| Course | NU 635 Curriculum Development and Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Program outcomes framework |
| Length | About 590 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MSN Nurse Educator |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU 635 Unit 2
End-of-Program Outcomes for an Online RN-to-BSN Program: Seven Outcomes, Each With the Evidence That Would Demonstrate It
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NU 635: Curriculum Development and Evaluation
Instructor Name
January 30, 2026
End-of-Program Outcomes for an Online RN-to-BSN Program: Seven Outcomes, Each With the Evidence That Would Demonstrate It
Purpose and Rules
These outcomes describe what a graduate of the composite online RN-to-BSN program will be able to do at the end of the program. They follow from the program's philosophy, which commits the curriculum to population health, leadership, evidence-based practice, and learning grounded in the student's own workplace, and they are aligned with the domains of the national competencies for professional nursing education (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2021).
Three rules governed the writing. Each outcome is stated as something a graduate does, not something the program provides. Each uses a verb that an evaluator can observe in a product or performance, chosen at a level of the revised taxonomy suited to baccalaureate practice (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001), mostly applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. And each is paired with the evidence that would show it has been achieved, so that the outcome can be assessed rather than only stated. Accreditors expect programs to identify expected outcomes and to show evidence that they are achieved (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education [CCNE], 2018).
The Outcomes
The graduate will be able to:
| No. | Outcome | Essentials domain | Evidence that would demonstrate it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Analyze the health of a defined population in the graduate's own community using public data and local observation, and propose a nursing intervention | Population health | Community assessment and intervention proposal, scored with the program rubric |
| 2 | Appraise research evidence on a practice question and recommend a change supported by the evidence | Scholarship for nursing practice | Evidence appraisal paper with recommendation |
| 3 | Lead a small quality improvement project in the graduate's workplace, using a recognized improvement model and measuring results | Quality and safety | Improvement project report with data and a manager's attestation |
| 4 | Coordinate care for a patient moving between settings, identifying gaps and communicating across the care team | Person-centered care; interprofessional partnerships | Care transition case analysis and communication plan |
| 5 | Evaluate how a health policy or payment rule affects nursing practice and patients in rural settings | Systems-based practice | Policy brief addressed to a named decision maker |
| 6 | Use health information technology and data to monitor a patient outcome and identify a safety concern | Informatics and healthcare technologies | Data display and interpretation from the graduate's workplace, de-identified |
| 7 | Create a professional development plan that reflects on the graduate's practice and sets goals for leadership | Personal, professional, and leadership development | Capstone portfolio with reflective essay and plan |
Why the Verbs Were Chosen
The verbs were chosen for what they allow evaluators to see. "Analyze," "appraise," and "evaluate" require a product showing reasoning, such as a paper or brief, which can be scored with a rubric. "Lead" and "coordinate" require evidence of action, which is why outcomes 3 and 4 depend on work in the graduate's own workplace. Verbs that describe internal states, such as "understand," "appreciate," or "value," were rejected, because no evaluator can observe them directly. "Demonstrate professionalism" was considered and rejected as too broad to assess; outcome 7 replaces it with a product that can be read and judged.
Outcomes Versus Course Objectives
Program outcomes describe the graduate at the end; course objectives describe what a student can do at the end of one course, and they are more numerous and more specific. For example, the community health course has an objective that students "calculate and interpret incidence and prevalence for a condition in their county," which is one step toward outcome 1 but is not the outcome itself. Keeping the two levels separate prevents the program outcomes from swelling into a list of everything taught, and it allows the curriculum map to show which courses build toward each outcome and where each is finally assessed.
What Was Left Out, and Why
Two possible outcomes were deliberately omitted. An outcome on clinical skills was left out because students are licensed registered nurses whose clinical competence is established by licensure and employment; the program builds on it rather than re-teaching it. An outcome on teaching patients was folded into outcome 4, since patient education in this program is assessed as part of care coordination. Seven outcomes is a deliberate limit: each must be assessed at least once near the end of the program, and more would spread the capstone evidence too thin.
