COURSE SYLLABUS
BUSG 2381
Semester with Course Reference Number/ CRN 43641
Instructor Contact Information (phone number
And email address)
713-718-2468; Kenneth.Hernandez@hccs.edu
Office Location & Hours
Commons Building, M-F 8:00am/4:00 pm room 803
Course Location/Times
Spring Branch Tues 6-7:00pm
Course Semester Credit Hours
Credit hours – 3.00; Lecture hours – 1.00
Total Course Contact Hours
16 plus 320 hours outside class
Type of Instruction
Lecture, Internship & Practicum
Course Description
Career-related activities encountered in the student's area of specialization offered
through a cooperative between the college, employer, and student. Under supervision of
the college and the employer, the student combines classroom learning with work
experience. Directly related to a technical discipline, specific learning objectives guide
the student through the paid work experience. This course may be repeated if topics and
learning outcomes vary.
Course Prerequisite(s)
Student must have completed and successfully passed at least 45 hours of the AAS
degree with a grade point average of 2.5.
Student must have a declared major in this discipline
Student must have a job relative to the discipline;
Must be working minimum of 20 hours per week (paid or volunteer)
Failure to provide proof of employment, degree declaration, prerequisites, will initiate drop.
Student should have received approval from the department chair.
Frequent Requisites
 College Level Writing
 Departmental approval
 College Level Reading
 MATH 0312 (Intermediate Algebra)
Academic Discipline/CTE Program Learning
Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
As outlined in the learning plan: Apply the theory, concepts, and skills involving specialized
materials, tools, equipment, procedures, regulations, laws, and interactions within and among
political, economic, environmental, social, and legal systems associated with the occupation
and the business/industry and will demonstrate legal and ethical behavior, safety practices,
interpersonal and teamwork skills, and appropriate written and verbal communication skills
using the terminology of the occupation and the business/industry.
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Course Student Learning Outcomes (SLO):
1. Student will be able identify career paths and opportunities.
2. Student will be able to identify skills needed to augment career growth.
3. Students will obtain skills to transfer to four-year programs.
4. Students will be able to develop leadership skills for professional growth.
5. Students will be able to identify values for today’s competitive workforce.
6. Students will be able to determine a timeline for professional growth.
7. Students will be able to develop career awareness
8. Students will be able to identify avenues for career exploration.
9. Students will be able to identify problems in the workplace for study.
10. Students will be able to develop solutions to workplace problems.
11. Students will be able to develop a network of employers and peers.
12. Students will be able to design a model for sharing information about findings.
Learning Objectives (Numbering system should be linked to SLO)
Students will complete a written project proposal, an individual project, submit weekly reports,
coordinate site visits and provide a written summary/presentation at the end of the semester.
1. The student must participate in all seminars, related work experiences.
2. Student must be employed for a minimum of 20 hours per week in a career-related field,
with a coop sponsor (usually the supervisor or company representative).
3. Student must prepare a written proposal within the first 2 weeks of class that includes
development of a new learning experience that extends beyond the normal work
assignment. The student must state specific, measurable and achievable learning
objectives. These approved objectives, along with input from the Coop instructor and
Coop sponsor will be used to measure and grade the cooperative work experience
participation and project.
4. Student must execute the proposed project over the course of the semester.
5. Student must develop a detailed written report and final presentation to be given on
Week 15 of the class
6. Student must assist instructor on arranging at least one visit to the employer’s location.
The first visit will be arranged as soon as the work project is approved by the instructor
and Coop sponsor. The student will need to provide specific instructions to the instructor
on how to reach the site.
SCANS and/or Core Curriculum Competencies:
Student will be able identify career paths and opportunities.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Student will be able to identify skills needed to augment career growth.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will obtain skills to transfer to four-year programs.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
4. Students will be able to develop leadership skills for professional growth.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
2
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to identify values for today’s competitive workforce.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to determine a timeline for professional growth.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to develop career awareness
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to identify avenues for career exploration.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to identify problems in the workplace for study.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to develop solutions to workplace problems.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to develop a network of employers and peers.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Students will be able to design a model for sharing information about findings.
