In response to the growing demand for remote work skills following the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine’s Community College System (MCCS) launched a Remote Work Certification credential program. The initiative aimed to equip students, including unemployed, underemployed, and currently employed individuals, with the competencies needed to succeed in remote and hybrid work environments. Hart Consulting led the evaluation of this program, with MDR contracted to support data collection, analysis, and reporting over a two-year period. 

MDR collaborated with Hart Consulting and MCCS to design and implement three distinct surveys aligned with the program’s instructional tracks: the Remote Work Essentials Certification Survey, the Occupational Training Survey, and the Leading Remote and Hybrid Teams Satisfaction Survey. These surveys were distributed to students across multiple cohorts, primarily through embedded links in final course quizzes and follow-up email invitations. MDR also worked with MCCS to develop a sampling and matching approach to link student records and track participation across courses. 

Throughout the project, MDR provided a full suite of evaluation services. These included programming and testing surveys in Voxco, managing email distributions, verifying and cleaning data, and producing final datasets. MDR conducted frequency analyses and cross-tabulations by key demographic subgroups, and supported Hart Consulting with quarterly datasets and visual reporting materials. Deliverables included finalized survey instruments, raw datasets, open-ended verbatim responses, and annual evaluation reports for each year of the project.