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Program Review Resources

For assistance with Program Review, please contact:

 

Dr. Allie Michael
Director, IEA
michaela@apsu.edu
(931) 221-6761

For Questions Regarding: 

  • Self-Study Guidelines
  • Rubric information
  • External reviewer requirements and expectations
  • Data requests

Jeana McCullough
QAF Coordinator
mcculloughj@apsu.edu
(931) 221-6184

For Questions Regarding:

  • Process and deadlines
  • Site visit scheduling and planning
  • Program Review Teams access

Cherylle Ward
Senior Administrative Assistant
wardca@apsu.edu
(931) 221-6760

For Questions Regarding:

  • External reviewer contracts
  • Hotel accommodations
  • The program review process is led by the academic dean and department chair for the programs being reviewed, with support and oversight from Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment staff.
  • Visit the Program Review Team in Microsoft Teams for additional resources. Contact Jeana McCullough mcculloughj@apsu.edu for access to the Program Review folder in Teams.
    • Program Review Process
      • External Reviewer
        • Each program is reviewed by an external peer reviewer from outside Tennessee who is qualified in the field of study. External peer reviewers are typically active faculty members in a department related to the field of study who have had some leadership or administrative experience as a chair, program coordinator, etc.
        • APSU provides external reviewers with an all inclusive reimbursement for their services and travel expenses (coordinated by Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment staff).
      • Review Rubric
        • The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) provides institutions with a rubric for each degree level (associates, baccalaureate, and graduate) that external reviewers must use to score the program review.
        • Self-study
          • In the fall of the review year, each program completes a written self-study in which they reflect on the program’s performance and provide evidence related to each item on the evaluation rubric for the appropriate degree level. The self-study typically focuses on the time period since the last review. The external reviewer reads the self-study carefully prior to the site visit. The self-study is one of two primary sources of evidence that the external reviewer uses when scoring the program and writing the narrative report (the other is the site visit).
          • A resource guide, external reviewer selection resources, and previous review information are available in Microsoft Teams. Contact Jeana McCullough mcculloughj@apsu.edu for access to the Program Review folder in Teams.
        • Site Visit
          • In the spring of the review year (typically March-April), the external reviewer visits APSU to learn more about the program in sessions with the dean, chair, program faculty, program students, alumni and other stakeholders, and university administrators. Site visits are typically one full day, with external reviewers arriving the day before the visit day.
          • Chairs, deans and program faculty identify and invite participants for each site visit session, book rooms for each session, and order lunch (typically a lunch for the external reviewer and students). IEA staff is responsible for arranging the administrative session.
        • Optional: Internal Reviewers
          • Programs have the option to select 1-2 “internal reviewers.” Internal reviewers are APSU faculty members from outside of the reviewed program that serve as an additional resource for the external reviewer during the site visit.
          • Internal reviewers CANNOT score the review rubric or write the narrative report. However, they can participate in site visit sessions and answer any questions about APSU’s context that the external reviewer may have.
          • Internal reviewers must be approved by the chair and dean. The program is responsible for communicating with the internal reviewers about expectations and requirements for the review.
          • IEA will schedule a brief meeting with both external reviewers and internal reviewers about a week prior to the site visit to confirm roles and final logistics for the visit.
        • Reviewer’s narrative report
          • In addition to the scored rubric, the external reviewer writes a narrative report summarizing their findings from the review. 
          • The external reviewer submits an initial draft of the narrative report to IEA about 2 weeks following the site visit. IEA and the program then have a chance to review the report and submit any corrections or questions for the reviewer to consider. Those comments must be submitted to the reviewer only via IEA.
          • The reviewer then submits the final rubric and narrative report to IEA within about 30 days from the site visit.
          • IEA shares the final rubric and report with the dean, chair and team leads and they use the feedback for continuous improvement.

Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment
Miller Hall, Room 225
(931) 221-6760
iea@apsu.edu