Forum on Education Abroad: Guided Standards Assessment

Forum on Education Abroad
Guided Standards Assessments



The Forum is pleased to announce a new member benefit: an elective program of Standards Assessments to guide institutions and organizations in their evaluation of how well their programs are oriented to the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad. The Forum is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for education abroad, and the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice are the authoritative means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged.



In each Guided Standards Assessment, Forum members complete directed self-assessments that focus on specific areas of the Standards. Members can use these individual assessments as a means to determine how well they meet specific areas of the Standards. The Assessments may also be used as part of the self-study requirement of a Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) review if the QUIP review is begun within two years of completing a Guided Standards Assessment. The Guided Standards Assessments may be used to divide the Self-Study process of the QUIP comprehensive review into discrete thematic segments. Completing a series of individual Guided Standards Assessments can be an excellent institutional strategy for managing the tasks associated with a comprehensive QUIP review, by breaking down the QUIP comprehensive review into smaller steps.



Guided Standards Assessments are ideally suited for integration with accreditation activity, such as institutional accreditation or disciplinary accreditation, and other types of assessment. Because of their validation by the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice, Guided Standards Assessments carry a weight greater than simple internal self-assessment. Institutions may also choose to use the results of these Assessments to demonstrate to internal and external constituents the quality of their education abroad programs and commitment to ongoing improvement.


The Guided Standards Assessment Process

Each Guided Standards Assessment is planned to be completed over the course of 8 – 10 weeks, in four phases: 1) Team formation and Preparation, 2) Initial Webinar; 3) Self-Assessment and Documentation; and 4) Capstone Webinar. Each participating organization will form a self-study team who will complete a series of assessments developed by the Forum that draws upon the Standards queries, benchmark data and best practices contained in the Standards toolbox. Participants will interact with other institutional teams during the webinars in order to share the challenges as well as the best practices they identify in the assessment process.


Phase One: Team Formation and Preparation

The first step in a Guided Standards Assessment is to form a team responsible for completing the self-assessment. Composition of the team will vary by institution, topic, and scope, but should include representative administrators, faculty and staff working in the area under assessment. Once the team has been assembled, institutions should begin to gather relevant information from these parties that will assist with the subject, and create an institutional timeline for completion of the project. Challenges with the formation of the self-study team and gathering of supporting information may be addressed in the initial webinar.


Phase Two: Initial Webinar

The Initial Webinar explains the Guided Standards Assessment protocol, provides best practice examples of how to utilize the Standards queries to conduct a thorough self-assessment, explains the benchmarking survey exercises and how to access the Forum’s supporting data and resources, provides advice on how to work with the self-assessment team and solidify the timeline, and is an opportunity to answer any questions.


Phase Three: Self-Assessment and Documentation

After the Initial Webinar, participants begin the process of self-assessment and documentation. The team meets 2-4 times over the course of the assessment to be able to fully discuss and complete the pertinent queries and exercises, and document the organization’s practices. The team appoints one member to act as the principal writer of the self-assessment narrative report, and one member to gather and organize the supporting documentation. The length of time needed to complete the self-assessment and documentation varies.

The self-assessment team completes analyses based on the Standards of Good Practice, utilizing the proprietary exercises designed by the Forum and based on the self-study templates used in the Quality Improvement Program. The templates ask institutions for detailed responses to the Standards queries, along with supporting documents and resources that demonstrate the organization’s practices. Institutions will also complete a concise narrative that describes how the organization addresses the specific area of the Standards.

Once the self-assessment and documentation is complete, the self-assessment report is submitted electronically to the Forum and reviewed by staff trained to evaluate the assessment documentation. The staff will offer feedback regarding whether or not the information is complete and provides sufficient evidence to support an institution meeting the relevant Standard. As with the QUIP program, the Forum pledges to keep confidential all self-assessment information submitted to the Forum; it will not be shared with any party.


Phase Four: Capstone Webinar

The organization participates in a capstone webinar with other participating organizations that are assessing the same area of the Standards. The purpose of the webinar is to share lessons learned from completing the self-assessment along with best practices in meeting the Standards. Webinar participants will suggest issues and challenges that were identified in the self-assessments, as well as any practices that they identified as effective and exemplary. The webinar will foster collegial problem-solving and the development of innovative solutions to address challenges. The Forum’s online Toolbox of best practices will also serve as a resource for webinar participants. Participating organizations decide what information, if any, they wish to share.


Participation in the Quality Improvement Program (QUIP)

Guided Standards Assessments are designed to dovetail with eventual participation in a full QUIP review. Completed Assessments may be used to complete some of the requirements of the QUIP Self-Study. Completing individual Guided Standards Assessments can be an ideal way to tackle the longer QUIP process in smaller steps, with the added benefit of having regular feedback provided by the Forum along the way. Completed Guided Standards Assessments may be used as part of the Self-Study requirement of a QUIP review if the QUIP review is begun within two years of completing the Guided Standards Assessments.


Pricing

The Guided Standards Assessments are a member benefit restricted to Forum institutional members. Members may select individual assessments for a price of $350 each, or choose a package of three assessments that must be completed within two years at a price of $900. {The discount for registering for three Guided Standards Assessments will be credited to the registration fee for the third Guided Standards Assessment.] Institutions that use their assessments in a QUIP review within two years will receive a 10% discount on the price of a comprehensive QUIP review.

http://www.forumea.org/standards-gsa.cfm
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