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Academic Program Review

Introduction

Best practice across higher education involves a regular and periodic review of all academic degree programs for continuous improvement. Academic Program Reviews provide departments with this opportunity to conduct a thoughtful and useful analysis of the extent to which academic programs provide students with high quality education and preparation for success after graduation.

At UWF, the academic program review process involves a thorough review of academic programs for continued relevance and student success to include evaluation of the curricula and programs of study, the assessment of student learning outcomes, workforce needs and job opportunities, and continuous program improvement within the context of the University’s mission. Program reviews also offer departments opportunities to review goals and objectives related to scholarly and creative activities and to institutional, professional, and community service. The results of the program reviews are expected to inform strategic planning, curriculum revision, program development, and budgeting decisions at the university level.

Authority: University Policy AC-07 Academic Program Review

Program Review Models

At UWF, academic departments review their academic degree programs every 5 -7 years with the exact timeline dependent upon the accreditation status of the academic degree program. The program review year is based on the reaffirmation year with the programmatic accreditor (for accredited academic degree programs) or the program review schedule maintained by the Office of the Provost (non-accredited academic degree programs).

The format of the review is also dependent upon the accreditation status of the academic degree program with both models described below.

Model for Programs Accredited by a Programmatic Accreditor

  1. Departments will follow the self-study guidelines and requirements of the programmatic accreditor (including but not limited to ABET, CSWE, CCNE, NASM, etc.) to include any site visit requirements.
  2. Departments will submit a copy of the accreditation self-study to include any reports from the accreditor and/or follow-up reports submitted by the department to the accreditor to the Office of the Provost through the Academic Unit Report Access link on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness page.
  3. Once the department receives their reaffirmation decision, they will submit the notification from the accreditor to the Office of the Provost through the Academic Unit Report Access link on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness page.
  4. Departments will prepare an Action Plan and work with Institutional Effectiveness to document any accreditation follow-up through the Annual Planning & Reporting process.

Mid-Point Reviews:

  • Academic degree programs that are on a 5-7 year reaffirmation cycle with the programmatic accreditor will not need to complete a mid-point review.
  • Academic degree programs that are on an 8-10 year reaffirmation cycle with the specialized accreditor will complete a mid-point review.
    • If the programmatic accreditor requires a mid-point review, the department will submit the mid-point review in the same manner as described above for the self-study.
    • If the programmatic accreditor does not require a mid-point review, departments have the option of deciding whether to use the accreditor self-study template or the self-study template provided by Institutional Effectiveness. Departments should notify Institutional Effectiveness within four weeks of receiving their notice of mid-point review by the Office of the Provost as to which template they will be using for the mid-point review.

Model for Programs Without Programmatic Accreditation - 5 Year Cycle

  1. Departments will complete the self-study template found through the Academic Unit Report Access link on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness page.
  2. Departments should follow the instructions in the Academic Program Review Procedures and Guidelines document as far as documents to be submitted, timeline, etc.
  3. After the Program Review Site Visit is completed and the Final Report is received by the department and the response workflow is completed, the department will prepare an Action Plan and work with Institutional Effectiveness to document any program review follow-up through the Annual Planning & Reporting process.

Departments with Both Accredited and Non-Accredited Programs

  1. Some departments have a combination of accredited and non-accredited programs. For example, the Department of Mechanical Engineering has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering that is ABET accredited and a M.S. in Engineering that is not ABET accredited.
    • These departments will submit their accreditation self-study as a program review of the accredited academic degree program(s).
    • The academic degree program(s) not included in the accreditation self-study will go through the program review process as described above for Programs Without Programmatic Accreditation, however this process will follow the Program Review Schedule managed by the Office of the Provost. Departments will not be asked to complete this process in the same year as programmatic accreditation.
  2. These programs will also complete an Action Plan at the end of the self-study process and work with Institutional Effectiveness to document any program review follow-up through the Annual Planning & Reporting process.