Procedures

Procedures

• All programs will be reviewed every five to seven years.
• All program reviews will be coordinated through the Office of Academic Affairs.
• Academic program reviews will include an internal self-study by the department or unit under review.
• Academic program reviews will also include external review by a team of evaluators from outside of Emerson.
• The self-study report is a narrative discussion of the topics specified in the "Self-Study Outline" (below), to be used by both the external reviewers and internal audiences to better understand the academic unit. The report will be organized according to a prescribed and approved outline. Recognizing that each department and unit is different, the self-study outline should be customized to address the specific and unique topics and issues relevant to that program or unit.
• A department Chair or unit Director will assign a faculty or staff member to serve as coordinator for the self-study report. (Note: Normally, the department Chair should not serve as the author of the self-study report).
• The external review team will be comprised of two to four evaluators from outside of Emerson who are acknowledged experts in the academic discipline or disciplines, or professional areas, represented by the department/unit under review. The School Dean and Department Chair or unit Director will select the external evaluators. When possible, external reviewers will be at the department chair, dean, or director level to ensure broad experience in the discipline and some understanding of higher education procedures and processes.
• The role of the external team is two-fold. First, it will evaluate the department/unit based on the self-study; meet with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the Department Chair or unit Director; and review department/unit documents such as student files, student theses and projects, syllabi, faculty curricula vitae, and department/unit policies, practices and programs.
• Second, it will provide recommendations for strengthening the department/unit. The external evaluators will be provided with a copy of the self-study in advance of their site visit. They will conduct a two- or three-day campus visit to meet with key constituencies. The external review team will discuss its initial findings with the Dean and Chair or Administrative Director, Associate Provost for Academic Programs, and the Provost and then submit to the Provost, Associate Provost for Academic Programs, and Dean or Director a draft program review for commentary, fact-checking and clarification.
• The external evaluator's final report will be shared with the department/unit. The department faculty or unit staff will be asked to respond to the report and its recommendations. Based on this discussion, the Chair or unit Director will write a departmental response to the recommendations that details the department/unit goals and the responsibilities of the department/unit and the methods for addressing the recommendations.
• The Provost, Associate Provost for Academic Programs, Graduate Dean (if appropriate), School Dean, Department Chair or unit Director, and one faculty member from the department or staff member from the unit will meet to discuss the self-study, the report, and the department/unit response. The agreed-upon final recommendations will be disseminated to and discussed with the department's faculty or unit staff, and should be integrated into the department/unit long-range planning and budgeting.

Timeline and Useful Information

Before the Review

Preparation

In the Spring semester of the academic year before the external review, the Associate Provost meets with the Chair of the department, or unit Director, the Associate Chair, and the faculty, or, in the case of other units, the staff member designated to lead the Self-Study committee. At this meeting, the Associate Provost will:

1. share the Academic Program Review Resources Handbook
2. discuss the purpose, guiding principles and procedures of reviews at Emerson College
3. confirm the calendar for the department or unit self-study and dates of external reviewer visit
4. confirm the members of faculty and staff who will form the self-study committee

Reviewer Selection

In May, the Chair or unit Director:

1. provides the names and contact information of possible external reviewers to the Dean, who will also add their suggestions. The list should have at least eight names and their contact information

In early June, when the list is confirmed by the Chair and the Dean:

2. the Chair sends the list to the Associate Provost who will contact those listed to invite them to be an external reviewer

No later than late August:

3. the external reviewer team is confirmed
4. the Associate Provost shares the confirmed reviewer names with the Chair, or unit Director

The Schedule

The department Chair, working with staff, plans the schedule of the visit, which must include:

1. an introduction meeting with the Provost and Associate Provost when the reviewers arrive
2. meetings with the Dean, the Chair, faculty (full time and affiliated), undergraduate students, graduate students (where applicable), staff
3. an exit meeting with the Provost, Associate Provost, the Dean, and the Chair before the reviewers leave

The completed schedule is shared by the Chair with the Associate Provost

The Self-Study

The Associate Chair, or, in the case of other units, the staff member designated to put together the draft of the department or unit Self-Study:

1. gathers from the members of the Self-Study committee, each one representing an area of the department or unit, a draft of their area responses to the elements of the self-study outline assigned to them
2. ensures that all data is included in the Self-Study
3. drafts the full Self-Study from the components provided by the Self-Study committee members
4. shares the draft with the department and with the Associate Provost for feedback and edits
5. the Self-Study should be no more than 50 pages, excluding the Appendices sections

The Reviewer Visit

1. At least two weeks before the visit, the Chair or unit Director shares the Self-Study with the reviewers, the Dean, the Associate Provost, and the Provost
2. At the exit meeting, the Chair takes notes on the initial observations of the reviewers, answers and asks questions, and clarifies any factual errors

After the Visit

1. Department or Unit Engagement and Chair's Response When the external reviewers send their review, the Chair:
   1. shares it with the Provost and Associate Provost
   2. corrects factual errors and sends it back to the reviewers to update
   3. shares the updated review with the Provost, Associate Provost, and Senior Executive Administrator to the Provost
   4. shares the review with the department for discussion and prioritization of the action items from the recommendations
   5. writes the Chair's response to the review and sends it to the Provost, Associate Provost, and Dean
   6. fills in, in bullet point form, the reviewer recommendations and department action items and their prioritization in the APR Recs Action Item Tracking excel spreadsheet on Drive

Closing the Loop

A final meeting of the Provost, Associate Provost, Dean, Chair, Associate Chair, and any other key faculty or staff is scheduled by Academic Affairs to discuss the insights, next steps, department action items from the review

Before the Next Review

As they are implemented, the Chair updates the completed action items from the review recommendations in preparation for the next review and Self-Study