Program Review
One of the most important institutional mechanisms for assessing progress at the departmental level is the academic program review process.
Expectation of Excellence
Assessment is a Northern Kentucky University institutional value. At NKU, we are expected to evaluate all we do in an effort to continuously improve student learning and development. Assessment aligns directly with our institutional mission of being an accountable state institution. Through continuous and systematic evaluation, we promote a culture of learning, improvement and accountability.
NKU Program Review Process
All academic programs for undergraduate students participate in NKU's assessment-based Undergraduate Academic Program Review process. The process is facilitated by the Program Review Steering Committee which is comprised of faculty representing each college and a chair appointed by the Provost. The committees responsibilities include reviewing and providing feedback on assessment plans, closing the loop reports, and portfolios created and submitted by each program. In addition to the quality of evaluation review conducted by the steering committee, the corresponding College and the Provost review each program's portfolio for quality of content.
The program review process was designed to be flexible, allowing each program to determine objectives, outcomes, and measures appropriate for the individual discipline that meet student outcomes assessment, institutional effectiveness, and accreditation requirements. It is expected that each program's portfolio reflects information gathering, self-review, and continuous and on-going planning and decision-making based on the information gathered. While the assessment cycle should be annual, the program portfolios are submitted to the Dean, Steering Committee, and the Provost once every five years. Programs with external accrediting requirements are typically scheduled to submit a portfolio for review one year following the external review.
The Undergraduate Academic Program Review process takes a cyclical approach to assessment of programs by asking a series of questions that naturally promotes continuous improvement:
- What are we trying to do and why are we doing it?
- What do we expect the student to know or to do as a result of our program?
- How well are we doing it?
- How do we know?
- How do we use the information to improve?
- Do the improvements we make work?
- Consequently, the program review process builds confidence in NKU's programs' successes and in any decisions to alter programs, thus enabling each program to
- know more about the reality, rather than the perceptions, of their programs;
- defend decisions about the programs based on real data;
- speak more knowledgeably with prospective faculty and students, reviewers, donors, taxpayers, and others about their programs; and
- meet the requirements of accrediting agencies.
To access the Program Review website, click here.
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