In this fourth section of the Inquiry Brief, the program faculty reports the results of its investigation of the reliability and validity of the measures it is using.

Program faculty may present the results regarding their claims about their graduates’ accomplishments in either a quantitative or qualitative format, but they must meet the reporting standards commonly required in quantitative or qualitative research paradigms. The results must also address each component of TEAC’s Quality Principle I.

One straightforward way to present the reliability and validity of the data is through an inter-correlation matrix of the measures for each component of Quality Principle I. The faculty might also use the stability of mean grades over time to depict the reliability of the program’s grading system.

Table 2, offers an example of how a program faculty might organize its quantitative results for the components of Quality Principle I.

The results, whether quantitative or qualitative, should be truly representative of the program under review and not idiosyncratic to a particular time period or circumstance.

The results must also be disaggregated by subcategory when an aggregated presentation would mask important differences within the groups and categories being reported.

In cases where a program is undergoing revisions and renewal, the results should be of a character that will support a sound prediction of what future results will be. Generally, this means that the most recent results will carry greater weight in TEAC’s decision making.



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