MA Thesis by Jennifer Cristine De Knight
The aim of this study is to evaluate the alignment of the design of the civic engagement component of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program (USP) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) by conducting a responsive evaluation on Cohort II. USP is a scholarship program for high achieving, financially needy Lebanese public school students from economically disadvantaged communities in all regions of Lebanon to attend Americanstyle universities in Beirut, including AUB, and is funded by USAID. Students are required to complete a civic engagement program. USP II provides a case study to examine the design of a civic engagement program in higher education to inform both practitioners and add to the literature on design and evaluation of civic engagement programs. The study uses a responsive evaluation methodology to address two research questions: 1) How does the design (objectives, activities and evaluation practices) of the civic engagement component of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program at AUB align with the program’s objectives? 2) How do evaluation practices of the first cohort of the USAID University Scholarship Program at AUB compare to standards of program evaluation? Existing data regarding the design and evaluation of USP II was collected from USP and analyzed using templates designed for the study to evaluate alignment of the program and compare to the identified framework for evaluation. Findings suggest that the design and evaluation practices of the civic engagement component of first cohort of USP are only partially aligned internally, and only partially aligned with the framework for program evaluation, and therefore do not best highlight the impact of the civic engagement component relative to the overall program. The results indicate a lack of coherence in the program design, whereby objectives of the civic engagement component are not clearly stated and mapped to program objectives and the evaluation plan was scattered in multiple places. This likely contributed to identified gaps between design and practice, misalignment at times between data collection and objectives and a lack of precise reporting to highlight the impact from evaluation data that was collected. In addition, the results show that evaluation practices only partially address the five suggested levels of program evaluation. Recommendations developed based on the study can guide practitioners that design, implement and evaluate civic engagement programs at AUB and other higher education institutions. The case adds to the growing body of literature on civic engagement in higher education by providing an analysis of the design and evaluation practices of a program in the Arab world. The methodology developed can be used to evaluate other similar civic engagement programs.