Office of the Provost Academic Program Review

F R O M D A T A A N D A N A L Y S I S T O A C T I O N T u e s d a y , O c t o b e r 1 3 , 2 0 0 9

Participants in the APR Conversation  Karin Wurst Dean, College of Arts and Letters  Thomas Berding Chair, Art and Art History  JR Haywood Chair, Pharmacology and Toxicology

Resource People       Linda Stanford Associate Provost for Academic Services Kelly Funk Director, Academic Assessment, Program Review, and Accreditation Mary Black Director, Institutional Studies Rene Stewart O’Neal Director, University Planning Karen Klomparens Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School Douglas Estry Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Origin and Purpose of APR  Originated with Academic Governance  Align the APR and the self study process with:  Annual college planning process  Curricular change  Accreditation  Assessment of student learning  Assist the unit in improving  Assist dean in advancing the college

The Self Study  Aligned around six key questions  Focused on data, analysis, and action  Limited to 12-15 pages The self study is not a narrative description. It is a thoughtful analysis of the most important issues facing a unit.

The Six Key Questions 1.

What do we do?

2.

Why do we do it?

3.

How well do we do it and who thinks so?

4.

What difference would it make whether we did it or not?

5.

Given our present status, how do we intend to change in ways that help us advance?

6.

How will we evaluate our future progress and successes?

What do we do?

1 ● Provides context and framework for the document ● Draws connections to other processes  Planning  Curriculum  Accreditation

Why do we do it?

2 ● Focuses on goals and priorities ● Defines role within discipline, college, institution ● Analyzes change over time and how mission aligns with actual responsibilities

How well do we do it and who thinks so?

3 ● Data-driven analysis of strengths and challenges ● External statements of quality provided within a context (Why the statements are important) ● Assessment of student learning outcomes

What difference does it make whether we do it or not?

4 ● Intellectual and scholarly value of the unit and the implications for the college and university ● Contributions the unit makes to support institutional initiatives

Given our present status, how do we intend to change in ways that help us advance?

5 ● Interpretation of data as the basis for analysis of preceding discussion ● Framed in terms of unit priorities as they relate to college and institutional priorities

How will we evaluate our future progress and success?

6 ● Provides framework for the action plan ● Measureable priorities clearly aligned with college and university metrics ● Inclusion of incremental steps and a timeline to shape realistic goals

The Unit’s Perspective  Approaching the self study: faculty involvement  What worked? What didn’t work?

 Answering the six questions  Using data  Using the self study results (How does the self study help?)

The Dean’s Perspective  How the self study is used  How the six questions are helpful  How a self study is most useful to the dean  What units should avoid doing

Data: Where it lives and how to find it  Office of Planning and Budgets  The Graduate School  Outreach and Engagement  Office of the Registrar

Everything Else You Might Want to Know  Go to MSU home page and type in APR. Gives you:  Calendar and timeline for self study  Guidance on student learning outcomes  Outside review procedures  Narrative explanation of questions  Data sources and who to contact  Documents implementing APR process http://www.esp.msu.edu/APR.asp

http://www.esp.msu.edu/APR.asp

Resource People      Linda Stanford [email protected], 5-5767 Kelly Funk [email protected], 3-0661 Mary Black [email protected], 3-6463 Rene Stewart-O’Neal [email protected]

Julie Harrison [email protected], 5-5767