Evaluation & Research

To identify individual exemplary consortium practices and address areas that need improvement, on-site reviews of all Ohio College Tech Prep consortia were conducted between January 2003 and April 2005.

The continuous quality improvement process included the consortium’s required self-assessment and interviews of College Tech Prep stakeholders including consortium directors, staff and governing board members; college and high school administrators, instructors, admissions/guidance staff; business, industry, labor participants and representatives; and College Tech Prep students

The self-assessment and subsequent reviews were based on an evaluation instrument developed from a consortium management profile. Four specific areas, including a total of 32 core standards, were applied to each consortium. They included:

• Governance and management

• Curriculum and professional development

• Marketing and partnerships

• Transition to college

Conclusions

While the reviews were intended to strengthen individual consortium operations, general characteristics of an effective College Tech Prep consortium were evident:

• Viable and equally representative governing body

• Effective and progressive leadership from the consortium director with sole responsibility for College Tech Prep

• The effective collection and use of data

• A system/process that links students to the partnering colleges through programming and multiple forms of transitioning assistance

• Well-developed and consistent curriculum and delivery

• Effective system for student identification and program review

Data collection and evaluation will be essential as accountability measures have been mandated by new Perkins legislation. On-site visits were both a learning process as well as a review process. Information gleaned from site visits has been invaluable and it is recommended that the process should be on-going.

Several College Tech Prep consortia have excelled in offering students expanded opportunities to participate in college programs while still in high school. This has led to increased options for college education which would not have been available otherwise.

Links

College Tech Prep Self-Assessment Final Repot - December 2005 (PDF)

Best Practices

Overview (PDF)

Instructions (PDF)

Format (Word)

Self-Assessment (Word)