Chamberlain Early Assessment Program (CEAP)
The Chamberlain Early Assessment Program (CEAP) is a comprehensive assessment of academic and
nonacademic factors that are strongly associated with students’ potential for academic success and retention
in their nursing program. The CEAP is administered in class in Week 2 of the students’ first nursing course
(NR101/103/110: Transition to the Nursing Profession).
The CEAP assessment is administered via Qualtrics which allows us to automatically “pipe” in academic and
student data that has already been collected so that students are not required to fill in these data by memory.
Academic data that will auto-populate the CEAP database includes: high school and previous colleges GPAs,
previous degrees, number of college credits transferred, and A2 assessment scores.
Student demographic information, number of hours students plan to work during school, parents’ highest level
of education, impact of adverse life events, and English as a Second Language self-assessment results are
also included, as there is research supporting the potential impact of these factors on college students’
academic success and retention.
In terms of nonacademic factors, the CEAP assessment includes measures of student resilience, sense of
commitment and belonging, self-confidence, motivation for learning, learning strategies (such as critical
thinking), academic skills, and quality of school/life balance. Again, there is good support in the literature
documenting the relationships among these nonacademic factors and students’ academic success and
retention.
Components of the CEAP assessment are administered annually to each student cohort via a web survey. By
having a consistent tool used annually, CCSSM and campus leadership may better understand the impact of
the CCSSM program on both academic and nonacademic indicators over the course of the students’ program
of study.
Results of the CEAP assessment will be provided for each campus via individual student reports, individual
advisor reports (one for each student), and an aggregate campus level report for campus leadership. All
reports will be provided in pdf format and will be posted in a secure Sharepoint location with a subfolder for
each campus to access their reports. Included in student and advisor reports are hyperlinks to Focused
Activities associated with each topic area assessed in the CEAP. Further explanation and application of report
information follows on page __.
Campus leadership, faculty, and advisors may experience the CEAP assessment by clicking on the link in the
box below. Please note that no personal information is being collected with this test version!
Click on the link to experience a
test version of CEAP:
Chamberlain Early Assessment Program
(CEAP Survey) "Test" Link for Colleagues
CEAP Assessment Process
Process
Prior to Week 1 of NR101/103/110
Form
CEAP Champion will provide IER contact the DATE THAT THE
CEAP ASSESSMENT IS SCHEDULED TO BE TAKEN IN CLASS
DURING WEEK 3 OF NR101/103/110. (IER will send a brief Qualtrics
“survey” to campus CEAP Champions and campus Presidents
requesting this information each semester.)
This is vital information to have so that the link to the CEAP
assessment can be sent to each enrolled student prior to the schedule
1
Training
assessment date. If a student is enrolled in NR101/103/110 and IER
does not know this, the student will not have a link forwarded to their
Chamberlain email address and thus will not be able to complete the
assessment during class time.
Week 2 of NR101/103/110
At the beginning of Week 2, campus CEAP Champion will be emailed
a list of enrolled NR101/103/110 students for that semester (sent by
IER contact).
CEAP Champion will revise NR101/103/110 student enrollment list as
necessary and send back revised electronic list to IER contact no
later than end of Week 2.
Please note that for security reasons, the CEAP assessment link will
only be sent to a Chamberlain student email address. Personal
email addresses cannot be used as some providers may block or
blacklist online survey products.
Week 3 of NR101/103/110
All enrolled NR101/103/110 students and those that have been added
by the CEAP Champion during Week 2 will have received an email and
link to the assessment. The email will indicate that time to complete the
assessment has been allocated in class during Week 3, and the
student will be asked not to begin the assessment until that time.
If a student does not attend the class during Week 3 to take the CEAP
assessment, the student can take the assessment at home via the
email link up to the end of Week 3 during NR101/103/110.
Please communicate to students that if they know they will not be
in class during the assessment date to take it on their own time.
However, they must submit their assessment by the weekend of
Week 3.
The CEAP assessment link will be active only up until the end of
Week 3 so that the campus aggregate reports may be then run and
distributed by Week 6, and so that similar timing may be kept for
disseminating the student and advisor reports.
Week 4 of NR101/103/110
CEAP student reports will be automatically emailed to students’
CCN email addresses at beginning of Week 4.
Additionally, IER contact will upload pdf files of student CEAP Reports
and Advisor CEAP Reports into the designated campus folder on the
Sharepoint site.
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CEAP Champions will access advisor reports and distribute electronic
pdfs to advisors only. The student and advisors reports contain
hyperlinks to Focused Activities, so it is important that reports are only
distributed in electronic formats. Copies of the student and advisor pdf
reports may also be uploaded into student Salesforce files.
Helpful hint: The campus may also want to copy the advisor report zip
file to a campus server location where advisors would then be able to
access their advisor reports on their own.
For students who do not complete the CEAP assessment during the
designated Week 3 class, distribution of the student and advisor reports
for those students may be delayed up to two additional weeks, as the
distribution of the Week 3 CEAP classroom assessments will take
precedence.
CEAP Champions distribute CEAP student and advisor reports to
additional campus leadership and faculty as appropriate including
NR101/103/110 faculty, campus President/Dean, Associate Dean of
Faculty, and CAS team.
Weeks 4 of NR101/103/110
Results of the student report are reviewed with each student by course
faculty, advisors, and CAS team members as assigned to better
understanding the meaning of these results and identify areas to
strengthen.
Students identify Focused Activities they will complete during the
course of NR101/103/110.
All students are required to complete a minimum of five Focused
Activities. Students submit their five completed Focused
Activities (and/or proof of completing Focused Activity videos) to
the course dropbox.
Students are recommended to consult with their advisor as to selection
of the five Focused Activities that will be required. It is highly
recommended that the five Focused Activities selected be prioritized as
follows:



