Health Information Technology

Assessment Plan

All accredited Associate level HIT programs transitioned to new CAHIIM approved competencies Fall 2021. In preparation for this change, the WSU HIT program implemented the new competencies and mapped to the WSU HIT Curriculum Fall 2020. The HIT competencies are course-based and are reported to the CAHIIM accrediting body annually through the Annual Program Assessment Report (APAR).
Competencies are also evaluated by the HIM Advisory board to meet current HIM industry needs. For the 2021-2022 year, data was collected on all CAHIIM Domains to establish a threshold for acceptable target performance. The data was then evaluated by the HIM faculty. Follow up/Closing the Loop was conducted by the HIM Program Director and HIM Advisory board for review of assessment.

Goals	Outcomes	Evaluation Methods
HIT graduates will demonstrate HIM entry-level competencies.	A. Eighty percent of all HIT students will complete a mock RHIT exam with a score of 73% or higher.	Annual review of the RHIT mock exam will be conducted to analyze student performance in each knowledge area in comparison with overall performance.
	B. Eighty percent or more of the subject areas of the graduate survey will show that instruction was satisfactory.	Detailed graduate surveys are conducted annually and the results are analyzed and shared with the HIM Advisory committee.
	C. An employer survey will be conducted annually to examine the entry-level satisfaction of HIM graduate's competencies. It evaluates HIT graduates working level, overall satisfaction, and provides an opportunity for community members to suggest HIT areas of concern or additions to the curriculum.	Employer and practicum preceptor surveys are conducted annually by the HIM program director. The results are shared with HIM faculty and HIM Advisory committee.
The HIT curriculum will include, at minimum, the required AHIMA entry-level competencies taught at appropriate Bloom's taxonomy level.	A. Annually the HIT/HIM faculty will conduct an analysis of the HIT curriculum to ensure that all entry-level competencies are being covered throughout the program.	The program director will schedule a meeting with HIM faculty annually Fall semester. The curriculum data (assignments and learning activities) are assessed for coverage of the AHIMA Associate Degree Entry Level curricular competencies at appropriate Bloom's taxonomy level.

Assessment Report Submissions
- 2021-2022
- 2019-2020
  1) First year student success is critical to WSU’s retention and graduation efforts. We are interested in finding out how departments support their first-year students. Do you have mechanisms and processes in place to identify, meet with, and support first-year students? Please provide a brief narrative focusing on your program’s support of new students:
  - Any first-year students taking courses in your program(s).
    
    As a student applies to our program in their freshman year, an adviser is assigned to them. At this time, students are provided a degree map that outlines the course sequencing. Students are encouraged to meet with their adviser or other HIM faculty with questions.
  - Students declared in your program(s), whether or not they are taking courses in your program(s)
    
    Each fall a list of declared HIT students is generated. Faculty advisers reach out by email to all students regarding status in HIT program. Their progress toward completion of the degree is assessed and appropriate advisement is given.
  2) A key component of sound assessment practice is the process of ‘closing the loop’ – that is, following up on changes implemented as a response to your assessment findings, to determine the impact of those changes/innovations. It is also an aspect of assessment on which we need to improve, as suggested in our NWCCU mid-cycle report. Please describe the processes your program has in place to ‘close the loop’.
  - We report to the HIT advisory committee and CAHIIM accreditation the results of our assessment processes annually. As part of this process, curricular items below threshold will be followed by program director to ensure changes have been implemented. Other program measures are monitored closely for measured targeted outcomes achievement and appropriate actions taken as necessary by program faculty.
  The full report is available for viewing.
- 2017
  1) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
  - Ongoing changes are being made to course curriculum. The annual assessment process has led to meaningful discussions among faculty regarding innovative methods of instruction and consistencies across the program.
  2) We are interested in better understanding how departments/programs assess their graduating seniors or graduate students. Please provide a short narrative describing the practices/curriculum in place for your department/program. Please include both direct and indirect measures employed. Finally, what were your findings from this past year’s graduates?
  