Foundation Skills - Basic -Reading
Foundation Skills - Basic -Writing
Foundation Skills - Basic -Mathematics
Foundation Skills - Basic -Listening
Foundation Skills - Basic -Speaking
Instructional Methods
In class lectures (face to face) and working with individual
supervisors of each employer to meet goals
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Weekly Activity Schedule
WEEK
TOPICS
1
1/20
2
1/27
Overview of Course / Requirements / Documents
3
2/03
Mindmap
4
2/10
6
2/24
Career Planning
Project Idea Approvals
Researching Jobs
Work on projects
Writing a Resume
Work on projects
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3/03
Developing a Portfolio
Resume Due
8
3/10
Researching Companies
Progress Report on Project Due
9
3/24
Great Interview Techniques
Portfolios Due
PRESENTATIONS
10
3/31
Interview Follow-up Techniques
Work on Projects
PRESENTATIONS
Negotiation During Hiring
Work on Projects
PRESENTATIONS
Getting the Job: The first 6 months
Work on Projects / PRESENTATIONS
Getting the Job: Love the Job You Have
Knowing When to Leave
PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS
5
2/17
11
4/07
12
4/14
13
4/21
14
4/28
15
5/05
16
5/12
Setting Goals
Paperwork Due
Project Idea Assignment
Projects Due: NO LATE PROJECTS ACCEPTED
PRESENTATIONS
LAST CLASS- Comments
PRESENTATIONS
ALL FINAL DOCUMENTS DUE
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Student Assignments
***** Students must set five goals/objectives/action plans with their
employer to be accomplished during the semester. Each student
supervisor must agree and sign the paperwork which must be
approved and signed by Instructor. All goals must stretch the
student and provide for additional job responsibilities and/or new
job related opportunities for the employer. Students must complete
Weekly activity reports outlining how many hours and what task is
being performed during each week.
In addition, students will provide an “EVALUATON
REPORT” on the major program (Accounting).See
attached guide for report.
Minimum of 8 FULL pages; double spaced; 12 font.
Student Assessment(s)
Student will be able identify career paths and opportunities.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Student will be able to identify skills needed to augment career growth.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will obtain skills to transfer to four-year programs.
No assessments selected for this outcome
4. Students will be able to develop leadership skills for professional growth.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to identify values for today’s competitive workforce.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to determine a timeline for professional growth.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to develop career awareness
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to identify avenues for career exploration.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to identify problems in the workplace for study.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to develop solutions to workplace problems.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to develop a network of employers and peers.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Students will be able to design a model for sharing information about findings.
No assessments selected for this outcome
Instructors Grading Criteria
Students will be graded based upon:






Project with employer (25%):
Presentation of goals & accomplishments in power point or
written notes with oral presentation (20%)
Documents (20%) * You cannot pass without all the
paperwork in even if you get an A on the goals.
Evaluation Paper (20%)
Class attendance (15%): Any missed class after 2 absences
= minus 3 pts for every class missed thereafter
Late pass 10 minutes may result in minus 2 points each time
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HCC Grading Scale
A = 100- 90
B = 89 - 80:
4 points per semester hour
3 points per semester hour
C = 79 - 70:
2 points per semester hour
D = 69 - 60:
59 and below = F
W(Withdrawn)
1 point per semester hour
I (Incomplete)
0 points per semester hour
0 points per semester hour
Instructional Materials
There are no textbooks for this class. Instructor will lecture each
class period on skills necessary to improve business
communication, set goals & objectives; how to deal with difficult
employees/co-workers, self-assessment for self-improvement,
cultural differences in the workplace, job hunting, career
investigation, resume, interviewing skills, how to prepare; power
point skills, use of portfolio; etc.
HCC Policy statement:
It is the policy of the Dean of Workforce that an Incomplete
may be given only for extenuating circumstances (i.e. family
illness, accident, or an unforeseen event occurring at final
exam time)
Access Student Services Policies on their Web site: http://hccs.edu/student-rights
http:/hccs.edu/CE-student-guidelines
Please Note:
At any time during the semester, your
instructor reserves the right to modify
the course requirements,
assignments, exams, grading
procedures, & all other related
policies & procedures as
circumstances may dictate.
Remember also, it is the sole
responsibility of each student to read,
completely understand, and adhere
to this document and all other
documents or materials associated
with this course in their entirety. This
in essence is a CONTRACT!
