MCHP expects that all academic (credit-bearing) programs will be regularly reviewed to evaluate their quality and effectiveness in supporting the College’s mission. Because some MCHP programs are evaluated by an external accrediting body, those programs are exempt from submitting their program for internal review. All other programs at MCHP must be internally reviewed by the program review committee. MCHP’s process for program review begins with the program review committee, which creates and oversees the program review schedule. The process then engages program faculty and management in the creation of a program summary report that is submitted to the program review committee, whose response and recommendations are shared with the faculty as a whole.
Frequency of Reviews
Academic programs are reviewed according to the following schedule:
- MCHP reviews will occur on a 5-year cycle. For all programs, this schedule may be altered if a program’s needs change to require earlier review (to be determined by the program review committee).
- New programs have a mandatory review three years after initial launch.
Program Review Committee
Program evaluation will be carried out by the program review committee.
Composition
The program review committee (PRC) will be composed of at least one salaried faculty member from each division. The chief academic officer (CAO) will be an ex officio member of the committee and will act in an advisory manner. In the absence of the CAO, the president or designee will serve in that capacity. The committee chair will be the recipient and disperser of all documents coming to and from the committee. The voting members on the committee must be an odd number.
Non-voting members may be added when appropriate (e.g., when issues of licensure may prompt the need to include a team member with particular credentials).
Charge
The program review committee is charged with working on behalf of MCHP to review all non- exempt programs offered at the College for currency and continued benefit to the students and the institution.
Additionally, the program review committee is asked to determine how effectively each program strives to fulfill the mission of the College.
Scope
The Scope of the program review committee is to:
- Conduct regularly scheduled formative reviews of all non-exempt College programs.
- Review programs following a published review cycle (as described above).
- Request any information it needs to facilitate the review, including, but not limited to, the program self-study.
- Identify program strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and offer specific recommendations to assist programs in their efforts to improve.
- Create a program review report that is submitted to the appropriate dean and president of the college.
- Follow the Program Review Committee Procedure attached.
Approved:______________________________________________________________________
Monika Bissell, DBA
President
Program Review Committee Procedure
Review Procedure
The initial steps in the review involve the establishment of the review schedule and the preparation of the program review report. The PRC chair will alert deans one year in advance of program review due dates. The program faculty members and academic leadership will prepare a program review summary report in accordance with established program review guidelines.
The chair of the program review committee is responsible for distributing the program summary report to the committee and coordinating activities of the PRC (including providing meeting space, scheduling meetings with faculty and administrators, etc.). The CAO will support preparation of the PRC’s program review report and other administrative matters associated with the PRC’s activities as needed.
The efforts of the PRC are divided into three principal phases: pre-review, review, and post-review. Each of these is discussed below.
Pre-Review
Prior to the PRC review of the academic program, the PRC will have received the department’s program summary report and any administrative information that may be appropriate. The PRC will ensure deans are aware of the timeline for their review process. After the PRC’s initial review of these materials, the PRC members may direct queries to the PRC chair for information that they will require either prior to or during the review. The PRC chair will assemble the requests and transmit them to the appropriate dean. The dean is responsible for providing the requested information.
Review
A meeting with the dean and/or additional information may be requested by the PRC as a result of the review. The dean will be responsible for responding to such requests in a timely manner.
The PRC will submit a written program review report to the dean of the program under review within four weeks of receiving the program summary report. In this report, the PRC will assess the program’s overall performance and its specific strengths and weaknesses. The PRCs program review report will make recommendations for any changes the PRC believes advisable. The PRC will consider the curriculum; student demand for the program; scholarly activity of the program’s faculty; program facilities; student outcomes and performance; the market for its graduates; the level of support for the program; the effectiveness of its leadership; and its effectiveness in furthering the College’s mission and goals.
Post-Review
Faculty and administrators of the program will have access to the PRC’s program review report. Within two weeks of receiving the report, the dean will provide a written response (prepared in consultation with the program’s faculty members) giving specific actions planned in the light of the report’s recommendations. Where there is disagreement with the findings or recommendations of the PRC, the basis for such disagreement will be given.
Within two weeks of receiving the department’s response, the CAO will discuss the PRC’s program review report and department’s response with the dean and faculty. Finally, the committee will prepare recommendations and the chair will submit these and all supporting documents to the president to complete the review. These recommendations, together with the department’s program summary report, the program review committee ’s program review report, and the program’s response, will constitute the official record of the program review.
Review Process Summary
- PRC chair notifies dean of intent to review (one year in advance)
- Department dean and faculty creates program summary report
- Department submits program summary report to PRC
- PRC conducts a review of the summary report and requests clarification and additional information from deans if required, and completes program review report
- PRC submits the program review report to dean
- Department faculty and administration review the program review report and respond to PRC noting disagreements and/or discrepancies
- PRC reviews the program summary report, PRC program review report, and the department’s response
- CAO meets with dean and faculty of program under review to discuss PRC’s recommendations and department’s response.
- The chair submits recommendations and supporting documents (the full record) to president
- The chair submits the program review report and final recommendations to the faculty senate.
