Academic Program Review
Academic Program Reviews (APR) demonstrate UND's commitment to the quality and continuous improvement of the educational programs and how student learning and success is promoted.
Program evaluation can help guide effective planning and resource allocation and provide insight into how curriculum, scholarly activity, and service advance the university's mission and serve the state, nation, and global communities.
The program review process has been modified to optimize the cycle of alignment of undergraduate and graduate program reviews with one another, as well as the evaluation of student assessment and learning.
Submit APR Into Taskstream
Academic Program Review Timeline and Prompts
Academic Programs will be notified of an upcoming APR during the spring semester.
Undergraduate Programs
APR Process
The Academic Program Review information is collected in Taskstream. Below outlines the various steps in the process. The entire review will take the duration of the academic year.
- Program Review Lead completes APR prompts
- Feedback collected from College Review Team
- (Optional) Rejoinder submitted by Program Review Lead
- Dean Summary Report completed
- Final Report from VPAA/Provost and meeting
For a full overview of the APR Process, see this handout.
APR Prompts
The APR questions are outlined in Taskstream, as well as linked here. There are specific questions to be answered by the Program Review Leader and the College Review Team.
APR Timeline
Who | What | When |
---|---|---|
VPAA |
Notification of upcoming APR
|
May 2022 |
Department Chair | Provide name of individual who will be writing the program review (Program Review Leaders/PRL) to karina.knutson@und.edu | Due 06/03/2022 |
Academic Dean | Provide names of members of the College Review Team (CRT) members to karina.knutson@und.edu | Due 06/03/2022 |
VPAA | Send APR Template to all Program Review Leaders and College Review Team members | Due 06/10/2022 |
VPAA |
Online support and guidance:
|
7/1/2022 |
Program Review Leader |
Submit responses to Program Review Prompts for Criterion 1-6 in Taskstream |
Due 10/15/2022 |
College/School Review Team |
Submit College/School Review Team Report in Taskstream |
Due 12/31/2022 |
Program Review Leader |
(optional step) Submit Rejoinder in Taskstream |
Due 1/31/2023 |
Academic Dean |
Submit Dean’s Summary Report in Taskstream |
Due 2/28/2023 |
Academic Dean/Department Chair/ Appropriate Department Representatives |
Meeting to discuss program review outcomes and action steps |
Due 4/30/2023 |
VPAA |
Submit VPAA Summary Report in Taskstream |
Due 5/31/2023 |
VPAA |
Submit final program reviews to NDUS |
Due 6/30/2023 |
Graduate Programs
APR Process
The Academic Program Review information is collected in Taskstream. Below outlines the various steps in the process. The entire review will take the duration of the academic year.
- Program Review Lead completes APR prompts
- (Optional) External Review team submits report
- Feedback collected from College Review Team
- (Optional) Rejoinder submitted by Program Review Lead
- Dean Summary Report completed
- Final Report from VPAA/Provost and meeting
For a full overview of the APR Process, see this handout.
APR Prompts
The APR questions are outlined in Taskstream, as well as linked here. There are specific questions to be answered by the Program Review Leader and the College Review Team. These questions are slightly different than for the undergraduate programs.
APR Timeline
Who | What | When |
---|---|---|
VPAA |
Notification of upcoming APR
|
May 2022 |
Department Chair | Provide name of individual who will be writing the program review (Program Review Leaders/PRL) to karina.knutson@und.edu | Due 06/03/2022 |
Academic Dean | Provide names of members of the College Review Team (CRT) members to karina.knutson@und.edu (Optional) provide names of external review team members to karina.knutson@und.edu |
Due 06/03/2022 |
VPAA | Send APR Template to all Program Review Leaders and College Review Team members | Due 06/10/2022 |
VPAA |
Online support and guidance:
|
7/1/2022 |
Program Review Leader |
Submit responses to Program Review Prompts for Criterion 1-6 in Taskstream |
Due 10/15/2022 |
Academic Dean/ School of Graduate Studies |
(optional) Provide External Review Team with responses from Program Review Leader |
Send materials to external reviewers by 10/21/22 |
External Reviewers (optional) |
(optional) Submit external review report to Program Review Leader; to be uploaded into Taskstream |
Due 11/30/2022 |
College/School Review Team |
Submit College/School Review Team Report in Taskstream |
Due 12/31/2022 |
Program Review Leader |
(optional step) Submit Rejoinder in Taskstream |
Due 1/31/2023 |
Academic Dean |
Submit Dean’s Summary Report in Taskstream |
Due 2/28/2023 |
Academic Dean/Department Chair/ Appropriate Department Representatives |
Meeting to discuss program review outcomes and action steps |
Due 4/30/2023 |
VPAA |
Submit VPAA Summary Report in Taskstream |
Due 5/31/2023 |
VPAA |
Submit final program reviews to NDUS |
Due 6/30/2023 |
For assistance with navigating the UAP Academic Program Review dashboard, contact Amanda Moske.
