Program Evaluation
The Program Evaluation Office is responsible for the evaluation of programs, academic policies and services to students.
The purpose of program evaluation is:
- To determine whether a program is being implemented effectively;
- To use the results generated by the evaluation to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program;
- To make recommendations to build upon the strengths and address the weaknesses.
Program evaluations are carried out as per Dawson College’s Institutional Program Evaluation Policy (IPEP). They are conducted by the Program Evaluation Office in conjunction with a writing committee, a coordinating committee and the Program Evaluation Committee (PEC). Programs are usually evaluated after one cohort of students has graduated from a revised program and, subsequently, within 10 years after the first evaluation.
A program evaluation usually begins with the identification of issues to be examined using a Logic Model Analysis, focus groups, KPIs, etc. This is followed by the development of an evaluation plan that outlines the issues in the context of the six IPEP criteria.
- Program relevance;
- Program coherence;
- Program effectiveness;
- Quality of teaching and student “encadrement”;
- Appropriateness of resources;
- Quality of program management.
The plan is submitted to various vetting bodies for review: the Program Evaluation Committee (PEC), the Deans’ Group, the Academic Planning Committee (APC) and finally Senate.
Once the plan is adopted by Senate and recommended to the Academic Dean, the data collection and data analysis phase of the evaluation is launched. This usually involves 1) a survey of the program’s major stakeholders such as students, faculty, graduates, employers and universities and 2) an analysis of program documentation such as course outlines, frameworks, assessment tools, minutes of meetings, existing data (ex: CARS reports, SSI info), etc.
After all the data has been collected and analyzed, an evaluation report is drafted by the writing committee. This report is presented to the PEC for review and feedback. Strengths, weaknesses, best practices and recommendations are then drafted based on the report’s findings. After the evaluation report goes through the vetting process, it is recommended by Senate to the Academic Dean. The Academic Dean, in consultation with the sector dean, then prepares an action plan based on the recommendations.
The following programs are currently in the process of being evaluated:
