Pitfalls in the Assessment of Postgraduate Scholarship Programs: The Need for New Indicators

Abstract

Very few published studies have examined the outcomes of postgraduate scholarship programs. Basing our analysis on these studies and on inter- nal reports from U.S. and Canadian organizations involved in scholar- ship programs, we have compiled an overview of the wide variety of indicators and methods that have been used, and conducted a compara- tive study of outcomes using the four most commonly used indicators: awarded diploma, obtained job, obtained related job, and pursuing stud- ies. Our analysis revealed several methodological pitfalls in comparing the results. Although the use of available data limits the depth of a com- parative analysis, our results show that scholarship programs tend to increase the rate of awarded diplomas.