Saint Mary's College Of California

Guidelines for department and program reviews

The purpose of program reviews is to provide an opportunity for departments and programs to evaluate the quality and educational effectiveness of their academic programs. Changes in personnel, in pedagogical styles and resources, and in the understanding of our educational goals, suggest that we should periodically conduct such a review to maintain a clear vision of our goals and develop the most effective means to attain them. These reviews also afford a formal opportunity to identify needs and argue for institutional support (e.g., new tenure track faculty, lab equipment, library resources). Further, because these reviews are intended as self-evaluations to help us maintain the highest standards of education, full department participation is expected.The guidelines below present the list of all the areas that should be addressed. The list is intended to be exhaustive; while some items may not be applicable to every program, whenever an area of assessment will not be addressed, the program should explain why. To assist the Program Review Committee in its efforts to read the review carefully and consistently, program by program, please follow the exact order of topics listed below. The PRC considers the use of headings for each section helpful.

I. Introduction

1. Describe the process your program used to prepare your review.

2. If deemed useful, you may include a brief history of your program.

3. Summarize your progress toward meeting the goals specified in your last program review. 

II. Overview

1. Describe to what extent and in what ways your program's mission is consistent with the Mission Statement of the College

1. The liberal arts mission of the College: "to probe deeply the mystery of existence by cultivating the ways of knowing and the arts of thinking."
   Possible questions to consider:
   i) How does your program "place special importance on fostering the intellectual skills and habits of mind which liberate persons to probe deeply the mystery of existence and live authentically in response to the truths they discover"?
   ii) How does your program foster "wonder about the nature of reality," by having students "look twice, ask why, seek not merely facts but fundamental principles, strive for an integration of all knowledge, and express themselves precisely and eloquently."
2. The Catholic mission of the College: "to affirm and foster the Christian understanding of the human person that animates the educational mission of the Catholic Church."
   Possible questions to consider (please see Addendum I for further suggestions on how to respond to this section):
   i) How does your program lead students to a "transcendent meaning to creation and human existence" by probing "the mystery that inspires wonder about the nature of existence"?
   ii) How does your program connect the "intellectual and spiritual journeys" of the students? How do you promote the "dialogue of faith and reason"? How do you "defend the goodness, dignity, and freedom of each person, and foster sensitivity to social and ethical concerns"?
3. The Lasallian mission of the College: "to create a student-centered educational community whose members support one another with mutual understanding and respect."
   Possible questions to consider:
   i) How does your program enable faculty to grow "spiritually and personally when their work is motivated by faith and zeal"?
   ii) How does your program help "students, faculty, administrators and staff from different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds come together to grow in knowledge, wisdom and love"?
   iii) How does your program show "awareness of the consequences of economic and social injustice and its commitment to the poor"?
   iv) How does your program help students learn "their responsibility to share their goods and their service with those who are in need"?

 

2. Provide a complete list of the educational goals of your program.

3. List your program's courses, majors, minors, specializations, and concentrations, with their enrollments over the past five years. Indicate whether any departmental courses are derived from or offered in another department or program of the college.

4. How does the program compare with its non-Saint Mary's College peers (e.g., number of majors, course offerings, faculty size, resources, etc.)?

III. Self-Appraisal with Plans of Action: Assess your program’s strengths and weaknesses for each item and, where needed, indicate action items and recommendations.

1. Curriculum

1. Identify specific, significant skills, knowledge and habits of mind that you expect your students to master. These should include, at minimum, the learning outcomes listed in the catalog for your department. They should also include the college- wide learning outcome delineated in the Continuous Action Plan: information literacy (see Addendum II for additional information on aspects of information literacy to be addressed).
2. Explain how courses and course sequencing support the goals and expectations in 1.a.It is especially important to show how key skills are presented across courses tosupport increased mastery.
3. Identify and explain methods (other than grades in individual courses) usedto evaluate student mastery of the goals andexpectations in 1.a.:
   
   i) Provide sample syllabi including goals of at least the introductory course in the program and any “core” courses for majors and minors (including capstone courses or experiences, if applicable);
   ii) Provide evidence that the learning outcomes are being achieved [“evidence” could include program assessment research and/or student papers and assignments--other reasonable evidence of student achievement of learning outcomes appropriate to the program will also be accepted];
   iii) If your curriculum has a capstone course, explain courses prior to the capstone build toward it and how the capstone experience itself allows students to integrate previous learning. If your program does not have a capstone course/experience, explain how you evaluate the degree to which your graduating majors and minors have achieved the educational goals of the program.
4. Outline the long-range program assessment plan and the ongoing process for regularly evaluating the program, especially ways you use assessment to improve both program, especially ways you use assessment to improve both individual course and overall program effectiveness, including departmental courses derived from or offered in another department or program.
5. Discuss specifically how your curriculum meets the general educational needs of non-majors.
6. Comment on how the program integrates relevant professional and accreditation standards.
7. Identify any curricular changes that you have implemented within the last five years.