APR Training Sessions
Multiple training sessions will be held during the fall semester to ensure successful completion of the APR.
Introduction to Academic Program Review [for Program Review Leaders]:
- Tuesday, September 6th - 2 pm
- Tuesday, September 20th - 10 am
- Wednesday, October 5th - 11 am
FAQ
What academic years/terms are we focusing on for the Program Review?
The program review is a lookback since the most recent review. For most departments this is 5-7 years.
For the reviews occurring during 22-23, you will be focusing on Academic Years 2017-2018 through 2021-2022 (for a 5 year review).
We recently went through an external accreditation. Can we submit those materials (in whole or part) in liew of the APR materials?
Yes! If a program has generated a self-study report for purposes of external accreditiation, that report may be used as the basis for UND’s Program Review process. The Program Review Leader must enter content from accrediting reports in conjunction with or in place of a response to prompts, but may do so by appending the accreditation report and providing a reference to the relevant section of the accreditation report under each Program Review prompt, as in “See Section One, paragraph two of Accreditation Report”. If utilizing responses from accreditation reports, be sure to specify how the response answers the question for program review.
Any APR questions/sections not addressed by the accreditation report must be answered in the submission. Programs should check with their respective Dean for guidance.
I can't get logged into Taskstream. What should I do?
Contact Karina Knutson to get help with logging in.
How do I know what was outlined in the previous APR?
It is the responsibility of the program/ department to keep a copy of the most recent APR.
If you cannot locate the most recent APR, reach out and we may be able to track it down for you.
Taskstream Tutorials
Steps for Program Review Leaders, Department Chairs, Deans, and APR Review Teams to view all parts of the APR Report.
Request Access to Taskstream
Complete the Taskstream Request Form.
Guiding Principles of APR
The primary goal of Academic Program Review (APR) is the continuous improvement of undergraduate and graduate programs.
It provides critical information about:
- the size and stability of a program
- its future faculty resources and student market
- its strengths and weaknesses
- its contribution to the mission of the institution.
- It helps set goals and directions for the future and ensures that overall academic planning and budget decisions are based on accurate data and agreed-upon priorities.
The information gathered in the review process, particularly the assessment of program strengths and needs, provides compelling evidence of the quality of undergraduate and graduate programs and the foundation on which future improvements should be built.
- Use prior APRs, accreditation self-studies (if applicable), and internal and external benchmarks to highlight program achievements and improvements.
- Address recommendations for change made in the previous APR and assess the extent to which the program has successfully addressed any concerns from the previous review.
Describe clearly the academic planning done by program faculty, including department/program level strategic planning, program choices, budgeting and resource allocation, decision-making processes, governance, program goals, and objectives.
- Using relevant data, clearly document the program’s assessment plan for student achievement and the process for implementing change based on assessment results.
- Demonstrate how the loop has been closed.
Where applicable, APRs will be scheduled to coincide with accreditation activities. When determined by the Dean, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies (for graduate programs), accreditation self-study reports or portions thereof can serve as the basis for components of the APR, and accreditation team site visits can serve as an external evaluation.
North Dakota State Board of Higher Education Policy 403.1.2 requires each institution to review undergraduate programs at least every seven years, graduate programs at least every ten years, and new programs after five years.
- The UND APR satisfies state-level review requirements and stands as a tool for programs as they engage in academic planning.
In view of changes in methods of instruction and delivery, the evolution of program requirements and outcomes as a function of a changing landscape within higher education and for employment, and the need to align program goals and outcomes with the university’s strategic mission and vision, the UND APR is expected to occur for all programs every five years, although exceptions to this timeline may be requested to the VPAA office to align APR with accreditation cycles.
In conjunction with the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Academic Deans are responsible for scheduling and monitoring the progress of APRs within their respective colleges or schools. Progress evaluation facilitates continuous improvement and alignment with strategic goals and objectives at all levels.
Contact
- karina.knutson@UND.edu
- 701.777.4085