Evaluating Success

ORAU Evaluates the Effectiveness of Science Education Programs and Workforce Development Efforts

Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) conducts ongoing evaluations of its science education programs as a way to learn and improve on each program’s performance. By doing so, we not only demonstrate the impact of our results, but through careful data analysis, we identify long-term labor trend characteristics of our nation’s scientific workforce.

Our education specialists analyze many factors influencing labor trends including employment rates and forecasts; participation of women and other minority groups; stay rates attributed to foreign program participants; competitive salary ranges; and the rate of degree production.

In support of our Research-Based Approach, we guarantee the most effective and efficient science education programs through:

• Wide penetration of Web-based program promotion and recruitment
• Integrated electronic application, selection, and participant data management system
• Online training for mentors
• Assessment of workforce development issues and analysis of program impacts
• Research on the use of classroom technologies and technology training for teachers

What does all this mean at the participant level?

Our efforts to evaluate and constantly improve the effectiveness of our programs result in participants who are more likely to:

• Pursue higher level degrees
• Complete graduate degrees in specialty fields of interest to sponsors
• Pursue research careers in areas of interest to sponsors
• Accept employment positions at federal research centers
• Refer others to programs administered by ORAU
• Emphasize active, inquiry-based learning in their teaching