 

2. Student Outreach, Advising, and Services

1. Methods for recruiting students
2. Effectiveness of student advising
3. Process for accommodating students with special needs
4. Support for student clubs
5. Placement of graduates
6. Availability of internships
7. Contact with alumni
8. Collaboration with other campus groups

 

3. Faculty Quality

1. Faculty changes that have occurred in the last five years
2. Number of tenure track faculty, adjunct faculty (5/7 or more) and lecturers (4/7 or less)
3. Ratio of tenure-track faculty to non-tenure track faculty (adjuncts and lecturers)
4. Ethnic and gender diversity of faculty
5. Academic qualifications of your faculty
6. Faculty accomplishments:
   i) Teaching
   ii) Scholarship (see Faculty Handbook for definition of "scholarship")
   iii) Other professional activities
   iv) Extracurricular contributions
7. Participation in Collegiate Seminar
8. Participation in January Term
9. Participation in other College programs and activities

 

4. Program Support for Faculty

1. Short- and long-range plans for faculty replacement because of retirements, reduced teaching load, administrative reassignments, leaves, etc.
2. Issues/problems with faculty recruitment and retention
3. Faculty evaluation process
4. Faculty mentoring
5. Faculty development support

 

5. Program Infrastructure

1. Program decision-making structure (duties of chair, rotation of chair, faculty involvement in program planning and administration, process for assigning courses and reassigned time)
2. Adequacy of program budget
3. Adequacy of office space
4. Adequacy of secretarial, clerical and technical support
5. Adequacy of instructional materials and equipment
6. Adequacy of library collections and learning resources
7. Adequacy of information technology resources

 

IV. Summary Plan of Action: please extract the action items and recommendations in Part III, and present each item in prioritized order with a timeline for completion.

V. Appendices

1. Copy of College Catalog entry

2. Brochures and/or advertising materials

3. Review of Library Resources and Information Literacy (service provided by the Library upon request)

4. External reviewer(s) report(s)

External Review Process

The Department Chair/Program Director, the Chair of the Program Review Committee, the Dean of the School, and the Vice Provost will agree, in each case, on the form and procedures involved in the external review. It is common practice to provide assurance that there is no conflict of interest involved in the choice of professors who will conduct the external review; therefore, the Department Chair will initiate the process by providing the Chair of PRC, the Dean of the School, and the Vice Provost with a list of three schools that are being used in the review as appropriate comparison schools and the names of any professors at those schools who might be particularly appropriate to assist in the external review process. The potential external reviewer(s) will be contacted to ascertain their availability and then one or more, as appropriate, will be selected by consensus of the four administrators named above. A written report will be submitted by the external reviewer(s) to the Department Chair/Program Director, who will forward a copy to the Dean of the School.

 

Program Review Process Guidelines

1. The Chair of the Program Review Committee (PRC) will distribute a list in the fall to all departments and programs (hereafter, programs) to be reviewed during the current and following academic years. Program reviews are to be submitted by Dec. 15.

2. The Chair will schedule an early fall workshop for chairs of all programs being reviewed in that year, and a late semester workshop for reviews due the following year.

3. All faculty in the program, or as many as reasonably can, should participate in the review process and/or be involved in preparing and revising the written report.

4. Programs may request and should expect timely help from the Registrar’s office and the Office of Institutional Research concerning data pertinent to the review.

5. Program chairs, along with other faculty who wish to participate, will be invited to address the PRC while it is considering the submitted review and before it finalizes its response. Chairs may also request to meet with the PRC before or after the review process has been completed.

6. Programs that undergo major external review by accrediting agencies may submit that review to the PRC in lieu of the normal Saint Mary's review. They must, however, address any items in the Saint Mary's review guidelines not covered in the external review.

7. Deans are to be given a copy of the review document when it is submitted to PRC. The appropriate Dean will be notified when a scheduled review is not submitted. As specified in the faculty handbook (1.7.3.6.3 (g)), programs that fail to submit a review as scheduled or submit an inadequate review may be censured by the EPB at the request of the PRC, and by order of the chairperson of the EPB, all board actions concerning the program may be suspended until such time as the review is submitted and accepted as satisfactory.

