The key evaluation questions for the STEM Higher Education Project are:
Question 1: Were the activities implemented through the Project aligned with the design, as documented in the logic model?
Question 2: How was the Partnership established and carried out? How did it change over time?
Question 3: To what extent are Project activities sustainable?
Question 4: What is the impact of the SDSU-Georgia program on outcomes including income, better skill match to employers, and a greater share of students choosing to pursue graduate education? Does the impact of the program vary by gender, economic backgrounds of students, and the countries that they are from?
Question 5: What is the post-compact economic rate of return? How accurate were the original estimates and assumptions?
The evaluation utilizes a mixed-methods approach that involves quantitative analyses of surveys along with document and literature reviews and qualitative analyses of interviews, focus groups and case studies. Such a mixed-methods evaluation will allow us to examine a variety of aspects of the STEM Higher Education Partnership program including partnerships, design and implementation, outcomes, barriers to and facilitators of high-quality implementation, cost, and sustainability.