  The full report is available for viewing.
- 2016
  1) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
  - Program faculty has adopted the recommend action for each of the courses assessed. Implementation of the recommendations will occur over for the next semester that the course is taught. In addition, productive conversation has evolved around overall course improvement and adaptation to the increased demands of the online environment. Increase collaboration is occurring regarding the curriculum within the program. Also, faculty “leads” will be assigned to coordinate each course.
  2) Are there assessment strategies within your department or program that you feel are particularly effective and/or innovative? If so, what are those strategies and what do you learn about your students by using them?
  - We believe that the results of the RHIT certification examination are the most effective measure of our program outcomes. This past year we had 100% of our program graduates pass this certification examination through the first three quarters of the year (fourth quarter has not been received to date). In addition, these graduates scored at or above the national average in all domain areas.
  The full report is available for viewing.
- 2015
  1) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
  - Program faculty has adopted the recommend action for each of the courses assessed. Implementation of the recommendations will occur over for the next semester that the course is taught. In addition, productive conversation has evolved around overall course improvement and adaptation to the increased demands of the online environment. Increase collaboration is occurring regarding the curriculum within the program. Also, faculty “leads” will be assigned to coordinate each course.
  2) Are there assessment strategies within your department or program that you feel are particularly effective and/or innovative? If so, what are those strategies and what do you learn about your students by using them?
  - We believe that the results of the RHIT certification examination are the most effective measure of our program outcomes. This past year we had 100% of our program graduates pass this certification examination. In addition, these graduates scored at or above the national average in all domain areas.
  The full report is available for viewing.
- 2014
  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?
  - The HIT AAS Degree program has benefitted from strong evidence of student learning on certification examinations results in recent years. This year’s results are a reflection of curricular changes that we have made in the past few years. Discussions with our program advisory committee assist the program in identification of needed skills, tasks and abilities that seem to also impact results on the certification exam
  - Graduates on exit (the year they completed) and 1-year later have consistently rated our program above average in preparing them for entry-level HIM positions and providing a quality curriculum.
  - We need to work harder on getting survey responses from our graduates and their employers so that we can make informed decisions on changes or new directions for our curriculum from these groups. The feedback that we have received was positive for this group of students.
  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?
  - All program assessment activities are shared with the program advisory committee, posted on our program website for the community at large, and reported to the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), our accrediting body.
  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
  - The faculty feel that our HIT program consists of strong curriculum but our industry is in a continual state of change and we always have room to improve. The program will be adding more hands on practical skill activities using an Electronic Health Record during the current academic year. In addition, we are working diligently to improve response rates on all program evaluation surveys.
  The full report is available for viewing
- 2013
  1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?
  - The HIT AAS Degree program has benefited from strong evidence of student learning on certification examinations results in recent years. We have experienced RHIT certification examination results above our 80% threshold, but this has been up and down over the last 4 years; 83% 2009-10; 100% 2010-11; 86% 2011-12; and 100% 2012-13. In 2011-12 a new test blueprint was launched and many content areas changed so the program reacted to the drop in pass rates and made some curricular changes to better match the test blueprint which appears to have been successful. Over the past 4 years the content areas that our graduate score under the national average in changes and there does not appear to be a consistent low in any one area. This is evidence of a very dynamic industry. Discussions with our program advisory committee assist the program in identification of needed skills, tasks and abilities that seem to also impact results on the certification exam.
  - Graduates on exit (the year they completed) and 1-year later have consistently rated our program above average in preparing them for entry-level HIM positions and providing a quality curriculum.
  - This is the first year, we have asked employers to rate graduate competency at the certification examination domain level. Adding this level of granularity has provided the program with valuable information on graduate skills. Competency of graduates by employers has been rated above average using a 4-point scale however there is room for improvement.
  2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?
  - All program assessment activities are shared with the program advisory committee, posted on our program website for the community at large, and reported to the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), our accrediting body.
  3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
  - The faculty feel that our HIT program consists of strong curriculum but our industry is in a continual state of change and we always have room to improve. The program will be looking at our practical skill develop activities to see what we can do to improve them in the coming year. In addition, we are working diligently to improve response rates on all program evaluation surveys.
  The full report is available upon request.
Program Review

This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.