 Glossary of Evaluation and Accountability Terms
March 2001
Terms relevant to evaluation and accountability in post-secondary education in British
Columbia Compiled for the Standing Committee on Evaluation and Accountability (SCOEA)
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | L | M | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V
Access: the availability of educational opportunities.
Accountability: the obligation to account for responsibilities
conferred; in this context, the provision of documented assurance that publicly funded
colleges, institutes and agencies are effectively serving local and provincial needs
through the appropriate use of available resources.
Accountability Framework: an inter-related set of definitions,
procedures, standards, and reporting dates which specify how the college, institute and
agency sector will provide accountability to the public.
Accreditation: a process whereby an instructional program or
institution is certified as meeting a set of stated standards.
Adult Basic Education Programs: programs that provide flexible
learning opportunities to adult learners to acquire the foundation skills needed to be
successful in further programs of study or to move directly into the workplace.
Advanced Placement: formal recognition of prior learning based on an
institutional prior learning assessment, foreign credentials, or AP/IB Grade 12 credits,
which allows a student to begin a program beyond the usual entry point.
Affordability: achievement of the goals of relevance, quality, access,
and accountability at costs that are within the provincial fiscal framework and are
affordable to students.
Annual Management/Budget Letter: a communication sent by the Ministry
responsible for post-secondary education to each institution and to system-wide agencies,
which specifies system goals, performance expectations, and objectives for the coming
year.
Annual Reviews: the reviews of Critical Success Factors, Indicators
and Trends, and the Status of Recommendations as set out in the Institutional Evaluation
Framework.
Applied and Professional Programs:
programs of study involving theoretical and practical knowledge leading to a certificate,
diploma, or degree in a specific career path. Such programs may be less than a year
(sometimes called vocational), 13-36 months (sometimes called Career/Technical), a
four-year baccalaureate, or post-baccalaureate. All are designed to prepare students for
employment in a relatively specific field.
Areas of Performance Interest (APIs): broad areas of performance
identified in the system's strategic plan as those to be measured by system performance
report indicators (SPRIs).
Articulation: the development and implementation of agreements that
provide transfer with credit from one institution to another for equivalent courses and
programs.
Arts and Sciences Programs: programs of study consisting of courses in
the humanities, social sciences, and sciences that lead to a two-year associate's degree
or a four-year bachelor's degree. (See Lower
Division Studies and Upper Division
Studies)
Assessment: systematic analysis of the effectiveness of teaching and
learning that is carried out according to established standards.
Audit: (See Evaluation
Process Audit)
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Base-Funded Activity: courses or programs that are funded through
allocation from the Ministry or an agent of the Ministry.
Base Operating Grant: total revenues provided by the Ministry or an
agent of the Ministry to support an institution's approved program profile.
Benchmark: a standard or reference point for measuring achievement and
performance levels; this may represent a current, desired, or average level.
Business Plan: a document prepared for a
program or an organization that describes its objectives, identifies the activities
required to meet these objectives, and allocates resources accordingly, and that provides
the means to assess progress towards the achievement of the objectives.
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Certificate: the formal recognition by an institution that (1.) a
student has attended a learning activity offered by the institution (participation or
attendance certificate) or (2.) a student has completed the requirements of a learning
activity that include a minimum of 60 hours of instruction and formal evaluation of the
student's achievements (merit certificate).
Client Satisfaction: an organizational measure, usually by way of a
survey, of the extent to which the needs and expectations of clients are met.
College, University College, Institute and Agency Sector: British
Columbia's public colleges, university colleges, provincial institutes, and Agencies, part
of the post-secondary education system.
Continuing Education: part-time or short-term educational activities
or training offered by an institution on a cost-recovery basis. (See Leveraged Activity)
Contract Training: educational activities or training designed for and
sold to a specific client or group of clients. (See Leveraged
Activity)
Course: a comprehensive unit of instruction, defined and identified by
an institution, which follows a prepared outline of content and is designed to deliver
specific learning or training outcomes. In order to be a course, there must be a
registration process and generally, but not always, an evaluation component.