6
Writing an Evaluation Report
SECTION 1: Executive Summary
SECTION 2: Program Description
SECTION 3: Evaluation Methodology
SECTION 4: Findings
SECTION 5: Interpretation and Reflection
SECTION 6: Recommendations
Guide provides a suggested format for your final
evaluation report, along with ideas for developing each section of the
report. While this stage covers the basic content for any evaluation
report, your report may vary from the model presented here. How you
decide to organize your report will depend on the purpose of the report, and
the requirements.
An “Executive Summary” (sometimes called a Summary) is a short
document of one or two pages that appears at the beginning of the
final evaluation report. The Executive Summary provides an
overview of the program and highlights key findings and
recommendations from the evaluation, giving the reader a sense of
the report’s content without having to read the entire document.
� Why write an Executive Summary?
• The Executive Summary outlines what the reader should expect
to find in the report.
• A Summary may be used separately from the report. For
instance, it may serve as an efficient means of sharing key
findings of the evaluation with a large audience.
� What is included in the Executive Summary?
The exact length and components of a summary may vary
depending on the purpose of the report. Typically, an executive
summary is an overview of the report and includes:
• Purpose of the program
• Program activities, setting and population served
• Purpose of the evaluation
• Overview of findings or outcomes
• Overview of recommendations
Tips for writing an Executive Summary
• Do not include technical details in the Executive Summary. That
is, do not include details about data collection methods used.
• Write the Executive Summary last, after all other sections of the
report are completed.
• Write the Executive Summary in a way that allows the reader to
learn about the most salient aspects of the evaluation without
reading the full report.
SECTION 1: Executive Summary
The “Program Description” section introduces readers to your
program. It should contain a succinct description of the program
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being evaluated, present program goals and objectives, and explain
how program activities were intended to meet the objectives.
Depending on your audience, report requirements, and whether
you have comparative information about the program from a
previous evaluation, you may choose to include additional
information about your program and its history in this section.
� What is included in the Program Description
section?
• Explanation of how the program originated: Provide the rationale for
the program in relation to the agency’s mission, community needs assessment, and/or the political
climate.
• Program overview: Focus on the program’s purpose and key program
activities. Describe the program’s target population (who is served by
the program), when and where activities took place, and why the
program was set up the way it was (program design).
• Program goals and objectives: List the program’s goals and
objectives.
• Significant program revisions: Describe any changes to the program’s
objectives or activities that occurred prior to or during the evaluation,
and provide a rationale for those changes.
� Additional information to consider including in
the Program Description section:
• Relationship of this program to agency’s mission and broader
organizational efforts.
• History of the program’s development or changes in the program
since its initial implementation, including prior accomplishments the
current program builds on or gaps its seeks to address. This is
especially relevant for programs that have been in existence for
several years.
• Comparison of the program evaluated to similar programs sponsored
by other agencies.
SECTION 2: Program Description
The “Evaluation Methodology” section of your final evaluation report
describes the research methods you used in the evaluation and
describes why those particular methods were the most appropriate
for the evaluation. The purpose of this section is to explain how the
evaluation was designed and carried out and to let your reader
assess the quality of your evaluation design.
� Why include an Evaluation Methodology section in
your final report?
A clear description and justification of the evaluation methods used
has several advantages for the program staff and other
stakeholders:
• It demonstrates that the evaluation and procedures for collecting
data were carefully and systematically planned.
• It tells readers how the evaluation team gathered the
information presented in the report. This allows readers to
assess the quality of data-collection procedures.
• It provides documentation that program staff can use to repeat
procedures if they want to collect comparable data in the future.
• It documents your methods, providing a framework for staff with
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similar programs to draw on as they design or improve their
evaluation procedures.
• It assesses whether or not the data collection tools used were
appropriate for the group served by the program.
� Remember
You may have already described the your evaluation methods in
another document, such as a grant application. If so, you may be
able to draw on that text for your final report, editing it to reflect any
changes in methods used and challenges faced.
SECTION 3: Evaluation Methodology
� What should be included in the Evaluation
Methodology section of an evaluation report?
• Types of information collected
Did you collect quantitative data? If so, what types and why?
Did you collect qualitative data? If so, what types and why?
Did you collect both kinds of data? If so, what types and why?
• How and why information was collected
Describe the data collection tools used and include examples
Explain whether the data collection tools existed prior to the
evaluation or if they were developed in-house or by an outside
evaluator.
Explain how the data collection tools were intended to answer the
research questions.
• Who information was collected from and how participants
were selected to provide information
Was information collected from program participants? Program
staff? Community members? Other stakeholders? How and why
were individuals chosen to provide information for the evaluation?