Focus first on each CEAP subdomain with RED scores (low
potential for academic success)
Next focus on CEAP subdomains with YELLOW scores
(moderate potential for academic success)
Finally, focus on CEAP subdomains with GREEN scores (high
potential for academic success)
It is recommended that the student, advisor, and CAS team develop a
timeline together to support and assure that the student completes the
five Focused Activities by end of the course.
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Example
CEAP Student
Report
Example
CEAP Advisor
Reports
Subdomains with GREEN scores mean that the student has a high
potential for success in that particular area. Providing the student
recognition of these results may be beneficial in boosting student’s selfconfidence in their abilities.
Results from the CEAP report are foundational to the development of
student success and advising strategies. To enhance student’s
development, it is also recommended that the student, advisor,
NR101/103/110 faculty, and CAS team members meet at regular points
during the course to assess the student’s progress and identify
additional developmental needs.
Week 6 of NR101/103/110
The CEAP Campus Reports will be completed and uploaded into the
designated campus folders on the Sharepoint site for access by CEAP
Champions and/or designated campus leadership. Again, campuses
may choose to copy and move the CEAP Campus Report over to a
location accessible to campus leaders on their campus server.
Example
Campus
Aggregate
Report
Note that if there are some students who do not complete the CEAP
assessment during the designated Week 3 class, distribution of that
particular campus report may be delayed up to two additional weeks, as
the distribution of reports from the Week 3 CEAP classroom
assessments will take precedence.
Week 8 of NR101/103/110
At the completion of the NR101/103/110 course, CEAP Champions
may use the Focused Activities Tracking Sheet track Focused Activities
completed by each student. The purpose of this document is to help
ensure Focused Activities are being completed and that a relationship
continues to be fostered between the faculty member, advisor and
student.
Campuses are encouraged to highlight all Focused Activities that were
completed by the student. Additionally, the total number of Focused
Activities completed by each student can be tallied in the last column of
the Tracking Sheet.
Helpful hint: This tracking sheet (Excel document) is provided as a
resource for campuses to see all individual student CEAP results in a
single place. The campus can easily sort students according to a
specific CEAP subdomain to “group” students at risk and then plan
intervention programming for groups of students on particular topic
areas.
CEAP Champions may submit the completed Focused Activities
Tracking Sheet to NR101/103/110 faculty, campus leadership and the
IER contact in an electronic format at completion of the course. Note:
Submitting the completed form is no longer a requirement.
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Example
Focused
Activity
Tracking Sheet
Each student should have completed a minimum of five Focused
Activities. A maximum total of 155 points are allocated (31 points per
Focused Activity).
• Students may complete additional Focused Activities, but a
maximum of 155 points will be allocated for completing the
minimum of five Focused Activities.
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Chamberlain Early Assessment Program (CEAP) – Reports and Focused Activities
The Chamberlain Early Assessment Program (CEAP) focuses on providing ongoing annual assessments of
key factors that impact students’ success in Chamberlain’s nursing program. Detailed reports provided to
students, advisors, and campuses during the CEAP administration in NR101/103/110 serve as the foundation
for advising and success planning for each student. Follow up annual assessments provide students,
advisors, and campuses feedback on the success of those plans and opportunities to refocus and revise
objectives as deemed necessary. The following section explains how to interpret CEAP report results and
application of the Focused Activities.
CEAP Index Measures – Overall, Domain, and Subdomain Categories
The Overall CEAP Index Measures provide a summary of each core area assessed in the CEAP. An “index”
rating score (on a standardized scale of 0-100) is calculated for each core area, and results are provided in the
CEAP Reports. The CEAP Index Ratings are categorized according to the potential or likelihood of success in
the nursing program - High potential scoring in the top 25% of those tested (GREEN), Moderate potential
scoring in the middle 50% (YELLOW), and Low potential scoring in the low 25% (RED).
There are two key overall index measures combining success indicators across academic and nonacademic
categories – the Overall Academic Success Index and the Overall Retention Success Index. These two index
measures are reported to advisors and campuses according to High, Moderate, and Low scoring success
levels. Campus results are reported by each level and compared to Chamberlain aggregate results.
Overall Academic Success Index
Potential for overall academic success in Chamberlain’s nursing program. Drivers of overall academic
