External Reviewers' Report Template

External Reviewers' Report Template

 

External Reviewers’ Report Template

[Approved by CAP; Revised 11-29-05]

 

Taking into consideration the dean’s comments and focus, please respond to the following questions in your report.  All sections indicated below refer to the self-study document.

 

1.  Strengths and Weaknesses

  • Evaluate the overall strengths and weaknesses of the program, referring specifically to each of the five areas in Section A.

 

2.  Historical and Current Context

  • Given the historical and current context of the department as outlined in Section B, are the programs offered and program enrollments appropriate from a disciplinary perspective? 
  • Are the faculty number, composition, and research productivity sufficient to support the programs offered by the department? 
  • Comment on the relevance of the programs, and the degree to which the department’s programs serve various needs (community, student, professional).
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of the peer institutions selected by the department for comparison.

 

3.  Progress Toward Goals and Objectives

  • Taking a disciplinary perspective, evaluate the ways in which the unit has succeeded in meeting its goals and objectives since its last academic program review (Section C). 
  • Is its progress toward meeting its goals and objectives satisfactory? 
  • What are the factors that have helped or hindered the unit in its effort to meet its goals and objectives? 
  • Evaluate the ways in which these goals have contributed to the College and University Strategic Plans.

 

4.  Quality of the Curriculum

  • Evaluate the quality of the curriculum from a disciplinary perspective for each of the department’s programs (Section D). 
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of the learning outcomes and learning outcomes assessments for each of the programs. 
  • How have learning outcomes assessments influenced curricular modifications.
  • Have these modifications been effective in improving student learning outcomes?

 

5.  Quality of the Students

  • Evaluate the quality of students, both incoming and graduated students, in the department’s programs (Section E) relative to discipline-specific norms. 
  • Are the quality standards appropriate? 

 

6. Quality of the Faculty

  • Evaluate the quality of the department’s faculty (Section F).  Include in your discussion an evaluation of the faculty with respect to peer program faculties.

 

7. Resource Adequacy

  • Considering each of the seven areas discussed in Section G, evaluate the adequacy of departmental resources.  

 

8. Goals and Objectives

  • Evaluate the goals and objectives that the department has outlined in Section H for the next review cycle. 
  • Are the goals and objectives appropriate for the unit?   
  • Are they in accord with disciplinary trends?   
  • Are the priorities reasonable? 
  • Are any changes warranted?