Running head: PROPOSAL OUTLINE 1

Jeni Dulek

Trevecca Nazarene University

Winter 2019

LaMetrius Daniels

Enrolled September 2017

Using Curriculum Mapping to Guide Course Revision in an Accredited OTA Program

Project Description

My project is to organize and lead a curriculum mapping process with faculty in an

accredited occupational therapy assistant (OTA) program in order to prepare for an upcoming

accreditation visit from the Accreditation Council on Occupational Therapy Education

(ACOTE). The deliverables for this project include, but are not limited to: a curriculum map

with current and recommended placement of instruction-related ACOTE standards, a list of

recommended changes to instructional methods/materials and evaluation tools, and an outline of

ongoing processes for faculty to maintain an updated curriculum map. Should the need arise,

new or revised syllabi, correspondence with ACOTE, and other items may also be included as

deliverables.

While I will be leading the project, other resources and individuals will be available to me

during the process. The project will involve the OTA faculty, who are subject matter experts on

the courses that they have designed and taught. The institution’s Director of Curriculum and

Instruction and the Director of Accreditation will serve both as subject matter experts in

curriculum design and accreditation, and my former Program Director and mentor is an

occupational therapist who is knowledgeable about ACOTE standards and curriculum design.

We will rely on the work done previously to map the curriculum, and will revise and build on

this as needed. Ultimately, the Program Director who is hired into my position (as I have

resigned and will be leaving the institution in January) will also benefit and partner with me in

this process as well. Because of this and the upcoming accreditation visit, the goal is to have

completed the curriculum mapping and identify all resulting recommended course revisions by

mid-January 2019. The curriculum will then need to be revised over the next six months, and the
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updated curriculum map and all associated instructional materials and assessments will be

submitted to ACOTE by June 2019 by the new Program Director.

Capstone Problem or Rationale

The purpose of this project is to prepare the OTA program for their upcoming

accreditation site visit and to improve the education being provided to students within the

program (Zelenitsky et al., 2014). The program was initially accredited in 2014, and is due for a

reaccreditation visit from ACOTE in the 2019-2020 academic year. During the initial curriculum

development process, the curriculum was mapped to all instruction-related ACOTE standards,

and the current map was submitted to ACOTE with the expectation that the curriculum as it is

taught must align with that initial map. As the program has developed, courses have been further

refined but no further mapping or confirmation has been done, which leads to the possibility that

required instructional standards are not adequately taught or assessed as the map identifies. At

this time, a curriculum mapping process is required in order to compare the current curriculum

map to actual course design to ensure that instruction and assessment methods align with

required accreditation standards.

Engaging faculty in this process will involve and benefit multiple stakeholders within the

institution. The process of creating a new curriculum map will help to identify gaps in

instruction and assessment, which will then lead to an improved curriculum and educational

process within the program. This will primarily benefit students but in turn will also benefit the

program faculty and administrators, as program outcomes are likely to improve. Having an

improved curriculum with sound instructional and assessment methods will also help the

program demonstrate compliance with all required instructional standards set forth by ACOTE,

which may increase the likelihood of a successful reaccreditation visit. This may lead to an
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increased length of time that the program is awarded accreditation (which usually ranges from

five to ten years), decreasing institutional costs associated with the reaccreditation process.

Project Goal or Objectives

The objectives for the completion of this project are as follows:

1. Guide preparation for the program’s upcoming accreditation visit by ensuring that the

curriculum adequately addresses all instruction-related ACOTE standards.

Results: Program faculty will be more aware of the accreditation standards and therefore

more able to ensure that they are addressed within the curriculum. The Program Director

will have documents to work from in order to prepare the accreditation self-study for the

ACOTE visit.

Benefits: This preparation and resulting readiness will increase the likelihood of a

successful reaccreditation visit.

2. Identify ACOTE instructional standards not currently taught or assessed, and design a

plan to address these in the curriculum.

Results: Faculty and Program Director will be able to address any identified gaps in the

curriculum prior to the accreditation visit.

Benefits: This decreases the likelihood that gaps will be identified by accreditors and

therefore documented as deficiencies during the accreditation site visit.

3. Identify and recommend teaching and assessment methods that will enhance or improve

the current curriculum.

Results: Faculty and Program Director will be aware of new methods to teach and assess

required content.
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Benefits: The curriculum will be more robust and the program will be able to

demonstrate compliance with all instruction-related accreditation standards.

4. Educate OTA program faculty on curriculum mapping, instruction, and assessment

processes for future use.

Results: OTA faculty and Program Director will be aware of the need for ongoing

attention to the curriculum map, placement of standards, and instruction and assessment

processes, and will have a plan for compliance beyond the upcoming accreditation visit.

Benefits: The program will remain in compliance with accreditation standards

throughout the accreditation cycle, and will avoid having to go through such an intensive

process in the future when preparing for an accreditation site visit.

Settings

This project will be completed in the context of a healthcare-focused career college and

within an Associate-level OTA Program. The College includes a Director of Curriculum and

Instruction and a Director of Accreditation, both of whom are involved in oversight of the

curriculum and accreditation, though the primary duties for both tasks fall to the OTA Program

Director. Some of the project will be completed face-to-face via meetings with these

stakeholders and with program faculty, while some of the project can be completed virtually via

shared online documents, email, text, and phone.

Evaluation Plan

The primary assessment of this project will be ACOTE’s approval of all instruction-

related accreditation standards via the self-study and site-visit processes. However, there will be

other ways of evaluating the project as it progresses:

1. Subjective feedback from Program Director, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and

Director of Accreditation regarding the completed curriculum map.

2. Subjective feedback from Program Director and OTA faculty regarding usefulness of the

resulting recommendation list.

3. Objective feedback from faculty regarding intention to implement recommendations

resulting from the curriculum mapping process.

4. Objective feedback from faculty regarding intention to comply with processes designed

for future compliance with all instruction-related accreditation standards.

Project Schedule

In producing my project, I worked according to the following timeline:

• 11/28/18 - 11/29/18: Hold faculty meeting/retreat

o Discuss purpose of accreditation standards and link to courses and curriculum

o Review current curriculum map

o Discuss curriculum mapping process and responsibilities

• 11/29/18: Create shared spreadsheet to function as curriculum map

• 11/30/18: Insert current curriculum map info into spreadsheet

• 11/30/18 - 12/18/18: Map and assign standards

o Assign individual standards to faculty to address on the curriculum map

o Complete updated assignment of standards to courses

• 12/18/18: Prepare for collection of instruction and evaluation tools

o Create folders on shared drive for instruction and evaluation tools

o Inform faculty of file-saving procedures

• 12/18/18 - 1/14/19: Address instruction and evaluation tools in updated map, and collect

them to the shared drive

o Complete identification of instruction tools for each standard

o Complete identification of evaluation tools for each standard

o Collect instruction and evaluation Tools for Submission

o Remind faculty of tool collection

• 1/14/19: Complete collection of instruction and evaluation tools

• 1/21/19: Identify and distribute accreditation recommendations

o Review completed curriculum map

o Complete list of recommendations

o Provide list of recommendations to Program Director

Reference

Zelenitsky, S., Vercaigne, L., Davies, N. M., Davis, C., Renaud, R., & Kristjanson, C. (2014).

Using curriculum mapping to engage faculty members in the analysis of a pharmacy

program. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(7), 1–9.