Polk State College's Engineering Technology Program

This case study describes an open entry early exit (O3E) rolling enrollment program focused on untangling the web of systems, assumptions, roles, relationships, and interagency processes to address the national emphasis on affordable, compressed, and flexible degree attainment, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent gap areas. To this end, Polk State College has empowered students with an affordable, accessible option that was initiated as a result of a National Science Foundation-Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) project award. The project was designed to transition a traditional engineering technology associate in science degree program to a hybrid competency-based (CBE), modular, non-term, self-paced, learner-centered, faculty-mentored format. As a work in progress, having shifted to CBE in Fall 2014, the O3E program team has undertaken and resolved numerous challenges, many of which are still emergent, and identified significant breakthroughs to provide a catalyst to the reconceptualization of higher education.

Making Formative Assessment Feasible: A Collaborative Approach Supporting Grant Funded Projects

Formative assessment is a means of unlocking the ‘black box’ of an intervention to explore and understand cause and effect, and is, therefore, vital for improvements that lead to success. However, most funders focus on summative evaluation, and projects with limited resources struggle to meet that requirement, leaving formative investigations ideal, but infeasible. Yet, formative assessment is essential when conducting an intervention that must create results with a small budget. This paper discusses the Formative Assessment Systems for Advanced Technological Education (FAS4ATE) project, which used a high level, theory based participatory approach to address these issues in small grant funded projects. FAS4ATE brought the leaders and evaluators from a variety of small projects together with experts in formative assessment and evaluation in two webinars and a workshop. Logic models were the core activity and teaching tool used to identify formative assessment needs throughout the life cycle of individual projects. The logic models were then analysed across projects to provide specifications for the development of tools and resources to support formative assessment. The paper describes the project's process, key strategy, products and recommendations. It will be particularly valuable for those who are interested in evaluation capacity building, both in terms of individual learning and creating evaluation systems.