8. The PRC will consider the program’s review document and produce a letter containing its conclusions, which is sent to the program Chair, the appropriate Dean and the Vice Provost for Academics. When the program receives the PRC’s letter, there are two further steps to be taken:

1. The faculty of the program meets and discusses the PRC letter. They should address, point-by-point, the issues identified by the PRC. A brief summary of the results of this meeting should be written, including any corrections the program wishes to make, as well as any additional plan of action developed during the discussion.
2. The Vice Provost for Academics schedules a meeting with the Dean of the School housing the program, the Department/Program Chair and faculty, and the Chair of the Program Review Committee (see Faculty Handbook 1.7.3.6.3). That meeting should focus on the main points of the program review, especially the proposed plan of action, the PRC’s response letter, and any program needs and future planning that can be identified. Every effort should be made to find a consensus about the future direction of the program and then to obtain specific commitment of institutional resources sufficient to support progress towards achieving the agreed upon goals. A written record of the specific steps that will be taken to coordinate planning and resources over the next five years must be part of the process.
3. The written record produced by these two meetings specified in (a) and (b) must be filed with the PRC no later than the end of the academic semester following the issuance of the PRC’s letter to the program. The next program review cycle must address this material directly. Failure to carry out steps (a) and (b) may result in the program being censured by the EPB, and, by order of the chairperson of the EPB, all board actions concerning the program may be suspended until these steps are carried out satisfactorily.
4. In each of the years following the program review, the Dean for Academic Development will ask the Department Chair or Program Director to provide an updated reported on the achievement of the summary plan of action and the specific goals identified in the meeting with the Dean of the School and the Vice Provost.

 

Guidelines for Department and Program Reviews: Addendum I

Some Guidelines for Department and Program Reviews Concerning the Catholic Nature of the College

One of the more difficult tasks of departments and programs when conducting their self-evaluations has been describing how their programs are "consistent with the Catholic tradition of the College." This seems mostly due to the absence of clear agreed upon language describing what the Catholic tradition, or identity, of the College is. This document offers a guide to reflecting on what language we do have, namely the relevant portion of our mission statement and the Church's document on Catholic Higher Education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

What seems most challenging about this topic is finding a way for those members of the community who are not Catholic, or even religious, to understand and embrace the Catholic mission of the College. Perhaps equally challenging is understanding how subjects that seem totally secular (e.g., accounting or calculus) are "consistent" with the Catholic mission. This difficultly, however, is shared even by the Catholics among us since it is a topic that has yet to be discussed at any length.

It seems that one source of the problem comes from looking at "Catholic mission" only in terms of Catholic doctrine and practices, the content of the tradition, rather than in terms of the Church's understanding of the human person and the kind of education it believes is best suited to bring the human person to fulfillment. Department and program faculty are asked, primarily, not whether the content of their curriculum is "Catholic," but how their understanding of education is consistent with the College's Catholic view. Secondarily, and when applicable, departments and programs would also consider content.

The only definitive statement of the College's Catholic mission is contained in its Mission Statement. While neatly succinct for the purposes of a mission statement, it is perhaps too succinct as a guide for an in-depth articulation of how that mission is fulfilled in each of our schools, departments, and programs. However, using the Mission Statement as a starting point, an elaboration of its content could serve as such a guide. One should bear in mind that the statement addresses everything we do at Saint Mary's, not just our academic work; hence some parts will be covered by non-academic areas such as campus ministry, student activities, residence life, athletics, and so forth. The following commentary, therefore, only addresses what seems to pertain to our academic work.

The Catholic mission is to affirm and foster the Christian understanding of the human person that animates the educational mission of the Catholic Church.

• Saint Mary's College holds that the mystery that inspires wonder about the nature of existence is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ giving a transcendent meaning to creation and human existence.

While Christians could subscribe to this idea without reservation, what can non-Christian or non-religious members of our academic community make of it? Certainly as educators in the liberal arts, we cultivate a sense of wonder in our students. Their wonder is a seeking of something beyond them whether they call it God, truth, beauty, goodness, or meaning. In the Catholic tradition, all truth is ultimately unified in and revealed by God. But since all humans by nature desire and seek to know truth, any endeavor that genuinely cultivates human wonder is directed to the same end to which Catholic education seeks to direct its Catholic students and is consistent with it. Each department and program should, therefore, ask itself to what extent its curriculum teaches students to understand how what they are studying relates to the transcendent.

• Nourished by its Christian faith, the College understands the intellectual and spiritual journeys of the human person to be inextricably connected.

This statement echoes what has already been said: to cultivate the intellectual life is to lead the student toward becoming what he or she is naturally intended to be as a human. In the Catholic tradition, this journey is also seen as a spiritual one, the end of which is life in union with God and all humanity inspired by love. This spiritual journey is a journey toward truth and meaning, and cultivating the intellectual life is not only no obstacle to the spiritual quest, but an aid. Depending on the subject of study, each department and program should ask to what extent its students are taught to reflect on how their intellectual development as well as the subject of their study is related to their personal fulfillment.

