Who Should Do Evaluation?

Evaluation consultants who are outside your department or institution can be expensive, and beyond the scope of the CISE REU budget. Most CISE REU evaluators are the PIs themselves. Managing the scope of a program evaluation can be a large undertaking. Below are common options with the benefits and considerations for each noted.

Evaluation team Benefits Considerations Recommendations
PI as Evaluator- the Principal Investigator serves as sole evaluator for the site Cost effective Must address potential bias in all publications Consult with other CISE REU evaluators & PIs for your specific challenges
Option: Graduate Assistant
  • Evaluation Toolkit is time saver
  • Cost effective
  • Assist in operational details
  • May involve ‘evaluation learning curve’
  • May require considerable training and management
 Select graduate students in Psychology, Statistics, Sociology, and other social science disciplines
External Evaluator- an external consultant is hired from outside your organization Expertise May be cost prohibitive Consider selective hiring for specific evaluation components, e.g. report generation, data analysis, or designing evaluation plan
Efficiency May lack contextual background and need to develop understanding of current CISE REU literature
Internal Evaluator- an internal consultant from your department or institution Expertise May have other work load demands competing with your project deadlines Locate someone with STEM area experience
Efficiency May lack contextual background and need to develop understanding of current CISE REU literature
Less Cost prohibitive