From Competency to Assessment - Public Health Management Curriculum Development from Design to Delivery in the Online Environment

The concept of a disciplined, competency based curricula for graduate programs in public health management will be described from curriculum designer and faculty perspectives. The main purpose of reviewing program outcomes is to identify and validate the essential skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values in a discipline. This is based on real-world (employers) needs, discipline as defined by successfully performed competencies (professional organizations), standards and metrics for achievement (accreditation and licensing bodies), and vision (theory and research). This process involves three components: data gathering, gap analysis, and curriculum update.

Data gathering is most effectively accomplished by bringing together discipline experts from public health entities in a focus-group/collaborative discussion. Competencies are identified based on skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values in the public health discipline. In the gap analysis, these competencies are translated into program outcomes. These outcomes are then further articulated into course competencies which form the basis for course design and assessment strategies for learner progress. Finally, the curriculum is reviewed and updated based on learner achievement of the outcomes as evidenced by the assessment tools.

A historical perspective on designing and delivering competency-based curriculum and tracking assessments of competencies against program outcomes will be provided. Instructional designers, curriculum specialists, media specialists, subject matter experts, and instructional faculty, a true multidisciplinary team, collaborate in a virtual asynchronous process to develop courses, establish consistent content delivery across multiple instructors and assess learner outcomes. Recommendations are provided based on the authors' experiences with various curriculum development and delivery tools and processes.