Abstract
In 1984 the National Bipartisan Commission to Central America and the Caribbean (the Kissinger Commission) found that the United States was not sufficiently responsive to the political and civil turmoil in that region. Congress appropriated funding that directed USAID to address this need through participant training of youth, and designated a partner, Georgetown University, through its Center for Intercultural Education and Development (CIED), to implement the LAC Higher Education Scholarship Program. In 1985, the first Central American, Andean, and Caribbean participant training scholarships were launched. The program has provided two-year technical training for economically disadvantaged high school graduates from underserved areas of designated countries across Central America and the Caribbean. These individuals take English language training, which allows them to take standard coursework in the United States along with U.S. peers. They also live with U.S. host families as part of their curriculum. From 1989 through 2008, the program was known as CASS, the Cooperative Association of States for Scholars. Since 2008, it has been known as SEED, Scholarships for Education and Economic Development. This report summarizes the findings of an impact evaluation of the above scholarship programs. The study dealt with program implementation and effects. Implementation was studied by examining service delivery and program costs in relation to other scholarship programs offering similar services. Effects were examined by comparing scholarship recipients to non-recipients who were judged to be outstanding candidates for a scholarship, but were not chosen in the final selection process. This document is organized in relation to the two principal evaluation questions: (1) to what extent did the program provide value for investment?; and (2) did the scholarships enable participating individuals to become leading change agents in their respective professions and communities? (Excerpt, modified)