Course completions: registrations in courses for which students have
received a final grade of Pass or a letter grade of "D" or better standing. (In
courses for which no grades are assigned, the number of course completions is determined
by deducting the withdrawals and/or refunds from the registrations.)
Course Hour Equivalent (CHE): a learning experience that is equivalent
to one hour of scheduled class time, i.e. Student Contact Hour (SCH) and a means of
recognizing delivery of a comparable amount of educational content, regardless of the
delivery mode.
Credentials: formal documents issued by an institution once a student
has met the institution's requirements for completion of a particular program or course
that has a minimum of 60 Student Contact Hours (SCHs) of instruction (or course hour
equivalent activity) and an evaluative component. These may be certificates, diplomas or
degrees, including advanced and post-baccalaureate diplomas, associate degrees or
baccalaureate degrees.
Credits: numerical units employed by post-secondary institutions to
communicate the academic weight of a course or program section. Assigned credits are used
to record the completion of a required course of study and to assist in the transfer of
students from one institution to another.
Credit Transfer: the granting of credit
for a course or program taken at one institution by another post-secondary institution.
Criterion: a standard on which a judgment may be based.
Critical Success Factors: the essential elements of an institution's
strategic plan which the institution measures annually as part of the Institutional
Evaluation Framework. These elements reflect the state of achievement of the goals
laid out in the strategic plan and the success of the plan's implementation.
Culture of Evaluation: continuous evaluation, based on a set of
articulated standards, is internalized and practiced by all areas of the community;
evaluation and assessment are recognized as an integral part of all activities.
Curriculum: the aggregate of courses offered in an institution; the
approved sequence of courses in a program; the approved sequence of learning activities in
a course.
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Data Definitions and Standards: a common set of parameters that has
been established to ensure the collection of comparable data across the system.
Distributed Learning: any educational activity that does not require
regular physical attendance.
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Education Council: the council required by the 1995 Amendments to the College
and Institute Act which is composed of representatives of an institution's internal
constituencies and has the general authority to oversee the academic standards of the
institution.
Educational Activity: all courses, programs, and educational
opportunities provided by a college, institute, or agency.
Educational Services: services offered to students at a post-secondary
institution intended to support and complement the educational activity selected by
students.
Effectiveness: the extent to which a program or service is meeting its
stated goals and objectives.
Efficiency: relative economy with which resources are employed to
achieve approved outcomes.
Equity Groups: groups of people who have traditionally had limited
rates of access to and/or low completion rates in education and training; sometimes called
target groups.
Equity Programs: initiatives that take into account and aim to
minimize barriers which have traditionally hampered access to and completion of education
and training for certain groups or individuals: sometimes called target groups.
Evaluation: the systematic analysis of processes, results, and impacts
of a program, activity or policy in order to judge its worth. Evaluation may also address
the extent to which a program or an institution continues to serve a useful purpose and
operates efficiently. (See In-depth Evaluation
and Institutional Evaluation)
Evaluation Process Audit: part
of the Institutional Evaluation Framework, the Evaluation Process Audit is the
examination and evaluation of institutional quality control processes according to
standards set by SCOEA, and is comprised of two parts: the Institutional Self-study and
the External Validation.
External Validation: the process in which a team of people from
outside an institution comment on the accuracy and completeness of the Institutional
Self-study; part of the Evaluation Process Audit.
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Full-time Equivalent Student (FTE): the arithmetic equivalent of a
student taking a full course of studies for a specified period no longer than one year, as
derived from credits, total course registrations, student contact hours or course hour
equivalents.
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General Services: those operations that do not directly affect
instruction of students, such as payroll and printing.
Goal: a broad statement of desired achievement or results.
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Headcount: a tally of the number of individuals registered in a
course, program, or institution on a specified date or over a specified period.
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In-depth Evaluations: as defined in
the Institutional Evaluation Framework, these are comprehensive reviews of every
aspect of an institution conducted at regular intervals.
