5. Develop an evaluation plan.
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Evaluation has been defined as the systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcome of programs to make judgments about the program, improve program effectiveness, and or inform decisions about future programming.
Given that campus prevention resources are often quite scarce, another compelling reason for evaluation is to demonstrate that those resources are being used wisely. Long-term financial support for programs, whether it comes from outside sources or is part of a college’s regular budget, will be available only if evaluation results warrant it. An evaluation can also show whether a program was implemented as planned and can provide information to improve the quality of the program.
The most effective and useful evaluation is planned as a program is being developed. Including a professional evaluator – perhaps a faculty member in public health, health education, psychology, or social work – on a project team helps to ensure that outcome-based thinking is an integral part of the project’s design and implementation (Langford & DeJong, 2001).
