Program Review

• Program Review Schedule
• Procedures for Program Review
• Program Review Deadlines
• Program Review Tables

Program review is mandated by the Montana Board of Regents “in order to ensure program quality and effective stewardship of resources.” In 2005, the Board of Regents modified the policies and procedures that govern reviews (Policy 303.3). Program review now occurs on a 7-year cycle and includes all programs listed in the Degree and Program Inventory maintained by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, and includes options and minors associated with those degree programs and certificates of more than 30 credits.

At the university level, the major purposes of program review are to foster academic excellence at all levels, to determine ways to improve the quality of every unit, and to provide guidance for administrative decisions in support of continued future advancement. Program review is meant to identify and direct attention to program areas in which excellence can be achieved that will enhance national stature and assure the most efficient use of available resources. Reviews are evaluative and forward looking, and should provide an honest appraisal of a unit’s strengths and weaknesses. The review will lead to an action plan that will assist the program to improve its reputation and achieve eminence. Program review is not an unconstrained occasion for requesting additional resources.

Every unit should prepare a self-study due in April, before the external review process begins, that includes a thorough and systematic plan for improvement over the next six years. The process is meant to help faculty, staff, and administrators in an academic unit understand the unit’s current status, so that they can establish clear priorities for achieving excellence and promoting teaching, research, and service.

Guidelines for preparation of the departmental self-study follow. The self-study should include unit report and faculty data accompanied by a concise discussion that includes: (a) description of the program, (b) indicators of quality and support, (c) educational outcomes, (d) goals, (e) the data required by BOR policy, and (f) any information included at the unit's discretion.

Chairs are encouraged to download the "Procedures for Program Review" and the "Self Study Program Review Deadlines" and "Program Review Tables," found at the top of this section.

Information Required for Program Review

The primary data used for program review consist of:

I. Basic Data (Table 1 - see "Program Review Tables" at the top of this section) - At your request, Basic Data (Table 1) is available from the Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis. The table will include information required by the Board of Regents policy, including the number of student majors and minors, degrees conferred, student credit hour production, FTEs, and class sizes over the preceding 3 years. Please allow up to 2 weeks for these materials to be collected and sent to you.

II. Faculty Data (Tables 2 and 3 - see "Program Review Tables" at the top of this section) - Copies of Table 2 (Faculty Instructional Activities) should be distributed to every faculty member in the unit for completion (including tenure-track faculty; lecturers; research, visiting, clinical, and adjunct faculty). Faculty should submit this information for the last academic year in which they actively taught (to insure that faculty on Sabbatical or other leaves are included). Please note if any administrators or staff have taught in the past year as well. Compile the data provided by the faculty to create a summary Table 2.

Use these data to respond to the questions that follow.

SELF-STUDY FORMAT

Part A: Description of the Program

1. Describe the goals and mission of the graduate and undergraduate programs. Indicate how that mission contributes to the University's mission and vision.
2. Indicate which major subdisciplines are represented in the unit. Describe any exemplary, distinguishing, or unusual program features.
3. Consider recent developments and trends in the field and describe where the academic discipline is likely to be headed in the next six years. Describe how the department sees itself in the national context in terms of scholarship and academic programs, and how it will position itself in the changing context. What changes need to be made to improve the program’s reputation and visibility? List core objectives and priorities.
4. How are decisions made and departmental resources distributed?

Part B: Quality and Support

Undergraduate Program

1. Describe the undergraduate degree program, including specialty areas, and the rationale for the requirements. Given the mission of the unit, how is it reflected in the curriculum with respect to depth, breadth, sequencing of courses, and capstone or other upper level offerings? Evaluate the overall coherence of the curriculum and degree requirements and suggest any changes for improvement.
2. Describe initiatives that are in place to enhance students’ learning and engagement. List courses, internships, research opportunities, paid positions, etc., and indicate the number of students taking advantage of these. What opportunities exist for honors theses and capstone experiences? How many majors take advantage of these opportunities?
3. Are there specific advising and retention efforts underway? (Attach appendices describing these initiatives as necessary.)
4. List general education and service courses provided by the unit in support of other areas. How do these courses fit into the overall mission of the unit?

Graduate Program: Admissions and Curriculum

(if applicable)

1. What are the objectives of the graduate program, how are they measured, and how well are they being met? Summarize the curricular requirements for graduate students in the program. Evaluate the overall coherence of the curriculum and degree requirements and suggest any changes for improvement.
2. How many students does the graduate program serve? Is it growing in terms of the number of students and participating faculty? What is the yield rate? If applicable, indicate any special graduate admission requirements of the unit beyond those prescribed by the Graduate School. How are students recruited? What mechanisms are used to promote retention and completion?
3. Describe how graduate students are mentored. What are the policies and procedures for the examinations necessary to obtain Masters and Doctoral degrees? Are students provided fair warning of deficiences and an opportunity to remediate? How do students participate in program governance?
4. Is there a support Graduate Director for the program? How is this individual selected and supported?
5. If applicable, describe the unit's criteria for selection of faculty to teach and supervise students at the graduate level.
6. Show the job placement of graduate students during the past 7 years. Do students have experiences appropriate to their professional goals?

