Review Process

Programs will be reviewed on an eight-year cycle. Units will complete the process in the equivalent of one semester, allowing for two rounds of reviews per academic year.

Timeline

Departments attend orientation and submit their reviewer nominations in the spring of the academic year (AY) prior to their review. Departments who will be reviewed in the following academic year will be notified in October. The Provost’s Office will schedule an orientation meeting.

January (AY prior to visit): Provost’s Office representatives meet with units to answer questions/provide an orientation. Departments who will be reviewed will be given performance indicators and are asked to submit a list of potential external reviewers two weeks after their orientation.
February (AY prior to visit): Finalize external reviewers for the upcoming year’s reviews.

The Provost’s Office will coordinate the reviewer invitation process. The Department and College will coordinate the scheduling of the visit. It is best to finalize the visit dates as soon as possible after the review team is finalized.

Timeline for Fall Reviews

Program Review Council appointments occur each September

See above for orientation and reviewer nominee timeline.
October: Departments submit a Self-Study Report no later than three weeks prior to visit.
November: External reviewers visit and then submit their written report within 21 days of the visit. Both the College and the Provost’s Office will receive the report.
The following May: Departments submit the Response to External Reviewers report.
January of the next year: Departments complete their first Annual Update.
After four years of Annual Updates: Departments complete their End-of-Cycle report.

Timeline for Spring Reviews

See above for orientation and reviewer nominee timeline.
February/March: Departments submit a Self-Study Report no later than three weeks prior to the visit.
March/April: External reviewers visit and then submit their written report within 21 days of the visit. Both the College and the Provost’s Office will receive the report.
The following December: Departments submit the Response to External Reviewers report.
January, one year later: Departments complete their first Annual Update.
After four years of Annual Updates: Departments complete their End-of-Cycle report.

Budget for Reviews

The Provost’s Office supports program review at $2,000 per reviewer, plus $400 of the External Review Committee Chair. This support is outlined below:

Travel and Review Expenses: The Provost’s Office will transfer $1,000 per reviewer (up to five reviewers) to the unit being reviewed to cover the costs associated with travel and review expenses (such as copies and meals). The transfer will occur at the end of the visit, and it will eliminate the need to submit itemized reimbursement forms to the Provost’s Office.

Honoraria: The Provost’s Office will continue to process honoraria ($1,000 per reviewer) for up to five external reviewers, as well as $400 for the Chair of the External Review Committee.

Shared Data Set


A list of common data to be used for each review will be provided by Division of Management Information (DMI) including the following with benchmark data where possible. Units being reviewed may access the shared data set. To login, enter your username as UOFI\netid and password. If you have any questions about this information, please contact Staci Provezis. The common data set is a combination of information from DMI Campus Profile and the budget office.  An outline of what is provided is listed below.

Overview of Program Review Data: An overview of the complete data set with key elements pulled out for a quick review of information.

Financial Resources Overview: This section has data on the department’s financial status.

Demographics: This section has demographic information for faculty, staff and students. The headcounts are broken down by percentages of women and underrepresented groups for faculty and staff. For students percentages of women and underrepresented are listed as well as non-resident and international.

Student Quality & Experience : In this section, students ACT and high school rank is included.  The section also provides data on degrees granted and mean terms to degree.

Education & Teaching: This section covers faculty information, teaching evaluations, and IUs.

Research:  This section includes information about grants, as well as faculty research grant amounts.

Programs: This section provides enrollment and degree information, by level and program.

Summary Table: This section provides an overview in a single spreadsheet that includes a college and the departments within it. It also shows the percent change over a 5-year period.

Self-study Framework

This Self-study should respond to the questions in the template in a succinct way, so as to create a reflective report that is about 20 pages long. The self-assessment reports on five areas:

  • The overall goals, trends, and challenges for the department
  • The academic/student experience for major or graduate students in the department
  • The research vitality of the department
  • The human, physical and financial resources of the department
  • Guiding Principles: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Shared Governance

Units may access a self-study template.

External Review Guidelines

The external review is a crucial element of the program review that allows for the external reviewers to provide feedback to the unit about what the unit is doing effectively and to identify areas for improvement. The external reviewers should use the Reviewer Report Template.

Reviewer Selection: The names of several external reviewer nominees will be sent to the College from the department. The nominees should be of the stature who can review the unique aspects of the department and who are notable experts in the field. The College will verify the fit of the external reviewers, examine the reviewers’ backgrounds to ensure objectivity, and submit the names to the Provost’s Office by March (fall reviews) or September (spring reviews). The names should be submitted using the Reviewer Selection Template. The reviewer list should be finalized by April (fall reviews) or October (spring reviews). These reviewers will be sent a formal invitation to participate by the Provost’s Office. This contact will include expectations of the review, the timeline, and the honorarium.

Reviewer Information: Shortly after the self-studies are completed (by October or March). The reviewers will receive the following information: the self-study document and the program review common data.

Reviewer Visit: The units along with the Colleges are responsible for setting the agenda for the review. The review visits will be about two days long, and the reviewers should have the opportunity to meet with the Dean of the College, the Provost, Graduate and Undergraduate students, as well as faculty and staff within the unit. See the In-person Review Sample Schedule or the Virtual Review Sample Schedule.

Reviewer Report: Time should be allotted for the reviewers to meet and to draft a preliminary report that identifies suggestions for improvement. At the end of the visit, the reviewers should have time to orally share their report with the Provost’s office and Dean in an exit interview. The final report is due in 21 days. The department responds to the reviewers’ recommendations and works with the College office to determine what actions will take place as a result of the review. This is documented in the Response to External Reviewers Report.

After the Review

Response to External Reviewers Report
The unit will list each recommendation made by the reviewers in their report and indicate a response to each item using the Response to External Reviewers Report. They will also list their plans for accomplishing the recommendations made by reviewers, specifying the actions, timing, responsible parties, and necessary resources. Lastly, they will write a summary reflection.

Annual Updates
The unit will need to complete Annual Updates to indicate their progress toward their planned actions. The first Annual Update is due the second January after the review. The unit will need to complete an annual update each January for four years. During each annual update, the unit will indicate the current status of each action along with progress notes.

End-of-Cycle Report
After four years of annual reports, the next year the unit fills out the End-of-Cycle Report to close out the review cycle.