The study examined whether access to tenure review documents or deliberations decreases the degree of selectivity evidenced in tenure decisions. Liberal arts institutions (N=123) were surveyed to determine the relationship between access and tenure selectivity. The first stage of the study was a description of the range of access available in the…

The politics of program evaluation are discussed from the personal perspective of the Director of the General Accounting Office's Program Evaluation and Methodology Division, which has produced reports for committees of the United States Congress. It is concluded that successful evaluations must be useful to others and must understand the…

In order to demonstrate how course content can be adapted so that thinking skills are included in the learning experience, this paper uses a unit of study from theater history as a basis for examining how subject matter can be structured with learning objectives, a study guide, a hypothetical problem situation, instructions, and feedback. The…

This paper examines possible explanations for the fact that evaluation results are rarely used. Most explanatory factors for use of results in decision making mentioned in the literature have been clustered in three categories of variables. They concern: (1) the making of decisions about the practical problem; (2) the way in which evaluation is…

In the past, many communication consultants have been "speech coaches," who helped clients to organize messages, construct arguments, and deliver speeches. Today, however, the role of communication specialists as management consultants has broadened in scope. To accommodate the demands of this enlarged role, communication consultants…

This document addresses the needs of mental health consultants involved in decision-making in custody disputes. A psycho-ecological model for assessing contexts of development in cases involving preschool children is presented, and the theoretical basis and rationale for the model are discussed. Issues, instruments, and findings of recent…

Purposes for academic program review and diverse institutional approaches to college program review are considered, along with possible outcomes and ways to improve program review. Attention is directed to program review practices at 30 representatives institutions. As background, predominant types of program review over the past 15 years levels…

Growth or development affects a rural community in three separate but interrelated areas: private, social, and public sectors. Private impacts are economic shocks to businesses and citizens of the community. Social impacts affect the community structure as well as individuals within the community, i.e., increased property tax costs may create…

An analytic procedure, efficiency analysis, is proposed for improving the utility of quantitative program evaluation for decision making. The three features of the procedure are explained: (1) for statistical control, it adopts and extends the regression-discontinuity design; (2) for statistical inferences, it de-emphasizes hypothesis testing in…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an evaluation system for a pediatric residency program to meet federal grant monitoring requirements. Continuous communication and collaboration with program participants characterized this naturalistic formative evaluation. Concerns identified through initial interviews of the 15…

After several lengthy evaluations of California's Early Childhood Education (ECE) program proved inadequate, unhappy legislators and educators finally found satisfaction in a brief, mimeographed report. Several factors were responsible for the success of this new evaluation, the "Interim Report on the Special Study of Selected ECE Schools…

Some of the historical developments which have influenced educational evaluation are the importance of operationalism and behavioral objectives; curriculum reform; the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and school and teacher accountability. Major problems related to current evaluation practices include negative attitudes toward evaluation,…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation's project, Evaluation and School Districts, used questionnaires to survey the heads of evaluation offices in metropolitan public school systems. This paper presents the preliminary findings of the survey. Most school systems have established a centralized program evaluation unit organized around three…

As more emphasis is placed upon institutional research that provides information relating to long-term strategic planning, as well as to short-term operational considerations, program evaluation techniques that merely analyze past or current budget and enrollment statistics will become increasingly inadequate. Such techniques are based on data…

Greenfield Community College (GCC) established a participatory management process in 1978 which incorporates: (1) a reorganized governance structure; (2) data collection activities; (3) a mechanism for establishing and implementing institutional goals; and (4) an evaluation component for the entire management process. The new governance structure…