Who will be involved in the evaluation process?
In addition to the professionals on campus and in partner organizations, whom we talked about earlier, students in research methods courses might be able to work on your project as a service-learning assignment. Student teams might, in successive semesters, develop an evaluation plan and test instruments, revise and implement the instruments, and analyze the results. It might also be possible to involve work-study students; the University of Minnesota, for instance, has trained student staff to conduct “pulse” surveys of undergraduates 20 times a year to get their thoughts. Community partners or community members might also quite happily work on evaluation projects in exchange for training and wages, tuition waivers, or other benefits; in some cases local residents have welcomed the opportunity to participate in important evaluation activities and build their own skills. Faculty may also find participating in evaluation activities helpful to their own scholarship, tenure, and promotion
