Performance through the lens of evaluation: How to stretch evaluative thinking with strategic decision-making tools
Article
Article Title | Performance through the lens of evaluation: How to stretch evaluative thinking with strategic decision-making tools |
---|---|
ERA Journal ID | 39946 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Harris, Benjamin (Author) and Alderman, Lyn (Author) |
Journal Title | Evaluation Journal of Australasia |
Journal Citation | 22 (4), pp. 237-253 |
Number of Pages | 17 |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications Ltd |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 1035-719X |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X221120293 |
Web Address (URL) | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1035719X221120293 |
Abstract | Australian higher education continues to be plagued with decreases in funding and increases in regulation. This is leading to a reality within many universities where quality alone is not enough to consider academic programs viable and sustainable. Today, universities compete fiercely for students, as increasing or retaining market share is required to remain financially sound. Universities usually make these difficult decisions through an analysis of internal student data as a metric of performance. Factors such as declining student enrolments, high attrition rates, low progression rates and poor student feedback would typically strike university executives as alarming; however, this is often not the full picture. This process can often become political and not grounded in evidence-based informed decision-making, as strategic decision-making to reduce academic programs may have direct impact on academic employment. Moreover, these analyses often lack independent evaluation and consideration of the broader environment. This can lead to tensions between faculty and university administration, which may lead to political outcomes guided by passionate academic debate rather than strategic evidence-based decision-making. This theoretical article outlines how an internal evaluation team can contribute to this exercise to stretch evaluative thinking by applying a range of strategic decision-making tools to evaluate academic program performance. |
Keywords | strategic decision-making; higher education; curriculum; curricula; evaluation tools |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 440903. Social program evaluation |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | Academic Transformation Portfolio |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q7wq8/performance-through-the-lens-of-evaluation-how-to-stretch-evaluative-thinking-with-strategic-decision-making-tools
60
total views3
total downloads1
views this month0
downloads this month