USAID/JAMAICA 
ADVANCE FINAL 
PERFORMANCE 
EVALUATION
The purpose of this performance evaluation is to:
(1) Assess the long-term sustainability of Advance
program’s interventions on the participating
Jamaican Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs)
performance, sustainability, and institutionalization.
(2) Identify enabling and inhibiting contextual and
institutional factors associated with the HEI’s
performance.
ADVANCE PARTICIPATING HEIS
1. University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH)
2. Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI)
3. Knockalva Polytechnic (KPC)
4. Knox Community College (KCC)
EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
This evaluation utilized mixed-methods, 
including:
1) Desk Review
2) Key Informant Interviews
3) Focus Group Discussions
4) Web-based Surveys
51 participants: 12 males, 39 females
Including: HEI informants (leadership, faculty, 
administrators, and students); relevant 
Government of Jamaica and employing 
industries representatives. 
Purposive and snowball sampling were applied 
to select respondents.
Outcome Mapping: The Evaluation Team used 
Outcome Mapping as the main methodology to 
assess the changes in institutional performance 
across HEIs.
Systems Approach: The design of this 
evaluation is based on a systems approach 
to identify and analyze existing processes 
that affect or impact performance and 
institutionalization of the program objectives. 
SUMMARY OF SUSTAINABILITY AND 
INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF KEY 
ELEMENTS OF ADVANCE
INPUTS: 
ADVANCE PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
• Curriculum development
• Resources for scholarships and for the
professional development of faculty and staff
• New ways of working and engaging with
private sector and disadvantaged youth
OUTCOMES: 
WHAT WAS GAINED BY THE HEIs
• New and better curricula meeting the
needs of the labor market
• Introduction to experiential learning
• Labs, student services, and new methods
and approaches to marketing, recruitment
and scholarship programs
IMPACTS: 
THE DIFFERENCE ADVANCE HAS MADE
• Associate degree programs aligned to
labor market and youth needs across HEIs
• Application and adoption of experiential
learning across HEIs
• Improved services for students, including
advisement centers, scholarship programs,
and more disadvantaged students admitted
• Increase in internships, partnerships,
understanding of labor bridging services 
within the system
MAIN FINDINGS FOR EACH OF ADVANCE’S PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Advance implementation Main results at the systems level Considerations for future 
programming
 Program Area 1: Curriculum development
• Supported the development and
strengthening of new programs.
• Built the capacity of faculty in curriculum
design and pedagogy.
• Introduced new and modern approaches
for experiential learning.
• The system has six new or improved fully
institutionalized associate degree courses that
use an experiential learning approach and are
tailored to labor market needs. The HEIs are
able to offer them to future students without
the support of the Advance program.
• The system is better positioned to reach
students through online alternatives,
attracting those for whom online learning is a
more suitable and cheaper option than face￾to-face education.
• Degree programs developed
under the Council of Community
Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) were
transferred to the community
colleges (CCs), but CCs did not
participate in the development
of Advance courses. Future
programs should engage CCs to
ensure effective collaboration
with relevant stakeholders in the
development of courses.
 Program Area 2: Professional development of faculty staff
• Supported the development of
opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.
• Exposed staff to new knowledge and
information from experts and technocrats
in the field.
• Extended professional development
opportunities to HEI staff beyond just those
involved with Advance.
• Organized train-the-trainer activities
to support the institutionalization and
sustainability of approaches and new
knowledge introduced by Advance.
• Systems’ faculty and staff demonstrate
strengthened skills in curriculum development
and design.
• Community colleges discuss labor market
insertion best practices and lessons learned
through recently created communities of
practice.
• HEIs mainstreaming socio-emotional
learning in courses beyond the Advance
program.
• HEIs integrating academic and professional
development activities and practicum training.
• A gap between planned
opportunities for professional
development and what was actually
implemented led some informants
to consider that capacity building
opportunities were limited.
 Program Area 3: Labor-bridging services
• Exposed HEIs to new ways of engaging
with private sector, which resulted in
an increase in internships and work
experiences for their students.
• Provided capacity building opportunities
for staff and students covering areas such as
resume-writing, developing business plans,
and interview skills.
• Advance enabled HEIs in the system to
become more aware of the concept and
importance of labor-bridging, and how
it could be aligned to an HEI’s mandate
and consequently, its courses and degree
programs.
• Given that labor-bridging
services is considered the weakest
program area by participants and
interactions between HEIs and
the private sector were limited in
some HEIs, more work is needed
to link youths and HEIs with the
private sector.
 Program Area 4: Admissions and recruitment
• Assisted HEIs with program marketing
and engagement of disadvantaged youth,
including preparing advertisements and
hosting events to bring together HEIs and
the target group.
• The system already had good admissions and
recruitment processes in place that did not
change. However, the system is now able to
undertake assessments of vulnerable youth
and determine their suitability for higher
education.
• Working with youths with
lower academic levels requires
supporting them to adjust to
university requirements, including
in terms of academic knowledge
and social and emotional learning.
 Program Area 5: Access to scholarships
• Provided scholarships to improve access
to higher education for disadvantaged and
vulnerable youth covering tuition, stipends,
transportation, accommodation, and course
materials.
• Overall, HEIs across the system are
adopting and developing their own scholarship
programs to continue providing financial aid
to vulnerable youth.
• The first cohort of scholarship
students was required to pay for
expenses before being reimbursed
at a later date. This model did
not work and was adjusted during
program implementation.