Applied Program Evaluation.

Catalog description

This course is designed to introduce students to the process of program evaluation. It assumes that students have introductory-level proficiency in statistics and research methods and challenges them to apply their knowledge in these areas toward solving actual problems in authentic contexts. As such, students will begin the course by learning core concepts related to the various roles of evaluators, identifying stakeholders, methods of building rapport, the process of conducting needs assessments, strategies for creating information feedback loops within existing organizational structures, managing setbacks and obstacles, and report writing. They will then be asked to identify a campus or community organization with whom to work, establish a plan of action that has an appropriate scope and meets an agency-defined need, complete the necessary steps for their project, and submit a professional report. Students will emerge from the course with a basic understanding of the nature of program evaluation and preliminary experience in the field.