Office of Academic Affairs
ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW
GUIDELINES FOR FIVE-YEAR REVIEW
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Contents:
Scheduling of Program Reviews
Formation of Program Review Team
Suggested Timeline for Program Review Preparation
Role of the Program Review Team Leader
Role of Academic External Consultant
Guidelines for Selecting a Consultant
Issues for the Consultant to Address
Guidelines for Hiring and Payment of an External Consultant
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SCHEDULING OF PROGRAM REVIEWS
The Vice President of Academic Affairs will develop and maintain a copy of the
current schedule for programs to be reviewed, including the names of the
person(s) designated as program review team leader(s). The schedule shall be
established in conjunction with the Division Deans/ Assistant Deans, and shall
be posted on the College’s internal website.
FORMATION OF PROGRAM REVIEW TEAM
The team leader (generally the Department Chair) will identify at least five
program review team members as follows:
A. Faculty
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If there are full-time faculty members in the program in
addition to the designated team leader, then at least one
should be included on the team. Compensation will be college
service.
If there are no full-time faculty members in the program in
addition to the team leader, then the leader can consider
including on the team:
o At least one part-time faculty member in such cases
where it is believed that the part-time faculty member
has sufficient experience and investment in the program
to make an informed and solid contribution to the
program review, OR
o If no such part-time member can be identified, at least
one person who is not a faculty member but who can
serve the intended purpose. This may include an outside
professional, a faculty member from a related program
(e.g., where there is overlap of courses), or some such
other individual.
At least one faculty member shall be from outside the
department/program.
At least one faculty member shall be from outside the division.
B. External Representative
At least one Advisory Committee member external to the College, or
a member of an effectively approved alternative, should be included
on the team. Alternative representatives include an individual from
a four-year institution to which students from the program transfer.
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This individual would be knowledgeable concerning the program
and its graduates. Another possible alternative is a representative
of an area high school which is an important feeder source for the
program.
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SUGGESTED TIMELINE FOR PROGRAM REVIEW PREPARATION
The program review calls for insertion of the program’s outcomes and
assessment plan. This plan is very helpful in addressing many sections of the
program review report. The following timeline is based on the assumption
that the outcomes and assessment plan has not been developed prior to
the program review year.
Date
Activity
September/October
Inform/ Orientation: Vice President of Academic Affairs informs
Dean and/or Assistant Dean , Department Chairs and/or
individual(s) who have been designated as program review team
leaders of their programs scheduled for program review, which is due
by May 31st of the next calendar year. Vice President schedules
meeting with Dean and/or Assistant Dean, and the designated team
leader to orient them to the review materials and process. Deans
and/or Assistant Deans inform team leader concerning any specific
requirements related to the process.
October
Assemble team/ Begin meeting: Team leader identifies members of
the team that will be involved in the program review. Team begins
meeting, and develops a schedule of and process for meetings. First
task is to orient team members to the work ahead.
November/December
Meet with Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs to
discuss external consultant possibilities.
Complete program mission statement, goals, target populations
and curriculum & outcomes assessments maps/sections.
Complete the outcomes and assessment plan.
Meet with Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs to get
final approval on consultant.
December/January
February/March
Hire consultant and plan consultant’s visit. See Guidelines for
Selecting a Consultant on page 10 of this document for
instructions.
Meet with Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs to show
initial data and report outline.
Review data with Dean: Complete all sections requiring data and
the Instructional Support sections.
Complete Section V
Meet with Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs to review
draft report.
By April 30
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Review and edit as needed.
Submit draft to Division Dean.
May 31
Submit final draft: Dean and/or Assistant Dean receives final copy
of program review document.
September
(For Five Year
Program Reviews
Only)
Annual program review summit meeting: Attended by the Board of
Trustees chair/members, President, Vice President of Academic
Affairs, Deans, Assistant Deans, faculty involved in program reviews,
and interested faculty and staff.
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Responsibilities of the Program Review Team Leader:
The Program Review Team Leader is individually responsible for the completion
of the program review process by the Program Review Team including:
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Assisting in the appointment of the Program Review Team;
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Working with the established timeline for completion of the self-study
and visit by the external consultant;
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Obtaining input from colleagues, advisory committees if appropriate, and
other internal and external stakeholders;
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Communicating with the Research Analyst of the Institutional Research
Department to request data and related assistance;
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Scheduling and maintaining periodic meeting schedules to go over
progress with division dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
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Maintaining a record of program review activities and progress and
communicating regularly with colleagues in the
department/program/unit;
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Preparing the self-study report with assistance from the Program Review
Team;
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Submitting the completed self-study report to department/program/unit
colleagues; division dean, and the VP of Academic Affairs
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Working with the division dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs to
identify and to recommend program review consultant and other external
reviewers;
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Preparing materials to be sent to the program review consultant
(College’s strategic plan, program’s mission statement, data, etc.)
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Developing and implementing a schedule for the site visit with assistance
of colleagues and the area dean; and
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Collaborating with the Program Review Team and
department/program/area colleagues for all follow-up reports including
the action plan.
Role of External Consultant/Reviewer
Program Review: Role of the External Consultant
External consultants for program review serve as objective, discipline-based
experts who provide an external perspective on the department’s demonstrated
effectiveness in the areas of supporting student academic and faculty
achievement, productivity, and resource management. Your Division Dean and
the Vice President of Academic Affairs can assist you in the selection of a
qualified external consultant. All external consultants must be pre-approved
by area dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs prior to hiring. Please
refer to Guidelines for Selecting a Consultant, page 6 of this document.
