AQAD Self-Assessment Report

I. Introduction

  • Introduction to the Department and its Programs
  • Progress since last AQAD review
  • Summary of Programs and Review Status
  • Program Enrollments and Graduation Rates

II. Core Criteria

1. The department should ensure that their goals and objectives are linked to the university’s mission and strategic goals and address the department’s plan for improving their position within their discipline. Explain how the department evaluates their purpose and planning in light of the campus mission and strategic priorities. The self-study should address the following questions:
a. What is the department's mission and is it clearly aligned with the campus mission and direction?
b. How does the department's mission relate to curriculum; enrollments; faculty teaching, research/professional/creative activity and outreach? Is it aligned with the campus strategic priorities?
c. How does the department promote diversity?
d. Discuss the department’s current standing within the discipline, make mention in particular to graduate studies (if applicable) and research. What strategy does the department have for increasing this standing?
2. Evaluate the relevancy, rigor, and coherence of curricula. Do the programs offered provide a high quality education for students? The curriculum should reflect an awareness of changing knowledge, trends in the discipline, and the professional context for curriculum. The self-study should include an evaluation of how the department has addressed the following questions:
a. How does the department determine curricular content? How does the curriculum relate to current existing standards, if any, of the discipline?
b. What internal or external measures of review are employed to ensure that the curriculum is relevant and up-to-date?
c. How does the department ensure that support is provided to students to ensure their timely progress toward degree completion? Expand beyond advising models to include other departmental or university-wide initiatives.
d. Are the curricular offerings structured in a logical, sequential and coherent manner? Is there an appropriate balance between breadth and depth? How does the curriculum address departmental and university-wide learning objectives?
e. If consistent with the department’s mission, does the curriculum adequately prepare students for further study or employment?
f. In what way does the department contribute to the education of students in terms of general knowledge, critical thinking capacity and other essential cognitive skills?
3. Evaluate faculty quality and productivity. Departments shall ensure that faculty members possess the expertise to assure effective curriculum development, instructional design and delivery, and evaluation of outcomes. Faculty should exhibit awareness of trends in the discipline and the professional field as appropriate. Collectively, faculty should be involved in teaching, research/professional/creative activity, and public service/academic outreach as appropriate to the mission and regional context of the campus. Evaluate how the department has addressed the following questions:
a. In what ways do faculty possess the appropriate background, experience and credentials? To what extent does the faculty reflect the diversity of the students and the discipline?
b. Explain how faculty are current in relation to the knowledge base and content of the discipline and curricular offerings. To what extent is the faculty contributing to the disciplinary knowledge base and achieving recognition within the university and within the broader discipline?
c. What are the department’s expectations for faculty involvement in teaching, research/ professional/creative activity, and public service/academic outreach activities appropriate; and how are these expectations met? To what extent is this consistent across the faculty? Are these expectations consistent with department policies regarding teaching assignments, merit allocations, and other aspects of faculty roles and rewards?
d. In what ways does the department foster professional development and growth of faculty? How are assistant and associate professors mentored in teaching, service and research/creative and professional activity?
e. In what ways does the department faculty lend its professional expertise - as expressed through teaching and research, scholarly and creative activity - to off-campus constituencies? In what ways are the faculty engaged in these ways at the university?
4. Does the department ensure teaching/learning environments that facilitate student success? Departments shall provide learning environments that promote student success. Students are expected to learn both content and skills appropriate to the discipline. The department should indicate clear expectations for student learning outcomes. The teaching/learning environment should be accessible to all students, should include a variety of instructional methodologies, and should provide timely feedback to students. Evaluate how the department has addressed the following questions:
a. To what extent does the department have articulated learning outcomes (content and skills) for students in each degree option? (Note all undergraduate and graduate programs.) By what means are these outcomes measured? Are they achieved by most students? To what extent do the achievements vary by gender, race and ethnicity? If relevant, to what extent has the department articulated learning outcomes for graduate students?
b. How is assessment of student learning outcomes, from both the undergraduate and graduate levels, used in reviewing or evaluating department curriculum and faculty; advising or other aspects of the academic program?
c. In what ways does the department evaluate student success, undergraduate and graduate, following graduation and the department's contribution to that success? And how is this used in curricular revisions?
d. What is the role of the core faculty in teaching lower division, upper division and graduate courses? What is the rationale for these assignments?
e. Describe the extent of, and curricular role of, experiential learning and career development outside of the regular curriculum that you provide to majors?
f. To what extent do your department’s retention and graduation rates reflect national disciplinary rates and university-wide ones? What are the trends by gender, race and ethnicity?
g. How are students advised in your department and what measures of success through the program do you use?
5. Are department resources are used wisely? Departments shall ensure that the resources available are used to meet department goals and objectives, and as appropriate, engage in use of innovation to enhance resources; should engage in both intra and inter-campus collaboration; and should demonstrate a commitment to effective and efficient use of resources. Evaluate how the department has addressed the following questions:
a. What process does the department use to allocate resources?
b. In what ways does the department maximize the use of its human resources?

III. Strategic Planning and Focus Area: Future Goals & Specific Objectives

IV. Conclusions

Appendices

  • Strategic Analysis and Data Management Report
    • Enrollment Data
    • Retention Data
    • Graduation Rates
    • Student outcomes
  • Department Data
    • Research productivity
    • Student outcomes
    • APCLAS Surveys
  • Faculty - CV
  • Graduating student exit survey
  • Detailed description of programs under review
  • Departmental Infrastructure
  • Annual Learning Outcomes Assessment Reports (beginning Fall 2017)