Guidelines for Program Review Committees

Charge Meeting

During the charge meeting, the review committee meets with the chair/director of the unit under review and with administrators involved in the review (representing the Graduate School, Undergraduate Academic Affairs, the Provost's Office, and the Dean/Chancellor with oversight over the unit). Meeting participants will review the core questions the unit wants addressed by the review, agreeing upon any possible revisions. The review committee will also have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions of the unit’s leadership.

The charge meeting will result in a formal charge to the unit to write a self-study (25 pages maximum) that accomplishes two tasks: (1) Responds to the required questions common to all reviews conducted at the University. These required questions are set forth in the remaining pages of this document (Part A); and (2) Responds to the questions the unit, administrators, and review committee have specifically identified (Part B).

Information Gathering

The committee should feel free to request from the unit under review any information it needs beyond the self-study document.

Because of the limited time available for the site visit, the on-campus committee members should hold prior discussions (after receipt of the completed self-study) to identify issues and formulate specific questions for the external members of the committee. These should be communicated to the external faculty in advance if possible. The on-campus committee is encouraged to meet with the unit chair/director or other key faculty, staff and students prior to the site visit, and to collect advance information that may be useful to the whole committee.

The evening before the site visit the review committee convenes in Seattle for a working dinner meeting. This is an opportunity for the entire committee to meet for the first time and coordinate their work for the site visit. This meeting is a mandatory element of the site visit.

The academic unit, in consultation with OAAP and the review committee, is responsible for arranging the site visit schedule. The committee is free to discuss the schedule with OAAP and the unit chair to make sure that its concerns are addressed. The committee should meet with faculty, students, and staff of the programs under review.

If issues arise during the site visit which cannot be resolved in the limited time available, the on-campus committee members may wish to pursue them after the site visit.

In order to preserve the integrity of the review process, reviewers are asked to avoid unnecessary contact with members of the academic unit under review or accept professional or social invitations that might suggest a conflict of interest, from the time the committee is constituted until the committee report is complete.

Committee Report

The report must be endorsed by all committee members. In addition, the external reviewers may wish to submit as appendices separate letter(s) summarizing their observations.

The committee report should be submitted to The Graduate School within four weeks of the site visit and should contain the following elements:

1. Executive summary’s findings.
2. Summary of process. What was reviewed, when, and how? Who was interviewed; what facilities were examined?
3. Findings. Present strengths and weaknesses of the programs, history relevant to the present status, directions in which programs are heading, relative to the field.
4. Recommendations. How may strengths be maintained and weaknesses corrected?

In organizing its findings or recommendations, the committee may find useful as a reference the "Important Characteristics of Degree Programs," enumerated on below.

Both praise and criticism are normal and valuable features of reports. To be effective, the report should be frank. The more constructively criticism is phrased, however, the more effective it is likely to be. It is useful if the report begins and ends positively, and avoids pejorative adjectives or censure of individuals. Where findings are tentative or impressionistic, this should be stated. The committee may ask to meet with the deans if there is sensitive program or personnel information to be conveyed which would be inappropriate to include in the report. The main body of the report will be posted on the website of the Provost, therefore, any personnel matters should be addressed in a confidential appendix.

If the faculty of the unit reviewed perceives major errors in the report, and makes this view known to the committee, the committee should carefully consider the possibility of revision. The final decision on content, however, rests with the committee.

Important Characteristics of Degree Programs

Quality

• Academic training of faculty
• National reputation of faculty
• Research productivity of faculty
• Teaching effectiveness of faculty
• Diversity in faculty hiring
• Academic standards and degree requirements
• Ongoing assessment of curriculum
• Qualifications of entering students
• Scholarly significance of dissertation research
• Student-faculty interaction
• Program leadership and organization
• Collegial atmosphere and faculty welfare

Value to Students

• Admissions policies, including diversity
• Advising and concern for student development
• Time to degree and fraction who complete degrees
• Student evaluation of program
• Clear, stated learning objectives
• Achievements, knowledge, skills at degree completion
• Placement of graduates
• Accomplishments of graduates

Role within University

• Purposes of program
• Need for program at the University
• Relationships with other units and work with other units to plan future initiatives
• Appropriateness of organizational setting

Resources

• Financial support from the University
• External support
• Availability of assistantships to students
• Library
• Laboratory equipment and facilities
• Computer facilities staff

Objectives

• Relevant history
• Present directions
• Future goals, and ability to achieve them
• Impact of program on the community

 

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