Faculty: Quality of Instruction

1. Describe how the unit meets its teaching needs and how it supports teaching activities. Include an analysis and evaluation of average faculty teaching load and range (excluding the chairperson), and average class sizes.
2. List new courses developed by faculty and discuss any new pedagogies or practices introduced to enhance students’ learning.
3. What are the methods used to evaluate the quality of teaching? (Include graduate and undergraduate instruction.) Describe how the unit promotes effective classroom teaching (e.g., mentoring, classroom observation). Student evaluations.

Faculty: Advising and Mentoring

1. Describe the unit’s system of advising and guiding students.
2. What is the distribution of mentoring and advising responsibilities to faculty and staff for undergraduate and graduate students? What methods are used to evaluate effectiveness?
3. What is student feedback regarding advising/mentoring?

Faculty: Research, Service, and Additional Creative and Scholarly Activity

1. Summarize the research and creative activities of faculty in your unit, including research strengths, recent achievements, sponsored research support, patents, and performances.
2. How are students involved in research and creative endeavors?
3. Describe how the unit supports the research and creative activities of its faculty and students.
4. Discuss the service activities of faculty. How are faculty involved in community service and service to their profession (editorial boards, service to professional organizations, grant reviewing)?
5. How are faculty keeping up with trends in the field?

Staffing, Facilities, and Other Resources

1. Outline the current facilities, equipment, and support staff and how these resources contribute to the success of the unit in carrying out its mission.
2. Evaluate the adequacy of the library holdings in your discipline and evaluate the adequacy of your current collection management policy. (Contact the Dean of Mansfield Library for additional information, if needed.)
3. Evaluate the adequecy of IT in the department.

Part C: Educational Outcomes

[The questions in Part C are those already addressed in the annual assessment report posted on the Provost’s website at www.umt.edu/provost/advising. This assessment report may be inserted in the self-study.]

1. What do you expect your student majors to know when they graduate/complete their program of study? That is, list the intended educational outcomes for students in the unit in terms of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they are expected to attain by graduation. Are these specific outcomes represented in or derived from the unit's mission statement?
2. Describe the specific assessment tools and methodology used to evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities that students have acquired in their program of study. What qualitative and quantitative measures are used to evaluate student progress? Attach examples of all assessment instruments (e.g., tests of cognitive abilities, in-class performance measures, standardized and/or professional exams, student portfolios).
3. What have these assessment indicated about students’ progress? Provide specific data and describe how these data are used to maintain and/or modify aspects of the program (e.g., changes in the curriculum, changes in the scope and sequence of the curriculum, creation of writing courses or other special courses, formulation of hiring plans, revision of educational outcomes, adjustment in unit standards).
4. What evidence is available regarding students’ accomplishments at the appropriate level of performance for the degree awarded. For example, for graduate education: placement, dissertation and thesis evaluation, professional entry exams, use of theses, capstone projects or portfolios to assess learning. For undergraduate education: performance on professional exams or GRE, quality of honors theses, assessment of performances, selection for all-university honors, selection for national honors, continuation to higher degrees, job placement, employer surveys of job performance.

Part D: Future Goals and Priorities

Part E: Internal Review (data for the Montana Board of Regents)

1. Using the material provided in Table 1, summarize information regarding graduation rate and whether overall enrollment (as measured by number of majors and overall student credit hours generated) has decreased since the last review (see the attached Board of Regents Policy 303.3). This information must be presented for all majors, options, minors, and certificates of more than 30 credit hours for which the unit is responsible.
2. Provide information regarding the contributions of the unit to the Mission of the university. For example, how many students enroll in each major and how does this play a role in the preparation of these students for engagement in the community? How does the unit contribute to the general education requirements for undergraduate students?

Mission Statement for The University of Montana : The University of Montana capitalizes on its unique strengths to create knowledge, provide an active learning environment for students, and offer programs and services responsive to the needs of Montanans. The University delivers education and training on its four campuses and through telecommunications to sites inside and outside of Montana. With public expectations on the rise, the University asks its students, faculty, and staff to do and accomplish even more than they have in the past. The dedication to education for and throughout life reflects the commitment to service learning and community building on and off the campuses. The University enhances its programs through continuous quality review for improvement and remains fully accountable to the citizenry through annual audits and performance evaluations.

Mission Statement for The University of Montana— Missoula : The mission of The University of Montana— Missoula is the pursuit of academic excellence as indicated by the quality of curriculum and instruction, student performance, and faculty professional accomplishments. to educate competent and humane professionals and informed, ethical, and engaged citizens of local and global communities. Through its programs and the activities of faculty, staff, and students, The University of Montana—Missoula provides basic and applied research, technology transfer, cultural outreach, and service benefiting the local community, region, state, nation and the world.

Part F: Other

1. Provide any additional information or recommendations that are relevant to the unit's self analysis but not addressed above.

[All of the information in part C should be contained in the assessment reports submitted for posting on the Provost's website at www.umt.edu/provost/advising.]