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Program Review

Program Review Descriptions for Non-Instructional Programs

Description and Functions (Historical Context, Services, Service Population, University Mission)

  • Provide any historical context over the last 3 years – merge/consolidation/growth
  • Description of the services/functions
  • Describe the unit’s primary customers and other relevant stakeholders
  • Relationship to University mission and goals
  • Please attach the unit’s operational plan

Guiding Questions:

  1. Are the mission and goals of the Review unit clearly defined and appropriate to the unit?
  2. How do the mission and goals of the unit fill a significant role in the mission of the University?
  3. Are the goal(s) of the unit being achieved?
  4. What were the significant accomplishments of the unit in the past two years?
  5. Are there impediments, constraints, or perceptions from any source that affect service or planned changes in service delivery?
  6. What are the unit’s primary strengths?
  7. What are the unit’s primary opportunities?
  8. What are the unit’s identified weaknesses?
  9. What are the unit’s potential threats?
  10. How has the purpose of this unit changed in recent years?
  11. Who are the key users or other stakeholders of this program?
  12. How has the user demand for the unit changed in recent years?
  13. How is the user demand for the unit likely to change in the near future?

Staff

  • Discuss staffing and areas of expertise. Include Information about certifications of staff members
  • Include resumes and position descriptions of staff members
  • Discuss staffing trends over the past three years
  • Compare staff structure to at least 3-5 peer institutions (ACHE list)

Guiding Questions:

  1. How do the number and expertise of the unit staff contribute to its ability to fulfill its mission and goals?
  2. How do the number of unit staff compare to peers (see ACHE list)?
  3. Are unit staff qualified?
  4. Are procedures in place and used to regularly evaluate personnel?
  5. Are duties appropriately and adequately distributed?
  6. Attach an organizational chart with every employee of the program identified by title and name.
  7. What strategies have been used to recruit and retain a diverse staff?
  8. Are staff duties clearly defined and appropriate?
  9. How does the unit utilize student employees, graduate assistants, or interns? If applicable, how many student employee and graduate assistant hours are utilized by the program each year and how are they trained, supervised, and evaluated?

Assessment (Plan, Quality Improvement Metrics)

  • Describe how the area is assessed and how the area uses the data for continuous improvement
  • Share relevant customer service data from the last 3-5 years
  • Provide the timeline and frequency of assessment
  • Please attach the unit’s assessment plan

Resources (Technology, Administrative Supports, Space/Facilities, Service Delivery, Financial Resources)

  • This section may include overall resources (space, budget), technology, administrative support, continuing education, and training)
  • Provide analysis of operational and personnel budget trends over the past three years
  • If applicable, include revenue trends from the last three years
  • Provide benchmarking data on operational and personnel budgets from 3-5 peers (ACHE list)

Guiding Questions:

  1. Are financial resources adequate to achieve the unit’s goals and objectives?
  2. How do financial resources compare to peers (see ACHE list)?
  3. Are resources available and used to support professional development of staff?
  4. Are there additional continuing education opportunities, tools, or resources that would benefit the overall operations of the unit?
  5. Does the organizational structure effectively support the Unit’s programs?
  6. Does the unit maximize its fiscal resources (including personnel)?
  7. Are the facilities adequate to support the mission of the unit?
  8. What is the status of the information technology / IT support, and equipment available to the unit?
  9. Are there additional equipment or resource needs (non-IT related)?
  10. List any projected upgrades to the facilities for this unit in the near future.

Guiding Questions:

  1. Have priorities changed nationally in the field, and do the unit’s activities reflect evolution in the field? If not, what is needed to make them current?
  2. How are decisions made to allocate unit resources?
  3. How does the unit compare to peers in use of financial resources?
  4. Are the services provided to the campus community perceived by the campus community as satisfactory?
  5. How does the unit measure and respond to user demand for its services?
  6. How does the unit evaluate quality of its service and outreach programs?
  7. How does the unit evaluate productivity of its service and outreach programs?
  8. How effective is the unit’s assessment plan and other assessment measures and provide a narrative on how the measures are used for program improvement?
  9. What is the financial impact of the unit in terms of impact to revenue and impact to expense ?

Summary

  • Provide a summary of the self-study
  • Describe the unit’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

Guiding Questions:

  1. How does the unit impact university operations and the campus community?
  2. What benefit does the program have on local, state, national, and international communities?
  3. How does the unit’s programs compare or compliment those in the community?