The program includes a review of the historical development of evaluation as a profession and its relation to other disciplines. The curriculum includes coursework that emphasizes the importance of the evaluation of program implementation, and provides methods for evaluating program implementation and providing rapid feedback. The curriculum includes a basic introduction to computerized information systems and their role in providing feedback to consumers of evaluation information. The program provides students with training on locating, evaluating, accessing, and using relevant, appropriate secondary data sources, such as government databases or existing institutional databases. 57 Coursework exposes students to organizational behavior theory.
Programs expose students to a utilization focus in evaluation theory and practice.
60 Students are exposed to exemplary and not-so exemplary evaluations and evaluation reports. 61 Students are exposed to the politics of evaluation in their coursework and field experiences. The program ensures that students are able to design and carry out a quality evaluation. The students are able to assess tradeoffs in design given time and resource constraints with the least compromise to the quality of the evaluation. The program grounds students in the principles of sound evaluation, i.e., the program and personnel evaluation standards.