The community college environment is complex and dynamic, requiring constant monitoring. To ensure that workforce education, a core component of community colleges' missions, remains aligned with colleges' environments, responsive to employers' needs, suited to students' interests and abilities, and current in content and technology, it is…

Information use can be defined in many ways depending on a variety of organizational, personal, and presentational factors. The experience of evaluation researchers provides some guides for practice. (Author/MSE)

Review of literature concerning the use of program review in higher education lists sources discussing the review process, focusing on the links between program review and other institutional processes, and addressing application of program review principles and practices to different higher education settings. Critical factors for successful use…

Institutional research and the role of information systems are examined and three types of information provided by institutional research offices are discussed: institutional studies, management analyses, and periodic management reports. The varying characteristics of research offices are described and the role of the institutional research office…

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…

The article proposes that the key to tracking and evaluating the academic progress of college students, particularly at complex institutions, is development of a longitudinal tracking system with flexibility to support a diverse community of users and applications. Considerations for efficient maintenance and effective use of such a system are…

College public relations officers are urged to incorporate regular and systematic evaluation into program administration. The process of planning public relations activities would include qualitative research to identify issues; audience-specific surveys to gauge attitudes; action to accomplish objectives; and measurement of that action's…

This paper presents a conceptual framework for conducting followup studies as an integral part of an institutional evaluation program. Data obtained from followup studies should become part of an overall information system designed to provide data for institutional decision-making. Such data should be conveniently stored and readily available for…

This report presents the results of a dissemination project, the objectives of which were: (1) to conduct a set of conferences at several predominantly Negro colleges for the reporting of research results from a study in which these schools had previously participated, (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of these conferences with respect to…

This literature review examines the utilization of community needs assessment data in program planning and evaluation efforts at community colleges. The review first defines and looks at the purposes of community needs assessments, noting that while such studies are purported to facilitate the planning and evaluation of credit and non-credit…

Exemplary adaptations of the California Community Colleges' Student Accountability Model (SAM) are presented, based upon interviews with administrators at 37 colleges or districts known to have implemented SAM practices. After a description of SAM (a set of procedures for the follow-up of occupational students), the report examines the criteria by…

A planning and evaluation model for management information systems (MIS) at the institutional or system level in higher education is presented. The procedure provides an analytical approach for assessing the effectiveness of an existing information system utilizing a variation of the Business Systems Planning methodology developed by the IBM…

The Student Course Information Project (SCIP) at the University of Minnesota, which provides information to help students in course selection and in planning programs of study, is described. SCIP began as a pilot project in the 1979 spring quarter, based on student opinions concerning course selection, statistics on incompletes and course…