Office of the Provost

Policies and Procedures

UML Home >   AQAD Policies and procedures Printer Friendly Printer Friendly

Revised August, 2004


Overall benefit of the AQAD process:  We believe that the primary benefits of the AQAD process for the Lowell campus will be:

  1. Within the program, an extended and intensive dialogue about the purposes of the program and the ways in which the program can be improved;
  2. Within each College, an increased sense of collegiality as departments address the expectations of the new General Education Program;
  3. Within the campus, a heightened awareness of the interdependence of programs and the ways in which we collectively fulfill the campus mission. 

Therefore we believe that the entire AQAD process should be seen as a dialogue involving four different sets of voices:

  1. The members of the department;
  2. The Dean of the College;
  3. The external reviewers;
  4. The Office of the Provost.

If this dialogue is carefully structured so that all participants fulfill their responsibilities, the process should produce qualitative improvements to each program that is reviewed.

Relationship to professional accreditations:  For almost two decades, the Lowell campus has emphasized the importance of attaining and sustaining professional accreditation for all programs for which such accreditation is available.  Consequently, we regularly assess the quality of programs through:

ABET (the Engineering Accreditation Commission and the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, Inc., 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD, (410) 347-7700)
APTA (the American Physical Therapy Association)
CAHEA/NAACLS (the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences);
CSAB (the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board);
IAME (the International Association for Management Education – formerly AACSB);
NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design);
NASM (the National Association of Schools of Music);
NCATE (the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education); and
NLC (the National League for Nursing).

Each of these nine agencies requires a program self-study that provides the information necessary for the evaluation of the quality of the program.  In those instances where a UMass Lowell program is undergoing professional accreditation in lieu of the AQAD process, the college dean and the Associate Provost will review the program self-study to determine whether or not that self-study satisfies all the requirements of the AQAD process.  If all the AQAD criteria are not satisfied by the accreditation self-study, the program chair will be required to present a supplementary self-study which will fulfill the AQAD requirements.  
Whenever possible, UML will schedule AQAD reviews for programs for the same year in which professional re-accreditation is taking place.  This will minimize redundancies and heighten the sense of accountability for all programs. 

Departmental self-studies will take place during the fall semester, and should be completed by December 1.  The self-study document will include the University mission statement, the campus mission statement, and the departmental mission statement (if such a statement exists).

Each self-study will be organized around the five criteria and the associated questions that are listed in the April 23, 1999 AQAD Policy statement. (A copy of the AQAD Policy is attached).

  1. Programs shall ensure that their goals and objectives are linked to the campus mission and strategic priorities.
  2. Programs shall ensure that curriculum is relevant, rigorous, current and coherent.
  3. Programs shall ensure faculty quality and productivity.
  4. Programs shall ensure teaching/learning environments that facilitate student successes. 
  5. Programs shall ensure that resources are used wisely.

The following data shall be provided in the departmental self-study

  1. A statement of the departmental mission, including an evaluation of how that departmental mission contributes to the campus mission.  The mission statement will include a description of departmental priorities.
  2. A description of the program content, including course descriptions and syllabi, which will demonstrate the coherence of the program.  This description may include a comparison with similar programs at peer institutions.
  3. A description of the ways in which this department contributes to the General Education Program of the University. 
  4. A profile of the faculty in the department, including curricula vitae that show research activities, university service activities, and community service activities.  The profile will show numbers of full-time and part-time faculty, degrees earned, and the range of ages in the department.
  5. A description of the process used by the department to allocate whatever resources have been made available to the department.
  6. An analysis of the credit-bearing activity of the faculty, showing credit hours delivered, student FTE’s generated, percentage of courses taught by part-time faculty, etc.  This data will be developed by the Office of Institutional Research.
  7. Enrollment data, beginning with a five year review of freshmen and transfer enrollments in the University, average SAT’s of incoming freshmen, numbers of majors enrolled (by year) in the department, and numbers of degrees awarded by the department in each of the last five years.   This data will be developed by the Office of Institutional Research.
  8. A review of feedback from alumni, which may be gathered by alumni surveys, by focus groups, or through information gathered by the Office of Career Services.

External Review:  There shall be at least two external reviewers, appointed by the College Dean.  Each reviewer shall be a recognizable authority in the discipline, and no more that one reviewer shall be from another campus of the University of Massachusetts.  These external reviewers will be selected and contracted before the December recess.

In January, the departmental self-studies will be delivered to the external reviewers, along with other information about the University.  Together, these documents should enable the reviewers to prepare for their visit.

Reviewers will be asked specifically to apply the above-referenced five criteria listed in the April 23 AQAD Policy Statement as they conduct their on-campus interviews and meetings.  In addition, the college dean may request the external reviewers to address other concerns that are unique to the specific program being reviewed. 

Campus visits by reviewers will take place early in the spring semester, prior to the spring recess.  Each visit will be for two full days, with either two or three nights lodging provided.

While the external reviewers are on campus, they will meet with:

  1. The Chancellor and the Provost, for an institutional overview.
  2. The College Dean, the department chair and self-study committee, and the Associate Provost.
  3. As many members of the department as is feasible.
  4. Several students from the department, including graduate students where appropriate.
  5. If possible, several recent graduates of the program.

Toward the end of the two-day visit, the reviewers will be allowed private time for reflection and for drafting their evaluations. 

The exit interview will include the College Dean, the Associate Provost, the department chair, and as many faculty members for the department as is reasonable.  In keeping with the dialogue theme announced earlier, this exit interview should be as dialogic as possible, with the reviewers sharing their observations and the faculty and dean responding.  To some degree, an element of advocacy would be appropriate during this dialogue. 

In some circumstances, it may be advisable for the external reviewers to meet privately with the College Dean and the Associate Provost.

Reports:  The final report of the external reviewers will be submitted to the campus (copies to the department chair, the Dean, and the Associate Provost) by April 1

The department will engage in a dialogic review of the reviewers’ report and develop a proposed action plan for possible implementation; this plan will be delivered to the College Dean by May 1.

The College Dean, in consultation with department leaders, will embellish the action plan and deliver a report to the Provost by June 1.

The Provost will submit his summation of the AQAD process to the Office of the President by July 1.
 

Office of the Provost - One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: 978-934-2219 Fax: 978-934-5200 Contact Us

This is an Official Page/Publication of the University of Massachusetts Lowell