Chapter Seven
(This chapter should be significantly revised in 1999-2000. Upon its approval, a revised version will appear in the online version of this document.)
In 1971, the CSU Board of Trustees called for the establishment of program performance review procedures for all existing undergraduate and graduate programs, and since then the Trustees have resolved each year "that a formal review of existing degree curricula continue to be conducted annually by the campuses as part of the overall academic planning process." Each campus has been requested to develop its own review procedures within minimal systemwide guidelines to examine the following items:
All campuses submit annual summaries of their review activities for purposes of reporting to the Trustees. Each program must be reviewed qualitatively and quantitatively at least every five years. New programs should be reviewed within five years after implementation. On the CSUH campus, the Committee on Academic Planning and Resources (CAPR) conducts reviews of all programs except General Education which is done by the Committee on Instruction and Curriculum. After approval by the Academic Senate, review summaries are transmitted to the Chancellor's Office and Board of Trustees by the Associate Vice President, Academic Programs/Graduate Studies at the end of each Fall Quarter.
(1993-94 CAPR 2)
Periodically the plans and activities of every academic program in the university should be subject to university-wide review. Such a review serves a variety of ends, including
The university, and each of its academic programs, continually needs to plan for the future. In the past, each unit has formulated its plans individually-either explicitly or implicitly. These plans formed the basis for discussion between those immediately responsible for a program and appropriate administrators on a quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year-basis. This policy will formalize the planning process and will include in it a university-wide review of program plans and activities every five years. By doing so, it will provide an opportunity to measure program goals against university-wide goals and modify either, if that seems desirable. The short-term planning process can be combined with the long-term process by using the summary information from the short-term plans for the university-wide process.
Each individual program will draw up a one or two page statement of short-term objectives and long-term goals as its Basic Plan for the next five years. Every year the program will prepare a one or two page Annual Report describing progress made on its goals and revisions to be made to them. It will also prepare a one or two page Assessment Report describing the means used to assess its progress and the information produced by these means. Various university offices will provide the Statistical Support, a one or two page statistical summary of the year for the program. These documents will form the basis for ordinary consultation between the program and administrators. The information accumulated over the planning cycle will form the basis of the university-wide consideration. The program, dean, and Provost, in concert, will invite outside reviewers1 visit the program and to make findings about its activities and plans. These reports, and consultations among the program, the college, CAPR, and the Senate will result in a new Basic Plan for the program which will begin the next cycle.
Academic programs include all courses of study leading to a degree, credential or certificate, and to a lesser extent those leading to a minor or to a particular option within a degree program and those providing a significant level of university-wide educational activity.
The term Program Unit will be used as a generic term for the group primarily responsible for the program. Program design should reflect the informed, professional judgment of the members of the Program Unit. This design should also adapt the role of the program to the larger university context and to special needs or advantages which are present on the campus.
All formal degree programs should have their plans reviewed, but in many instances it may be more reasonable to designate the department as the Program Unit, so as to include ancillary activities in the review also.2 CAPR should review the list of program units periodically to determine if the appropriate planning units are currently accurately identified. This can be done in the course of the periodic review of the University Plan. The term Administrative Unit will be used to refer to a larger unit, e.g. a College, which encompasses several Program Units and exercises some level of academic leadership and fiscal responsibility for those Program Units. Each Administrative Unit should have a plan containing short-term objectives and long-term goals and generally articulating priorities.
Each Program Unit will produce a brief document-one or two pages-describing general aims and specific goals for its program. The document may contain general guiding principles as well as more specific short-term and long-term goals. Ideas for substantial, visionary initiatives for program improvement and innovation should be included as they emerge (even if resources for such initiatives are not apparent). These goals should be so formulated as to make possible a reasonable judgment as to whether they are being attained or whether progress is being made toward them (e.g., using student outcomes assessment). In particular, the plan should include a statement of how the program will assess its progress toward its goals and how the results of this assessment will be reported and used to guide its future plans. The plan should also address the relation of the program to the University plan (Mission Statement) and any specific plans for addressing current student needs. Moreover, the stated goals will change as former goals are met, new goals emerge, and some goals are judged unattainable or counterproductive.
This document should truly represent the informed professional judgement of those responsible for the program and should not be simply the work of the program director. This document will constitute the fundamental statement of planning principles for the program. The Program Unit will develop it initially in consultation with the appropriate administrators. It will be kept on file in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Each Program will produce a brief Annual Report describing progress toward its goals, problems reaching its goals, revision of goals, and new initiatives. This document should indicate how the results of the program's assessment efforts support its conclusions and should also record significant events which have occurred or are imminent, such as retirements, new hires, curricular changes, honors received, etc. This report, one or two pages in length, will be developed at the end of Spring Quarter by the Program Unit, discussed with appropriate administrators, and kept on file in the Office of Academic Affairs with the program's Basic Plan. It will form part of the basis for short-term planning consultations between the Program Unit and appropriate administrators.
