Carleton team first runner-up in Canada’s toughest student evaluation competition
Carleton team first runner-up in Canada’s toughest student evaluation competition
(Ottawa) – Four Carleton students won second place in the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) student case competition held in Edmonton on Monday.
It’s the best place of any Carleton team since winning the competition in 1993.
Team members Eleanor Toews (Captain), Isabelle Rodier, Simona Birea and Catherine Taylor originally beat out 19 other Canadian groups to win one of the three coveted finalist spots. All of the students are pursuing the Graduate Diploma in Policy and Program Evaluation (DPPE) at Carleton.
Professor Robert Shepherd, one of the two Carleton coaches, said he was thoroughly impressed with the team. “Our team’s outstanding performance speaks to the high calibre of our students and the cutting-edge thinking that our program brings to the field.”
(L to R) Isabelle Rodier, Simona Birea, Catherine Taylor and Eleanor Toews.
Each team designed an evaluation framework and presented their findings and recommendations to a panel of four judges in front of a live audience.
As part of their studies, students in the DPPE program have an option of working on the case competition. They also work on live projects with real-world clients. The program, which is offered by the School of Public Policy and Administration, is designed to give working professionals the advanced skills they need to conduct and manage evaluation more effectively, as well as assisting them in achieving professional designation.
The DPPE is supervised by Shepherd. Steve Montague, a partner with the Performance Management Network, teaches a course in the program and also coaches the student evaluation team. He was named one of two CES fellows, which is the highest honour bestowed on any evaluator.
A team from the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Psychology won the competition.