Preparing A Comprehensive Program Review

Contents:

Overview
Structure
Recommended Information & Potential Sources

Overview

Augusta State University conducts academic program reviews on a periodic basis. Consistent with efforts in institutional effectiveness and strategic planning, ASU has developed procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of its academic programs through a systematic review addressing the quality, viability, and productivity of efforts in teaching and learning, scholarship, and service as appropriate to the institution's mission. The review of academic programs involves analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data and demonstrates that the administration makes judgments about the future of academic programs within a culture of evidence.

Structure

COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM REVIEW

Degree:

Major:

CIP Code:

Preface

Mission

•  How does the departmental mission further the university's mission? Support with activities over the past five years (unit plans).

•  Describe the students served by the major (last 5 years). How does the major meet their needs?

•  Is there demand for the program's graduates? Nationally, regionally, locally? One need may include “feeding” graduate schools.

Teaching and Learning

Students

•  Describe student demographics, including specifically information about diversity (last 5 years). How many majors? Graduates? Enrollments? Credit hours produced? Data should be presented by tracks within majors if tracks exist.

•  What are the student learning outcomes for the major, based on defined student needs? What data are used to measure success (last five years)? Are they being met (last five years)? Summarize changes in student learning outcomes over the past five years, and give evidence of improved student learning.

•  How successful are graduates? Use measurements such as national tests, departmental capstones, etc.

Faculty

•  Describe the faculty and staff who serve the major.

•  Describe the qualifications of the faculty who teach the major. Vitae are not required.

•  What is the student/faculty ratio in classes? Upper division? Lower division?

•  Discuss faculty productivity in terms of credit hours produced and cost per credit hour. Data should be presented by tracks within majors if tracks exist.

•  How does the department improve the quality of teaching? Data and evidence from student outcomes above may be useful.

Facilities

•  Discuss the classroom facilities and instructional technology available to the major. Do they meet the required level of technology support for the major? Identify any specific needs.

•  Discuss the faculty offices and departmental equipment available to the major.

•  Discuss other university resources that are available to the major. Are they adequate?

•  Discuss the instructional technical support available to the major. Is it sufficient for teaching online courses, if applicable? Identify any specific needs

•  Discuss the non-instructional technical support available to the major. Include lab assistants, certain types of tutors and university-wide services.

Are they sufficient for teaching online courses, if applicable? Identify any specific needs.

•  Discuss the services and resources offered to the major by the Reese Library.

Curriculum

Coherence

•  Describe the program for the major. How does Area F prepare students for the major? How are the junior and senior years designed to provide students with a clear understanding and mastery of the major? How are courses sequenced and scheduled to ensure efficient completion of the major? What have been the recent enrollment patterns (last 5 years)? What changes have occurred in the major during the last five years?

Currency

•  How does the department ensure that information taught in the major incorporates recent developments in the major field? Cite specific changes in the major over the last five years that speak to currency of the curriculum.

Relevance

•  How does the department ensure that the curriculum remains relevant to student needs in the major? Cite specific changes in the major over the last five years that speak to the relevance of the curriculum.

Other Learning Activities

•  How does the department involve other learning activities such as advising, tutoring, internships, service-learning, practica, study abroad, student organizations and clubs, and career/placement in helping meet student needs?

Research, Scholarship, and Service

•  Describe faculty productivity in research and scholarship and its relationship to the major.

•  Describe the level of support available to faculty for such endeavors.

•  Describe any situations in which students are involved with faculty in research projects.

Summary

Quality

•  Discuss the quality of the program using measures of excellence. Quality indicators may include, but are not limited to, attainment of student learning outcomes, a comparison of program elements relative to internal and external benchmarks, resources, accreditation criteria, relevant external indicators of program success (e.g., license and certification results, placement in graduate schools, job placement, and awards and honors received by the program), and other standards.

Productivity

•  Indicators of productivity might include the number and contributions of graduates of an academic program and/or the number of students served through service courses in the context of the resources committed to its operation. Additional measures of productivity might include counts of students who meet their educational goals through the program's offerings, including minors, certificates, or job enhancement, if such goals are part of the program's mission.

Viability

•  Use such considerations as available resources, student interest, career opportunities, and contributions to the goals and mission of the institution, University System, and state to determine whether the program should be continued as is or modified (expanded, curtailed, consolidated, or eliminated). Viability considerations are independent of quality measures; i.e., a high quality program could lack viability, or a program in need of considerable improvement could have high viability.

Recommendations

•  Summarize program strengths, challenges, and opportunities based on the review.

•  Make recommendations for the program over the next five years.

•  Provide an action plan that prioritizes these recommendations.