success include: pre-admission cumulative GPA, A2 Composite score, social support network, selfconfidence, focus on goals, beliefs about learning, and motivation for learning.
Overall Retention Success Index
Potential for overall retention success in Chamberlain’s nursing program. Drivers of overall retention
success include: pre-admission cum GPA, A2 Composite score, social support network, commitment,
sense of belonging, and motivation for learning.
There are six main domains measured by the CEAP assessment. An index rating for each domain is provided
across all CEAP Reports. Descriptions of each of the six domains follow.
Resilience Index Rating
Resilience is the ability to successfully overcome challenges in life and to learn and grow stronger from
those experiences.
Commitment Index Rating
Internal and external commitment contributes to student success.
Motivation for Learning Index Rating
Finding a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation enhances student goal-setting and
learning.
Learning Strategies Index Rating
Critical thinking, integrating new and prior knowledge, and peer learning provide strategies to facilitate
learning outcomes.
Academic Skills Index Rating
Test-taking abilities, writing, self-directed learning, and time management are important skills enhancing
academic success.
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Balanced Index Rating
A sense of belonging, self-confidence, alignment of academic/career goals, and balancing work-school
activities contributes to academic success.
Within each CEAP domain, there are additional subdomain measures that drill down into additional detail. The
following table presents the main domains and corresponding subdomains and their descriptions. An index
rating for each subdomain is provided across all CEAP Reports.
CEAP Domain
Resilience
Commitment
Motivation for
Learning
Learning Strategies
Academic Skills
Balanced
CEAP Subdomains
Ability to Deal with Stressful Situations - Use of tools and strategies that aid in successful
navigation during stressful periods of time
Strength of Social Support Network - Strong social networks are beneficial in navigating
time, resources, and stress management.
Finding Meaning in Life - Significance one places on their life experiences
Having a Purpose in Life - Feeling of being determined to achieve a goal in one’s life
Focus on Goals - Focused on achieving good results
Self-Regulation - Feeling in control of one’s actions or behaviors
Commitment to Nursing Career - Being dedicated to achieving the goal of a nursing career
College Commitment - Feeling the college is concerned about the student’s success
Intrinsic Goal Motivation - Participating in an activity for the inherent challenge or mastery
of learning
Extrinsic Goal Motivation - Participating in an activity in order to achieve a reward
Beliefs About Learning - Putting in the effort to learn results in positive outcomes
Critical Thinking - Uses organized ways to solve problems or make decisions
Integrating New and Prior Knowledge - Building connections between new and prior
knowledge to learn
Peer Learning - Collaborating with one’s peers to facilitate learning
Assignments/Test Taking Confidence - Degree of confidence in abilities related to testtaking and completion of assignments
Professional Writing – Application and confidence in professional writing skills
Self-directed Learning – Abilities as a self-directed learner
Study Skills/Time Management – Abilities in areas of study skills and time management
Sense of Belonging - Feeling a “fit” or being valued or accepted
Self-Confidence - Trusting in one’s own abilities or qualities to do well and succeed
Aligning of Academic and Career Goals - Alignment and commitment to the pursuit and
achievement of educational goals
Work-School Balance – Perceived degree of work-school balance in life
CEAP Focused Activities
Corresponding to each CEAP Subdomain is a Focused Activity for students to complete to help them better
understand development areas they may need to further focus on as part of their plan for success. Each
Focused Activity is targeted to a specific subdomain of the CEAP assessment. Focused activities are
resources to aid students and advisors in supporting development in these key areas that have been
demonstrated to impact academic success and retention.
Each CEAP Focused Activity is accessed via a hyperlink next to each subdomain on the CEAP Student and
Advisor Reports. Because these are hyperlinks directly to the Focused Activity, it is important that students
and advisor have the pdf version of the report to access the active links. The Focused Activities include both
fillable pdfs and brief videos.
Results of the student report are reviewed with each student by course faculty, advisors, and CAS team
members as assigned to better understanding the meaning of these results and identify areas to strengthen.
Students identify Focused Activities they will complete during the course of NR101/103/110. All students are
required to complete a minimum of five Focused Activities.
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Students are recommended to consult with their advisor on selection of the five Focused Activities that will be
required. It is highly recommended that the five Focused Activities selected be prioritized as follows:



