General Information
Bow Valley College has a strong history of applied research and commercialization across college departments. This includes the successful and innovative commercialization of assessment and instructional products in TOWES; the impressive record of research relating to essential skills and literacy in the Centre for Excellence in Foundational Learning, and the record of research in the Centre for Excellence in Immigrant and Intercultural Advancement which has paved the way for an impressive applied research agenda that will result in improved education and services to immigrants. The School for Business has begun to develop an applied research agenda that will correspond to the exciting new directions in the business programs, and BVC has earned an excellent reputation in research related to health, and is currently in the midst of a major study related to Practical Nursing.
Over the years applied research at Bow Valley College has been expanding and has become a vital part of the development of the college. Since 2005 it was guided by the Committee on Leadership and Excellence in Applied Research (CLEAR) and since 2008 by the Office of Applied Research and Innovation. At the end of 2011 the Office of Applied Research became part of the Applied Research and Evaluation unit within the Learner Resource Services (LRS) department.
One of the main goals of the unit is to promote and support applied research throughout the college. The responsibility for conducting research is with the departments, and the Applied Research and Evaluation unit serves as a support and as a focal point for monitoring research activities in the college; maintaining the support systems available for researchers, and developing and maintaining the repository of all research activities in the college.
As part of Learning Resource Services, the Applied Research and Evaluation unit provides internal research grants to the college faculty and staff who wish to engage in research. The unit supports them throughout their projects, through mentoring, drop-in support, and research-related workshops.
Another goal is to improve college programs and advise departments on the best use of available resources through evaluation of courses.
Applied Research
The range, scope and quality of applied research at Bow Valley College are impressive: major research studies in the area of health, immigration, foundational learning, and teaching and learning were undertaken. These externally funded projects represent the four pillars of applied research at Bow Valley College.
Over the past two years our unit was able to secure funding for a total of $1,039,500 for three major research projects along with $155,350 for six smaller scale studies.
For more information, please see our Annual Reports:Annual Report 2009/2011
Annual Report 2008/2009
Program Evaluation
Program evaluation is the systematic gathering, analysis, and reporting of data about a program to assist in decision-making. We strive for continuous improvement to increase the quality of the programs and student satisfaction and success. Academic evaluation is conducted in order to:
• improve programs
• use available resources in a most efficient manner
• meet external standards and relevance
