URBS 4/513—Urban Program Evaluation

Term: Fall, 2005

Instructor: Tony Filipovitch, 106 Morris Hall, 507-389-5035, 507-388-2264 (home)

Course Calendar

Due date	Topic	Reading	Assignment
9/2	What is “evaluation” (KEC model)	Ch. 1	Choose a project
9/9	Defining “purpose”	Ch. 2	Determine goals of evaluation
9/16	Identifying evaluation criteria; logic models	Ch. 3	Doing a needs assessment
9/23	Organizing criteria & evidence	Ch. 4	Develop matrix of measures
10/7	Causation—experimental & quasiexperimental design	Ch. 5	Develop logic model
10/14	Values	Ch. 6	Mid-term test
10/21	Importance	Ch. 7	Refining the matrix of measures
10/28	Merit determination	Ch. 8	Developing rubrics
11/4	Synthesis	Ch. 9	Creating indicators
11/11	The Report	Ch. 10	Structure the analysis
11/18	Meta-evaluation	Ch. 11	Grading the grader
12/2	Other approaches: Baldrige & Benchmarking		Final test
12/9	Final class date—Evaluation Design & course evaluation due

Instructional Management System & Communication Protocols:

· The course will use D2L as the instructional management system. Discussion lists, assignments, grade rosters, and other course management issues will be handled through that site.

· The software for this course will be PC-based Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, or compatibles. I prefer to receive e-mail and course submissions to my e-mail address (not to D2L), and I can only open Microsoft Word or text files (if you are using, say, WordPerfect, make sure to send any files to me in .txt or .rtf format).

· I will communicate with you using your official MSU e-mail address; if this is not your preferred e-mail provider, make sure you have set your MSU e-mail account to forward to your preferred address (instructions are available from the help desk at help@mnsu.edu or 507-389-6654).

· I generally will reply to e-mails within 48 hours (give me an additional 24 hours over the weekends), unless I have notified the class through D2L that I expect to be away from my computer (e.g., when I am attending a national conference). If you do not hear from me within that time, please resend your question or comment as it may have been lost.

Office Hours: My office hours are posted here. I am available in my office at those times (or other times by appointment). I also check my e-mail daily (usually several times during the day), and have an answering machine on both my home and office phone. There is no reason to flounder around, unsure of what “he wants” or confused about what you are doing; and even if everything is going fine with the coursework, there is more to learning than completing the assignments. I encourage you to visit me, in person or at a distance by phone or e-mail, many times during the course.

Text:

Davidson, E. Jane. 2005. Evaluation Methodology Basics: The Nuts & Bolts of Sound Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Course Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the purposes and processes for gauging the quality, value, or importance of projects and programs.

By the end of the term you will be able to:

1. Identify the appropriate criteria for evaluation & assessment

2. Select the most important criteria from among competing measures

3. Draw explicit evaluative conclusions

4. Answer fundamental evaluation questions for a client

5. Evaluate the quality, value, and importance of an evaluation report and the process behind it.

In addition to the specific course outcomes, there are three additional outcomes that are common to most, if not all, courses at MSU:

1. Develop your creative and critical thinking powers in addressing problems and opportunities;

2. Develop personal communication skills, both oral and (especially in this course) written;

3. Improve your ability to work and interact with others in a team approach.

Instructional Methodology and Teaching Strategies:

A variety of techniques will be employed throughout the course. While there will be reading and lectures and tests, this course is heavily weighted to practice and experience and capturing those experiences in written and visual terms. Above all, my teaching style in this course is based on an "adult-centered" model which assumes that you are active participants, each responsible for your own learning, and I am a facilitator and resource who helps you advance your project. My goal for myself as a teacher is to "take you someplace you would never before have gone alone."

Assignments:

Classwork:

You are expected to read the assigned sections of the texts prior to their due date (see Course Calendar). While I will probably have some things to say each class, discussion is central—I would much rather have a good discussion than have you listen to a good lecture. In addition, almost every week you will be expected to have prepared responses to the Exercises at the end of each chapter in the book.

Written Assignments:

There will be two types of writing assignments, although they will cover the same material:

Each week (except for “Values” and “Other Approaches”), you will apply the reading and the discussion for the week to your evaluation project. You must e-mail your assignment to me by 8 AM on Wednesday of the following week (i.e., 2 days before the next class). These assignments will be scored on a simple 0-3 scale, where “0” is “nothing submitted” and 3 is “complete and clear grasp of the concept.”
By the last week of class, you must combine your various assignments into a unified evaluation plan (no more than 10 pages). This project will be assessed based on completeness (are all the KEC elements present?), feasibility (could it be accomplished?), and usefulness (will it answer the evaluation question?).

Tests:

There will be a mid-term and a final test for the course. The tests will be essay-format. Sample questions, grading rubrics, and suggested responses are included in the back of the book.

Graduate Students

In addition to the other course requirements, graduate students will be expected to read an additional book about evaluation (see the Course Bibliography for suggestions) and teach the key points to the class. This means that by week 2 students will have notified me about their choice, and I will let them know which week would be appropriate for their presentation to the class.

Course Expectations:

Attendance & Class Participation:

Students play an important role in educating and challenging each other. This can only happen if you participate in the class discussions on a consistent and timely basis. If there is an emergency which requires you to be away from your class, please contact me immediately. You are paying for this class—make sure to get your “money’s worth.” Most importantly, this is an excellent foundation of knowledge for future activities, and it is a chance for you to learn, teach, and grow with others.

Grading:

Weekly assignments (10 @ 3pts) 30

Evaluation plan 30

Tests (2 @ 20 pts) 40

Graduate class presentation 20

The final grade may be based on a curve, but an undergraduate students can expect at least an A if they achieve 90, a B with 80, etc. (for grads it is 108, 96, etc.)

Other Matters:

All assignments are due on the assigned date.

Written reports are expected to be free of grammatical, spelling, and content errors. They should be submitted in typewritten, standard formats (APA, MLA, URSI Style Sheets). You must familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy. I encourage you to draw on the ideas of others—but you must also identify when you do so (you gain “brownie points” for citing the work of others!). Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic behavior and will result in an F for the course.

I will help you in whatever manner humanly possible. However, once the semester is over, there is not a great deal I can do. If there is something that you don’t understand, are having problems with, or need help on, please get in touch with me as early as possible.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you area student with a documented disability, please contact us as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).

Bibliography

MSU