Focus first on each CEAP subdomain with RED scores (low potential for academic success)
Next focus on CEAP subdomains with YELLOW scores (moderate potential for academic success)
Finally, focus on CEAP subdomains with GREEN scores (high potential for academic success)
It is recommended that the student, advisor, and CAS team develop a timeline together to support and assure
that the student completes the five Focused Activities by end of the course.
Subdomains with GREEN scores mean that the student has a high potential for success in that particular
area. Providing the student recognition of these results may be beneficial in boosting student’s self-confidence
in their abilities.
All CEAP Focused Activities are available to all students regardless of CEAP scores, and so students may
wish to explore any or all activities that they may feel would be beneficial!
CEAP Focused Activities should be considered a “first step” to a student’s development and/or remediation in
a particular area. For example, developing skills at writing focused goals takes time and practice. The
Focused Activity on learning how to write a SMART(ER) goal provides an exercise and first steps to learning a
structured method to goal development.
Consider the Focused Activities as “stepping stones” to help students understand what is important for their
success and provide opportunities for students and advisors to dialogue about nonacademic factors that may
influence student success in the nursing program. These are opportunities to empower the student with the
knowledge and introduction to tools for them to address these key areas.
The following table provides some screenshots and examples of CEAP Focused Activities.
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CEAP Focused Activities
Students should be
instructed to save the fillable
pdf file to their computer.
Example
Students then complete the
Focused Activity, save the
pdf, and email a copy to
their advisor.
There is a corresponding
Focused Activity (either a
fillable pdf or video)
available for each CEAP
subdomain.
Each Focused Activity
begins with a reading
component and is followed
by an interactive activity that
the student completes.
Focused Activity pdfs
contain fillable boxes for
students to type in their
responses.
The Focused Activities are
designed to draw out the
student’s “best thinking” –
no right or wrong answers!
Next is a detailed exploration of each CEAP Report.
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CEAP Student Report
The CEAP Student Reports provides a detailed analysis of student results from the CEAP assessment
completed during Week 3 of NR101/103/110.
CEAP Student Report
The first page includes
the following
information:




