Program Evaluation

Meet James Hernandez, an alumnus of our Program Evaluation Certificate program!

What is your current professional role/organization?

I am a doctoral student in the Educational Psychology Learning Systems, Learning and Cognition program. In a professional capacity, I serve as the president of the board of Mr. and Ms. Mentoring Inc., a non-profit program (https://mrandmsmentoring.org/).

Why did you choose the Program Evaluation Certificate program at FSU?

I was attracted to the Program Evaluation Certificate program because of the real-world skills I could gain in a reasonable number of courses.     

In which ways does program evaluation come into play in your work?  And/or, in which ways do you engage in evaluation of your programs? 

I have used the knowledge gained from the Program Evaluation Certificate to help further improve and attract funding for the Mr. and Ms. Mentoring program. Additionally, earning a PhD in Educational Psychology is complimented with this Program Evaluation Certificate. I am using program evaluation skills to develop a new education system that address the knowledge life cycle. This Program Evaluation Certificate is also assisting me during my current phase of attracting funding for the new education system. For instance, funders are looking for practical programs with strong logic models and clear metrics of success and the certificate adds credibility to the requests for funding.

 Are there any awards or notable accomplishments that you have earned in PE/education research?

After completing the two key Program Evaluation courses (e.g., Introduction to Program Evaluation and Evaluation of New Educational Programs and Practice) Mr. and Ms. Mentoring earned its first two grants allowing the program to support more adolescents and hire full-time staff. I played a small role in this process, and I know the guidance I provided was directly from the knowledge and skills gained in both Program Evaluation courses.

What PE coursework did you find most valuable in your studies?

Honestly, all the course work for the Program Evaluation Certificate was valuable. I enjoyed the statistics course, both the qualitative research methods, and the data analysis courses too. These courses helped me both in terms of program evaluation and my educational research. Notably, the Introduction to Program Evaluation taught by Dr. Iatarola was very useful. Dr. Iatarola has a wealth of knowledge that helped orient me to program evaluation and as a bonus she made us feel valued each class.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Evaluation of New Educational Programs and Practice. Dr. Grass has a large amount of experience in the field and included guest speakers whom she had completed program evaluations with in the past.

 What advice or opinions about the PE Certificate would you want to give the program to a prospective student --- or for online EdD students?

If you have a similar mission where you want to see change in systems like these, getting the Program Evaluation Certificate is essential. Having a strong research background, I found program evaluation as a practical process for improving programs and implementing research. Lastly, the advice I have is contact the Program Evaluation faculty and staff. They are welcoming and helpful and will be your best guides through the process.

Meet Suzanne West, an alumnus of our Program Evaluation Certificate program!

What is your current professional role/organization?

I am currently a Content Specialist at Pinellas County Schools over Family & Consumer Sciences and Health Science Education.  In this role, I serve as a district administrator over programs in Career & Technical Education.

Why did you choose the Program Evaluation Certificate program at FSU?

I felt that gaining a better understanding of program evaluation and its practices would not only strengthen my skills for my current position, but also provide a greater opportunity to excel my career prospects. This proved to be true, as I was quickly promoted into my current position upon completing the certificate.   

In which ways does program evaluation come into play in your work?  And/or, in which ways do you engage in evaluation of your programs? 

Program evaluation practices are incorporated into my daily tasks to some capacity whether I am evaluating that the program is meeting its outcome goals, or I am determining equipment or curriculum needs. Additionally, it is my responsibility to report out to our stakeholders the impact of these programs to the greater community and our local economy.    

What PE coursework did you find most valuable in your studies?

The Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods course. It was this course that really helped me to not only solidify the path of my dissertation, but to fully understand how to use qualitative methods in program evaluation. It is fulfilling to know that my dissertation not only served a purpose to allow me to obtain my terminal degree, but it also provided a blueprint for the program to make improvements. I’m grateful for this opportunity to have played a role to help strengthen a program that I am connected to personally.

What advice or opinions about the PE Certificate would you want to give the program to a prospective student --- or for online EdD students?

Program evaluation is a valuable tool for school districts and institutions to strengthen program quality and thus improve outcomes for the students that they serve. Regardless of what path you choose to take in the education sector, you will play a part in program evaluation at some point in your career. Obtaining the program evaluation certificate will be valuable, regardless of your career path, in any area of education. 

Meet Sierra K. Goggins-Brown, an alumnus of our Program Evaluation Certificate program!

