SCOPE OF WORK:
SUNY WCC seeks to secure the technical assistance of an expert Evaluator to provide the support and guidance to the College as it executes a Title V grant that will commence on or about May 26, 2024 and continue thru September 30, 2028. The project’s evaluation plan includes an annual formative evaluation designed to improve the project’s implementation in years 1-4, and a summative evaluation in year 5 to measure, assess, and report the project’s success.
SUNY WCC established the following project objectives: 1) increase enrollment, retention and beginning student success of Hispanic and low-income students through “Welcome ROADS, Welcome All” initiatives by 2028; 2) increase academic success, credits earned (accumulated), through “Continue ROADS, Continue ALL” activities.;
3) increase degree completion and transfer through “Complete ROADS, Complete All” initiatives by 2028; and 4) increase sustainability for student success through professional development.
Data Collection and Analysis
Each project objective includes quantified performance measures that define the objective’s baseline condition at the start of the project and identifies specific target outcomes for the objective to achieve each project year. The project staff seeks to work with an expert Evaluator to systematically and routinely collect and analyze the data on each performance measure as well as benchmark the College’s improvement in student success and institutional effectiveness. Key measures of success and effectiveness will include retention, persistence, program completion, and graduation rates. Further, project evaluators also will assess the extent to which any improvements may be attributed to the Title V project.
The Evaluator will work with the Title V Team and relevant college offices (e.g., Institutional Research) to establish and review data collection procedures and ensure that the Evaluator will provide a customized data and information tracker where the project team can record data and information for the evaluation and the Annual Performance Report (APR).
Meetings and Communication:
The Evaluator will hold regularly scheduled conferences with the Title V project team to ensure the project is operating on schedule and in accordance with its project plan and federal guidelines. The Evaluator will conduct documents review, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews with college faculty, staff, and students to assess progress on the five-year grant goals and objectives and provide timely feedback to help ensure the project’s implementation and outcomes success. To assist in keeping the evaluation on schedule, the Evaluator and Project Director will develop a Workplan and Schedule that schedules evaluation tasks to be completed, the start and end date for each task, and the entity responsibility for task completion.
Contribute to the College’s Growing Culture of Assessment and Evaluation:
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To build abiding institutional evaluation capacity, the Evaluator will work to strengthen the existing culture and systematic process of continuous assessment, communication, and improvement. The Evaluator also will develop and implement the analytic framework, tools, and procedures for ongoing evaluation, refinement, and institutionalization of project-developed innovations and capacities beyond the five-year grant period.
Evaluation Activities:
Formative Evaluation: Formative evaluation will occur throughout each year to monitor progress toward meeting objectives, performance measures, and implementation targets. The Evaluator will collect records, interview the management team, analyze documents to compare actual progress with that outlined in the implementation plan, and conduct site visits to the campus to obtain feedback from project staff, faculty, administrators, and students. The Evaluator will develop annual formative reports in years one through four to provide performance measures data, assess progress in meeting objectives and performance and GPRA measures, and recommend project improvements. Reports will be vetted by the management team and other stakeholders and made available through the Title V section of the college’s website.
Summative Evaluation: Summative evaluation will report conclusions on the project’s success. It will provide final analysis to address the two key evaluation questions:
1) What is the impact of the project on participating students, with respect to retention, academic persistence, program completion, and attainment of a degree?
2) Did progress toward achieving institutional capacity-building and self-sufficiency occur, as measured by performance measures and projected results from the Title V proposal?
Evaluation Reports and Timelines: With assistance from the Title V Coordinator, the Title V Director will have overall responsibility for implementing the Evaluation Plan, in collaboration with the Evaluator.
The selected proposer would be expected to have: experience with implementing & evaluating Title III and/or Title V grants.
PROPOSAL EVALUATION:
The College shall apply the following evaluation criteria in selecting a proposer with whom to commence contract negotiations. Such criteria are not necessarily listed in order of importance. The College reserves the right to add additional criteria to its evaluation. The College reserves the right to weigh its evaluation criteria in any manner it deems appropriate.
1. Adequacy and quality of overall proposal.
2. The extent to which the services meet the College’s needs.
3. Experience with implementing & evaluating Title III and/or Title V grants
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4. The ability to provide service in an expedient and efficient manner.
5. Relevant experience, including prior experience with community colleges or other comparable, postsecondary institutions.
6. The qualifications of the assigned personnel and the staffing approach applied to project needs.
7. Cost and value to the College.
8. Responsiveness to the proposal in clearly stating an understanding of the scope of services.
9. Client references.
10. A demonstrated level of performance and a relevant track record of effective technical assistance.
