Center to Improve Project Performance
Project Proposal Review
Center for Results in Education and Employment for Deaf Students
Summary Sheet and Questions
Project Summary
Need for the project. People who are deaf or hard of hearing (hereafter abbreviated as “deaf”) have
unique communication and language barriers that require a range of accommodations for success in
postsecondary settings. Individuals who are deaf often do not receive adequate support services in school and
consequently graduate from high school lacking the academic and vocational skills needed to make a
successful postsecondary transition.
Project goals. The National Postsecondary Education Center for Individuals who are Deaf (Center)
was established with the overarching purpose of enhancing the postsecondary success in education and the
workplace of individuals who are deaf. To achieve this, the Center will (1) provide technical assistance to
postsecondary and other relevant institutions/public agencies on programs, practices, and activities to
improve the readiness (academic and social), retention, and completion rates of deaf students; (2) offer
professional development opportunities to postsecondary educators and other individuals providing
educational services to postsecondary students who are deaf; and (3) provide training and information on
how such institutions can utilize technology to provide and promote access and accommodations for deaf
individuals.
The Center has six principal goals:
 Provide leadership for a coordinated national effort of key stakeholders and build collaborative
partnerships to foster system change;
 Incorporate a research-based emphasis for all Center activities to increase knowledge and to
formulate strategies;
 Increase the capacity of professionals, institutions, and communities to improve or expand
services;
 Address personnel development needs to minimize long-standing systemic obstacles for
successful outcomes;
 Utilize technology in innovative and effective ways to create relevant communications and
products; and
 Ensure valid, transparent, and accountable Center activities that maximize impact on
postsecondary outcomes.
Key strategies. The Center will achieve its goals through the interface of leadership and
coordination activities, a national needs assessment and research program, technical assistance and
dissemination, personnel development, development of and training in technology and media, and formative
and summative evaluation.
Leadership and collaboration. Activities include creating a strategic plan for Center staff and
partners; establishing an Advisory Committee; creating and maintaining a website, database, and
outcomes tracking system; hosting a National State Systems Change Summit; organizing
Communities of Practice; and fostering national, broad-based collaboration in order to attend to the
postsecondary needs of individuals who are deaf.
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Needs assessment and research program. The needs assessment and research program will gather
input from key stakeholders regarding gaps in knowledge and practice related to postsecondary
transition for deaf students, content for Center PD and TA activities, formats for Center products
and support, viable mechanisms for systems change, areas for future research and investigation, and
places to refine the project logic model. Analysis of national datasets (National Longitudinal Transition
Study 2 and Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study) will enable the research team to identify
systemic factors that predict or hinder successful academic and professional outcomes for deaf
individuals. These findings will then be incorporated into the technical assistance and personnel
development activities.
Technical assistance and dissemination (TA&D). The Center will provide, and maintain a
database of, three tiers of TA&D activities, including:
 Broad-based general: Indirect, universal activities and products such as the national website, print
and other resources, listservs, e-updates, and use of social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook);
 Direct: Activities directed to specific recipients—possibly based on the needs assessment—
including video/telephone/online chat consultation; online trainings for educators, parents, and
students; on-site TA&D; review of materials, policies, or procedures of a campus or school;
participation in state/national conferences; and hosting meetings of entities wanting cooperative
agreements; and
 Intensive: On-going intensive work with a school district, campus, or stakeholder group as
identified by a request or in the needs assessment, including development of new resources,
creating replicable models based on the needs assessment, and advocacy with institutions or
agencies.
Personnel development (PD). PD activities will address needs at two levels: local, and state and
national.
 Local: Provide online and/or in-person training to key stakeholders at the high school and
postsecondary levels; create Communities of Practice; and
 State and national: Identify states with exemplary transition models, analyze student outcome
data, synthesize findings, coordinate follow-up meetings to establish mentoring relationships,
create Communities of Practice, develop and deliver trainings, and disseminate information.
Technology and media (TM). The Center will develop and/or facilitate broad-based use of deaffriendly TM products that are accessible and relevant to students, parents, and education
professionals. This includes hosting the national website and database, managing listservs and
forums, overseeing live chat and social media, developing and or promoting mobile technology, and
providing inter-office technology and support.
Evaluation. This is discussed more below.
Evaluation Summary
The Center has contracted an external evaluator, Vital Research, to conduct formative and summative
evaluations. The external evaluators plan to use the Context Input Process Products (CIPP) model.1
Formative evaluation activities will focus on context (What needs to be done?), inputs (How should it be done?), and
process (Is it being done, and how well?), while summative activities will focus on products (Did it succeed?). Data
collection includes qualitative (e.g. record review; focus groups; telephone, in-person, or video interviews) and
1
Stufflebeam, D. (2003). The CIPP Model for Evaluation: An update, a review of the model’s development, a checklist
to guide implementation. Paper read at Oregon Program Evaluators Network Conference, at Portland, OR.
http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/pubs/CIPP-ModelOregon10-03.pdf
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quantitative (e.g. secondary data collection on transition, retention, completion; paper and online surveys of
opinions, attitudes, self-efficacy, and awareness) methods. The evaluators propose to use an online data
tracking tool—e.g. Central Desktop—that allows for real-time monitoring of project goals.
Formative evaluation. Formative data on service provision, usage of products and services, client
and consumer satisfaction, and project functioning will be collected and reviewed quarterly, then shared with
the Leadership Team and Advisory Committee to inform project management.
Summative evaluation. Summative data will be collected as part of the formative activities
conducted throughout the project. Performance indicators have been developed to assess outcomes for
postsecondary students, parents, professionals, postsecondary education institutions and other postsecondary
and vocational programs, systems and capacity building, and effective Center leadership and collaboration.
Key outcomes to be assessed via the summative evaluation include impact on:
 Student readiness, retention, and completion
 Wages and job satisfaction of students who are employed
 Self-efficacy of deaf individuals who graduate from high school, job training programs, or
postsecondary education programs.
 Parent knowledge and advocacy
 Postsecondary professional knowledge and capacity
 Postsecondary program access and success
 System change: Cooperative arrangements among service providers to provide services to
students
Questions Regarding the Project’s Evaluation Plans
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What is the status of the evaluation plan/activities?
Are specific strategies in place to coordinate the evaluation across the multiple partners?
What is the implementation status of the online/electronic data collection tools?
How will the evaluation determine if the desired outcomes are the result of project efforts? Are there
strategies to link specific outcomes with Center activities?
What specifically is the “system change” that is expected as a result of the project?
How will the knowledge and skills of service professionals and students be measured? Will individuals be
followed over time, or will the evaluation assess average scores?
How will participants be selected for the evaluation? What strategies are in place to ensure
representativeness of survey/interview samples?
How will fidelity of implementation of the project model be determined?
Would a model for the stages of implementation contribute to the design of the evaluation (e.g., Fixsen)?
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