Program reviews are designed to allow departments and staff understand their work, specifically:
- What’s working (and why)
- What isn’t working (and why)
- What could be added (and why)
- What doesn’t need to be done any longer (and why)
They are data-driven processes that occur in three steps:
- An internal-to-the-department self-study
- A review of the self-study by critical friends at Iowa State University
- An external review of the department conducted by department-identified experts in the field
Key Documents
Overview, Roles, and Responsibilities – this is an overview of the program review process, and details out who will oversee what components of the program review.
Self-Study Outline – this outline (in PDF) provides the structure for a department’s self-study
External Committee Member Identification – this form is used to identify potential members of a department’s external review team.
Program Review Recommendations Worksheet – this Excel worksheet is to be used by departments when reviewing the final report from the External Review Team. It is a means for identifying all recommendations made and determining if and/or when they will be addressed by the department.
External Review Team Example Schedule – a potential schedule for the 2 1/2 days of the review. This can be altered to fit the needs of the department, with approval by the Director of Student Affairs Assessment & Research.