ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to consider how the approaches and methods of Program Evaluation might be employed as part of the internal quality assurance procedures of a university. Program Evaluation poses questions about the success and methods of a program and gathers data to answer them. The chapter will address four topics. First, it will outline the approach and techniques of the discipline known as Program Evaluation; second, it will consider their place in the assurance and development of quality in Higher Education; third, it will describe a specific method, the Trident, developed for Program Evaluation, and finally, it will consider how the approach might be applied to a program in Higher Education. The Trident method focuses evaluation questions on outcome, process and stakeholder perspectives and gathers data to address them using methods appropriate to the material available. The data gathered through Program Evaluation can be integrated with the continuous quality improvement cycle of a university. Evaluation might be carried out on the program as a whole or on parts of the program. A number of examples are given of Program Evaluation projects in Higher Education. The chapter concludes with suggestions regarding the implementation of a Program Evaluation approach.