1. Before the Site Visit, the consultant should:
 Read critically the materials submitted and, in consultation with
the department chair, prepare interview questions based on the
information provided and any areas of focus provided by the
department.
 Request additional information as needed.
 Provide suggestions regarding individuals or groups to be
interviewed during the site visit.
 Provide feedback to the department regarding the planned itinerary
for the site visit.
2. During the Site Visit, the consultant should:
 Gather additional evaluative information from individuals and
groups interviewed.
 Request additional information as needed.
 Provide initial feedback to the department, the Division Dean and
the Vice President of Academic Affairs during exit interviews.
3. After the Site Visit, the consultant should:
 Within one month of the site visit, external reviewers will provide to
the Vice President of Academic Affairs of MWCC a written report
assessing program strengths, limitations and potential for making
improvements.
 If areas of focus are identified for the review, these should also be
explicitly addressed in the written report.
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4. Reimbursement of consultant:
 For externally accredited programs, the reviewers’ fee is usually
established by the accrediting agency and honored by MWCC.
 For non-externally accredited programs, the fee is between $800 to
$1,200. The maximum allowance for both the fee and travel
expenses is $2,000.
 Please see the Academic Affairs Guidelines for Hiring a Consultant
in this packet.
 A contract will be generated and signed by the Executive Vice
President prior to the site visit, including reviewer’s name, address,
SSN, dates of service, and amount to be paid.
 The reviewer is responsible for making his/her own airline and
hotel reservations; the cost of these expenses should be approved
by the College prior to making reservations. The reviewer(s) is/are
also responsible for any meals not covered by MWCC as part of the
review process. Upon submission of a non-state employee expense
report and receipts for these expenses. MWCC will generate an
internal purchase order for reimbursement to the reviewer.
 The consultant should submit an invoice after the site visit.
 Payment will be made to the consultant after the final report is
approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the invoice
has been received and approved.
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Academic Program Review Consultants:
Guidelines for Selecting a Consultant
The academic
forwarding a list
along with each
Vice President of
department/program is responsible for identifying and
of two to three potential external program review consultants
potential consultant’s qualifications to the Dean and to the
Academic Affairs.
Departments/programs are urged to identify consultants that are external to
MWCC and that have previous experience in program evaluation and
assessment; professional associations & societies and advisory boards may be
sources for consultants with such expertise. Other characteristics of the
consultant that are important include whether the consultant has a terminal
degree and whether they are coming from in-state or out-of-state.
The Dean and Vice President will meet with the Department Chair to discuss
consultant options. The consultant must be approved by the Dean and the
Vice President of Academic Affairs prior to any contracts being initiated.
Before the approved consultant’s visit, the consultant should be provided
with:
1. Departmental brochures or other information from the academic unit
that will aid the consultant in understanding the unit’s environment.
2. URLs to the online catalog.
3. A draft itinerary for the consultant’s visit, including the names and titles
of staff members to be interviewed. Suggested interview participants
include: Faculty members of the department/program; Dean; Vice
President of Academic Affairs; Vice President of Lifelong Learning &
Workforce Development; Director of Articulation and Assessment;
Members of the Advisory Board;
4. A list of questions for the consultant to address.
During the consultant’s time on campus:
1. The Department Chair is responsible for assembling documentation and
materials for the consultant to review during their campus visit.
Materials such as course syllabi, texts, and other course-related should
be available in a central location for review.
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Academic Program Review Consultants:
Issues to be addressed by the Consultant
The external consultant should be viewed as an outside quality auditor whose
main responsibility is to assess the quality of the program. The consultant review
should provide written recommendations for maintaining and improving the
quality of the program. Issues to be addressed include, but are not limited to, the
following:
 the extent to which intended student learning outcomes are being met
 the extent to which program student learning outcomes meet disciplinary
standards or expectations
 the extent to which the department has made use of assessment data for
program improvement
 improvements since the last 5-year review
 strengths and weaknesses of the department/program faculty
 strengths and weaknesses of the department/program’s research and
scholarly activity
 student satisfaction with the department/program
 staffing levels and workloads
 adequacy of supporting services
 effectiveness of the department/program in meeting the College’s mission
and vision
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Academic Program Review Consultants:
Guidelines and Documentation Needed to Issue Payment
Hotel Process and Payment
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Call Colonial Hotel to Reserve Room using College’s discounted rate (on
account for MWCC).
o Advise hotel to bill room charges only. All incidentals will be
charged to consultant unless otherwise indicated in contract
terms.
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Fill out IPR for Colonial Hotel and send to Business Office.
o Attach reservation confirmation and write “invoice to follow” on the
IPR.
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Once invoice is received from the Colonial, the Business Office will
process payment.
Consultant Process and Payment
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Request W9 from consultant.
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Complete Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Contract (located
in shared folders) and have the Executive Vice President review and sign.
A consultant’s contract may be an acceptable substitution with the EVP’s
approval; however the State Contract is always preferred. All contracts
must be signed by the Executive Vice President.
o When preparing the contract, it is recommended practice to require
a 15 day grace period from the date of service for payment to be
issued.
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Fill out IPR for Consultant (indicate who the check should be made
payable to) and send to Business Office.
o Attach copy of signed contract.
o Attach invoice and any receipts (if required by contract).
o Identify payment terms on IPR – date the check is needed,
including deposit terms if applicable.
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If a check is needed prior to services being rendered, a Pro forma invoice
is recommended.