Course Schedule

Course Schedule*

Class

Topics

Readings

Assignments

5/21

Introduction

	What is Evaluation
	Terms and Concepts
	History of the Discipline
	Political, social, ethical, and practical considerations

R: Ch. 1

Assign Groups for evaluation critiques

5/21

6/4

Tailoring Evaluations

	Who does evaluations
	Who is the audience
	Working with clients
	What is tailored?
	Formative vs. summative
	Scientific vs. practical considerations
	Managing evaluation projects

R: Ch. 2 & 3

W: Ch. 2, 4, 9, 10, 23 - 28

RES #2

5/28

No Class - Memorial Day

6/4

Program Theory

	Logic/causal models
	Formulating research questions
	Basic research design considerations
	Evaluability assessments

R: Ch. 3, 5

W: Ch. 3

RES #1 & #2

6/11

Needs Assessment

	Defining problems to be addressed
	Specifying the extent of a problem
	Identifying the target population and its service needs
	Data collection procedures
	Working with human subjects and animals

R: Ch. 4

W: Ch. 11 - 18

RES #8

Program Memos - Program Evaluation Projects (6/11)

6/18

Assessing & Monitoring Program Processes and Efficiency

	Process evaluations
	Performance Management Systems
	Cost-Benefit Analysis
	Cost-effectiveness Analysis

R: Ch. 6, 11

W: Ch. 5, 21

RES #3, 4, 5 , and 8

News Article Critique (6/18)

6/25

Measuring Outcomes & Detecting Effects

	Identifying relevant outcomes
	Measuring and monitoring program outcomes
	Magnitude of program effects
	Techniques for detecting effects
	Assessing the practical significance of program effects
	Meta-Analysis

R: Ch. 7, 10

W: Ch. 19, 20, 22

RES #2, 7, 8 , and 9

Measurement Memos - Program Evaluation Projects (6/25)

7/9

Measuring Impacts - Randomized Designs

	When are impact assessments appropriate?
	Key concepts
	Research designs for randomized field experiments
	Limitations

R: Ch. 8

W: Ch. 6, 7, 10

RES #5

7/9

Measuring Impacts - Alternative Designs

	Bias in estimating program effects
	Quasi-experimental designs
	Cautions and limits on using quasi-experimental designs

R: Ch. 9

W: Ch. 7, 8

RES #5

Groups Present Evaluation Critique (7/9)

Evaluation Critique memos are due (7/9)

7/16

Evaluation in Practice

	Managing evaluation projects
	Writing effective reports
	Pitfalls of evaluation
	Evaluation standards, guidelines, and ethics
	Utilizing evaluation results
	Political, social, ethical, and practical considerations revisited
	Issues and trends in evaluation

R: Ch. 12

W: Ch. 23 - 28

RES #6, 10

Case Study Memo is due (7/16)

Submit RCR training certificate (7/16)

7/23

Present Program Evaluation Projects

7/27

Final Program Evaluation Project & Take Home Final Exam are Due (by 12:00 PM if you turn them in at the office or 9:00 PM if submitted electronically). If you turn them in electronically they must be sent as an attachment and be only 1 file.

Final Reports Due (7/27)

Take Home Final Exam is Due (7/27)

RES = Reserve reading available electronically or through the library website; R = Rossi, et al., Evaluation a Systematic Approach, Seventh Edition; W = Wholey, et al., Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Third edition.

*Check Course Schedule Frequently as it is Subject to Change

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Page last modified 08/17/11

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