Measuring Public Service

Abstract

During the past twenty years, two themes have emerged in higher education. One theme has been an increased attention to the service mission of universities, a matter of special importance to planning programs. The other has been an increased emphasis on accountability and performance assessment, an emphasis that has attracted much attention in ACSP in recent years. This article offers some starting points for grappling with the difficult task of assessing performance in the area of public service. The article reviews the history of these converging themes—nationally and within the planning academy—and draws upon the assessment literature to offer a framework and tool for conducting performance assessment of service activities at both the individual and program level.