A Qualitative Rubric for Evaluating Program Sustainability

Abstract Evaluating program sustainability is challenging, particularly given the complex dynamics often associated with programs in higher education. Despite a precarious funding landscape and a pressing need for increased sustainability, there has been limited scholarship published to help higher education leaders assess the sustainability of their programs. Drawing from literature in institutional theory, evaluation research, and higher education reform – as well as our own work evaluating a large, multi-institutional STEM equity initiative – we present a program sustainability rubric. This qualitative instrument is designed to help higher education administrators and evaluators assess program sustainability along several dimensions, revealing areas of strength, as well as areas for improvement. Moreover, we offer suggestions for how this rubric can be used as part of a holistic evaluation effort that can be coordinated with a variety of stakeholders. This approach emphasizes that program leadership and personnel should be supported to better understand and take ownership of their own efforts toward sustaining their innovations. In this way, working toward long-term sustainability becomes an ongoing, iterative process, in which responsibility and agency are distributed across the program.