ADL 119 - Evaluating Program Outcomes
Course Description
Managers and program directors across public and private sectors are being challenged to manage for results, and to respond to the following questions: What is your program trying to achieve? How will the program's effectiveness be determined? How is the program actually doing? In this course, gain practical skills in the organization, design, and implementation of evaluations to measure outcomes for different types of programs ranging from training to human service programs to organizational effectiveness.
This course will be of interest to practitioners who are committed to improving organizational effectiveness, those charged with responsibility for evaluating organizational activities, decision makers, problem solvers and change agents.
Course Details
By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:
- Describe the importance of evaluation for learning and other initiatives
- Explain the advantages and disadvantages of different evaluation approaches, types, and methods, informed by context and audience(s)
- Provide rationale for objective and valid data collection
- Assess the suitability of evaluation methods, tools and protocol
- Design an evaluation plan and a suitable tool (with protocol) for a program or initiative to be evaluated, and decide on the most appropriate format to communicate findings and recommendations.
Topics of Instruction:
- Definitions, types of evaluation
- Politics and ethics of evaluation practice
- Evaluator competencies
- Evaluating learning, performance and change initiatives
- Focusing the evaluation
- Developing a program logic model
- Selecting evaluation design
- Selecting data collection methods
- Sampling
- Analyzing Evaluation Data
- Communicating and Reporting Evaluation Activities and Findings
- Planning, managing and budgeting the evaluation
- Evaluating the evaluation
- Strategies for implementing evaluation in organizations
Notes
Students should expect to spend five to seven hours on course work each week.Applies Towards the Following Program(s)
- Certificate in Adult Learning specializing in Adult and Community Education : Optional Courses
- Certificate in Adult Learning specializing in Career and Academic Advising : Optional Courses
- Certificate in Adult Learning specializing in e-Learning : Optional Courses
- Certificate in Adult Learning specializing in Workplace Learning : Optional Courses
- Certificate in Career Development and Academic Advising : Optional Courses
Agnes Dallison is a program evaluator and health researcher who has been actively contributing to the field since 1999. She holds a BSc and MSc in social science disciplines and an MA in disaster and emergency management. At present, Agnes is the Manager of Research and Academics in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary and instructor of emergency preparedness at SAIT in the School of Health and Public Safety. Agnes has been a Credentialed Evaluator since 2013, and her primary focus is on vulnerable populations. Her goal is to utilize evidence-based decision-making to inform social programs and to drive policy change.