Or did they volunteer?
Was a comparison group used? How was the group chosen?
• Who collected the information?
Was the information collected by program staff? By outside
evaluators? By program participants?
• Limitations in the evaluation design or implementation
Were you able to collect the information you needed using your
data collection tools?
Were the data collection tools appropriate for those who provided
information?
What challenges did you face in carrying out the evaluation?
What changes did you make in your evaluation methods over the
course of the project?
Tips for writing your Evaluation Methodology
section
• It is not necessary to reproduce the data collection instruments you
used in the main text of your evaluation report.
• The Methodology section of your final evaluation report is important,
but need not be long. Be concise!
The "Findings" section presents an organized summary of the
information you have collected in a way that describes whether and
how well each program objective has been met. In a sense the
“Findings” section is the core of the evaluation report, because this
is the section in which you provide a coherent account of what you?
have learned about your program from the data you collected.
9
� How do I “present” my “findings”?
Presenting the findings of your evaluation includes organizing the
data you have collected, analyzing it, and then describing the
results.
The first step in presenting your findings is to organize the
quantitative and qualitative information you have collected in a way
that will allow you to address your objectives. After it is organized,
the information can be used to evaluate your objectives.
The second step is analyzing the data. “Data analysis” sounds
daunting, but all it really means is determining what the information
you collected can tell you about whether and how well you met your
program objectives. This entails using the information you have
collected to answer your research questions.
The third step is describing the analysis of your findings. Data
should be presented in condensed, summary form. For example, to
describe quantitative data you can use frequencies, percentages or
averages. To present qualitative data you might summarize
patterns you detected in observational records or clusters of
answers in interview responses.
Try to avoid interpreting your findings in this section. Interpretations
of the findings are comments about why the objectives were or
were not met. Interpretations will be presented in the next section of
your report. (See Section 5 of this Stage for more information on
interpretation.)
� Remember
It may be tempting to display data in the form of charts, tables or
quotations. Be sure to do so only if it will make the results easier for
the reader to understand.
SECTION 4: Findings
� Example
The following is an example of how data may be summarized and
analyzed for presentation in the Findings section of a final report.
Objective: “60% of women completing the training program during
program year 2001 will have acquired the skills need to pass the
carpenter’s entrance exam.”
Research questions:
1. What percentage of women who completed the training program
passed the carpenter’s entrance exam?
2. After the training program, did women have more skills to pass?
the carpenter’s entrance exam than before the program?
3. Did participating women receive the training they expected?
Data collected:
• Pre- and post-training assessments of participants’ skills to pass
the carpenter’s entrance exam.
• Pre-training focus groups with participants to determine their
expectations for the training and assess skill levels.
• Post-training focus groups with participants to assess
satisfaction with training, whether expectations were met, and
whether skills were obtained.
Presentation of Findings:
1. To answer the first research question, provide the number of
training participants. Present the percentages of participants
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that did and did not pass the carpenter’s entrance exam.
2. To answer the second research question, summarize the results
of pre-training and post-training skills assessments. Describe
how pre-training results differed from post-training results.
In addition, use qualitative data from focus groups to present
participants’ views about whether they felt prepared to pass the
exam based on what they learned in the training.
3. To answer the third research question, summarize qualitative
responses from focus groups that assess whether the training
met participants’ expectations.
� Steps for presenting evaluation data
1. Review your program objectives and research questions to
determine how the information you have collected will be used.
Think about the types of information you will need to summarize
to determine whether or not you have met your objectives.
• Make sure notes taken during interviews and focus groups
have been transcribed, and surveys have been entered into
a computer database, if appropriate.
2. Read through the data you have collected to be sure it is
understandable and to determine whether any information is
missing.
• When you are checking for missing data, keep in mind that
missing data may be physical data such as attendance
sheets or meeting minutes, or specific information that is
needed to evaluate specific objectives.
• If information is unclear, determine whether clarification or
additional information is necessary, or whether the
information you have should not be included in the report.
• If information is incomplete, determine whether you can and
should obtain the missing data.
• Determine how missing data will affect your results.
3. Analyze data and organize analyzed data in the form of charts,
lists, graphs or summaries that can be used to report on each
objective.
• Address each program objective in your Findings section. If
there are insufficient data to determine whether or not the
objective was met, then indicate that this was the case and
account for the lack of data.
