ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW SELF-STUDY GUIDELINES
(revised 1/2008)

The State of Washington Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board mandates that all degree-granting programs be reviewed on a regular basis.  At the University of Washington, this review is implemented as stipulated in the UW Handbook, Section 12-28:

Reviews of all academic units including the graduate and undergraduate degree programs offered by these units are required at least every ten years and are conducted jointly by the Dean of the Graduate School and the Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs in cooperation with the relevant School or College Dean…  Among the outcomes of the above reviews should be a clearer understanding of the academic unit's:

1.       quality of instruction, research, and public service;

2.       value to students' general education and preparation for society;

3.       role within the University and effectiveness in fulfilling that role;

4.       resource requirements;

5.       future objectives and changes necessary to achieve them.

The review affords faculty of academic units an opportunity to reflect on their goals and accomplishments and to receive feedback on their work from their peers.  The process begins with the unit self-study as outlined in this document.  The self-study provides the basis for the review committee’s assessment of the overall quality of the unit, including unit governance and organization, undergraduate and graduate education, research/creative productivity, interdisciplinarity, diversity, service to the University and community, and planning for the future.  The following pages outline several topics for the report and suggest questions to address them.  If certain items do not apply to your unit, you need not stop to explain why; simply omit them.  Your self-study will be read for how it addresses each of the topics (below) as well as the five points listed above.  Feel free to contact the Office of Academic Programs (OAP) of the Graduate School whenever you have questions.

Self-Study Format and Distribution

The text of the narrative, exclusive of appendices, should comprise no more than 25 single-spaced pages, using 12 point font and 1 inch margins, exclusive of appendices.  If you believe this limit is not achievable for your unit, please contact OAP to discuss an exception.  Suggested guidelines for the number of pages in each section of the narrative are provided below, as are descriptions of required appendices.  You may include supplementary material as additional appendices, following those required.  Please assemble the document in tab-separated, three-ring binders with the unit name on the front and spine.  The total number of copies is usually 12; contact OAP (685-3519) for the exact quantity for your program.  In addition, include a digital copy of the self-study report in MS Word or pdf format on disk or in e-mail.  These items are due to OAP on September 1 for Autumn Quarter site visits, November 1 for Winter Quarter site visits, and February 1 for Spring Quarter site visits.

Submission Checklist:

q The cover page listing:
        Name of unit
        (school or college)
        Official title(s) of degrees/certificates
        Year of last review
        Chair/Director
        Self-study coordinator
        Date submitted

q Table of Contents

q All required appendices

q Divide the report with labeled tabs identifying sections and appendices

q Verify with OAP (685-3519) the number of copies of the report required for your program.  Assemble each copy in a 3-ring binder with the unit name on the front and spine. 

q Provide an electronic copy of the report and Appendices A-H on diskette (PC format) or as an e-mail attachment

q Deliver the report and related documents to:
        The Graduate School
        Office of Academic Programs
        G-1 Communications
        Box 353770

SECTION I:  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                             (+/- 2 pages)  

·         Provide the unit’s mission statement.

·         Summarize the findings of your self-study, focusing on your unit’s strengths and the measures of your success, weaknesses and how they can be improved, and future plans for your unit.

·         Briefly outline recent or pending major changes in the unit’s structure or programs offered.

·         For interdisciplinary programs, include your evaluation of the level of cooperation and support for the program from contributing units, and how this relates to the strengths and weaknesses of your program.
 

SECTION II:  ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNANCE     (+/- 3 pages)

A.  Organization

Describe the process of unit governance and strategic planning (reference required Appendix A: Organization Chart).  Include specific information on faculty, student, and staff involvement identifying the committees they serve on and how their comments are obtained, the role of advisory board(s) and how they have contributed to your unit, and, for interdisciplinary programs, representation of collaborating units. 

B.  Budget

Comment on key points in your unit’s budget (reference required Appendix B: Budget Summary).

C.  Resources

Describe and discuss the process your academic unit uses to evaluate systematically whether it is making the best use of its current funding and human resources.   Does your unit have a development plan to seek other funding sources in anticipation of the need for new resources for existing or anticipated new programs or student support?

D.  Staffing

Describe and discuss the steps your unit has taken to encourage and enhance productivity for all members of the unit (classified/professional staff, tenure track/non-tenure track faculty).  Include the criteria and decision making process for faculty promotion, salary, and retention.  How are staff recognized and rewarded?  What programs are in place to support professional development? 