Student name
Student D number
Campus location
Report date
There is also a brief
introduction to the CEAP
Report and definitions of
the overall CEAP Rating
Index Scores.
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The next page provides
results of the overall
CEAP Rating Index
Scores.
Results reflect the
student’s potential level
of success in each
domain:
High potential for
success – GREEN
Moderate potential for
success – YELLOW
Low potential for
success – RED
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The remaining pages
provide results of the
CEAP subdomain
scores, again reflective
of the student’s potential
level of success in each
domain.
Each subdomain
includes the following:



Hyperlink to a
corresponding
Focused Activity
(student clicks on
the Focused Activity
box on the report
pdf to access)
Constructive
feedback for the
student regarding
the subdomain
score
CEAP rating for the
subdomain based
on student’s
potential level of
success
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CEAP Advisor Report
CEAP Advisor Reports mirrors the detailed analysis of student results from the CEAP assessment completed
during Week 3 of NR101/103/110.
Additionally, the Advisor Reports provides results from the Overall Academic Success Index and Overall
Retention Success Index analyses and summary of additional student information including A2 Scores, high
school/college GPAs, previous degrees, student demographics, current work status, English as a Second
Language index score, and potential impact of adverse events on the student’s life.
English as a Second Language Scale (ELAS)
Included in the CEAP assessment is the English Language Acculturation Scale (ELAS). The psychometric
testing of the ELAS with undergraduate nursing students was published by Salamonson and colleagues
(2013). The five survey items include:





What language do you speak?
What language do you read?
What language do you usually speak at home?
In which language do you usually think?
What language do you usually speak with your friends?
A total ELAS Index Score is calculated and included on the CEAP Advisor Report in addition to score ranges
and interpretation of results. The ELAS Index Score may range from 5-25 points. ELAS Index Ratings are:



19-25 – Student is 19-25 = Well-versed in speaking and understanding of English Language.
11-18 = May have some challenges in use and understanding of English language, as English tends to
be a secondary language in some situations
Below 11 = May have significant challenges in use and understanding of English; more often speaks,
reads, and thinks in a non-English language.
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CEAP Advisor Report
The first page includes
the following
information:





Student name
Student D number
Student email
Campus location
Report date
There is also a brief
introduction to the CEAP
Report and definitions of
the overall CEAP Rating
Index Scores.
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The next page provides
results of the overall
CEAP Rating Index
Scores. Note the
inclusion of the:
 Overall Academic
Success Index
 Overall Retention
Success Index
Results reflect the
student’s potential level
of success in each
domain:
High potential for
success – GREEN
Moderate potential for
success – YELLOW
Low potential for
success – RED
The next four pages
provide results of the
CEAP subdomain
scores, again reflective
of the student’s potential
level of success in each
domain.
Each subdomain
includes the following:



