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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - SOW7446
Tracking Number - 1510

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Current Status: Approved, Permanent Archive - 2010-08-25
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: GC approved 9/18; sent to USF SCNS Office 10/12/09. Approved. Effective 1/1/10. Nmber changed from 7443 to 7446


Detail Information

  1. Date & Time Submitted: 2009-09-04
  2. Department: Social Work
  3. College: AS
  4. Budget Account Number: 126100
  5. Contact Person: Dr. William Rowe
  6. Phone: 9742706
  7. Email: wrowe@cas.usf.edu
  8. Prefix: SOW
  9. Number: 7446
  10. Full Title: Evaluation of Social Work Practice/Program Evaluation
  11. Credit Hours: 3
  12. Section Type: D - Discussion (Primarily)
  13. Is the course title variable?: N
  14. Is a permit required for registration?: Y
  15. Are the credit hours variable?: N
  16. Is this course repeatable?:
  17. If repeatable, how many times?: 0
  18. Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Social Work Program Evaluation
  19. Course Online?: C - Face-to-face (0% online)
  20. Percentage Online: 0
  21. Grading Option: R - Regular
  22. Prerequisites:
  23. Corequisites:
  24. Course Description: Prepares students in the development of research skills to conduct social work practice and program evaluation. Emphasis placed on the integration of knowledge from previous courses. Ethical considerations will also be examined. Ph.D. Majors only.

  25. Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed as part of recent program/concentration/certificate change
  26. What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? Increasingly doctoral trained social workers are being called upon to evaluate both their own practice and social work programs in general. In this course, students will learn the skills involved in designing and conducting practice and program evaluations. They will also learn how to critically read, analyze, and synthesize evaluation studies conducted by others. This course is essential because in the modern social work environment neither government nor foundation funds are available for practices and programs that cannot demonstrate their effectiveness as measured by an appropriate evaluation.
  27. Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? Yes, 1 time
  28. What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) To teach this course, the instructor must have at a minimum a Ph.D.
  29. Objectives: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

    1. Articulate the importance and uses of evaluation research and its relation to social work knowledge.

    2. Articulate the historical, ethical, and empirical issues of single system designs and their need for and place in social work knowledge building.

    3. Critically discuss the theoretical and methodological strengths and limitations in various measurement strategies.

    4. Critically discuss the theoretical and methodological strengths and limitations in various research methods and designs.

    5. Articulate assumptions and procedures that tend to bias research on diverse and vulnerable populations.

    6. Recognize and articulate pragmatic issues which affect the application of evaluation research.

  30. Learning Outcomes: 1. Assess and describe the strengths and limitations of various research designs and select an appropriate and feasible design to test the hypothesis and evaluate the selected program.

    2. Assess and describe the strengths and limitations of various measurements and select an appropriate measurement and data collection plan to test the hypothesis and evaluate the selected program.

    3. Clearly present and defend your choice in all facets of a program evaluation.

    4. Explore and describe the challenges of conducting quality evaluation research in light of pragmatic issues, avoiding bias and protecting human subjects.

  31. Major Topics: 1. introduction and ethical issues of program evaluation 2. needs assessment and qualitative methods

    3. process evaluation and SSD

    4. goal attainment scaling and client satisfaction

    5. group research designs and cost-effectiveness/analysis measurement and instruments

    6. data analysis and review of course material

    7. pragmatic issues

    8. grant writing and grant proposal

    9. developing evaluation plan and data collection

    10. reporting and model plans

    11. practical considerations.

  32. Textbooks: Required

    Royse, D., Thyer, B., Padgett, D., Logan, TK. (2006). Program Evaluation: An Introduction (4th edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson.

    Yuen, F. & Terao, K. (2003). Practical Grant Writing & Program Evaluation. Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson.

    Required Articles

    (Tentative – pending permission) Cook, Thomas D; Campbell, Donald T; Peracchio, Laura. (1990). In Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 1 (2nd ed.) Dunnette, Marvin D (Ed); Hough, Leaetta M (Ed),(pp. 491-576). Palo Alto, CA, US: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.

    Kellogg Foundation, (2004). Logi

  33. Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: General References

    Alvin, M. (2004). Evaluation Roots: Tracing Theorists’ Views and Influences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Bamberger, M., Rugh, J., & Mabry, L. (2006). Real World Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Chen, H. (2005). Practical Program Evaluation: Assessing and Improving Planning, Implementation, and Effectiveness. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Grinnell, Jr., Richard M. (2001). Social Work Research and Evaluation: Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches, 6th Edition. F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., Itasca, IL.

    Kazdin, A. E. (2003). Methodological issues and strategies in clinical research. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

    Mathison, S. (2005). Encyclopedia of Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    McDavid, J. & Hawthorn, L. (2006). Program Evaluation and Performance Measurement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Rosenthal, James A. (2001). Statistics and Data Interpretation for the Helping Professions. Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA.

    Rossi, P., Lipsey, M., & Freeman, H. (2004). Evaluation: A Systematic Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Rothman, J. & Thomas, E. J. (1994). Intervention research: Design and development for human service. New York: Haworth Press.

    Schlesselman, James J. (1982). Case-Control Studies: Design, Conduct, Analysis. Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, NY.

    Schutt, Russell K. (2001). Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, 3rd Edition. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Stake, R. (2004). Standards- Based and Responsive Evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Weinbach, Robert W, Richard M. Grinnell, Jr. (2004). Statistics for Social Workers, 6th Edition. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.

  34. Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: Final Grade will be distributed as:

    A+ 4.00

    A 4.00

    A 3.67

    B+ 3.33

    B 3.00

    B 2.67

    C+ 2.33

    C 2.00

    C 1.67

    D+ 1.33

    D 1.00

    D .67

    F 0.00

  35. Assignments, Exams and Tests: Course Calendar:

    Class 1- Introduction and Ethical Issues of Program Evaluation

    Class 2- Needs Assessment and Qualitative Methods

    Class 3- Process Evaluation and SSD

    Class 4- Goal Attainment Scaling and Client Satisfaction

    Class 5 – Group Research Designs and Cost-Effectiveness/Analysis

    Class 6- Measurement and Instruments

    Class 7- Data Analysis and Review of Course Material

    Class 8- Pragmatic Issues

    Class9- Grant Writing and Grant Proposal

    Class 10- Developing Evaluation Plan and data Collection

    Class 11- Reporting and Model plans

    Class 12- Practical Considerations

    Class 13- Student Presentations

    Class 14- Student Presentations

    Class 15- Student Presentations

    Course Assignments:

    It is the expectation in doctoral level courses that students turn in assignments on-time and of the highest quality. Therefore, late assignments will be deducted by 10% and no re-writes of assignments will be allowed.

    1. Program Evaluation Proposal 200points

    2. Oral Presentations of Proposal 100 points

    3. Led Discussions and Participation 100 points

  36. Attendance Policy: USF Policy on Religious Observances: “ Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.”
  37. Policy on Make-up Work: "Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact

    words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a

    published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism, also, consists of passing off as one’s own, segments or the total of another person’s work."

  38. Program This Course Supports: Social Work
  39. Course Concurrence Information: This course will be part of the required program courses. All graduate students in the Ph.D. program will take it. It will not be offered to others outside of the School of Social Work.


- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.