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SECTION III:  FACULTY, TEACHING, AND DEGREE PROGRAMS
                                                                                                     (+/- 8 pages)

A.  Teaching Responsibilities

Describe and discuss how faculty teaching responsibilities are assigned (reference information in faculty CV’s).  What structure is in place to assure equitable teaching, advising, and other service loads among faculty?  For interdisciplinary programs:  How are teaching loads negotiated and balanced between home departments and the interdisciplinary unit? 

B.  Instructional Effectiveness

Describe and discuss the method(s) used within your unit to evaluate quality of instruction, specifically address the relevant indicators from the summaries provided in the data sets supplied in Appendix D: OAP Summary Data[1]. How does (or will) such assessment data bear on decisions related to promotion, merit pay, or tenure?  If graduate students serve as teaching assistants or instructors in your unit, please note all teaching training opportunities that are made available to graduate students and how the unit evaluates graduate student teaching.  How does your unit track and support improvement, innovation, and/or best practices in teaching for faculty and for TAs?  Describe specific instructional changes you have made in response to these and other data.  Include academic oversight of distance learning programs and courses, if applicable.  You may include additional data if you wish.

C.  Teaching and Mentoring Outside the Classroom

1.       1.  Describe and discuss how faculty are involved in undergraduate student learning and development other than through classroom teaching (for example, advising, mentoring, or supervising independent study).  In what ways have you been able to engage undergraduates in research programs, internships, or other educational opportunities outside the classroom or beyond the campus?  Describe your unit’s involvement in the Honors Program.  How do students participate in internships and/or a capstone experience as a part of their degree program?  If your unit has been involved in the College of Arts and Sciences Learning Initiative, comment on the impact of the Initiative on your programs.

2.       2.  Describe recruitment/outreach programs to attract graduate students to your programs.  Include how successful these efforts have been and the measures you use to assess the success of your efforts.  Describe and discuss how your unit provides mentoring and advising to graduate students.  Specifically, how is each student’s progress monitored, documented, and reported to the student?  How does your unit communicate academic program expectations and benchmarks to students including:  timelines/milestones for degree completion; procedures for committee formation; coursework, exam and presentation requirements; and standards of scholarly integrity.  How do you inform your students of and prepare them for academic and/or non-academic careers?

3.       3.  For graduate student service (ASE) appointees, describe the training and support they receive to prepare them for their specific roles.

D.  Degree/Certificate Programs

Provide a table listing: (1) graduate and undergraduate degrees offered in your unit, including special pathways, options, tracks, or majors/minors within these degrees; and (2) certificate programs offered (graduate, undergraduate, and Educational Outreach certificates).

For each degree/certificate program:

1.       1.  Outline the requirements and timeline/milestones to degree, and discuss the relationship between this degree and the other degrees offered in your unit.  If appropriate describe how the unit uses self-sustaining mechanisms to support this degree program and discuss how this impacts the curriculum or enrollment in other degree programs, faculty work load, and student access.  Provide analogous information for certificate programs.  Details may be included in a separate appendix.

2.       2.  Comment on enrollment trends and any aberrancies (discussing the relevant data in Appendix D: OAP Summary Data).

3.       3.  Discuss how this degree program or certificate benefits the University, the region, the State of Washington, and the nation.  Provide documentation of continuing need for this program.

4.       4.  Describe the desired learning outcomes and goals of the program.  Describe and discuss the manner in which your unit evaluates the program’s educational effectiveness, including assessments of student satisfaction, retention, learning outcomes, graduation, and placement (commenting on the dataset in Appendix D: OAP Summary Data[2]).  How has the unit used this evidence to bring about improvements in the program, effect curricular change, and/or make decisions about resource allocation?  What has been the result of these changes?  For undergraduate programs, specify the student learning goals of the program for majors and the methods of assessment the unit uses to determine if majors are meeting those goals.  What has unit assessment shown to be the strengths and weaknesses in the learning of majors?  Note the courses in the unit that are typically taken by students to complete general education requirements.  Are there learning goals in those courses designed to accommodate students who will not be majors in the program?  How are these goals assessed?  For graduate degree programs, list institutions and programs you consider your peers for this degree program.  How does the quality of your program compare with these programs? 

5.       5.  Describe and discuss recent and ongoing plans and initiatives to improve the quality and productivity of the program.  
 

