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Appendix B: from The Strategic Plan for the
Future of Virginia Commonwealth University: Phase II
Program Review links | Guidelines
for Systematic Review
TACTICAL STRATEGIES (continued)
III. The university will develop and apply institutional
accountability measures to assess results of strategic initiatives.
The university will use its recently approved list of peer institutions to establish
accountability measures and benchmarks for performance in such areas as student retention and
graduation rates, faculty work load and salaries, research funding, community outreach, instructional
technology, and periodic academic program review. The university will implement a formal academic program development process consistent with the
State Council for Higher Education requirements and that will also respond to the following items and
issues:
- The relationship of the program to the university's mission and a description of how the
proposed program fits into the university's strategic planning direction.
- Specification of resource needs for the proposed program, including faculty, staff,
equipment and other operating costs, as well as the need for new and/or renovated space, and
an identification of funding sources, including possible termination of existing programs and
strategies to reallocate resources.
- The anticipated impact on existing programs, including increased demand on external departments.
- The estimated headcount and FTE students, including the sources for the projection, the portion
of the projected enrollments anticipated to be new to the institution, and the portion that represents
migration from existing degree programs.
- A description of the recruitment process for the proposed program, including the anticipated gender
and racial mix of students and how, specifically, underrepresented groups will be recruited and retained
in the program.
- The benchmarks by which the program will be deemed successful, when they will be applied, and what
actions will be taken if the program does not meet these benchmarks. These benchmarks will include
meeting enrollments, job placement and satisfaction of graduates, and other measures in addition to
student learning.
- The university will implement its plan for periodic review of graduate and undergraduate programs,
including review of the following items:
- Description of program mission and analysis the program's centrality to the school and
university mission and strategic plan
- Program costs as analyzed by the State Council productivity review
- Actual and projected student enrollments, retention and graduation rates over the past five years,
and employment or post-baccalaureate study of its graduates
- Quality of faculty in teaching, research, and discipline-related public service
- Assessment of student attainment of the program learning goals
- Student and alumni satisfaction information using university-wide survey instruments (must be
coordinated with the Office of Institutional Research and Evaluation)
- Identification and use of similar programs from the university's peer institution list for comparison
and bench-marking in such areas as curriculum, number of majors, graduation rates, and quality of faculty.
- Evaluation of education support resources including support staff, advising, teaching space, equipment,
computing facilities, and technical assistance.
- Program goals for next three to five years.
- Specialized accrediting reports where appropriate.
The university will implement a bench-marking process for assessing progress in implementing the
strategic plan, using appropriate data from the official list of peer institutions. The university will incorporate other review criteria as appropriate to ensure financial accountability
including: programmatically or financially beneficial collaborations and partnerships; outsourcing and
privatization; process analysis to increase efficiency and reduce waste; and use of technology to enhance
student learning, provide distance-learn opportunities, or improve operations.
Program Review links | Guidelines
for Systematic Review
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