R411 Program Reviews

Planning

The department head and dean will meet to define expected review outcomes and identify areas needing particular attention during the review committee’s site visit.

Program Self-Study

Faculty and students will participate in the program self-study, which will consist of an in-depth self-appraisal of program activities including assessment, strategic planning, goal formulation and the decision-making process. In cases where deficiencies exist, the department will initiate a course of action to remedy deficiencies. If major departures from standard indicators of productivity exist, the department will justify these departures.

A required data table provided by the Office of Analysis, Assessment and Accreditation and the Office of Budget and Planning will be provided.

The self-study should include at least the following:

Department Profile

• Mission and goals
• Program descriptions
• Degrees offered; undergraduate and graduate
• Alignment of programs and degrees with department mission
• Support function or interaction with programs
• Outreach efforts

Faculty

• Headcount and full-time equivalent faculty
• Faculty profiles (include faculty CVs in an appendix)
• Faculty teaching loads
• Faculty research and scholarly productivity
• Adjunct faculty and graduate assistants FTE
• Faculty-student ratios
• Faculty credentials, rank, and diversity information
• Student credit hours produced per full-time equivalent faculty

Students

• Admission standards
• Student credit hours generated
• Number of majors in program
• Enrollment and attrition trends
• Transfer data
• Graduation and retention rates
• Student placement rates and salary data if available

Program Costs

• Instructional costs
• Support costs

Program Support

• Facilities and equipment
• Professional development

Program Assessment

• Examples of goals, measurements, and impact
• Evidence of ongoing and systemic documentation of student learning in courses, programs and degrees
• Evidence the assessment data are collected, analyzed and used for improvements
• Strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations

The Review Committee

The Review Committee will consist of at least two out of state external reviewers with expertise in the discipline and one internal reviewer not affiliated with the program. The department head will forward recommendations of review committee members to the Office of the Provost & Chief Academic Officer for approval. Review committee members will not have close personal or working ties to department faculty members.

Review Committee Responsibilities:

1. Read and evaluate the department self-study
2. Spend at least two days on campus meeting with department faculty, students, staff, administration, the dean, and others deemed necessary to make a thorough assessment of the department
3. Make comparative judgments between USU and peer institutions relating to the department's curriculum, faculty, students, administration, and program resources
4. Submit a report to the department within six weeks of the visit to campus

Review Committee members will analyze the department self-study and additional data gathered and create a report with recommendations related to program improvement, continuation and discontinuation. The Review Committee will submit their report to the department and dean for comment and will address comments in a final report. The Review Committee will submit a final report to the Provost, with copies to the department and college dean.

R411 Preparation and Submission

Following completion of the Review Committee’s final report, the department head will prepare an R411 report based on the review process and submit it to the Office of the Provost & Chief Academic Officer. The Office of the Provost & Chief Academic Officer will submit the R411 report to the Board of Trustees and Board of Regents.