Educational Outcomes
Educational outcomes are an important component of academic program quality. Accrediting organizations such as the Council on Chiropractic Education (C.C.E.) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (S.A.C.S.) require evidence of institutional outcomes in their criteria for accreditation. Learning outcomes focus on what graduates are able to do supported by evidence demonstrating these abilities. Texas Chiropractic College utilizes a number of benchmarks of educational outcomes including: student perceptions of their ability to perform C.C.E. and college clinical competencies, student performance on the Clinical Skills Competency Examination, performance on parts I through IV of the National Board Examinations, and successful attainment of chiropractic licensure in the State of Texas.
Planning for the 21st Century TCC Graduate
Since 2006, Texas Chiropractic College has developed a pair of documents which had laid the path for curriculum enhancement as the school enters its second century. The first document is “The TCC Graduate: an Educational Blueprint for the 21st Century.” TCC Graduate Project was initiated in response to a charge by the TCC Curriculum Committee to identify the essential abilities of graduates to practice effectively in a changing health care environment. Research for this study resulted in the addition of 11 competencies being developed, beyond those required by the Council on Chiropractic Education, which help assure that the TCC Graduate Doctor of Chiropractic is capable of navigating the changing health care environment.
As part of the accreditation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, TCC additionally developed a quality enhancement plan to improve teaching and student learning outcomes in clinical reasoning. The topic was chosen based on input from students, faculty, the President’s Cabinet, the Board of Regents and college alumni; institutional objectives set forth in the TCC Graduate document; and student performance on both internal and independent external examinations. The QEP title is “From Student to Clinician: Enhancing Clinical Reasoning Across the Curriculum.”
Teaching strategies to enhance clinical reasoning are being integrated into courses by means of standardized patients, case-based learning, team-based learning, faculty modeling, SNAPPS, reflective practice and electronic real-time student feedback. Pilot courses were implemented in Summer 2009 and additional courses are being added to the curriculum.
Survey of TCC Alumni, Employment Status Comparison
In spring 2008, the Department of Institutional Research surveyed its alumni regarding their employment status in the first year following their graduation fro TCC. The survey discovered that 58% of the 282 respondents were associates in their first year, and an additional 32% owned their own practice. Alumni also responded on areas pertaining to job and education satisfaction, including the preparatory education they received at TCC (i.e. case management, technique, and emergency care). A summary of the survey is illustrated in the graph below, with the blue bar representing all respondants, the purple representing alumni who graduated from 1990-2008, and the yellow representing alumni who graduated from 2000-spring 2008. Complete survey results are available here.
|
ALL
|
1990-2008
|
2000-08
|
1 - I'm a Practice Owner
|
32%
|
29%
|
28%
|
2 - I'm a Chiropractic Associate
|
58%
|
60%
|
59% |
3 - Asso. 1yr to Employment
|
45%
|
51%
|
59%
|
4 - Owner 1yr to Ownership
|
35%
|
28%
|
28%
|
5 - My Position Satisfaction (agree/strongly agree)
|
69%
|
66%
|
68%
|
| 6 - My TCC Educ. Satisfaction (agree/strongly agree) |
67% |
60%
|
56%
|
National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Performance
As a part of the educational experience and as required by most states for jurisdictional licensure, TCC students participate in a series of examinations administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. These exams are divided into four parts beginning with knowledge in the basic sciences and ending with evaluation of practical clinical knowledge and skill.
Historically, the curricular sequence at TCC did not directly parallel the topics tested on the National Board examinations. This resulted in poorer than desired performance by some students on these exams. Recent changes in course sequencing as well as new policies for qualifying students to participate in the National Board process has yielded improved scores.
An internal study has shown that TCC students that maintain at least a 2.75 GPA and remain in good academic standing have a first time success rate of between 88% and 94% on Parts I, II and III of the National Board examinations.