Guidelines for Writing a Program Summary Report
Introduction
Periodic program review is an opportunity for the faculty offering a program or service to engage in a discussion among themselves and with the chief academic officer, the program review committee, and president about its effectiveness and future role within the institution.
Purpose
The goals of program review are to:
- Assess the role of the program or service in advancing MCHP’s mission
- Provide the information and plans about the direction of programs and services
- Provide information about program improvement
- Demonstrate alignment between the program and resources
- Evaluate the effects of changes made since the last review
- Compare the program with external authorities, including other educational institutions or leading professional associations
Operational Principles
- The report should acknowledge past and present operations but focus on the future of the program.
- The authoring program or service should write a candid report.
- The information required in the guidelines provides only the minimum needed for the report.
- The review should discuss specifically how student and external assessment data and the information acquired during the review process are connected to program planning.
- The review process should engage faculty.
- The report narrative, excluding prologue and appendices, should be no more than 25 pages.
Components
- Prologue (including descriptive numerical information)
This section should precede the report’s analysis and should provide numerical snapshots of the program.- Number of graduates, yearly for the past five years
- Student GPA distributions (lowest, highest, average) and probations for each of the past five years
- Average SAT/HESI or other appropriate test score of each incoming class for each of the past five years
- Average class size for the program/service in each of the past five years
- Number and percent of full time and adjunct faculty to include level of education for each of the past five years
- List of courses taught in each of the past five years indicating taught by full-time or adjunct faculty, enrollment numbers, and grade distribution (lowest, highest, average)
- Percentage of courses taught by adjunct faculty for each of the past five years
- Student: faculty ratio (program-wide average) for each of the past five years
- Executive Summary
- A synopsis of the report (1-2 paragraphs)
- A synopsis of the report (1-2 paragraphs)
- Connection to the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan
- The contribution made by the program in meeting the College’s mission
- Program viability in attracting and retaining qualified students
- Trends affecting the future of the program
- Projections of changes affecting the profession in the future
- Specific goals of the program and how they are connected to the institution’s mission, vision, and strategic plan
- Other areas of special interest to the division
- Program Quality
- Evidence that the program attracts, retains, and graduates successful students
- Discussion of the program’s uniqueness and the advantages/disadvantages vis-à-vis the institution
- Discussion of the future of the profession in near- and long-term and the job outlook for graduates in the region and nation
- Discussion of how the program or service is distinctive from similar programs at similar colleges
- Contribution of the program or service to other MCHP programs
- Planning and development initiatives
- Analysis of the effectiveness of current resources in meeting specific goals of the program
- Any other information relating to the program’s quality
- Information about the program’s advisory council (membership, meeting schedule, description of the council’s involvement with shaping program offerings), if appropriate
- Teaching and Student Learning
- Teaching and Student Learning
- Discussion of the assessment of student learning
- This section should include a tabular display of program outcomes and the courses that contribute to them. Also included should be tabulated data describing student achievement of the program’s outcomes on a yearly basis since the last review and a summary of all the years under consideration.
- Discussion of teaching and advising quality
- While mention should be made of innovative teaching and advising of students, the focus should be on the program faculty as a whole.
- Evidence that program graduates meet with success after graduating from the program
- Discussion of the assessment of student learning
- Faculty
- Summary of scholarship and other kinds of engagement with the intellectual community of one’s field and/or service in advancing the interests of the college
- Number of faculty with special certificates and types of certificates
- Number of faculty in the various degree levels
- Marketing
- Description of marketing materials and activities
- Discussion of faculty participation in marketing activities (e.g., open house, community outreach, etc.)
- Responses to Previous Program Reviews
- Discussion of how the program has worked on strengthening itself following the analysis contained in previous program review, building on existing strengths and remedying weaknesses
- The Future of the Program
- Responses to the projections described in Section 3: Connection to the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan
- Priorities divided into four categories:
- Critical
- Immediate
- Medium Term
- Long Term
Guidelines for Writing a Program Review Report
Introduction & Purpose
The program review committee is charged with working on behalf of MCHP to review all non-exempt programs offered at the College for currency and continued benefit to the students and the institution. Additionally, the program review committee is asked to determine how effectively each program strives to fulfill the mission of the College.
Operational Principles
- The report is to be submitted within four weeks of receiving the program summary report.
- The report will address the program’s overall performance and its specific strengths and weaknesses.
- The report will make recommendations for any changes the PRC believes advisable.
- The PRC will consider when writing the report:
- Curriculum
- Student demand for the program
- Scholarly activity of the program’s faculty
- Program facilities
- Student outcomes and performance
- Market for its graduates
- Level of support for the program
- Effectiveness of its leadership
- Effectiveness in furthering the College’s mission and goals
Components
- Final Analysis of:
- Prologue
- Executive summary
- Connection to mission, vision, and strategic plan
- Program quality
- Teaching and student learning
- Faculty
- Marketing
- Response to previous program reviews
- Future of the program
- Program Review Committee Checklist