The past few months have been exciting! Xcalibur staff have been traveling and engaging in discussions with high school students, college students, parents, educators, and GEAR UP staff about their GEAR UP experiences. In addition to collecting data for the Annual Performance Report (APR), many GEAR UP grants have accompanying evaluation questions for which quantitative…
“Thank you” is a powerful phrase, which is why we spent November’s town hall discussing several dimensions of gratitude in the workplace. We started by reviewing October’s town hall on the scariest word of all… audit. When you audit proof your program you may uncover lots of things that aren’t working and sometimes it is…
When we think about postsecondary options for students, we immediately think about education options like public or private universities or colleges, community colleges, career/technical schools, vocational/trade schools, centers for continuing education, campus transition programs, and apprenticeship programs. As a result, our postsecondary programming and planning often focus exclusively on these education options. The truth is,…
Among the many questions to ask yourself when designing an evaluation is, what type of an evaluation should we do? One unique and insightful form of evaluation is participatory evaluation. Xcalibur almost exclusively offers participatory evaluation to grants. Why so? We find it provides the highest extent of evaluation impact for grants. Using participatory evaluation…
Do you find yourself making decisions based on your gut instincts again and again? Do your initiatives seem to falter rather than gain traction? If so, then it may be time for a tune up of your evaluative thinking. Evaluative thinking is critical thinking applied to the context of evaluation. It is the heart of…
The #WhyApply campaign celebrates the college application season by sharing supportive and motivating messages on social media about the importance of college and why students should apply. Whether applying to a certificate program, two-year college, or four-year university, celebrating this critical and necessary step on the journey to postsecondary education is essential. Working in the…