Indicators: critical information about
selected areas of performance, usually expressed as an index or ratio, monitored at
regular intervals, and compared to one or more standards. Indicators describe various
aspects of the operation of a program, service, or institution. They must be relevant
(actually represent what they purport to), reliable (based on statistics
that can be assembled consistently and accurately), accessible
(constructed on a regular and consistent basis), and clear (easy to understand). They are
frequently tracked for over three to five years. In the institutional evaluation process,
indicators relevant to the operation and performance of each program and service are
collected and reviewed annually and as trends over a three to five-year period.
Industry Training and Apprenticeship Commission (ITAC): a body
established by B.C. legislation in November 1997 with the authority to establish policy
and allocate funding for apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs.
Inputs: the resources used to support educational activities and
services.
Institution: a component of the college, university college, institute
and agency sector or of the university sector; each is created by legislation, can hire
employees in its own name, has a governing board, and provides educational learning
opportunities.
Institutional Evaluation:
systematic and regular analysis through the use of established indicators and procedures
of an institution's performance in relation to its goals and objectives; an organized
process of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information that assists an
institution's board, administrators, faculty, and staff in making judgments about the
effectiveness and efficiency of the institution's programs and services, and provides a
basis for constructive change.
Institutional Evaluation Framework: an integrated set of annual and
periodic self-evaluation processes designed to assist institutions to continuously improve
their operations and respond to demands for institutional accountability.
Institutional Evaluation Subcommittee: a subcommittee of SCOEA with
responsibility to implement, monitor and maintain policies and procedures that govern the
institutional evaluation process under the direction of SCOEA.
Institutional Self-study: an
institution's appraisal of its quality control processes according to the standard set out
by SCOEA in the Institutional Evaluation Framework; part of the Evaluation
Process Audit.
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Learning Outcomes: the knowledge, skills, and values acquired through
a student's participation in an educational activity.
Leveraged Activity: educational
activity offered by an institution that does not use funding provided by the Ministry or
an agent of the Ministry; includes contract training, Continuing Education, and other cost
recovery education and training activity.
Lower Division Studies: refers to
courses at the first and second year in Baccalaureate degree programs. Two full years of
lower-division study may lead to an Associate degree in either Arts or Science (sometimes
called Lower Level Studies).
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Management Operations: those operations that involve coordination
across units, allocation of responsibilities, leadership, implementation of policy and
procedure, and do not involve the direct delivery of instruction or educational services
to students; management operations may be carried out by faculty, staff, or
administrators.
Ministry: the Ministry in British Columbia that is responsible for
colleges, university colleges, institutes and agencies at any particular time.
Mission: expression of an institution's core values and purposes.
Module: an independent unit that forms part of a longer course or
program.
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Objective: a measurable result that a program, service, or institution
is expected to accomplish in a given period of time in the pursuit of its goals.
Operational planning: specifies
short-term objectives and resources for each unit in the organization. (See also Business Plan)
Outcomes: quality of the benefit or impact of educational activities
and services on students, clients, and the public.
Outputs: quantity of units produced, services provided, and people
served.
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Participation Rates: the proportion of an eligible cohort that was
involved in an educational activity.
Partnership: a relationship formed when two or more organizations or
individuals recognize that working together towards a common goal makes more sense than
working independently.
Performance Indicators: (See Indicators
and System Performance
Report Indicators)
Performance Management: the integration of performance measures,
benchmarks, and goals in order to achieve optimal results.
Performance Measure: a statement specifying clearly and precisely a
desired output, outcome, or event that is expected to occur: the "what" that is
to be measured.
Performance Measurement: a process of assessing the achievement of
pre-determined goals and objectives through the measurement of the following types of
indicators: inputs, processes of delivery of activities and services outputs, and
outcomes.
Planning: a process to determine goals and objectives and to devise
the means by which they can be accomplished. (See Strategic
Planning, Tactical Planning and
Operational Planning)
Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR):
assessment by some valid and reliable means, by a qualified specialist, of what has been
learned through non-formal education, training, or experience, and that is worthy of
credit in a course or program offered by an institution providing the credit.
