Effect of External Factors on Curriculum Design NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 2 Course Development and Influencing Factors
External factors are those factors that affect curriculum development based on its environment and outside the frame of an academic institute. The external factors include financial stakeholders, community and demographics, political framework, accreditation bodies, the healthcare needs of people, the need for the course, and academic settings. The demographics of the population affect the curriculum design such as age, gender, socio-economic status, education level, etc. This information identifies the characteristics of learners and the curriculum is designed based on these characteristics and requirements. The Census Bureau of the US has provided demographic statistics which help in designing an effective curriculum. Identification of features of academic settings allows the institutes to compare their characteristics with others such as the course cost, admission rate and retention ratio, rate of employment, and reputation. This comparison allows the institutes to develop the most successful design of the courses that higher education level institutes also developed (Themes, 2017a).
The political bodies also influence curriculum design and development. For example, if the political party head has worked in the healthcare profession earlier then he will realize the importance of curriculum development and will support the curriculum that can contribute to the healthcare of people. The healthcare needs of the population also influence curriculum design. The curriculum is developed based on the gaps that are identified in healthcare and the needs of the population in healthcare (Nevenglosky et al., 2019). The need for the program or rationale also determines the design of the curriculum. The faculty will assess the need for the course based on the number of students selecting the course and the need for the nurses in an organization and then will develop the curriculum.
NURS FPX 6107 Assessment 2 Course Development and Influencing Factors
The accreditation bodies have a significant impact and have the role of approval of curriculum. There are two main accreditation bodies for curriculum development in nursing which include Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) (Pullen, 2022). ACEN approves curricula relevant to the master, doctorate, baccalaureate, diploma, and practical study programs for nursing. While CCNE approves the higher degrees curriculum and baccalaureate programs. American Associate College of Nursing (AACN) has also provided guidelines and standards for nursing programs. All these accreditation bodies need to approve a particular curriculum development (Poortaghi et al., 2020).
The finance stakeholders have an important role in designing nursing education curricula. The financial administration allocates special resources for course design and implementation. The faculty should assess the economic status of the institute and then design the curriculum based on economic stability. If advanced concepts are being introduced in the curriculum and enough resources are present then it will strengthen the design and development of the curriculum. To sum up, external factors determine the possibility of the development and implementation of a curriculum for nursing students (Mississippi College, 2020).