William Rickards, PhD Senior Research Associate Educational Research and Evaluation Alverno College Educational Research and Evaluation 3400 South 43rd Street PO Box 343922 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53234-3922

Send E-Mail Contact Bill at: 414-382-6256 Vita (PDF)

Experienced in college outcomes studies, major field evaluations, post-secondary instructional research (i.e., practitioner-based inquiry studies), program evaluation, and multicultural studies. Has been with Alverno since August, 1990.

• Member Council for Student Assessment, Problem Solving Department

• Site coordinator for Alverno College’s participation in the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Teacher Education Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M)
  

• Consultant to public and social service agencies on educational policy, youth services, program evaluation.
  

• Reviewer, American Journal of Evaluation, and Urban Education
  

• Consult with graduate students on action research projects

Affiliations

• American Evaluation Association

• Chair, Assessment in Higher Education TIG (1992–1997; 2005)

• Member, Professional Development Committee (2005–2008)
  

• American Educational Research Association

  • Chair, Research on Evaluation SIG (1999–2003) 

  • Member, Division I Education in the Professions

  • Member, Division J Higher Education
    

• Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research
  

Recent publications include

Video Interviewing and Evaluation Inquiry

Rickards, W. H. (2008, November). Video interviewing and evaluation inquiry. Pre-conference workshop at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Denver, CO.

• Learning, reflection, and electronic portfolios: Stepping toward an assessment practice. Rickards, W. H., Diez, M. E., Ehley, L., Guilbault, L. F., Loacker, G., Reisetter Hart, J., & Smith, P. C. (2008). Learning, reflection, and electronic portfolios: Stepping toward an assessment practice. Journal of General Education, 57(1), 31–50.

• Learning-centered assessment at the program level: Exploring principles, guidelines, and criteria through the study of practice at Alverno College.
  Rickards, W. H., Rogers, G., & Mentkowski, M. (2007). Learning-centered assessment at the program level: Exploring principles, guidelines, and criteria through the study of practice at Alverno College. In M. J. Bresciani, J. A. Anderson, & J. Allen, Outcomes-based undergraduate academic and co-curricular program review: A compilation of institutional good practices. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
  

• Integrated and systemic assessment as learning: The Alverno College approach to productivity.
  Emami, Z., Rickards, W. H., & Riordan, T. (2005). Integrated and systemic assessment as learning: The Alverno College approach to productivity. In J. E. Groccia & J. E. Miller (Eds.), On becoming a productive university: Strategies for reducing costs and increasing quality in higher education (pp. 104–117). Bolton, MA: Anker.

• Portfolio reflections in a digital environment: Evaluating an unfinished tool.
  Rickards, W. H., & Ehley, L. (2005, October). Portfolio reflections in a digital environment: Evaluating an unfinished tool. In D. Shamatov (Chair), Emerging dimensions in higher education applications: E portfolios, technology, and learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Evaluation Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  

• Studying student reflection in an electronic portfolio environment.
  Rickards, W. H., & Guilbault, L. (2009). Studying student reflection in an electronic portfolio environment. In D. Cambridge, B. Cambridge, & K. B. Yancey (Eds.), Electronic portfolios 2.0: Emergent research on implementation and impact (pp. 17–28). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
  

Scholarly Interests

• Curriculum evaluation and evaluation of the major field (incl. teachereducation, nursing)
  

• Evaluation research on portfolio learning and related technology applications
  

• Reflective learning and development of identity in college (as a learner in general education, as a learner in a discipline, etc.)
  

• Evaluation practice in international education and travel study

Links of Interest

• An overview from the ERIC database on assessment and evaluation on the Internet
  

• Search ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation

Bill's Other Interests

Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra

Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra (YouTube)

Selection from the 2009 Mando Magnificat at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Hall, with Sam Bush and selected friends

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