The offices of Academic Resources and Administration, Institutional Research and Analysis, or Enrollment Services, separately or in concert, as appropriate, will produce an annual report in standard format. This report will be delivered to the program and will be attached to the Annual Report of the unit. It will include:
For each major, credential, or certificate program:
The number of graduates (SFWSp)
The number of majors (SFWSp)
For a minor, the number of degrees awarded with that minor noted
Job or graduate school placement of graduates (insofar as this information is available from the Career Development Center or University Advancement)
Ethnicity and gender (and comparable campus and system figures) of
Majors and minors
Faculty
Support staff
The number of faculty devoted to the program (both FTEF and number)
Full time faculty by rank
Part time faculty by rank
Number of course-sections offered-lower division, upper division, graduate
Total enrollment-lower division, upper division, graduate
Average section size-lower division, upper division, graduate
Average grade-lower division, upper division, graduate
Student faculty ratio-lower division, upper division, graduate
Summary student evaluations of faculty-lower division, upper division, graduate
Staff support (clerical/technical PY)
Financial Summary
Student Faculty Ratio
Dollars per FTES
Dollars per FTEF
Dollars per degree awarded
This statistical document should be approximately one page long. This document should include or be accompanied by a graphical presentation, e.g., using line graphs, which summarizes the data of the last several (3 to 5) years in order to make changes and trends more apparent.
All programs need to make efforts to assess their progress toward their goals in a way that provides evidence of the success of current efforts or of the need for change. The particular means of assessment must be tailored to the specific program. In general, it will be combination of reflection upon the information included in the annual Statistical Support document and of the results of investigations taken by the program itself. One component-but certainly not the sole component-of program assessment is the inclusion of student opinion in the planning process, for example, through the use of student course evaluations, surveys of graduates, surveys of alumni, etc. Other components would attempt to garner evidence of effectiveness of the program.3 Whatever means a program chooses, they should be appropriate to support the program's planning effort.
The Program Unit will provide a brief Assessment Report annually describing the evidence of effectiveness of the program. This report, one or two pages in length, should include a brief description of the means used, the information obtained, and the uses to which that information is put in the annual planning process of the Program Unit. After review by the Program Unit and appropriate administrators, the Annual Report, the Statistical Support, and the Assessment Report will be filed in the Office of Academic Affairs with the Basic Plan. These reports will reflect the plans and actions which form much of the basis for administrative allocation of resources to the program.
Every fifth year each academic program shall be subject to review of its plans by the Academic Senate, through CAPR.
The Program Unit will prepare a fresh Draft Basic Plan for the next five year cycle. It will also prepare a brief statement describing the means it used during the previous cycle to assess its progress toward the goals in its Basic Plan and the results of that assessment.
The Basic Documents for the review will consist of the previous departmental Basic Plan (see section B.2.a.)
the Annual Report (section B.2.b.1), the Statistical Support documents (section B.2.b.2), and the Assessment Reports (section B.2.b.3) for the previous five years;
the new Draft Basic Plan;
the summary of assessment activities and their results.
The initial review of the Program Unit and its Basic Documents will take place within the Administrative Unit to which it reports. The preliminary findings at this stage will consider the achievements of the Program Unit in the light of the stated objectives of the Administrative Unit. It will also consider the relation of the new Draft Basic Plan with the Administrative Unit Plan and recommend appropriate modifications in either. The findings of this review with regard to the program will be summarized and attached to the program Basic Documents as the Administrative Unit Summary.4
In the Spring of the year preceding the review year, each degree program shall, in consultation with the Dean, develop a list of several suitable individuals who may be qualified to provide an independent, external judgment of the program's progress toward its goals, as well as the appropriateness of its current goals in the light of the current state of the discipline and the current nature of the campus. The Provost, in consultation with the dean and program head5, will then choose outside reviewers, ordinarily two, to visit the program during the Fall Quarter. (Any, or all of, the Provost or dean or program head may verify the nominees' qualifications and willingness to serve before issuing the invitations.)
The visiting team, once chosen and once a visiting date has been scheduled, will provided with copies of
the Administrative Unit Summary Report on the program,
such general and specific inquiries about the program as CAPR may choose to include.
The visiting team shall meet with the program head, the program faculty, a representative group of students (including all who wish to participate), and the dean. The team, before leaving the campus, shall meet with the Provost, the dean, the program head, and a subcommittee of CAPR to give its preliminary findings and to hear residual concerns.
Each team member will then independently submit a written report summarizing the findings in a format provided by CAPR. This report should be submitted within one month of the campus visit.
