Academic Program Review supports UCSB’s academic excellence through periodic comprehensive evaluations of academic departments, programs, and interdisciplinary groups.
The general process for Program Review is as follows:
The Executive Vice Chancellor (EVC) appoints a Program Review Panel (PRP); the Director of Academic Program Review coordinates the panel’s work. The panel interacts with the department under review and with four faculty agencies: the three Academic Senate councils participating in the review (the Council on Planning and Budget, the Graduate Council, and the Undergraduate Council), and the Executive Committee of the college or school to which the department belongs.
The department will submit to the PRP a Notebook of factual data, usually spanning the six years prior to the year of the ERC visit (see below). PRP may add or remove information as appropriate for a particular review; responsibility for this factual data rests with the administration (Director of Academic Program Review) or the department (Chair). The department’s dean will meet with PRP during its discussion of the Notebook and preparation of the Charge Letter. The dean also is invited to provide written comments on the Notebook and on the ERC report and department response.
Additionally, an independent External Review Committee (ERC) will submit a report with evaluative recommendations, based on a site visit and review of the Notebook/Charger Letter provided by the department and PRP. To select ERC members, the department will provide names of distinguished scholars in the discipline to act as nominators. The EVC will then ask nominators to identify several colleagues nationwide whom they deem qualified to review the department (the department will also review each nominee, addressing potential conflicts of interest, etc.).
PRP oversees the preparation of the departmental review Notebook, coordinates the site visit by the ERC, and prepares a final report based on the ERC report, the departmental response to it, and comments from the four faculty agencies. The EVC will review the PRP report, consult with the academic dean, and send a letter to the department (identifying major issues and requesting specific actions as appropriate). The department then submits a formal progress report to the EVC within one year, and a second formal report after three years, with copies sent to the administrators above.
For more detailed information on this process, read this fuller description of Academic Review Procedures, contact UCSB’s Program Review Staff, or log into the Program Review Website.