Program Review Guide
Updated and revised Spring 2023
Year 6 of Academic Program Review Cycle (Spring term)
Review Preparation
On or before March 15, year prior to the review:
Associate Provost notifies Division Chair (cc’s Dean) of upcoming review. link to 7-year schedule for Academic Program Review Cycle Dean and Division Chair facilitate selection of Program Review Leader.
On or before May 15, year prior to review:
Program Review Leader indicates plan for course release to address self-study preparation and other service related to review. Associate Provost meets with Program Review Leaders to review timeline and templates for self-study.
On or before June 15, year prior to review;
Program Review Leader submits request for any Institutional Research data beyond basic report data. Basic IR data to be provided includes: • Student enrollment over 7-year period • Degrees and certificates awarded in 7-year period • Current Faculty FTE • Current Sections taught • Current Student Credit Hours (note that this data span will conclude in the Fall of the prior academic year) Programs may request additional data or data breakdowns to assist with their review. Some data may be more difficult to acquire – limitations include: • Faculty FTE data prior to 2017-18 • Detailed breakdowns of courses within programs that are not reflected in Banner • Identification of individual concentrations or courses of study not reflected in Banner The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) also provides data on broader state demographics and trends in the public Universities. link to HECC Public University data
Year 7 of the Academic Program Review Cycle
Self-Study (Fall term, year of review)
On or before September 15, review year
Institutional Research office provides initial IR data report to Program Review Leader.
On or before October 15, review year
Program Review Leader meets with Institutional Research office to review data report and request any clarifications and corrections.
On or before December 1, review year
Program Review Leader coordinates completion of the self-study. Please use this self-study template. Two components of the self study include the development of a major curriculum map (click here for the template) and a major program pathway (click here for the template) for each degree included in the self study. Please use the link to review an example of a major curriculum map from Information Science. It may be helpful to review this Chronicle article: “Avoiding the Potholes of Academic Program Review” to aid in the process of program review
External Review Planning (Fall term, year of review)
On or before December 15, review year
After the Program Review faculty identify potential external reviewers, the Program Review Leader should contact 2-3 potential reviewers to ask if they are interested in potentially reviewing the program (an optional email template is linked here). The Dean and Program Review Leader forward a ranked list of external reviewers to the Associate Provost. The list of potential external reviewers needs to be sent to the Associate Provost at least 3 months prior to the desired date of the visit to allow for time to establish a contract with the external reviewer. link to Chronicle Article: “Choosing an External Reviewer”
On or before January 15, review year
Associate Provost extends invitation to external reviewer. link to external invite template link to guidelines for external reviewers The Associate Provost notifies the Director of Academic Services once an external reviewer is confirmed. The Director of Academic Services completes a Professional Services Contract for the external reviewer (Professional stipend of $500/day for two days + travel, lodging and meals). The Director of Academic Services will notify the Associate Provost, Dean, and Program Review Leader when the contract is in place. The College APA coordinates with external reviewer(s) to plan and arrange for travel.
On or before February 1, review year
Dean and Program Review Leader draft schedule for external review visit to include, but not limited to: • Review of self-study prior to visit • Meeting with Provost or representative for WOU mission context • Meetings with Program Review Leader and all Program Faculty • Class observations and online course reviews • Student focus groups or interviews • Debrief meeting with Dean and Division Chair, as appropriate
External Review Conduction (Winter/Spring term, year of review)
Two weeks prior to external review visit:
Program Review Leader provides self study to external reviewer(s) and external review guidelines.
External review visit:
Associate Provost, Dean, and Program Review Leader meet with external reviewer(s). Program Review Leader ensures that external reviewer meets with all relevant stakeholders per established review schedule.
Two weeks following external review visit:
Program Review Leader receives complete draft report from external reviewer(s) for fact check.
Executive Summary Preparation and Submission (Spring/Summer terms)
Upon receipt of final external review report:
Program Review Leader responds to external reviewer report if any clarifications are needed. Program Review Leader develops the Executive Summary by integrating the findings and recommendations from the self study with those from the external reviewers report. The Executive Summary is submitted to the College Dean for review and to the Associate Provost of Academic Effectiveness to be archived and made publicly available on the Academic Effectiveness Program Review webpages.
Link to Executive Summary template. When accessing template links, please make a copy if editing in Google Docs and rename that copy to be saved in a shared folder for the program faculty. Alternatively, please download the document and open in Microsoft Word. Edit and Save as.. in the location of your choice.
Year 1 of the Next Academic Program Review Cycle
Action Planning (Fall term)
Program Review Leader meets with program faculty to discuss review and recommendations from the Executive Summary and develop a draft of the program strategic action plan.
Links to Strategic Action Plan Template and Strategic Action Plan Guidance. When accessing template links, please make a copy if editing in Google Docs and rename that copy to be saved in a shared folder for the program faculty. Alternatively, please download the document and open in Microsoft Word. Edit and Save as.. in the location of your choice.
Upon completion of the draft plan, a meeting facilitated by the Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness will take place where representatives of the department and college — faculty, department head/program coordinator, division chair, and dean — will discuss the plan. The aim is to achieve consensus about the proposal and receive the dean’s signed approval of the plan itself.
On or before October 30, year following review
Associate Provost provides summary of completed Program Reviews for the Provost to include in reports to WOU board and Faculty Senate.
Annually after review
Each year, program faculty should revisit the approved strategic action plan and provide a brief update on the progress made toward achieving each strategic priority; the action plan template provides space for doing so. What may have seemed important during program review may change over time and you should not hesitate to modify your priorities as new conditions emerge.
