Club Council

Group Discussion

Evaluating an event’s success, as well as the planning and implementation process, is an important part of assessing your group’s current programming.  It also determines changes your group wants to make for future programming.  After your event has concluded, you should debrief with the event-planning team as well as key stakeholders. 

Suggested questions for event evaluation and group discussion:

• Did we meet our budgetary goals?

• Did we have enough volunteers for the event?

• Did we do enough promotion for the event?  Is there anything we wish we had done differently?

• Were there any extraneous factors in the success of our event? (conflicting events, weather, etc.)

• Did we execute the program in a professional manner?

• Did we face any group conflict with this program?  What was it?  How was it resolved?  What could we have done differently?

• Would we bring this vendor/performer in again?  Was it worth it?

• How does this program allow us to develop skills as a group, officers, and/or leaders?

When evaluating your event, think about the following (as applicable):

• Venue
• Entertainment
• Food and beverages
• Timeline for communications, invitations, etc.
• Printed materials (invitations and programs)
• Decorations and table arrangements
• Volunteer assignments
• Registration or check-in
• General event flow and timing

Record Keeping

See Student Group Finances/Record-Keeping for further information regarding invoices, receipts, and other funding information.

Setting goals for your events outlines what you want to accomplish with your event or the purpose of the event.  Setting goals is also an important part of evaluating the accomplishments of your events.  Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely).

Evaluating your events in terms of accomplishing your goals allows you to objectively evaluate the success of your event and provide recommendations for future events.

Event Information

Name of the Event/Activity
List the name of the event/activity.  If you are summarizing an event series use the name of the series and identify individual activities in the questions below.

Date of the Event/Activity
List the date(s) of the event/activity.  If you are summarizing an event series, list the individual events/activities and the corresponding dates.

Description of your event
Describe your event including listing an agenda, desired audience, location and any impact the event/activity had on the campus community or surrounding community.

Attendance

Total Number of participants
Your group should consider event goals in relation to attendance and should create a plan to measure demographics of the attendance including estimating the average number of attendees at any one time and also the total number of attendees.

Estimate the number of participants 
_____ Students – Undergraduate
_____ Students – Graduate
_____ Faculty/Staff
_____ Non-University (students and non-students)
__________ Total Number of Attendees
__________ Estimate Average Number of Attendees at any one time

Event Goals

Goals of the event
List the goals of the event. Goals should be set before you start planning your event.  You should consider the nature of your event, desired outcome(s) and the intended audience.

Evaluation of goals
Evaluate the success of your event in relation to the goals you set. Your evaluation should contain specific and measurable details.

Logistics and Recommendations

What worked well in the planning of your event/activity?
List what worked well in the planning and execution of your event.  Include specific details about the timing of the event, planning, location, and logistics.

What did not work well in the planning of your event/activity?
List what did not work well in the planning and execution of your event.  Include specific details about the timing of the event, planning, location, and logistics.

What would you do to change or improve your event/activity?
List any changes you would recommend for the event.  Consider timing, event space, planning, expenses, location, funding, and goals of the event.