"Building Institutional Capacity for Data-Informed Decision Making" is the third installment of the Cutting Edge series, which aims to help colleges engage faculty, scale successful interventions, and create a strong culture of evidence through use of data to strengthen their institutional change and student success efforts. Though the…

Ethnography, which records and describes culturally significant behavior of a particular group, is suggested as a method for college self-evaluation. The potential and limitations of the method are outlined, and current uses in education are discussed. (MSE)

The McMaster University (Canada) undergraduate medical program participated in a nine-school self-study of clinical evaluation. Comparison of top-ranked problems found lack of transmission of evaluative information from one clerkship unit to subsequent ones to be a common problem. Faculty unwillingness to record negative evaluations was exclusive…

A discussion of second language program evaluation is intended for staff (teachers, program planners, materials writers, program managers) of programs being evaluated, to help them understand the process and dynamics of program evaluation. It addresses common concerns and fears about evaluation, offers ways in which staff can cooperate with…

A survey of the educational outcomes of master's programs in social work (64 responses) found that knowledge acquisition is generally evaluated course-by-course, with traditional methods; qualifying examinations for advanced study are not common; and only a third of institutions conduct comprehensive examinations. Accountability implications are…

Student educational outcomes and the quality of instruction are now being monitored by several programs at Worthington Community College (WCC) in southwest Minnesota. WCC, one of the 20 community colleges in the Minnesota Community College system, currently serves 875 students, and has been intensifying its efforts to serve the whole service area…