The effectiveness of a peer-mentoring program was examined at a university in California. Previous studies suggest university peer mentoring might increase students' feelings of engagement, which can contribute to their retention. Pretest and posttest data were collected from 304 freshmen (mentored and nonmentored) during the fall of 2012 in a…

In the past few decades, simulation training has been used to help nurses improve their patient-transfer skills. However, the effectiveness of such training remains limited because it lacks effective ways of simulating patients' actions realistically. It is difficult for nurses to use the skills learned from simulation training to transfer an…

School program evaluation researchers face a set of overlapping questions concerning our roles in the field: For the sake of "the data" and in quest of "the truth," am I a shrewd researcher before all else? For the sake of community-building and establishing respectful, reciprocal relationships with my school partners, am I first a gracious school…

In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) funded 22 colleges to establish developmental summer bridge programs. Aimed at providing an alternative to traditional developmental education, these programs involve intensive remedial instruction in math, reading, and/or writing and college preparation content for students entering…

An alternative approach for program evaluation of small, specialized programs when comparison groups are not available is described. This application is illustrated by presenting the results of an analysis of data from Project Talent, a national manpower study, and discussing its application to the evaluation of a medical training program.…

A context in which existing items may provide a convenient source of questions for questionnaires was explored through a case study making use of existing comparison groups. Two programs at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), the Science and Engineering Research Semester (SERS) and the Laboratory Graduate Research Participation (Lab Grad)…

The suggestions offered in this paper are based on the experiences of two scientific researchers of how evaluations undertaken in a competitive arena, in which true experimental designs are not viable, can be designed in such a way that meaningful comparative data can be examined. Case studies of the Science and Engineering Research Semester and…

Suggestions, based on the experience of researchers at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Associated Universities (ORAU), are offered on how evaluations in which true experimental designs are not possible can be designed for meaningful comparison. The ORAU conducts evaluation and assessment studies of educational programs intended to explore some aspect of the…

The original version of this report dealt with the feasibility of a longitudinal design for studying the effects of preceptorships on medical students' career choices. The present document supplements the original report, focuses on various non-longitudinal designs, and assesses their suitability for providing the type of information required for…