Office of Undergraduate Education
O'Dowd Hall, Rooms 340-342
386 Pioneer Drive
Rochester,
MI
48309-4454
(location map)
(248) 370-4083

Academic Program Review
Academic program review provides the only comprehensive evaluation of an entire academic program, examining the elements which contribute to its success. In addition to improving programs, the academic program review process has several objectives, which are outlined in the following sections.
Program review form for programs that have an external accreditation body
In addition to the improvement of programs, program review has several associated objectives or goals. For the individual university, program review helps in long-range planning and in setting both institutional and departmental priorities. It gives administrators and academic leaders critical information about the size and stability of a program, its future faculty resources and student market, its equipment and space needs, its strengths and limitations, and its contribution to the mission of the institution. It helps set goals and directions for the future, and ensures that overall academic plans and budget decisions are based on real information and agreed-upon priorities.
Program review also provides a mechanism for change. Programs evolve slowly; intellectual differences, bureaucracy, time pressures, vested interests, concern for survival, and simple inertia all make change difficult. By creating a structured, scheduled opportunity for a program to be examined, program review provides a strategy for improvement that is well-reasoned, far-seeing, and as apolitical as possible.
Faculty are evaluated for salary increases and promotion and tenure; students are evaluated for admissions, performance and degree completion; courses are evaluated as they are added to the curriculum; and facilities and resources are scrutinized annually in the budgeting process. So why have program review? Program review provides the only comprehensive evaluation of an entire academic program, examining the elements which contribute to its success. Constant scrutiny is unhealthy for any program, but periodic, thorough review will ensure that the program has lived up to its original goals and will identify key areas in which it should be strengthened.
Once the self-study is complete, units that have accrediting bodies will have a site visit from a team of external reviewers. Those units that do not have accrediting bodies will also have a review team visit (this team will be made up of external reviewers). The review committee typically reads the self-study report, interviews faculty and students, tours the facilities, meets with the department chair, and interviews the relevant dean.
The review committee then prepares a succinct report on its findings, including recommendations for changes or enhancements. The department/program prepares its response to the review. The department/program then presents the self-study report, the review committee findings, and the departmental response to the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction (UCUI) who adds further recommendations and review the process used to insure that the department and program reviews have been conducted according to standard policy and practice. UCUI sends the self-study report, review committee’s findings, departmental response and UCUI’s final recommendations to relevant dean and provost/designees.
A copy of UCUI’s recommendations is also sent to the department/program. Based on this information, the department chair in consultation with the dean and the faculty will create an enhancement plan.
Department/Interdisciplinary Program | Review Initiated, Winter | Review Due, March 1 |
---|---|---|
Art & Art History | 2023 | 2024 |
Biological Sciences | 2021 | 2022 |
International Studies | 2020 | 2021 |
Physics | 2025 | 2026 |
Chemistry & Environmental Sciences | 2023 | 2024 |
Communication & Journalism | 2021 | 2022 |
English | 2025 | 2026 |
History | 2021 | 2022 |
Liberal Studies | 2020 | 2021 |
Linguistics | 2020 | 2021 |
Mathematics & Statistics | 2021 | 2022 |
Modern Languages & Literature | 2025 | 2026 |
Philosophy | 2023 | 2024 |
Political Science | 2023 | 2024 |
Psychology | 2023 | 2024 |
Religious Studies | 2020 | 2021 |
School of Music, Theatre & Dance | 2025 | 2026 |
Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work & Criminal Justice | 2021 | 2022 |
Women & Gender Studies | 2025 | 2026 |
Writing & Rhetoric | 2020 | 2021 |