• A conventional method of reporting findings is to state the
objective and present data pertaining to the objective
immediately below. However, you may also report on
clusters of related objectives, particularly process objectives.
• Make sure data are presented clearly. Share your "Findings"
section with co-workers to make sure the findings are
presented clearly, without interpretation, and in a way that is
honest, concise, and complete.
Tips for analyzing qualitative data
Qualitative data may be used to answer research questions that
require in-depth answers. Examples are questions about individual
experiences, program processes, or the relationship between
11
program outcomes and the wider context in which the program took
place.
Analyzing qualitative data involves looking for patterns, categories,
and themes. When examining qualitative data, it is important to put
aside what you already know, and allow themes to emerge from the
data on their own. Be careful: if you only focus on what you already
know to be true about the program and what you have learned in
prior evaluations or from personal experience working with the
program you may not see other patterns that emerge.
� Strategies for analyzing qualitative data:
• Content analysis: Look for themes that emerge from data such
as interview or focus group responses, and organize responses
according to themes. Themes should relate to your research
questions.
Be cautious about using interview or focus group questions as
themes for organizing data because they are topics imposed on
the discussion by those conducting the evaluation, and may not
have been discussed otherwise.
You may find it useful to ask a co-worker to organize your data
according to the themes you have developed. Compare how
each of you organized the responses to ensure they were
categorized in a similar way. Lack of agreement may indicate
different understandings of the data. This does not mean that
one of you was wrong, but rather that you should have a
discussion the data and the themes you have generated to
come to a common understanding.
Once you’ve organized the data into categories or themes, write
a statement or short paragraph that summarizes all the
responses in each category.
Tips for analyzing quantitative data
Quantitative data may be used to answer numerical research
questions, such as questions about attendance, retention, test
results and comparisons with a control group.
Statistical techniques may be used to convert responses from large
surveys or other instruments into averages, frequencies, and
percentages, and may also be used to calculate simple correlation.
Obtaining expert assistance may be necessary when using
advanced statistical techniques.
Quantitative data may be tallied by hand or by computer. Hand
tallying involves going through each data record and counting the
information you are seeking, and is appropriate when total numbers
are small.
Computers may be useful for compiling data from surveys or long
forms. This involves entering responses using a spreadsheet
program such as Excel. Staff members who plan to manage data
using a computer should be familiar with spreadsheet programs or
obtain support from someone with experience managing
quantitative data.
� Strategies for analyzing quantitative data:
• Frequencies: Frequencies are counts of the number of times
an event occurred. For example, frequencies can be used to
count the number of times an answer was given on a survey,
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the number of people who attended a meeting, or the number of
people who completed a training program.
• Means: Means are averages that allow you to describe a group
of people or items using a single value. For example, you may
wish to calculate the average attendance of a monthly meeting
over the course of a year. Averages may also be used to
describe salaries of program graduates or numbers of women
enrolled in partnering training programs.
• Percentages: Percentages can be used to illustrate how part of
a group compared to a whole. For example, you may wish to
determine the percentage of trainees who were placed in
manufacturing jobs or the percentage of graduates who stay in
their placements for a determined amount of time.
The “Interpretation and Reflection” section of your final evaluation
report is where you give meaning to the information you have
collected, relating your program’s successes and challenges to
factors within and outside of the program and organization.
� What is interpretation?
Interpretation is a step in the evaluation process in which you make
sense of the findings you have presented in the previous section.
The interpretation section is a narrative account that gives meaning
to the information you have collected. In a sense, you are telling a
story with the data in which you draw on your findings to explain the
program’s successes and challenges in meeting its objectives.
The Interpretations section of your evaluation report includes
conclusions about the program that you draw based on the data
presented in the Findings section of your evaluation report.
When making interpretations for your evaluation report:
• Determine what your results say about your program. Compare
results obtained with what was expected.
• Discuss which objectives were and were not met and give
possible reasons why.
• Determine whether circumstances or events unrelated to the
program contributed to or limited its success.
• Consider how different stakeholders would interpret the results.
• Discuss whether different data sources yielded different results,
why this might be the case, and the implications for the
evaluation.
• Discuss unexpected findings, including anything learned in the
evaluation that was relevant to the program but not directly
related to the objectives. These types of interpretations may be
useful in determining how the program may be changed in the
future.
• Compare your results with results from previous evaluations of
your program or similar programs.
