Implementing Best Practices in Program Evaluation

A growing trend in education is the practice of judging effectiveness of the educational process utilizing evidence-based research based on clearly articulated criteria. In the last decade, more emphasis has been placed on assessing learning in colleges and universities and has extended to every academic discipline and is increasingly addressed by the national collegiate accrediting bodies. In 2006, Grand Valley State University undertook revision of its strategic plan and required all the academic units to analyze the individual programs, bring them into alignment with the university plan and establish assessment measures that would assure the ongoing effort to implement and maintain the best practices in educating their students. The GVSU department of Psychology responded to the charge by utilizing the framework developed by Halonen and colleagues. (2003). This presentation describes the processes that the psychology department utilized and the unforeseen problems that arose. It also offers suggestions for dealing with issues that arose, such as developing the rubrics for the assessment measures and helping faculty value the process and commit to it