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IE Home > Assessment > Program Review Guidelines and Archive > Academic Departments and Schools

Program Review Guidelines for Academic Units

Annual Program Review
Each academic unit is expected to prepare an Annual Program Review, following the format given below. The reports will be reviewed by Academic Council and used as the basis for requesting resources for the next fiscal year. The reports may also be shared with members of other campus planning committees. In Particular, the Academic Assessment Committee reviews programs reviews every three years and has charged the IE Office to conduct a follow-up review in the year following review by the Committee to identify the extent to which Committee recommendations about assessment have been addressed.


I. Data

  • Table 1 Faculty Load List of Faculty with Reassigned Time and Overloads (including internships and independent studies), with Explanations
  • Table 2 Annual Degrees Awarded
  • Table 3 Average Number of Students with Major or BIS Concentration
  • Table 4 Enrollment Count and Average Class Size by Discipline

II. Department Mission, Goals, and Objectives

This section should also include Goals and Objectives for Student Learning Outcomes for 1) majors and 2) general education, where appropriate (these should be identifiably linked if not identical to institutional goals and objectives for general education). Goals are clear general statements about student learning, e.g. “Students will understand and apply basic research methods in [discipline].” Objectives should represent derived subsets of each goal and be measurable in scope. All statements should be phrased in the format “Students will …” or “Students will be able to …”

III. Assessment

This section should present an analysis of the results of the department’s efforts to assess its goals for student learning. Material in this section should be organized by the goals and objectives for learning outcomes listed in Section II in the following order:

  • List the goal/objective for student learning
  • Describe how the outcomes of this objective were assessed
  • Present the findings; use appendices for data when necessary
  • Describe actions taken that were prompted by the result

Each goal must have at least one measure of learning outcomes independent of student grades. Multiple assessments for each goal are preferable, and the primary measurements of student performance should be assessed by faculty or other qualified professionals. Additional supplementary indirect assessment data may include tabulated results of satisfaction surveys, focus groups, students’ self-assessments, and interviews, but such material, absent direct assessments of student competencies is not sufficient to constitute an adequate assessment program.


IV. Year in Review

  • Accomplishments and Strengths
  • Work in Progress
  • Obstacles in Achieving Unit Goals
  • Long-range Plans

V. Needs--Provide Justification and Projected Costs

  • Personnel
  • Equipment/Furniture (non technology)
  • Facilities
  • Technology
  • Other


Address Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives throughout, as appropriate.