Guided Standards Assessments
The Forum's Guided Standards Assessments are an elective program to guide institutions and organizations in their evaluation of how well their programs are oriented to the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad. The Forum is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for education abroad, and the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice are the authoritative means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged.
In each Guided Standards Assessment, Forum members complete directed self-assessments that focus on specific areas of the Standards. Members can use these individual assessments as a means to determine how well they meet specific areas of the Standards. The Assessments may also be used as part of the self-study requirement of a Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) review if the QUIP review is begun within two years of completing a Guided Standards Assessment. The Guided Standards Assessments may be used to divide the Self-Study process of the QUIP comprehensive review into discrete thematic segments. Completing a series of individual Guided Standards Assessments can be an excellent institutional strategy for managing the tasks associated with a comprehensive QUIP review, by breaking down the QUIP comprehensive review into smaller steps.
Guided Standards Assessments are ideally suited for integration with accreditation activity, such as institutional accreditation or disciplinary accreditation, and other types of assessment. Because of their validation by the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice, Guided Standards Assessments carry a weight greater than simple internal self-assessment. Institutions may also choose to use the results of these Assessments to demonstrate to internal and external constituents the quality of their education abroad programs and commitment to ongoing improvement.
One participant told the Forum:
The Guided Standards Assessment process was, at first glance, a daunting task. However, once we began the process, we found it quite a bit easier to complete than we had first anticipated. This is due in large part to the helpfulness of the staff at the Forum. We are richer for having participated in the process and look forward to implementing the changes they have suggested to us to improve our overseas programming efforts.
The Guided Standards Assessment Process
Each Guided Standards Assessment is planned to be completed over the course of 8 – 10 weeks, in four phases:
1) Team formation and Preparation,
2) Initial Webinar;
3) Self-Assessment and Documentation;
and 4) Capstone Webinar.
Each participating organization will form a self-study team who will complete a series of assessments developed by the Forum that draws upon the Standards queries, benchmark data and best practices contained in the Standards toolbox. Participants will interact with other institutional teams during the webinars in order to share the challenges as well as the best practices they identify in the assessment process.
Phase One: Team Formation and Preparation
The first step in a Guided Standards Assessment is to form a team responsible for completing the self-assessment. Composition of the team will vary by institution, topic, and scope, but should include representative administrators, faculty and staff working in the area under assessment.
Phase Two: Initial Webinar
The Initial Webinar explains the Guided Standards Assessment protocol, provides best practice examples of how to utilize the Standards queries to conduct a thorough self-assessment, explains the benchmarking survey exercises and how to access the Forum’s supporting data and resources, provides advice on how to work with the self-assessment team and solidify the timeline, and is an opportunity to answer any questions.
Phase Three: Self-Assessment and Documentation
After the Initial Webinar, the team meets 2-4 times to complete the pertinent queries and exercises.
The self-assessment team completes analyses based on the Standards of Good Practice, utilizing the proprietary exercises designed by the Forum and based on the self-study templates used in the Quality Improvement Program.
Once the self-assessment and documentation is complete, the self-assessment report is reviewed by staff trained to evaluate the assessment documentation. The staff will offer feedback regarding whether or not the information is complete and provides sufficient evidence to support an institution meeting the relevant Standard. As with the QUIP program, the Forum pledges to keep confidential all self-assessment information submitted to the Forum; it will not be shared with any party.
Phase Four: Capstone Webinar
The organization participates in a capstone webinar with other participating organizations that are assessing the same area of the Standards. The purpose of the webinar is to share lessons learned from completing the self-assessment along with best practices in meeting the Standards. Webinar participants will suggest issues and challenges that were identified in the self-assessments, as well as any practices that they identified as effective and exemplary.
Participation in the Quality Improvement Program (QUIP)
Guided Standards Assessments are designed to dovetail with eventual participation in a full QUIP review. Completed Assessments may be used to complete some of the requirements of the QUIP Self-Study. Completing individual Guided Standards Assessments can be an ideal way to tackle the longer QUIP process in smaller steps, with the added benefit of having regular feedback provided by the Forum along the way. Completed Guided Standards Assessments may be used as part of the Self-Study requirement of a QUIP review if the QUIP review is begun within two years of completing the Guided Standards Assessments.
Pricing
The Guided Standards Assessments are a member benefit restricted to Forum institutional members. Members may select individual assessments for a price of $350 each, or choose a package of three assessments that must be completed within two years at a price of $900. {The discount for registering for three Guided Standards Assessments will be credited to the registration fee for the third Guided Standards Assessment.] Institutions that use their assessments in a QUIP review within two years will receive a 10% discount on the price of a comprehensive QUIP review.
Spring 2012 Guided Standards Assessment offerings:
Health, Safety, Security, and Risk Management: a directed audit
With the occurrence of events that are beyond higher education’s control (natural disasters, political upheavals) organizations and institutions are wise to examine their education abroad operations to make certain that risks are managed as soundly as possible in order to fulfill the mission and goals of the program. This Guided Standards Assessment involves a series of exercises based on the queries contained in Standard 8, Health, Safety, Security and Risk Management, and are consistent with The Short-Term Program Standards that address the specific nature of short-term programming. This Guided Standards Assessment is intended for institutions and organizations that develop and manage their own programs, as well as for those that send students on third-party programs.
Some of the questions related to this Assessment are: What are the organization’s procedures for considering the safety of a particular program site? How does the organization consider legal and ethical issues directly related to the program’s activities? How is transportation used by staff and students selected? What are the responsibilities of faculty, staff and students with respect to health and safety?
Spring 2012 Guided Standards Assessments Timeline
| December 1, 2011 | Registration Opens - Click here to register |
| January 15, 2012 | Registration Deadline |
| week of February 1, 2012 | Orientation Webinars |
| (based on participants' availability) | |
| week of March 26, 2012 | Self-Assessment Due |
| week of April 2, 2012 | Capstone Webinars |
Participation in Guided Standards Assessments is a Forum member benefit.
FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE INFORMATION: info@forumea.org or 717-245-1031