For programs subject to periodic professional accreditation which includes a visit and report by a team of outside reviewers, efforts should be made to adapt that activity to serve the needs of university-wide review, rather than having a completely new reviewing visit. Appropriate arrangements will be made regarding outside review and scheduling of university-wide review in consultation between CAPR, the program head, the dean, and the Provost.
CAPR, using the outside reviewers report, the Basic Documents, the Administrative Unit Summary Report, comments which the Associate Vice Presidents for Academic Resources/Administration and Academic Programs/Graduate Studies may wish to add, and the program's new Draft Basic Plan, will deliver its findings in written report to the Senate by the end of Spring Quarter. These findings shall include a recommendation with regard to the continuance, enhancement, de-emphasis, or elimination of the program, and shall include CAPR's judgment as to the feasibility of the new Draft Basic Plan and its congruence with the University Mission.
CAPR may recommend changes or additions to the Draft Basic Plan before that plan and CAPR's report is sent forward to the Senate for endorsement. If CAPR recommends changes which the Program Unit or Dean or Provost view as inappropriate, these parties and CAPR will consult and attempt to reconcile any differences before the document goes on to the Senate. Such consultation shall include the opportunity for all parties involved (Program Unit or Dean or Provost) to supply additional documentation and to appear before CAPR.
With Senate approval, the Draft Basic Plan will become the new Basic Plan for the Program Unit and will form the starting point for the next cycle.
Each Administrative Unit shall produce a brief statement of short-term objectives and long-term goals to function as the Administrative Unit Basic Plan. It should be a format similar to that of the Program Unit Plans. The fundamental purpose of such a plan should be to coordinate goals and objectives among related Program Units, to articulate the priorities of the larger unit, and to suggest strategies for implementing administrative and program goals.
As with the Program Unit Basic Plans, the Administrative Unit Basic Plan should be based on significant consultation with and among the Program Units concerned, and should not be solely the work of the administrator responsible for the unit.
This Administrative Unit Basic Plan should also be kept on file in the Office of Academic Affairs, and should be revised or re-affirmed by the Administrative Unit, CAPR, and Academic Senate in the same year that the Program Units in that Administrative Unit undergo university-wide review.
CAPR shall review the University-wide Plan annually. It shall take into account information coming to it from the review of Program Unit plans and Administrative Unit plans as well as information from other campus-wide sources regarding needs, opportunities, and resources. CAPR shall report its recommendations regarding revision or re-affirmation of the University-wide Plan to the Academic Senate during Spring Quarter for Senate Approval.
The identification of Program Units will evolve over time. For the initial implementation of this document a Program Unit will be considered synonymous with degree program, in accordance with recent campus tradition. CAPR should review the list of program units periodically to determine if the appropriate planning units are currently accurately identifies. This can be done while reviewing the University-wide Plan each year.
The Program Units identified will be divided into five groups for the purposes of scheduling their university-wide reviews. The schedule will rotate through the groups on an annual basis. The current rotation is as follows:
Current Degree Program Rotation
(Subject to Approval by CAPR and Academic Senate)
| 1999-2000 | |
|---|---|
| Biological Science | BA, BS, MS |
| Chemistry | BA, BS, MS |
| Computer Science | BS, MS |
| Geology | BA, BS, MS |
| Health Sciences | BS |
| Marine Sciences | MS |
| Mathematics | BS, MS |
| Nursing | BS, MS |
| Physical Science | BS |
| Physics | BS |
| Psychology | BA, BS |
| Statistics | BS, MS |
| 2000- 2001 | |
|---|---|
| Ethnic Studies | BA |
| History | BA, MA |
| Human Development | BA |
| International Studies | BA |
| Latin American Studies | BA |
| Mass Communication | BA |
| Music | BA, MA |
| Philosophy | BA |
| Theatre Arts | BA |
| Economics | BA, MA |
| 2001-2002 | |
|---|---|
| Criminal Justice Administration | BS |
| English | BA, MA |
| Environmental Studies | BA |
| French | BA |
| Geography | BA, BS, MA |
| Sociology | BA, MA |
| Spanish | BA |
| Engineering | BA |
| 2002-2003 | |
|---|---|
| Anthropology | BA, MA |
| Art | BA |
| Liberal Studies | BA |
| Political Science | BA |
| Public Administration | MPA |
| Speech Communication | BA, MA |
| Speech Pathology/Audiology | BS, MS |
| Environmental Science | BS |
| Multimedia | MA |
| Special Majors | BA,BS,MA,MS |
| 2003-2004 | |
|---|---|
| Business Administration | BS, MS, MBA* |
| Taxation | MS |
| Telecommunication Systems | MS |
| Counseling | MS |
| Education | MS |
| Educational Leadership | MS |
| Kinesiology | BS, MS |
| Recreation | BS |
| Special Education | MS |
| Arts Administration | BA |
| Biochemistry | BS |