CEAC presents at the Student Affairs Assessment and Research Conference
On June 6th, Everett Herman and Dana WInters presented Amplifying All Voices:Evaluating Campus Organizations that Serve Underrepresented Minority Students, at the Student Affairs Assessment and Research Conference. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Student Life and held at The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio, the conference focuses on a variety of issues that impact the success and retention of students in institutions of higher education.
Click here to see Everett and Dana's presention.
CEAC presents at the Eastern Evaluation Research Society's 37th Annual Conference
Assistant Director, Keith Trahan, PhD. and Everett Herman presented There are no bad Questyinz: Evaluating connected learning between homes, schools and libraries, at the Eastern Evaluation Research Society's (EERS) 37th Annual Conference in Galloway, NJ. This year's conference theme was, Managing the Tension Between Rigor and Resources, and addressed how evaluators and researchers can maintain professional standards for thorough and objective data collection and analyses in the face of financial and time constraints of funders and stakeholders. Keith and Evertt called attention to the opportunities and challenges in evaluating a Connected Learning program: Questyinz, an on-line summer reading and learning program developed by a regional library consortium.
Everett and Keith also presented Evaluating a Minority College Student Program to Increase Diversity in Information Sciences, which described the evaluation of The iSchool Inclusion Institute Initiative, a summer program for minority college students whose mission is increasing diversity among faculty in the field of information sciences. The iSchool Inclusion Institute Initiative (i3) is founded on the premise that student diversity in the information professions is directly influenced by the heterogeneity of faculty in the field. Since 2011, this summer institute has prepared minority undergraduates for graduate degrees and academic careers in the information sciences. Each cohort of students in the program took pre-post surveys.The pre-post design allowed for a comparison of student attitudes, interests, and academic plans related to engagement in information sciences both before and after participation in the Summer Institute. The i3 program is dependent on grant funding and evaluation reports are shared with funders to determine effectiveness. However, patience is required for longitudinal data to be collected and analyzed to reveal if participants are successfully engaging in graduate degree programs or careers in information science. Difficulties in comparisons across cohorts notwithstanding, patterns illustrate a successful program is in place.The depth of understanding gained in a small sample can contribute to the literature exploring minorities’ access to advanced degrees in academic fields such as the information sciences.
Click here to see the presentation
Additonally, Everett presented a poster, An Analysis of Baseline Data from the First Year of a 21st Century Community Learning Center Afterschool Program. Funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC) Fund supports the creation of afterschool programming compliment students’ regular academic programs, support improved attendance and behavior and promote family engagement and participation for children who attend high - poverty and low-performing schools.
Click here to see the poster.
CEAC's Dr. Cynthia Tananis is a member of the board of directors for EERS and also serves as the chair for Student Programs.