TCC's Performance on NBCE Examination
| PART I |
| TCC Data |
All
Colleges
|
| Date |
# Tested |
Pass |
% Pass |
Fall 2011
|
30 |
20 |
67% |
74% |
| Spr 2011 |
49 |
32 |
65% |
75% |
| Fall 2010 |
19 |
10 |
53% |
74% |
| Spr 2010 |
40 |
24 |
60% |
74% |
| 2-Yr Total |
138 |
86 |
62% |
74% |
| Part I - Pass Rates By Subject |
|
Fall 2011
|
Spring 2011
|
Fall 2010
|
Spring 2010
|
|
TCC |
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
| General Anatomy |
73%
|
89%
|
76%
|
89%
|
74%
|
90%
|
75%
|
88%
|
| Spinal Anatomy |
80% |
89%
|
88%
|
89%
|
74%
|
89%
|
85%
|
90%
|
| Physiology |
83% |
89%
|
78%
|
89%
|
58%
|
90%
|
83%
|
89%
|
| Chemistry |
93% |
89% |
86%
|
91%
|
74%
|
89%
|
90%
|
89%
|
| Pathology |
97% |
90% |
92%
|
91%
|
84%
|
90%
|
98%
|
89%
|
| Microbiology |
93% |
89% |
92%
|
90%
|
84%
|
88%
|
95%
|
89%
|
PART II
|
| TCC Data |
All
Colleges
|
| Date |
# Tested |
Pass |
% Pass |
| Fall 2011 |
26 |
16 |
62% |
74% |
| Spr 2011 |
43 |
28 |
65% |
73% |
| Fall 2010 |
28 |
18 |
64% |
71% |
| Spr 2010 |
54 |
34 |
63% |
74% |
| 2-Yr Total |
151 |
94 |
62% |
73% |
| Part II - Pass Rates By Subject |
|
Spring 2011
|
Fall 2010
|
Spring 2010
|
Fall 2009
|
|
TCC |
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
TCC
|
All Colleges
|
| General Diagnosis |
88% |
90%
|
86%
|
89%
|
79%
|
90%
|
92%
|
90%
|
| Neuromusculoskeletal Diagnosis |
83% |
89%
|
86%
|
89%
|
87%
|
91%
|
92%
|
91%
|
| Diagnostic Imaging |
83% |
90%
|
79%
|
87%
|
83%
|
90%
|
92%
|
91%
|
| Principles of Chiropractic |
83% |
89%
|
75%
|
87%
|
81%
|
89%
|
73%
|
90%
|
| Chiropractic Practice |
69% |
88%
|
93%
|
89%
|
87%
|
89%
|
62%
|
90%
|
| Associated Clinical Sciences |
88% |
89%
|
89%
|
90%
|
80%
|
90%
|
85%
|
89%
|
| PART III |
| TCC Data |
All
Colleges
|
| Date |
# Tested |
Pass |
% Pass |
| Fall 2011 |
28 |
19 |
68% |
80% |
| Spr 2011 |
37 |
30 |
81% |
82% |
| Fall 2010 |
30 |
20 |
67% |
80% |
| Spr 2010 |
51 |
36 |
71% |
82% |
| 2-Yr Total |
142 |
103 |
73% |
82% |
| PART IV |
| TCC Data |
All
Colleges
|
| Date |
# Tested |
Pass |
% Pass |
|
Spr 2011
|
26
|
11
|
39%
|
87%
|
Fall 2010
|
49 |
31
|
63% |
88%
|
Spr 2010
|
31 |
20
|
65% |
90%
|
|
Fall 2009
|
39
|
34
|
87%
|
95%
|
| 2-Yr Total |
145
|
95
|
66%
|
90%
|
| PHYSIOTHERAPY |
| TCC Data |
All
Colleges
|
| Date |
# Tested |
Pass |
% Pass |
| Fall 2011 |
32 |
22 |
69% |
89% |
| Spr 2011 |
46 |
41 |
89% |
90% |
| Fall 2010 |
31 |
27 |
87% |
88% |
| Spr 2010 |
49 |
41 |
84% |
90% |
| 2-Yr Total |
158 |
136 |
83% |
89% |