Evaluation of a concept-based curriculum: A tool and process

• Literature lacks a specific tool or process to evaluate concept-based curricula
• Developed an ongoing process and tool to evaluate concept-based curricula
• Benefits include a comprehensive evaluation and the reduction of curriculum drift
• Early implementation ensures areas needing improvement can be corrected quickly
• Documentation serves as historical record to engage faculty in curricular change

Nursing education has heeded the calls of health experts, revising nursing curricula to move from a content focus to a conceptual model that emphasizes the learning process and evidence-based pedagogy. Little has been published about processes appropriate for evaluation of this new curriculum model. This paper describes the comprehensive evaluation process of a concept-based, pre-licensure nursing curriculum and the tool used for documentation. Benefits and drawbacks of the process and tool are shared.