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Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

The Assessment, Evaluation, and Research competency area (AER) focuses on the ability to use, design, conduct, and critique qualitative and quantitative AER analyses; to manage organizations using AER processes and the results obtained from them; and to shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses on campus.

Basic

 
Intermediate 

• design ongoing and periodic data collection efforts such that they are sustainable, rigorous, as unobtrusive as possible, and technologically current;
• effectively manage, align, and guide implementation of results of assessment, evaluation, and research reports and studies;
• contribute to the understanding of colleagues, faculty, and others in the institution of the relationship of departmental AER processes to learning outcomes and goals at the student, department, division, and institutional levels;
• discern and discuss the appropriate design(s) to use in AER efforts based on critical questions, necessary data, and intended audience(s);
• construct basic surveys and other instruments with consultation;
• use culturally relevant and culturally appropriate terminology and methods to conduct and report AER findings;
• create the climate at the department level that assessment, evaluation, and research are central to the department's work and ensure that training and skill development in these areas is valued, budgeted for, and fully embedded in day-to-day procedures;
• apply the concepts and procedures of qualitative research, evaluation, and assessment, including creating appropriate sampling designs and interview protocols with consultation, participating in analysis teams, contributing to audit trails, participating as peer de-briefer, and using other techniques to ensure the trustworthiness of qualitative designs;
• participate in design and analysis of quantitative AER studies, including understanding statistical reporting that may include complex statistical methods such as multivariate techniques; and articulating the limitations of findings imposed by the differences in practical and statistical significance, validity, and reliability;
• manage the implementation of institutional and professional standards for ethical AER activities; and
• prioritize program and learning outcomes with organization goals and values.

 
Advanced

One should be able to

• effectively lead the conceptualization and design of ongoing, systematic, high-quality, data-based strategies at the institutional, divisional, and/or unit-wide level to evaluate and assess learning, programs, services, and personnel;
• effectively use assessment and evaluation results in determining the institution's, the division's, or the unit's accomplishment of its missions and goals, reallocation of resources, and advocacy for more resources;
• lead a comprehensive communication process to the campus community of the relationship of institutional AER processes to learning outcomes and goals at the student, department, division, and institution level;
• lead the writing of assessment and evaluation reports and other research studies and activities that include translation of data analyses into goals and action;
• lead the strategic use and prioritization of budgetary and personnel resources to support high-quality program evaluation, assessment efforts, research, and planning;
• lead, supervise, and/or collaborate with others to design and analyze qualitative studies and evaluation, assessment, and other research activities, including assessing transferability and trustworthiness in a sophisticated way;
• lead, supervise, and/or collaborate with others to design and analyze quantitative studies, data collection schemes, and other AER activities, including writing and disseminating statistical reporting for audiences at varying levels of statistical expertise in a way that informs practice;
• create the expectation in the institution, division, or unit that AER is central to professional practice and ensure that training and skill development happens across the organization;
• ensure institutional, divisional, or unit compliance with professional standards concerning ethical AER activities; and
• facilitate the prioritization of decisions and resources to implement those decisions that are informed by AER activities.