Hyperlink to a
corresponding
Focused Activity
(student clicks on
the Focused Activity
box on the report
pdf to access)
Constructive
feedback for the
student regarding
the subdomain
score
CEAP rating for the
subdomain based
on student’s
potential level of
success
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The final page of the
advisor report includes
additional student
information that may be
useful in understanding
the student’s
background, past
education, and potential
factors impacting their
academic success.
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CEAP Campus Report
The CEAP Campus Report provides a summary of the campus cohort results from the CEAP assessment.
Campus cohort results are compared to the Chamberlain aggregate results for all campus cohorts in that
particular semester.
CEAP Advisor Report
The first page includes a
summary of results from
the:
 Overall Academic
Success Index
 Overall Retention
Success Index
Results reflect breakdown
of the campus cohort’s
potential level of success in
each domain:
High potential for success –
GREEN
Moderate potential for
success – YELLOW
Low potential for success –
RED
The number and
percentage of students in
each success level are
compared to Chamberlain
aggregate results for all
campus cohorts in the
semester.
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The next two pages provide
the average campus cohort
score (possible range of 0100 on a standardized
scale) for each CEAP
domain and subdomain in
comparison to Chamberlain
aggregate results for all
campus cohorts in the
semester.
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The final two pages provide
a summary of some key
campus cohort
characteristics including
ethnicity, impact of adverse
events on the cohort, and
average A2 scores.
Next Steps – What was Most Important?
As an advisor or faculty member, you are now “armed” with a good deal of information (both academic and
nonacademic) about your students gleaned from the CEAP Report results. You have worked with your
students over the past several weeks in NR101/103/110. Your students have completed the required Focused
Activities and perhaps completed other activities of interest.
So now what? How to keep up the momentum and facilitate student progress towards graduation and
successful NCLEX outcomes? The following presents some best practices to promote the advisor-advisee
relationship and communication techniques/questions to draw out the best thinking of students.
Advisement Best Practices





Schedule an agreed upon time to touch base with student advisees.
Take the opportunity to discuss maybe one or two topics from the CEAP Report (i.e., “How’s it going
with building your time management skills?”
If the student has a specific question you may not be able to answer, refer them to a specific person in
an area whenever possible.
Reassure the student that she or he is not the only one who may be initially struggling with courses.
There may be some insights from the CEAP Report that would be useful to learn more about issues or
events the student is experiencing that are resulting in these feelings.
Always keep the TEACH values in mind and our purpose – To empower our students to achieve their
educational and career goals!
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Drawing Out Students’ Best Thinking
At times, it may seem simpler (from the perspective of the student and/or advisor) if the advisor just tells the
student what to do. The problem here is that this may not be in line with what the student is thinking or plans
to do. Putting the ownership back on the student and empowering the student to take action and responsibility
in their academic success is the basis for drawing out students’ best thinking!
The following are some effective lines of questions for the advisor to use to help the student draw out his or her
best thinking related to CEAP results. In drawing out best thinking, keep in mind the following expectations –
the student will learn from this experience – the student will gain clarification – the student will take the next
step.







Now that we’ve reviewed your CEAP results, what did you learn about yourself? What’s next?
What does “success” look like for you?
How will you now you have succeeded?
What can I help you accomplish?
How may we best use our time together today, so that you can feel more ready to succeed?
What is most important to you right now?
Where is your thinking right now?
To get clarification and understanding of what the student is saying, you may find it helpful to reiterate what
was said and then continue on to draw out best thinking to stay focused on the student’s goal.
Reiterate what the student has voiced as the concern. “What I hear you say is that you don’t know how
you will keep up the pace and pass your clinical courses given your work schedule.”



Now that you hear me say that, what comes up for you?
What do you see happening in your life to get past this challenge?
What is most important to you right now?
Here is a personal challenge to you as an advisor:

Practice the 80-20 rule. In your time with the student in drawing out best thinking, 80% of the speaking
time should be from the student and 20% of the time from you!
Reference
Salamonson, Y., Attwood, N., Everett, B., Weaver, R., & Glew, P. (2013). Psychometric testing of the English
Language Acculturation Scale in first-year nursing students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(10), p. 23092315.
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