Questions to consider for the Georgia Computes! Alliance Site
Visit
Impact/Outcomes of Alliance Activities
1. The Georgia Computes! Alliance features a broad scope of activities
across several different demographics, with a variety of components.
Characterize, quantitatively if possible, what has been attempted
within this scope of activity and what has been achieved to date. To
what extent have each of the target groups been reached? To what
extent have new pathways been developed? Is there evidence that
students are following these pathways? What has been your most
successful intervention?
2. Please cite evidence of: (a) alignment with other programs that
share Georgia Computes! goals; (b) effective dissemination within and
beyond the Alliance; (c) successful interventions; (d) curricular
changes that have fostered improvements in student participation and
performance; and (e) a statewide effort that could be a model for
multi-institutional, multi-level (precollege, 2-year, and 4-year college)
student and faculty support.
3. What new measures of impact/outcome have been developed to
capture what the Alliance is seeking to achieve, i.e., beyond traditional
pre-post test measures appropriately disaggregated (by gender,
ethnicity, disability, and cohort) such as GPA, year-to-year retention,
and degree attainment? What have been especially challenging
measurement issues? What baseline data do you now have?
What metrics have resulted from the cooperation with the CAITE
evaluators? What specific data do you expect to have when the
proposed extension comes up for its renewal?
Organizational and Other Challenges to the Alliance
4. Please explain the division of labor practiced by the Alliance. Which
institutions take the lead or specialize or participate in the main
Alliance activities?
5. How does the Alliance communicate what it is doing and
accomplishing? Please draw a picture of the communication pattern
linking the participating institutions.
6. What data is the Alliance using for comparison purposes? Are they
national sources, local institutional information on students, some
combination, or other? Explain.
7. How difficult is it to demarcate Alliance activities from other ongoing
work?
8. Under the heading of "organizational change" (as opposed to
individual-level impact), discuss how the Alliance has affected (a)
collaboration (teamwork, shared faculty, cross-institutional internship
opportunities); and (b) institutionalization (evidence of and prospects
for leveraging/continuing/sustaining).
9. Has participation in the Alliance activities raised any issues for the
faculty involved?
10. To what extent has the Alliance been supported at each of the
member institutions? Does this bode well for future sustainability?
11. How much larger can the Alliance grow? What are the constraints
on its growth?
12. If we were to create another Georgia Computes! Alliance for some
other state, how much of what you’ve done is transferable? How much
would have to be recreated? How much “assistance” would you think
would be needed from your team? Would there be any
advantages/disadvantages to your Alliance in having others exist?
13. How many more years will it take to demonstrate the full potential
of the Alliance?
14. Are there unmet resource needs for the Alliance?