Office of the Provost
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Academic Policies

Program Review

Policy Statement

Requirement and Schedule

  1. All academic programs will be subject to review by the Office of the Provost every five years.
  2. The Provost will budget funds necessary to conduct periodic program reviews.
  3. The Provost will prepare and revise annually a Review Calendar for the ensuing five year period, and will distribute the calendar to the Academic Deans of colleges, to the Directors of Schools, and to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Affairs (SCAA).
  4. Six months prior to any periodic review, the Provost will distribute a "Notice of Impending Review," with supporting documents, to the Academic Deans of colleges, to the Directors of Schools, and to the Chair of the SCAA regarding academic programs scheduled for periodic review in the following academic year.

The Process

1. Upon notification by the Office of the Provost of the time for review, the Department Head or Program Director will write a proposal for continuation of his or her academic program. The academic unit's head or director shall have four weeks in which to complete the proposal; he or she may convene an academic program review committee, composed of faculty members and staff based in the academic unit for purposes of assistance in writing the proposal. The proposal shall contain all pertinent information to permit substantive review of the program. Such information must include:

  1. The academic unit's mission statement;
  2. A statement of the means by which the academic unit realizes its mission;
  3. A statement indicating that the academic unit's mission is consistent with and supportive of the University's mission.

Additionally, the proposal shall include the following appendices:

  1. A complete listing of all degree and/or certificate programs offered by the academic unit;
  2. A complete listing of all courses (prefix, number, title and description) offered by the academic unit;*
  3. For each degree or certificate program, a complete listing of required courses;*
  4. A complete set of course syllabi, one representative syllabus (or the corresponding URL) for each course offered by the academic unit
  5. For each degree or certificate program, a complete listing of the course cycling plan;*
  6. A complete listing of all faculty associated with the academic unit, including name, rank, courses most frequently taught, and evidence of recent scholarship;*
  7. A report on the numbers of students enrolled in the academic unit, by major and by year;*
  8. A listing of student placement for the last five years;
  9. A complete listing of all hires, tenure-track and auxiliary, in the last five years;*
  10. A complete account of the faculty's teaching load for the last five years;*
    *This information will be provided by the Office of the Provost. The academic unit head or director will review the information, and correct and supplement as appropriate.
  11. A complete set of financial statements (academic unit budgets) for the last five years;*
  12. A complete record of faculty and staff salaries for the five year period.

The proposal and appendices "a" through "j", shall be evaluated by the unit's curriculum committee, if such exists, by the academic unit's faculty, and by the appropriate dean (or deans, as appropriate).

2. The SCAA shall receive the written proposal, and appendices "a" through "j". The proposal and appendices "a" through "j" will be kept filed in the office of the Senate and be open to faculty review in the Senate office. The SCAA shall compose a succinct report describing its review of the academic unit and offer one of three recommendations to the Provost, as follows:

  1. the program should be continued, without changes;
  2. the program should be continued, with changes;
  3. the program should be terminated. In that case, SCAA's report will recommend the termination review process called for in the policy document, 'Rules and Regulations for Program Initiation, Review, Change, and Termination'."

The criteria upon which the SCAA's recommendation is based shall be:

  1. The program's appropriateness to the University's goals and priorities;
  2. The necessity of the program to the University's goals and priorities;
  3. the degree of excellence exhibited by the program during the period under review;
  4. the fiscal soundness of the program.

The SCAA will have four weeks in which to complete its review and submit its report to the Provost. Its report must provide justification for the recommendation it makes and, if recommending continuance with change, an account of the changes it is recommending.

3. The Provost will render a final statement regarding the program.

  • If the recommendation is for continuance of the program without change, the Provost will direct the unit head or director to proceed as usual with the business of the unit.
  • If the recommendation is for continuation predicated on changes being made to the program, the Provost may order a subsequent review to be carried out in conformance with the "Rules and Regulations for Program Change," or he or she may direct the unit head or director to develop a plan of action for implementing the changes recommended by the SCAA and/or the Provost.
  • If the recommendation is for termination, the Provost may order a subsequent review to be carried out in conformance with the "Rules and Regulations for Program Termination," or he or she may direct the unit head or director to develop a plan of action for implementing closure as recommended by the SCAA and/or the Provost.

In all cases, the Provost shall issue a written account of the reasons for the action taken, and forward the account to the Chair of Faculty Senate.