Academic Policy  1620.12 

Self-Study Template for Non-Accredited Programs

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board Existing Program Review Policy adopted in October 2008 requires the review of all academic programs every seven years. A major component of the policy is an internal review (self-study) by institutions and an external review by consultants of programs that do not have program-specific accreditation/licensure/ certification. The dean of the school or college will review the self-study report and recommend any changes or additions before submitting the report to the Director of Curriculum Review and Program Assessment no later than May 15.  The institution’s self-study, external reviewers’ written evaluation, and the institution’s response to the consultants’ findings will be submitted to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

The institutional self-study to be reviewed by external consultants should contain the following information:

Cover Page

Department name
University of Arkansas
List of degree programs being reviewed, e.g., not just the name of the College, but specifically the BA Physics, BS Physics, MA Physics, MS Physics, PhD Physics

1. Introduction and brief history of program, including the previous response/strategies document, along with a progress report.

2. Program Goals

3. Student Learning Outcomes 

4. Process for Assessing Student Learning Outcomes 

5. Program Assessment

A. Results of analysis of assessment of Student Learning Outcomes.

B. Any changes to degree/certificate planned or made on the basis of the assessment and analysis.

C. Any changes to the assessment process made or planned.

 

6. Curriculum

A. State the degree requirements, including general education requirements (if undergraduate program), institutional, college or school requirements, and major requirements.

B. Provide an outline for each program curriculum, including the sequence of courses.

C. Outline the process for the introduction of new courses, including all internal curriculum review processes and the findings. (Consider Academic Policy 1622.10:  https://policies.uark.edu/academic/162210.php)

D. List courses in the proposed degree program currently offered by distance delivery.

E. Describe the instructor-to-student and student-to-student interaction for distance courses (prerequisite courses, lab requirements, examination procedures-online/proctored, and instructor response to student assignments).

7. Program Resources

A. Describe the institutional support available for faculty development in teaching, research, and service.

B. Describe the professional development of full-time program faculty over the past two years including the institutional financial support provided to faculty for the activities.

C. Provide the annual library budget for the program or describe how library resources are provided for the program.

D. Describe the availability, adequacy, and accessibility of campus resources (research, library, instructional support, instructional technology, etc.). Include expenditure data from department accounts distributed by expenditure category (this information should be available your dean’s office). 

E. Provide a list of program equipment purchases for the past three years.

8. Instruction via Distance Technology
This section should be completed if at least 50% of any program/major course is delivered electronically.

A. Summarize institutional policies on the establishment, organization, funding, and management of distance courses/degrees.

B. Summarize the policies and procedures to keep the technology infrastructure current.

C. Summarize the procedures that assure the security of personal information.

D. Describe the support services that will be provided to students enrolled in distance technology courses/programs by the institution and/or other entities:

• • • • Advising
      • Course registration
      • Financial aid
      • Course withdrawal
      • E-mail account
      • Access to library resources
      • Help Desk

E. Describe technology support services that will be provided to students enrolled in distance technology courses/programs by the institution and/or other entities.

F. Describe the orientation for students enrolled in distance technology courses/programs.

G. Summarize the institutional policy for faculty course load and number of credit hours taught, compensation, and ownership of intellectual property.

9. Program Information

A. State the number of undergraduate/graduate majors/declared students in each degree program under review for the past three years.

B. Describe strategies to recruit, retain, and graduate students.

C. Provide the number of program graduates over the past three years.

D. Describe the market demand for careers stemming from the program.      

E. Provide job placement information for program graduates including the number of graduates placed in jobs related to the field of study. Also include information regarding the number and types of graduate and/or professional schools where graduates enroll. 

F. For PhD programs, provide a summary of student and alumni surveys to demonstrate academic and non-academic career trends (such as government, business, nonprofits, and other sectors) for the discipline and how the department is meeting their program goals. Demonstrate how the department has utilized the survey data to refine program requirements, adapt coursework, qualifying exams, research and/or teaching assignments, and dissertation elements.

G. Describe goals for intended research and creative activities.  Describe how these initiatives are assessed, analyzed, and utilized.  Provide list of program research/scholarly productivity (number of grants, dollars, publications, professional performances, creative activities, etc.).

10. Conclusion

A. List the strengths of the program.

B. List any challenges the program has addressed over the past two years. Should the department wish to identify needed changes in operations, programs, or other changes in direction, that statement should be included along with a rationale related to benchmarking and good practice. 

C. List program improvements accomplished over the past two years.

D. Describe planned program improvements, including a timetable and the estimated costs. Identify program improvement priorities.

E. Provide any additional information that will facilitate an understanding of the program/department operations, status, goals, and achievements.

Appendix A

Provide syllabi for discipline-specific courses. (See template for course syllabi.)

Appendix B

Program faculty information.  (See Program Faculty Information Form.  Do not submit entire curriculum vitas.)

Appendix C

Program data from the Office of Strategic Analytics and Insights and the Office of Research and Innovation. (The data sets have been provided as a courtesy to the programs.  Departments/programs may attach them as appendix C, use the data in the text of the report, or use your own data sets.)