How Achievement Will Be Judged
Each outcome is assessed in a designated final course using a program-wide rubric with four levels. The program's target is that at least 85% of graduates reach the proficient level on each outcome. Outcomes 3 and 4 will also be checked through the one-year graduate and employer survey, which asks whether graduates have led an improvement project or coordinated a complex transition since graduating, because the philosophy commits the program to judging itself by practice, not only by grades.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. (2018). Standards for accreditation of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs (Amended 2018). Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
NU 635 Unit 2 instructions, in plain terms
In Unit 2 you write end-of-program outcomes for a nursing curriculum. Expect to state each outcome as an observable graduate performance, align outcomes with professional standards such as the AACN Essentials, explain the verbs chosen, distinguish program outcomes from course objectives and describe how achievement will be measured. Many versions ask for five to eight outcomes. Check whether your section wants outcomes for a real program or a composite. Outcomes should describe the graduate, not the curriculum, so write the graduate will be able to rather than the program will provide. Explain what you omitted and why, because a deliberate boundary shows judgment. Each outcome needs evidence that could show it was met, such as a capstone product.
How this NU 635 Unit 2 example is built
The framework opens with its rules, which lets the grader check each outcome against them. The outcomes are numbered and each begins with an observable verb, followed by the evidence that would show it. A section explains verb choice with reference to the revised taxonomy, showing the outcomes aim at analysis and evaluation rather than recall. The outcomes-versus-objectives section is short and clear, explaining that course objectives build toward outcomes over several courses. The omissions section justifies leaving out clinical skills and a separate technology outcome. The achievement section names the course where each outcome is assessed, the rubric levels and the program target. Each choice connects to the AACN Essentials and CCNE expectations for outcome assessment.
Where the points sit in the NU 635 Unit 2 rubric
Herzing's rubric for an outcomes framework typically scores the measurability of outcomes, alignment with professional standards, the appropriateness of level and scope, the distinction from course objectives, the assessment plan and writing. Measurability gets the closest reading: each outcome needs an observable verb and a single performance a reviewer could see in student work. Alignment points require specific links to Essentials domains rather than a general claim. Level and scope criteria look for outcomes suited to baccalaureate graduates. The assessment plan earns credit when each outcome has a course, a measure and a target. Explaining omissions may be credited within scope. The APA 7 list should include Anderson and Krathwohl and the CCNE accreditation standards.
NU 635 Unit 2 help before you submit
Outcome frameworks in Unit 2 commonly lose points through verbs that cannot be observed, such as understand or appreciate. Another frequent problem is outcomes that bundle several performances, which makes assessment unclear. Students often write outcomes describing what the program provides rather than what graduates do. Course objectives creep into the list. Alignment with the Essentials is claimed but not shown domain by domain. The assessment plan is missing or vague. Some frameworks list a dozen or more outcomes, too many to assess well. Finally, explain any deliberate omissions, because graders reward a framework that shows why it does not cover everything rather than one that tries to.
Get a NU 635 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 2 instructions and the rubric from your NU 635 classroom, along with the program level and any professional expectations it must answer to. We write a custom example with outcomes phrased as graduate behavior, compound statements split, evidence named and origins cited. Turnaround is 24 to 48 hours and the first custom sample costs nothing.
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NU 635 Unit 2 questions, answered
How many outcomes belong in the framework?
Enough to cover the credential and few enough to map, which in most nursing programs falls between six and ten. A long list fragments into course objectives and forces a map nobody maintains, while three broad statements hide the differences between courses. Whatever number the instructions permit, defend it in a sentence or two and say what you folded together to arrive there.
Can course objectives appear in the same document?
Only if the instructions ask for both, and then they need visible separation. Exit outcomes describe the graduate; course objectives describe what one course delivers toward them, and the relationship is many to one. Papers that interleave the two make the later mapping impossible to read, because a grader cannot tell whether a row is a promise about the program or about a single course.
Do the outcomes have to match a professional body?
They generally have to be defensible against one, which is not the same as reproducing its language. Cite the expectations you are answering to, then write outcomes in the program's own voice and show where the two correspond. A framework quoting an external set verbatim looks compliant and tells a reader nothing about what makes this particular program's graduates distinct.
Where can I find a free NU 635 Unit 2 sample paper?
Read the complete NU 635 Unit 2 outcomes framework here at no charge, seven outcomes with their evidence, verb rationale and assessment plan. A custom framework can be written for your own program level and standards.
How many program outcomes should a nursing curriculum have?
Usually five to eight, enough to cover the Essentials domains without being impossible to assess. This sample uses seven, each with one observable performance and a designated course where it is measured.