A hands-on, evidence-based online course from Rice University’s Doerr Institute
Effective leader development is grounded in intentional design, meaningful outcomes, and measurable impact. By aligning programs with evidence-based practices and clear developmental goals, we can ensure participants experience real growth—and organizations can clearly see the results.
Demystifying Measurement in Leader Development is a rigorous, practice-based online course designed for professionals who want to take an evidence-based approach to leader development. Whether you’re in higher education, corporate L&D, coaching, or consulting, this course will equip you with the tools and language to design, evaluate, and defend the impact of your leadership programs.
If you're tired of not knowing whether your programs are truly working, this course equips you with practical, proven tools to assess impact—so you can confidently show ROI, improve outcomes, and ensure you're actually developing the kind of leaders your institution and the world need.
In this course you’ll learn:
- How to connect theory to outcomes
- How to choose validated tools to measure what actually matters
- How to apply data to improve programming and communicate results with clarity and confidence
- Even better, you’ll leave the course with a customized impact assessment plan for a real program in your own organization—and 1:1 consulting time with a measurement expert to help you build it.
Request an Information Packet
Download our Information Packet with complete information on Demystifying Measurement including full course details and application instructions.
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Key Takeaways
✔ Learn how to measure leadership growth that actually matters—not just what’s easy to observe.
✔ Translate broad goals like “growth” and “impact” into actionable, measurable outcomes.
✔ Build a custom evaluation plan for a real program at your institution or organization.
✔ Understand how to collect and interpret data to improve your decision-making.
✔ Get personalized support with 1:1 consulting from Dr. Aaron Pomerantz.
✔ Earn a professional digital badge from the Doerr Institute at Rice University.
Why This Course Stands Out
Real-world relevance.
Your final project is a ready-to-use assessment plan for your own leadership initiative.
Hands-on support.
You’ll get expert feedback throughout the course, including individual consultation.
Practical tools.
Walk away with methods, language, and frameworks you can apply immediately.
No data science degree required.
This course makes core measurement concepts accessible and usable—even if you don’t have formal training in statistics or evaluation.
Credibility.
Earn a credential from a nationally recognized institute that prioritizes data-driven leadership development.
Who Should Enroll
This course is ideal for:
- Higher education professionals (student affairs, assessment, academic leadership, and faculty)
- Program managers and administrators overseeing leader development or professional development
- Executive coaches and consultants seeking to strengthen their impact with data
- Graduate students in education, leadership, psychology, or business
- Anyone responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of leadership initiatives
Whether you're building a new program, refining an existing one, or simply seeking to make more informed decisions about leader development, this course will give you the mindset, tools, and confidence to lead with evidence—not guesswork.
Curriculum
- Primary Text: Measuring the Mist
- Supplemental Materials: Curated articles and resources provided by the instructor
- Capstone Project: A hands-on course project, complete with built-in consultations, that you can tailor to your own context.
For campuses applying for the Carnegie Classification, this is the kind of applied work you' will need to prepare during the application process.
Dates and Deadlines
Info Sessions:
- Wednesday, June 18th 12:00 - 12:30 PM CST
- Thursday, July 17th 12:00 - 12:30 PM CST
- Friday, August 15th 1:00 - 1:30 PM CST
Applications Due: August 23
Decisions out: August 29th
Payment Due: Sept. 6th
Class Begins: Sept. 19th
Course details
Sessions convene virtually on Fridays from 12:00 to 3:00 PM (Central Time) over a six-week period, followed by an additional four to six weeks dedicated to the completion of the culminating project.
Session Schedule:
Session 1: September 19
Session 2: September 26
Session 3: October 3
Session 4: October 10
Session 5: October 17
Session 6: October 24
Consulting Period: Oct 24 - Nov 27
Final Project due: November 28
Award Decisions: Dec. 19
How to Apply
We are now accepting applications for the Fall 2025 cohort. This is a competitive program, and all applicants are not guaranteed admission.
Application Deadline: August 23, 2025
Questions?
Email leadership@rice.edu for questions about the course.