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SECTION IV:  DIVERSITY                                                     (+/- 2 pages)

Describe and discuss how your unit addresses recruitment and retention of faculty and students (both undergraduate and graduate) from underrepresented groups (data from Appendix D: OAP Summary Data).  Assess the progress made under your unit’s diversity plan.  Have you taken steps to ensure an environment that is supportive of all faculty, students and staff?  Identify factors that aid or impede your efforts to recruit and retain faculty, students or staff from underrepresented groups.  How does your unit use University resources such as GO-MAP or the Office of Minority Affairs, the Office of Human Resources’ Diversity Specialist or the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement?  Has the diversity of the student body and/or faculty in your unit generated changes in the curriculum and contributed to changes in your unit’s academic culture or climate?
 

SECTION V:  RESEARCH AND CREATIVITY                   (+/- 6 pages)

Describe and discuss the impact of faculty research and creative work on your field and more broadly over the past five years (reference required Appendix E: Abbreviated Faculty Curricula Vitae).  In what ways have advances in your discipline, changing paradigms, changing funding patterns, new technologies and trends, or other changes influenced research, scholarship, or creative activity in your unit?  How does your unit align the pursuit of areas of scholarly interest by individual faculty with the future intellectual direction and expectations of the academic unit, school, college, and University?  How are junior faculty members mentored in terms of research and creative productivity?  What elements promote faculty productivity and what elements impede that productivity?  What steps has the unit taken or what plans are in place to reduce or eliminate barriers?  For interdisciplinary programs, how do you balance the productivity expectations of home departments and those of the interdisciplinary unit?

SECTION VI:  COLLABORATIONS AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY
                                                                                                      (+/- 2 pages)

Describe and discuss ways in which your unit collaborates with other units at the University or at other institutions.  What are the impacts of these collaborations?  Include your unit’s relationships with other units in planning and in the development of future initiatives.  Do the faculty of your unit engage in or have opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary work?  Do relationships with other units or other kinds of interdisciplinary opportunities aid your unit in recruiting new faculty and graduate students?  In what ways, if any, do collaborations strengthen your graduate and undergraduate education programs?  Describe how faculty contributions to interdisciplinary research, creative expression, teaching, and training are acknowledged and rewarded in your unit.      
 

SECTION VII:  FUTURE DIRECTIONS                            (+/- 2 pages)    

Describe and discuss the unit’s strategic plan for its future intellectual direction and leadership (reference required Appendix F: Strategic Planning).  What is the process by which your unit sets its overall goals?  How often are unit goals reviewed and reassessed?  Describe your goals for the next four to six years.  In what ways do you anticipate changes in the next ten years?  Describe areas and strategies for developing your potential for academic and pedagogical leadership in your field.  Discuss how you are already redirecting your funds to achieve your goals.  What one or two changes would have the greatest impact if added?  If your unit plans to develop new programs (degree program options, certificates, or new degree programs) please provide a brief description of the anticipated program(s) and the desired timeline for implementation.

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REQUIRED APPENDICES

A.      Organization Chart

Provide a list or chart of the unit’s organization, including titles and names of those in each leadership position or on each committee or board.  Include administration, faculty and student committees, staff support, and advisory board(s).  For committees and boards, include the frequency of meetings.

B.      Budget Summary

Provide a summary of the unit’s most recent biennial budget(s) including faculty and staff salaries, graduate student (ASE) appointments, program operation funds, faculty grant and contract support, and significant gifts or endowments.

C.      Faculty

Provide a list of all tenure/non-tenure track faculty, including instructional and research appointees, along with the following information for the immediate past year (autumn-summer):

·         faculty name

·         rank

·         FTE

·         number of courses taught

·         number of credits taught

·         number of master’s thesis committees and doctoral dissertation committees on which the faculty member has served

·         number of master’s thesis committees and doctoral dissertation committees the faculty member has chaired
 

D.      OAP Summary Data
 
An OAP-provided summary of key information regarding instructional effectiveness, student enrollment, degrees/certificates awarded, and student satisfaction.  Any data errors should be reported to OAP so that corrections can be made.

E.  Abbreviated Faculty Curricula Vitae

Provide a vita (1-2 pages) for each faculty member highlighting major career accomplishments but focusing on activity over the past 5 years.  A possible model is the NSF “biosketch” as described at : http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf08_1/gpg081print.pdf (chapter II, page 9 of the document).

F.  Strategic Planning

Append most recent strategic plan.

G.  HEC Board Summary

The Graduate School collects summaries from all programs reviewed and includes them in its required reporting to the HEC Board.  Utilize the following template.