to demonstrate student achievement of program outcomes. Level 3 is for graduates to display their academic work and learning in their pursuit of their professional career pathways.

Level 1 use-the assessment of student development and documentation of learning- entails students posting assignments that demonstrate their best work in all of their courses. Students can include audio, video, digital story applications, and other technology in their assignments in the portfolio, which appeals to the creativity and breadth of expression for the student.5 Criteria for assessment to ensure accountability and document outcomes of learning were developed and embedded within each assignment in the e-portfolio platform.6 The faculty constructed specific and detailed rubrics that mapped the competencies to each course assignment, and they evaluate the student work based on these rubrics posted in the portfolio instructions. The student engages with faculty in a feedback process that involves reflection and further development for the student until achieving competency for the assignment, specific course competency, and/or specific program outcomes that the completion of the assignment exemplifies. There is ability to incorporate both audio and video feedback with the assessments in the portfolio.

Level 2 is used for program evaluation and competency achievement. There has been a substantial history of the use of portfolios, either electronic or hard copy, for the demonstration of program competencies.7 The student assignments posted to the portfolio are able to be accessed by all consortium faculty for evaluation. This faculty group compared the same assignments completed by students in different cohorts to determine consistency, quality of work, and if there needed to be changes in the assignments to better demonstrate student achievement of competency. Consortium faculty and the individual responsible for program evaluation for the school of nursing have access to all graded student work for program evaluation purposes.

It became apparent that the consortium needed an evaluation committee to accomplish program evaluation, and this was achieved by developing a subcommittee of the curriculum committee. The evaluation committee included the chairs of the curriculum committee, 1 individual responsible for program evaluation for the school of nursing, several assistant and associate deans from 3 to 4 campuses in the consortium, and the consortium director. The entire curriculum committee plus the evaluation committee reviewed all syllabi, assignments, and grading rubrics for each course and mapped the specific assignments to the program outcomes.

The curriculum committee, in conjunction with the evaluation committee, then determined which artifacts would be chosen to demonstrate achievement of the program outcomes. These artifacts were uploaded into the portfolio in a matrix/rubric pattern specifically for use by the consortium for evaluation and accreditation purposes. There was discussion regarding the convenience, transparency, and consolidation of demonstrated student learning using the e-portfolio. With caution, protocols were established to maintain student privacy in the event of using examples of student work to demonstrate to accrediting bodies student accomplishments. All identifying information was removed, and artifacts are used only if written permission was obtained from the student.

Level 3 is for use by students and graduates. The consortium wanted to establish threaded assignments throughout the curriculum that would benefit the student after graduation, reinforce reflection on nursing practice, provide a way of organizing students' accomplishments, and develop a framework for students and graduates to showcase their accomplishments. The e-portfolio allows ease of access for students and graduates who want to demonstrate their work to a potential employer. It can include artifacts such as an "About Me" page that introduces the student, a video introduction, and other items that demonstrate attributes that make the student a good fit for the position to which applying. Students also post a professional resume for presentation in a job search as well as other examples of their academic work. The e-portfolio system allows student access up to 5 years after graduation. The intent of this level of the portfolio is to help the graduate when applying for employment and to provide evidence for use in the interview process, position promotion, and clinical ladder documentation. The student pursuing graduate school also can use the portfolio as documentation for admission criteria.

Sample Artifact used for Program Evaluation

The use of paper/hardcopy portfolios has been a traditional method for students to showcase professional accomplishments and a method of evaluation of learning.8 The use of e-portfolios is a natural progression. Through the use of e-portfolios, the nurse is able to showcase evidence of professional accomplishments and technical competency.9 The evidence-based practice (EBP) project completed by students, which includes interprofessional education and other professional organizational activities, was determined to be a key artifact to demonstrate program outcomes for evaluation purposes. The use of the portfolio to demonstrate interprofessional education is particularly relevant because RN students returning for their BSNs are already involved in interprofessional practice in their clinical settings.

In the EBP project, the student used interprofessional contacts as facilitators to collaborate on work-related needs or problems that require research, a planning process and execution of the plan to resolve or address the problem identified. As teamwork is a core competency for students to develop,10 the student used professionals outside of nursing as facilitators and planners of the EBP project. The focus is a patient-centered care project that would improve patient outcomes, based on evidence to substantiate not only the problem but also the resolution, and the team to accomplish the project. Implementation of the project is not required, but many students have implemented their EBP projects with their team members after graduation. Further follow-up by the evaluation committee is planned to determine how many projects were implemented and the patient outcomes from the projects. Because of the breadth and depth of this assignment, it was considered an excellent artifact to use as a demonstration of students' achievement of program outcomes and at what levels and mastery the students were able to accomplish those outcomes. By reviewing EBP research papers across academic years and specific cohorts, the curriculum committee was able to refine assignment rubrics, which demonstrated student proficiency in writing, communicating and planning the implementation of best clinical practices.

Summary

The statewide RN-to-BSN online consortium's use of the e-portfolio to demonstrate student competency in accomplishing learning outcomes was found to be beneficial to students as well as faculty. Whether for student or program use, the ability to evaluate artifacts and house them in the e-portfolio served the consortium well for evaluation of student competency. The consortium has matured along with the impressive program expansion, which is the result of dedicated faculty staying focused on the goal of student learning. The e-portfolio is a tool that has been beneficial in this process.

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