• Determine whether there is anything you would like to know
about your program that your results do not tell you. This may
help you to understand the limitations to your evaluation, and
assist in developing research questions for an evaluation in the
future.
SECTION 5: Interpretation and Reflection
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� What are reflections and how do they differ
from interpretation?
Reflection is a phase in the evaluation process in which you step
back from a narrow focus on the program’s objectives and use your
data to examine the relationship between the program and the
broader context in which it has taken place.
The Reflections section is a place to relate the programs
successes or challenges to factors outside the program itself. You
may choose to consider the broader social, political, economic, or
cultural issues that had an impact on the program.
While most funders do not require a Reflections section, reflection
allows you to think beyond your interpretations – that is, to put them
in a broader context in order to give them more significance.
Reflecting on the evaluation may lead to a better understanding of
the program and how the program may be improved in the future.
� Suggestions for reflecting on your findings
• Set program objectives and data aside and think about what you have
learned. Think about the program, what happened, what worked well,
how it could have worked better.
• Reflect alone and also with other staff members and program
participants for multiple insights about the program.
• Consider whether there are particular program experiences or stories
you can tell that might help explain the program’s successes and
challenges by linking them to issues beyond the program itself.
• Be creative. Reflections allow you to move beyond the data to make
connections between the program and the wider context in which it
took place.
Tips for interpreting and reflecting
• Interpretations and reflections should be presented honestly, in a way
that will be helpful to the program. The program will not benefit if you
present program strengths and successes with no attention to
weaknesses or challenges. The aim is to draw on your data to
account for both successes and challenges. This will allow you make
meaningful recommendations, and to use the evaluation to continue
improving your program.
• Data can be interpreted in many different ways. As with your Findings
section, it is often helpful to confer with co-workers and other
stakeholders such as program participants about your interpretations
and reflections. This will help to ensure the Interpretation and
Reflection section is presented clearly, carefully, and honestly.
The “Recommendations” section of your final evaluation report is a
narrative list of suggestions for modifying or supplementing the
program in the future in order to improve its ability to meet its
objectives and increase its success.
As you list your recommendations, it is useful to explain the basis
for each recommendation and why you believe a particular
recommendation will improve the program.
Tips for developing recommendations
• Recommendations should draw directly on what you have
learned in your evaluation and what you know about the
program. They should reflect what was reported in your findings
and interpretations sections.
• Recommendations may be directed toward the specific program
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being evaluated. They may also be directed toward the
organization, the community being served, the funding agency,
or other stakeholders.
• Think about the objectives you did not meet. Are there program
changes that would help you to meet the objectives? Were the
objectives unrealistic? Recommendations can suggest changing
how the program is organized or staffed; they can also suggest
the modification of objectives.
• Recommendations can be creative, as long as they can be
realistically implemented.
• Program staff and other stakeholders may be able to provide
useful recommendations for the program, or may be helpful in
determining whether recommendations are realistic.
• Focus on a reasonable number of recommendations that will
have a significant impact on the program. Avoid listing
numerous recommendations that require minor changes or that
have no context.
• Be specific in explaining how implementing the recommendation
will improve the program.
SECTION 6: Recommendations
The “Recommendations” section of your final evaluation report is a
narrative list of suggestions for modifying or supplementing the
program in the future in order to improve its ability to meet its
objectives and increase its success.
As you list your recommendations, it is useful to explain the basis
for each recommendation and why you believe a particular
recommendation will improve the program.
Tips for developing recommendations
• Recommendations should draw directly on what you have
learned in your evaluation and what you know about the
program. They should reflect what was reported in your findings
and interpretations sections.
• Recommendations may be directed toward the specific program
being evaluated. They may also be directed toward the
organization, the community being served, the funding agency,
or other stakeholders.
• Think about the objectives you did not meet. Are there program changes that would help you
to meet the objectives? Were the objectives unrealistic? Recommendations can suggest
changing how the program is organized or staffed; they can also suggest the modification of
objectives.
• Recommendations can be creative, as long as they can be
realistically implemented.
• Program staff and other stakeholders may be able to provide
useful recommendations for the program, or may be helpful in
determining whether recommendations are realistic.
• Focus on a reasonable number of recommendations that will
have a significant impact on the program. Avoid listing
numerous recommendations that require minor changes or that
have no context.
• Be specific in explaining how implementing the recommendation will improve the program.
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