AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
FACULTY & STAFF
Home -> Academics -> Academic Affairs -> Program Review

Academic Affairs Office
Augustana College
2001 S Summit Ave
Sioux Falls, SD 57197

Phone:
(605)-274-5417
or
1-800-727-2844

Fax:
(605) 274-4450

The Academic Affairs Office is located on the second floor of the Administration Building. Visitor parking is available in the lot at 29th and Summit Ave. Maps & Directions

OBJECTIVES OF PROGRAM REVIEW

The core of Augustana's mission is to provide a high quality undergraduate education consisting of liberal arts courses and majors as well as professional programs informed by the liberal arts. In its constant effort to maintain educational quality, it is important that the College constantly attempt to strengthen and improve the quality of education it offers students. In the contemporary landscape of higher education, internal and external constituencies can encourage or even require that the college specifically demonstrate the impact of its programs upon student learning. These constituencies most notably are accrediting agencies, but may also include the federal government, students, potential students, the faculty, alumni, the community at-large, and college donors. This program review model focuses evaluation resulting from the collection of information and data obtained through its assessment efforts. It intends to stimulate conversation within a department/ program as each develops and/or modifies its program, curriculum and practice. As a result, this model should help improve student learning at Augustana College.

Effective program review will help advance several inter-related objectives:

  • Program Review's primary objective is to facilitate and stimulate consistent discussion and analysis within departments for the purpose of improving their ability to provide a high quality education that enhances student learning.
  • Program Review provides a mutually consultative framework that engages faculty with the Dean of the College and the Curriculum Council in a continuous effort to improve departmental and program curriculum and practice.
  • Program Review will help assure students that the education they receive meets department and/or program objectives.
  • Program Review aids strategic educational decision-making.
  • Program Review helps demonstrate the College's accountability to internal and external constituencies.

Program Review Schedule

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE PROGRAM REVIEW MODEL

Preface: Program Review refers both to the process and product resulting from a focused faculty conversation. The conversation primarily takes place within the department, between the department/program and the Academic Dean of the College, and from time to time between the department/program and the Curriculum Council. This focused conversation intends to help departments/programs in their continuing efforts to provide students with an effective and challenging education. Informing the Program Review discussion process will be the evaluation and analysis of information and data gathered by the department/program, including: department/program activities, professional development efforts, the results of strategic plans that resulted from previous Program Review cycle(s), internally generated assessment data, and data provided by institutional research.

The following format will be widely disseminated on campus well in advance of the date the department/program is to submit its report. Departments are urged to follow the following format.

The Structural Framework: The accepted structural framework of Program Review should be widely disseminated on campus and specifically should be described and distributed to each department well in advance of the date the department/program's report is due.

The completed Program Review report should contain the following components:

I. Executive Summary

This is a one paragraph summary of the principal findings contained in the report.

II. Mission Statement

Please furnish your department/program mission statement. Describe as specifically as possible how your program's operation and structure contribute to the mission of the college.

III. Review of Program Activities

Please indicate how your department is responding, and will respond to, questions raised in the following six categories, specifically highlighting (1) accomplishments and successes and (2) present and future challenges. Make reference, as appropriate, both to data furnished to you by the Office of Institutional Research (e.g. numbers of majors, class sizes, measures of departmental efficiencies, etc.). and to assessment data generated by your department.

A. Professional Development. What successes and challenges face your department as each member strives to be an accomplished scholar/teacher? Feel free to mention any non-confidential staffing and personnel successes and concerns here.

B. Curricular changes. What curricular changes has your department made during the current Program Review cycle? What class and/or program changes are you contemplating? On what basis did you decide, or will you decide, to make these changes?

C. Educational Improvement. What evidence do you have of successful pedagogical or educational successes brought about by your department? Do any challenges remain? What further pedagogical improvements do you anticipate? (Feel free here to discuss anticipated improvements in students' skills and resources, including, if relevant, those encompassing information literacy, etc.).

D. Additional Concerns. Here note any other successes and/or challenges facing your department or program (e.g. equipment needs, library resources, space considerations, considerations regarding academic collaborations, external funding matters, time and financial concerns, etc.).

E. Contribution to the Augustana Plan. Discuss the quality, appropriateness and relevance of your program's contribution to the general education curriculum. Be specific about which areas of the general education curriculum your program contributes to and reflect on how that contribution might change.

F. Departmental Plan Outline. Based upon your answers in A-E, what plan does your department have for the next five years? Please discuss these goals in terms of priorities and approximate time lines.

G. Additional Contributions. What contributions to students' education does your program and/or department make that do not appear in the above categories?

IV. Assessment Planning

The department/program assessment plan, and all relevant assessment reports, are to be included here and will constitute Appendix A.

V. Institutional Data

Please include all relevant data furnished by the Office of Institutional Research. This will constitute Appendix B.

Assessment Cycle (5 year model)

Year Description

Departments formulate their assessment plans. They focus on measurable outcomes, associated data collection methods and time lines. Plans should be sent to the Assessment Committee. The Assessment Committee will support departments requesting assistance. The assessment plans will be made available to other departments, so that all may benefit from promising approaches to assessment.

1-4

Data identified in the original assessment plan should be collected. A brief one to two page report on the data collected and major findings should be sent to the Assessment Committee.

5

Data still is collected. This is the Program Review reporting year, concentrating on data relevant to years 1-4. The process to be followed has been outlined in this document. The structure informing the process focuses upon encouraging discussion between the department/program and the Dean of the College in conjunction with the Curriculum Council. The specific procedure is as follows:

Departments/programs under review each year are responsible for generating a program review report during the fifth year of the five year plan. As outlined in the program review plan, this report should include among other things relevant material from a standardized data set provided by the office of institutional research and assessment data generated by the department or program. Where helpful, assessment programs and data will be developed in consultation with the Assessment Committee. The program review report will be submitted to both the Dean and the Curriculum Council. After consultation with the Curriculum Council, the Dean will meet with representatives from each department/program under review to discuss the conclusions of the current cycle of program review, their implications for the future direction of the department/program and for the development of the college as a whole.

In May, 2004, the Curriculum Council adopted policies and a schedule related to program review. The program reviews began during the Fall Semester of the 2005-06 Academic Year. The schedule below shows the full five-year rotation for program review.

Date Program(s) Status
Fall 2005 Chemistry Complete
-Chemistry
-Chemistry ACS
-Medical Technology
Spring 2006 Education Complete
-ELED, SEED, EDHH, SPED,CMDS
Fall 2006 Computer Science Complete
-Computer Science and CIS
Economics Pending
Biology Complete
-Biology
-Health Pre-professional
Spring 2007 Health, Physical Education & Recreation Complete
-Physical Education, Finess Management, Exercise Science, Athletic Training
Art and Anthropology Complete
Fall 2007 Business Administration Complete
-Accounting, Professional Accounting, Business Administration
Government Complete
International Studies Pending
Spring 2008 Music and Music Education  
English & Journalism  
History & Social Studies Teaching  
Fall 2008 Modern Foreign Languages  
Mathematics  
Spring 2009 Communication  
Theatre  
Physics  
Fall 2009 Religion, Philosophy, Classics  
Psychology  
Spring 2010 Nursing  
Sociology  
Fall 2010 Chemistry  
Biology  
-Health Pre-Professional  
Spring 2011 Education  
-ELED, SPED, EDHH, SEED, CMDS  
Fall 2011 Computer Science  
Economics  
Spring 2012 Health, Physical Education & Recreation  
Art and Anthropology