Institutional Effectiveness – Richland’s Educational Computing Labs hosted a variety of workshops Oct. 17-18 as part of Richland’s support of the Southern Association for Institutional Research Annual Conference held in Addison this year. Educational Computing staff members Don Partin, Nancy Rice, Ellen Spenser, and Joseph Adeoye extended a warm Thunderduck welcome to workshop presenters and attendees, assisting them with various technical needs. Mary Jo Dondlinger and Bao Huynh of Richland’s Office of Planning and Research for Institutional Effectiveness (OPRIE) also presented at the conference. Their presentation, “A Mixed Methods Approach to Assessing a General Education Program: What We Learned from the Global Village Playground,” outlined the methods of data collection and analysis for an experimental capstone learning experience conducted last fall, including a blend of qualitative and quantitative approaches in assessing program effectiveness, implications for program evaluation, and directions for future research.