The Use of Exit Interviews in Master’s Programs of Public Affairs and Administration

Abstract: Exit interviewing is one technique available to schools interested in assessing the outcomes of their academic programs. Schools tend to use the technique to assess impacts upon students completing a program. Exit interviewing can be used in conjunction with other techniques, such as alumni surveys. Exit interviews can contain a wide variety of questions, and a particular strength of the technique is that follow-up questions can be asked. Several adminis-trative problems are associated with the technique and must be anticipated. According to a survey of public affairs schools, exit interviewing is used especially for course content changes, curricu-lum revisions, and feedback to individual faculty members. Although there is little debate today over whether outcomes assessments can be useful for master’s programs of public affairs and administration, concern does exist over what techniques best meet the needs of schools in their efforts to identify outcomes. Schools are encouraged to engage in outcomes assessment by their own faculty, students, and alumni; by employ-ers; by governors and state legislators; and by the schools ’ accrediting institution, the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Adminis-tration, NASPAA. Jennings (1989) has critiqued outcomes assessment in terms of its role in holding educational institutions accountable for the knowledge imparted to students and has provided an overall review of assessment techniques. One technique Jennings does not discuss that is worthy of consideration is exit interviewing. The author attempts to fill that gap by reviewing the limited relevant literature and by reporting results of two surveys of public affairs/ administration schools. The author discusses advantages and disadvantages of exit interviewing and the practical considerations about how it can be incorporated into a school’s overall approach to outcomes assessment. The AUTHORS ’ NOTE: The author appreciates the encouragement and advice given by members of NASPAAs Outcomes Assessment Committee and especially by its chair