Institutional Planning

• Program Review Overview
• Process
• Self Study
• Schedule
• Faculty Committee

Self Study Format for Program Review

The self study is the department's portrait of itself. It should be informative to the external reviewers, who are experts in the field, but also to internal readers who may not be. Ideally, gathering the materials and reaching consensus on how to portray the department will also be a constructive activity for members of the department. Each section of the self study includes both descriptive information and self assessment. Useful self studies are thorough but compact and frank.

• I. Description of the Department in Relation to the Discipline(s) and to the University
• II. Programs
• III. Plans for the Future
• IV. Faculty, Students and Staff
• V. Previous External Review Report
• Notes

I. Description of the Department in Relation to the Discipline(s) and to the University

State the department's mission. Provide a concise overview of the critical issues and approaches that structure the discipline(s) or field(s) represented in the department. Explain how the department's structure and activities relate to these issues and approaches. Describe the major areas of scholarly concentration (within and across the disciplines) represented in your department. Call attention to any past conditions or events that are critical to understanding the department's present situation and future.

Compare yourself to what you believe to be the top five programs nationally. How do you rank in comparison? What major areas are represented in those programs but not in yours, and vice-versa? What implications does this have for your scholarly activities? What are the distinguishing features of your program?

Some Indicators of Departmental Standing

• Published rankings. (National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences rankings of graduate programs are most persuasive.
• Indicators of scholarly recognition and achievement appropriate to the field; e.g., faculty publications and citations thereof, research funding, awards, invited presentations, performance or exhibitions, editorships and professional association offices. (Note that this information is included in individual faculty CV's. In this context, highlights should be summarized and, when possible, compared to similar departments or programs at peer universities
• Data on placement of Ph.D. recipients.

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II. Programs

A. Degrees Offered

List degree programs. Append catalog information describing degree programs and requirements.

B. Education Program

(This is a recommended format for describing educational programs and how goals for those programs are being met. If your department has a better approach, you may use it.)

1. Describe the objectives and strategy of the department’s education programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and, if appropriate, post-doctoral students. The education program includes courses taught to campus and external audiences and non-course experiences designed to enhance knowledge and competencies. Describe what knowledge, competencies, or understanding students are expected to achieve.

2. Describe the logic underlying the structure of the curriculum and rationale for requirements for majors, minors, and graduate fields offered.

3. Describe the courses offered in concise terms.

4. In tabular form, list instructors and enrollments for all courses offered during the preceding five years. Comment on trends that are important relative to overall objectives.

5. Describe how the effectiveness of educational programs are assessed.

a. What measures (direct and indirect, quantitative and qualitative) are used to determine how well goals are being met?
b. Document student satisfaction with courses using tabular summaries of key data. DO NOT provide un-summarized course evaluations.
c. Evaluate the extent to which your programs meet the career goals of students and the needs of major employers or graduate programs.
d. Document student career choices after graduation.

6. Describe the department’s approach to undergraduate and graduate advising. How is advising organized and quality maintained? How are advisors mentored? What indicators are used to assess effectiveness?

7. How are faculty, graduate students, and other educational personnel mentored and supported as teachers? How is individual teaching performance monitored and how does the departments respond to problems that are identified?

8. Comment on the adequacy of and issues related to education facilities, financial resources for courses, and support services that are important to achieving education objectives.

C. Research

List (by title and principal investigator) and briefly describe major research projects. For sponsored projects, list sources, amounts of funding, and duration). If possible, relate research projects to the fields of sub-disciplines identified in section I.

D. Outreach and Extension Programs

How are teaching responsibilities distributed among faculty of different ranks?

1. List and describe major extension and other outreach programs (i.e., interactions with off-campus audiences including corporate contacts.) If possible, relate outreach and extension programs to the fields of sub-disciplines identified in section I.
2. Include program evaluation data or other indicators of impact when available.

E. Interaction with Other Units within the University

(For example: joint majors, concentrations, and course offerings; faculty membership in fields outside of the department.)

F. Affirmative Action

Describe and evaluate departmental efforts in faculty and staff hiring and development and graduate and undergraduate recruitment and support.

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III. Plans for the Future

A. What are the goals and priorities of the department for the next five years?

B. How do you expect the field to change nationally and internationally, and how will your department respond to these changes?

C. What faculty retirements and new hiring can be anticipated over this period? Give your plans for new hiring.

D. What specific steps can you take to improve the quality of your department for the future, assuming constant resources?

E. If you had additional resources, how would you use them?

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IV. Faculty, Students and Staff

A. Professorial Faculty

List faculty by rank and major areas of academic interest. Summarize racial and gender diversity within this group. Place abbreviated CV's in an appendix. (See note below.)

B. Non-Professorial Faculty

List non-professorial faculty (i.e., lecturers, research associates, and extension associates) by rank and major areas of academic interest. Summarize racial and gender diversity within this group. Place abbreviated cv's in an appendix. (See note below.)

C. Students

Provide summary data for each of the past five years:

1. Graduate Students - (Data points a through f will be provided by the Graduate School)

a. Number of students who apply, are admitted, and who matriculate for relevant fields

b. Measures of the quality of incoming students, including GRE scores

c. Number of degrees awarded by major area of academic interest - include data on gender and racial diversity

d. Measures of completion rates and times to degree

e. Types and levels of student support, including competitive fellowships

f. Distribution of graduate committee assignments among faculty members

g. Describe how you select graduate students

h. Report initial placements for doctoral, MA, and MS and Professional Masters graduates.

2. Undergraduate Students

a. Number of majors (including racial and gender diversity)

b. Number of undergraduates engaged in independent research or scholarship. (An appendix listing research topics along with names of students and faculty is helpful.)

D. Infrastructure and Administrative Support

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V. Previous External Review Report

If the department has previously undergone an external review, append the final report of the most recent review, and give a summary of how the department and college have responded to the recommendations contained in the review. Accreditation reviews might also be helpful.

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Notes

Abbreviated CV'S

Collecting all CV's from a department of even moderate size produces an unwieldy notebook. Think of the self study as a document that will be read most carefully during the plan flight to Ithaca and carried for reference during the site visit.

No external reviewer can be expected to glean much of value from reading through 20 or 30 cv's that range up to 40 pages in length. Rather than informing reviewers, such collections obscure the information the reviewers could use. Therefore, faculty should be asked to provide cv's abbreviated to two pages in a manner that is appropriate in your field.

They should provide basic information about education and employment and leadership in the field (association offices, editing, honors and awards, blue ribbon panels, etc.); major service to the department, college, and university; and a selective list of publications and presentations. Selectivity may be by date (e.g., past five years) or importance (e.g., most cited, from the best journals), or a combination.

Recall that the external reviewers will already be familiar with the work and reputations of many faculty members. The collected cv's will give them a brief overview of scholarship in the department and a convenient reference to faculty members whose work they may not know.

Producing a Usable Document

Self study documents are usually placed in three-ring binders. They should include a table of contents and divider tabs separating and identifying the sections identified above and appendices. Try to produce a document that External Reviewers can easily carry with them and readily consult as needed in preparation for and during their visit.

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