Process: (as a type of indicator) the means or method used to deliver
educational activities and services.
Program: a set of structured, interrelated learning experiences as
defined by an educational institution or other provider that is designed to accomplish
predetermined learning outcomes. Such learning experiences may include a number or series
of courses (minimum of two), laboratories, field experiences, practical applications,
research assignments, etc. A program must involve a minimum amount of time and lead to a
completion point that must be formally certified or recognized by the institution.
Program Indicators: See Indicators.
Program Profile / Provincial Grant: the annual provincial funding
statement sent to each institution detailing assigned FTEs for each program area and the
funding associated with those FTEs. The assigned FTEs are also used as a measure of an
institution's annual performance.
Provincial Education Number (PEN): the identification number assigned
to a student by the Ministry.
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Quality: degree of excellence to which performance standards are met
or exceeded.
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Registrant: a student registered in an educational activity on a
designated date.
Relevance: suitability to the needs of students and society.
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Sector: a division of the public post-secondary education system
within British Columbia. There are two sectors: the college, university college, institute
and agency sector and the university sector.
Self-study: See Institutional
Self-study
Service Indicators: See Indicators.
Stakeholder: a person or group affected by the actions of another.
Standing Committee on Evaluation and Accountability (SCOEA): the
provincial body that provides recommendations and assistance on matters of evaluation and
accountability related to institutions and to the system; SCOEA reports jointly to the
Boards of Governors of the institutions and to the Ministry.
Standing Conference (Forum): an annual meeting of all college,
institute and agency partners and stakeholders that is held to review the sector's
performance, assess issues facing the sector, and develop future goals and objectives for
the sector.
Strategic Plan: a document that outlines
the mission, values, and goals for the medium to long term.
Strategic planning: identifies the medium to long-term goals integral
to the institution's mission; general principles are fairly fixed, but the means for
implementation are flexible.
Strategy: a plan or method employed in order to achieve a goal or
objective.
Student: a person recognized by the registrar as enrolled in an
educational activity and who is in good standing at the institution.
Student Contact Hour (SCH): one student receiving one hour of
instruction from an instructor in a formal learning setting.
Support Services: all aspects of the institution's operation not
involved in the direct delivery of courses and programs; includes educational and general
services.
System: (as in post-secondary education system) the college,
university-college, institute and agency sector, the university sector, and that part of
the Ministry that is responsible for these sectors. The institutions are publicly funded
and regulated by specific provincial legislation.
System Performance Management Reports: descriptions of the system's
achievement of goals and objectives.
System Performance
Report Indicators (SPRIs): In the British Columbia college, university
college, institute and agency system, SPRIs refer to the data that is collected and
reported annually to depict the degree of implementation of the system's strategic plan.
(See also Indicators)
System Performance Report Indicators Subcommittee: a subcommittee of
SCOEA with responsibility to recommend annually to SCOEA which system performance
indicators, will be presented in the System Performance Report.
System Strategic Plan: the plan developed to guide the authorities of
the colleges, university colleges, institutes, and agencies and that part of the Ministry
responsible for them. Currently the system strategic plan is Charting a New Course
(1996).
System-Wide Organizations: Special purpose organizations within the
post-secondary education system that are funded directly at least in part by government
and that help the system to achieve its goals. These include the Centre for Education
Information Standards and Services (CEISS), Centre for Curriculum Transfer and Technology
(C2T2 or CCTT), British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT), British
Columbia Centre for International Education (BCCIE), and Contract Training and Marketing
Society (CTMS).
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Tactical planning: involves a more
detailed review of opportunities and proposed strategies for a two to four-year period.
Traditional Classroom Learning: learning that takes place in a
classroom setting at a pre-scheduled time and place involving students and instructors.
Transfer: See Credit Transfer
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Upper Division Studies: refers to
courses at the third year level or higher in baccalaureate degree programs. Upper-division
courses usually are more specialized than lower-division courses and have lower-division
prerequisites (sometimes called Upper Level Studies).
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Vocational Programs: see Applied
Programs.
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