title: Assessing and maintaining quality and rigor in an online DNP program.
abstract: Although the number and diversity of online programs in graduate nursing education have proliferated, they have often outpaced the development of evaluation methods to ensure the quality of those offerings. Questions surrounding rigor remain, particularly with postmaster's programs and students without advanced practice degrees. In this article, the authors explore the issue of rigor and describe some methods used to ensure rigor in a new DNP program conveyed to an online audience.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Associate Professor (Dr Pappas-Rogich), Director and Professor, Graduate Programs in Nursing (Dr Gehrling), School of Nursing, Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pappas-Rogich
authors.forename: Karen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Gehrling
mesh_terms: D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000592:standards*; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking