UNC SON faculty to drive high-impact teaching strategies in statewide initiative

Five faculty members from UNC School of Nursing have been selected to participate in a statewide initiative to improve nursing education. This initiative aligns with recommendations from the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) to make education more affordable and accessible, enhance curriculum inclusivity, and implement evidence-based teaching strategies.

Drs. Kandyce Brennan, Stephanie Fisher, Rachel McInerney, JoAn Stanek, and Nancy Thompson will collaborate with teams across the UNC System to develop comprehensive educational resources for two foundational courses: Nursing Fundamentals and Community Health Nursing. These courses are essential and required for all pre-licensure nursing students in the state.

Kandyce Brennan, DNP, CNM

Clinical Assistant Professor

Stephanie Y. Fisher, DNP, MSN, RN

ANCC Accredited Provider Program Director & Assistant Professor

Rachel McInerney, DNP, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

Assistant Professor

JoAn Stanek, DNP, RN, MSN, ANP, CHPN

Clinical Associate Professor

Nancy Jo Thompson, DNP, MSN-Ed, RN

ABSN Program Director & Assistant Professor

Guiding Framework

Focus on two foundational courses: Nursing Fundamentals and Community Health Nursing.
Curate and develop a library of comprehensive content and digital resources to be used across the UNC System.
Increase the number of courses using rigorous, curated, open educational resources (OER).

Research shows that adopting OER significantly enhances student outcomes. It improves end-of-course grades and decreases DFW (drop, fail, withdrawal) rates, with particularly notable benefits for Pell Grant recipients. OER also increases retention rates and accelerates time-to-degree by enabling students to accumulate more course credits. Additionally, it enhances nursing student engagement, satisfaction, and success in their coursework.

Thompson and Stanek will serve as Nursing Fundamentals subject matter experts, while Brennan, Fisher, and McInerney will contribute as subject matter experts in Community Health Nursing.

The initiative builds on the success of the 2020 UNC System Digital Course Enhancement Initiative, which demonstrated the impact of OER in improving student success and retention. Redesigned courses will be available by Summer or Fall 2025, with resources housed in the UNC Open Educational Resource Commons for statewide adoption.