What is your current professional role/organization?

I currently serve as a consultant for Real Dreams Prep©, a New York-based tutoring, test preparation, mentoring, and leadership service for middle and high school students. In this role, I serve as an evaluator and editor of new test preparation materials, manage onboarding consultations with students residing outside of New York, and analyze the program’s impact to ensure the company’s vision and mission are aligned to students’ trajectory of entrance to competitive high schools and postsecondary institutions and beyond.

Why did you choose the Program Evaluation Certificate program at FSU?

I knew that I wanted to support students, and school communities as I pursued my career in education, and to effectively support such populations, I needed to develop my knowledge and skills of program evaluation. By taking the necessary courses, I would be able to apply this newfound expertise directly to my current and future professional endeavors. As a bonus, the required coursework for EdD track also aligned with the required core courses in the Program Evaluation certificate. This made the program evaluation certificate obtainable and in a timely manner. 

How has the Program Evaluation Certificate helped in your preparedness for your current role/job or your ability to contribute in your field?

At the time of choosing the Program Evaluation Certificate, I was a district social-emotional learning specialist. I was then promoted to Team Lead of the district social and emotional learning team within Broward County Public Schools. Given the large school district and a team of only 7 District SEL support specialists, my role required a combination of progress monitoring, designing survey measures and data-driven support for over 239 schools and centers. While it was a huge task, I knew I needed the additional interdisciplinary competencies, knowledge, skills, and attitudes to properly design, implement and critique such plans. That way I could relay this systematic approach to my team to ensure our support was intentional and effective based on each school’s unique needs.

The certificate program offered several opportunities to work as a team to produce a common goal or program recommendation. As I progressed in the program evaluation certificate track, I deepened my awareness and understanding of the importance of interpersonal communication, and data-informed decision-making when collaborating with stakeholders. The program evaluation certificate allowed me to carefully learn and then apply a systematic methodology to evaluate the school district’s plans in an intentional way. I learned by addressing the most critical needs of the client in a nurturing yet data-informed way, can aid in making feasible, timely and purposeful changes.

In which ways does program evaluation come into play in your work?  And/or, in which ways do you engage in evaluation of your programs? 

As a consultant for Real Dreams Prep©, program evaluation practices are used when reviewing the company’s current tutoring onboarding process and test preparation materials. Right now, I am supporting the revision of test preparation materials to ensure it is user-friendly for both students and parents/caregiver. The next tasks will consist of evaluating the outcomes of the revised test preparation to ensure the current model and test materials are deemed effective and useful for students. Future goals will consist of longitudinal data to assess how well students do over time and the types of higher education institutions students are accepted into and which schools they ultimately choose to attend.

Which Program Evaluation coursework did you find most valuable in your studies?

I believe each course within the program evaluation certificate was valuable and necessary in understanding the nuances of program evaluation. The wide variety of course instructors and subjects were all worthwhile and intentional. If I had to choose one, however, the one course that stood out the most would be the Evaluation of New Ed Programs taught by Dr. Iatarola. It was one of the best courses I’ve taken at FSU! I appreciated that it was my last course of the certificate program because it offered an amazing opportunity to utilize all that you have learned and apply it to a real-world evaluation. We were given the chance to apply the pedagogy, skills, and techniques to evaluate an actual FSU online course for on-campus professors of the course. The best part was working as a team on various parts of the evaluation, collecting and disaggregating data and providing recommendations. This collaborative process then concluded with compiling one final comprehensive report and given to the professors of the course. While each team had a segment of the final report, I did feel a great sense of accomplishment and newfound confidence in my analytic and reporting skills.

What advice or opinions about the PE Certificate would you want to give to a prospective student, or, particularly an online EdD student?

As a current doctoral candidate in the online EdD program, I was able to directly apply what I learned in the classes into my dissertation in practice. For example, the qualitative and quantitative methods courses helped me prepare for my data collection and analysis component of my dissertation. While the Program Evaluation certificate coursework is valuable on its own, the required courses were all fundamental in supporting my analytic and reporting segments of my EdD dissertation. I am grateful for the coursework aligned with both professional and educational pursuits.

To anyone considering the program evaluation certificate, enroll in it if you have a passion for improving the practices and outcomes within companies, government agencies, institutions, or any other sector you see yourself in. This certificate will provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills and real-world experience to achieve just that. Each course will develop your capacity so you can apply the learning objectives within your current line of work and beyond.