|
Special Update on the Forum BEVI Project:
Learn more about
project developments, preliminary findings, and its transition this Fall from the pilot and into the formal phase by reading Craig Shealy's update.
The Forum BEVI Project is a special collaboration with the International Beliefs and Values Institute (IBAVI) and the Office of International Programs (OIP) at James Madison University. This project offers selected Forum member institutions the state-of-the-art opportunity to validate a new outcomes assessment instrument, and then benefit from its first formal application.
The BEVI Instrument
The project uses the Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI), an instrument developed by Dr. Craig Shealy, Executive Director of IBAVI. Shealy describes the BEVI as "designed to assess a number of relevant processes and constructs including, but not limited to:
- Basic openness;
- Receptivity to different cultures, religions, and social practices;
- The tendency to (or not to) stereotype in particular ways;
- Self- and emotional awareness; and
- Preferred strategies for making sense of why 'other' people and cultures ‘do what they do.’”
Institutions will be able to use BEVI results for a variety of assessment goals:
- To comply with accreditation requirements, such as substantive assessment,
- To evaluate specific international learning experiences, including study abroad; and
- To better understand how, why, and under what circumstances students learn.
“The web-based BEVI may also be used flexibly with other assessment measures and approaches,” says Shealy.
The Forum has selected the institutions for this project. The selection committee was composed of Forum staff, a representative from the Forum Council’s Outcomes Assessment Committee, and the Executive Directors of the IBAVI and OIP at James Madison University. Selections was based on a variety of factors, including:
- Commitment, as demonstrated by the identification of specific international learning experiences to be assessed, allocation of appropriate institutional resources, and support from institutional leadership;
- Strength of rationale for participating in the project and how the project will benefit the organization/institution; and
- Diversity of institutions and organizations represented in the study.
Participating Forum member institutions include: Brethren Colleges Abroad, Dickinson College, IESAbroad, International Studies Abroad, James Madison University, Michigan State University, Saint Mary’s College, Saint Olaf College, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, and Wells College .
|
