Reviews will be conducted on terminal graduate degree programs and may focus on individual departments, clusters of departments, schools, or interdisciplinary groups that cut across departmental or school lines. Each review will include terminal graduate degrees and certificates offered by the program being reviewed. As Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Provost is responsible for choosing the programs to be reviewed. Reviews will occur on a roughly ten-year cycle, though it is expected that programs will undergo other reviews, either by accrediting organizations or through internal processes more frequently. The schedule of reviews and the specific configuration of programs to be reviewed will be set by the Provost in consultation with the appropriate Deans. Programs that are separately accredited may request that the academic program review occur at a time most convenient to the accreditation cycle. Funding for these reviews will be provided by the Provost.
The review process is intended to assist an academic program in understanding its current status so that it can establish clear priorities for achieving excellence and becoming eminent in its field. Every program to be reviewed will prepare a self-study containing a comprehensive plan for improvement over the next five years. A critique of each program’s plans for achieving excellence, and recommendations for constructive change, will be provided by a Review Committee consisting of external and internal faculty peers. The typical review cycle for an individual program takes about 18 months.
Last updated January 2024