I was reviewing some past research and came across this quote from Equity and Excellence in Higher Education by Bowen, Kurzweil and Tobin:
” Poorly conceived and poorly executed programs driven principally by ideology or by partisan political agendas can do no little harm…Finding the right policies is difficult, and there is generally no way of being sure what is the best approach. Careful analysis and a willingness to change directions in the face of evidence are essential. It is not enough to want to do the right thing. “
This is so true. Sometimes we get caught up in the latest student retention policy innovation/ trend and assume it applies to our college or university. The best approach is an evidence-based approach (also good engineering analysis)–that of checking out the hypothesis with data and a good statistical analysis/ assessment.
Cindy