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Provost

Academic Portfolio Review

The purpose of Academic Portfolio Review is to conduct an annual analysis guided by metrics defined in BOR Policy 303.3 Program Review and other data identified to evaluate program health, sustainability, and student success. Official recommendations resulting from the Academic Portfolio Review are initiated through Faculty Senate and Board of Regents procedures. 

Beginning with the 2026–27 cycle, APR incorporates the Montana University System's new Ongoing Program Review as its foundation. This annual, threshold-based review is conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE) and now runs system-wide.

OCHE Pilot Year

The 2026–27 academic year will serve as a pilot of the new process before taking full effect in August 2027. During the pilot, no program actions will result, unless they are voluntary on the part of the offering academic unit. The pilot's purpose is to validate the underlying data, test the forms and timelines, and gather campus and faculty feedback. Faculty input during the pilot year will directly shape the final Academic Affairs Handbook procedures, forms, and metrics.

OCHE will evaluate programs at the 4-digit CIP code, degree level, and campus level, using three metrics: a headcount floor, a three-year headcount trend, and a three-year graduation floor. Programs crossing a threshold are flagged Red (Enhanced Review) or Yellow (Monitor). A flag is not a decision about a program's future. It creates an obligation to review the program, document improvement plans, and come to a reasonable determination about the program's future.

Table comparing degree levels with HC floor, 3-year trend, and grad floor values for minors, certificates, associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral/professional programs as enumerated in detail below under the heading Thresholds, excluding units of analysis that only apply to UM Academic Portfolio Review.

Because OCHE's thresholds are calculated at the CIP-code level, a single CIP grouping can combine more than one UM program (for example, if all biology majors and concentrations at the baccalaureate level fall under the same CIP they will be reviewed together). APR looks at each individual UM program separately. So campus-level review will catch trends in enrollment and completion that CIP-level aggregation alone might miss.

Thresholds

  • Red — Enhanced Review: 3-yr graduation floor: 5. Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late. 

    Yellow — Monitor: 3-yr graduation floor: 10 Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late.

  • Red — Enhanced Review: 3-yr graduation floor: 5. Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late. 

    Yellow — Monitor: 3-yr graduation floor: 10. Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late. 

  • This is unit of analysis is not tracked as part of BOR Ongoing Program Review and applies on to UM Academic Portfolio Review.

    Red — Enhanced Review: Headcount floor 8; 3-yr headcount trend -40%; 3-yr graduation floor 5

    Yellow — Monitor: Headcount floor 12; 3-yr headcount trend -25%; 3-yr graduation floor 10

  • Red — Enhanced Review: Headcount floor 8; 3-yr headcount trend -40%; 3-yr graduation floor 5

    Yellow — Monitor: Headcount floor 12; 3-yr headcount trend -25%; 3-yr graduation floor 10

  • Red — Enhanced Review: Headcount floor 10; 3-yr headcount trend -40%; 3-yr graduation floor 5

    Yellow — Monitor: Headcount floor 15; 3-yr headcount trend -25%; 3-yr graduation floor 10

  • Red — Enhanced Review: Headcount floor 5; 3-yr headcount trend -40%; 3-yr graduation floor 3

    Yellow — Monitor: Headcount floor 7; 3-yr headcount trend -25%; 3-yr graduation floor 5

  • Red — Enhanced Review: Headcount floor 3; 3-yr headcount trend -50%; 3-yr graduation floor 1

    Yellow — Monitor: Headcount floor 5; 3-yr headcount trend -40%; 3-yr graduation floor 3

  • This is unit of analysis is not tracked as part of BOR Ongoing Program Review and applies on to UM Academic Portfolio Review.

    Red — Enhanced Review: 3-yr graduation floor 1. Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late.

    Yellow — Monitor: 3-yr graduation floor 3. Headcount floor and trend not applicable at this level as students usually declare late.

2026-2027 Process

Proposed Annual Calendar

  • August 15 | OCHE provides the list of programs flagged for enhanced review to campuses.
  • September/October | Chief academic officer petition for removal from the list due 45 days from notification.
  • November BOR meeting | Final enhanced review list reported to the Board of Regents
  • January 15 | Campus responses and improvement plans due to OCHE
  • March (BOR meeting) | Commissioner presents recommendations to the Board of Regents
  • Ongoing | Improvement plan monitoring per Commissioner-determined review periods

Campus Response Process

Programs on the final enhanced review list require a campus response by January 15, recommending either sunset (with a moratorium timeline and teach-out plan) or restructure/invest (with an improvement plan addressing evidence of need, actions taken or planned, a resource assessment, and performance targets). Any program moratoria or terminations will be submitted to Faculty Senate by the Spring Curriculum Deadline. Any additional recommendations from the Commissioner will be presented to the relevant Curriculum committees for review and recommendation following the March BOR meeting. Program modifications resulting from improvement plans can be submitted the following fall. 

Individual Program-Level Review

Alongside OCHE's system-level thresholds, UM disaggregates its own data to the individual program level for every program on campus beyond the CIP-level groupings OCHE's annual flags use. This lets UM interpret OCHE's findings in the context of each specific program, and separately identify programs that may need monitoring or enhanced reviewed.

Program-level data for this review is available to all programs in a tableau dashboards that integrate the OCHE review thresholds.

How APR Findings Are Shared with Campus

APR results reach campus in two stages each cycle:

  1. OCHE's system-level findings are shared with campus as soon as they're available, along with an explanation of what they show, their limitations, and what to expect next.
  2. UM's own program-level APR analysis follows once ready, disaggregated to the individual program level so departments can see how their specific programs are interpreted alongside the OCHE findings.
  3. Programs identified as being at risk under either the OCHE thresholds are prioritized for early, individual conversations with the Office of the Provost.
  4. Faculty governance retains the right to review and recommend the campus responses. Petitions, improvement plans, and recommendations to place programs in to moratorium or terminate them are developed through UM's shared governance and curriculum review processes. 

Academic Portfolio Review Resources