• It promotes the dialogue of faith and reason: it builds community among its members through the celebration of the church's sacramental life; it defends the goodness, dignity and freedom of each person, and fosters sensitivity to social and ethical concerns.

The promotion of dialogue between faith and reason can take place in a number of ways. In a theology or philosophy course, it could be the very focus of study. In an ethics course, students explore the interplay of critical thinking and fundamental moral beliefs that often have a basis in religious faith. But even in courses that do not directly address this sort of dialogue, it can still be promoted by encouraging self-reflection. Students can be asked to consider how what they are studying fits with their thoughts about the meaning and purpose of their life.

The celebration of the Church's sacraments would seem to be the domain of campus ministry, but defending goodness, dignity, and freedom and fostering sensitivity to social and ethical concerns will also take place in an academic setting. Sometimes the content of the course lends itself to such concerns. But as well, they are often addressed in how the students act among themselves as a community of learners.

• Recognizing that all those who sincerely quest for truth contribute to and enhance its stature as a Catholic institution of higher learning, Saint Mary's welcomes members from its own and other traditions, inviting them to collaborate in fulfilling the spiritual mission of the College.

This statement reiterates the belief that the one who describes his or her quest as seeking knowledge and truth, and the Catholic who identifies the object of this quest as God share the same path. Recognizing the rich diversity among us in ethnicity, culture, and religion, it is the common search for truth along these diverse paths that unites our endeavor

Excerpts from Ex Corde Ecclesiae

The Catholic college ". . . has always been recognized as an incomparable center of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity. By vocation, [it] is dedicated to research, to teaching and to the education of students who freely associate with their teachers in a common love of knowledge" (EC 1).

"Without in any way neglecting the acquisition of useful knowledge, a Catholic university is distinguished by its free search for the whole truth about nature, man, and God. The present age is in urgent need of this kind of disinterested service, namely of proclaiming the meaning of truth, that fundamental value without which freedom, justice, and human dignity are extinguished. By means of a kind of universal humanism a Catholic university is completely dedicated to the research of all aspects of truth in their essential connection with the supreme Truth, who is God. It does this without fear but rather with enthusiasm, dedicating itself to every path of knowledge . . ." (EC 4).

"It is in the context of the impartial search for truth that the relationship between faith and reason is brought to light and meaning. The invitation of St. Augustine, "Intellege ut credas; crede ut intellegas," is relevant to Catholic universities that are called to explore courageously the riches of Revelation and of nature so that the united endeavor of intelligence and faith will enable people to come to the full measure of their humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, renewed even more marvelously after sin, in Christ, and called to shine forth in the light of the Spirit" (EC 5).

"Every Catholic university, as a university, is an academic community which, in a rigorous and critical fashion, assists in the protection and advancement of human dignity and of a cultural heritage through research, teaching and various services offered to the local, national and international communities. It possesses that institutional autonomy necessary to perform its functions effectively and guarantees its members academic freedom, so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good" (EC 12).

"A Catholic university, therefore, is a place of research, where scholars scrutinize reality with the methods proper to each academic discipline, and so contribute to the treasury of human knowledge. Each individual discipline is studied in a systematic manner; moreover, the various disciplines are brought into dialogue for their mutual enhancement.

"In addition to assisting men and women in their continuing quest for the truth, this research provides an effective witness, especially necessary today, to the Church's belief in the intrinsic value of knowledge and research.

"In a Catholic university, research necessarily includes (a) the search for an integration of knowledge, (b) a dialogue between faith and reason, (c) an ethical concern, and (d) a theological perspective" (EC 15).

"Integration of knowledge is a process, one which will always remain incomplete . . . a university, and especially a Catholic university, "has to be a 'living union' of individual organisms dedicated to the search for truth. . . It is necessary to work toward a higher synthesis of knowledge, in which alone lies the possibility of satisfying that thirst for truth which is profoundly inscribed on the heart of the human person." Aided by the specific contributions of philosophy and theology, university scholars will be engaged in a constant effort to determine the relative place and meaning of each of the various disciplines within the context of a vision of the human person and the world that is enlightened by the Gospel, and therefore by a faith in Christ, the Logos, as the center of creation and of human history" (EC 16).

"Through research and teaching the students are educated in the various disciplines so as to become truly competent in the specific sectors in which they will devote themselves to the service of society and of the Church, but at the same time prepared to give the witness of their faith to the world" (EC 20).

"University teachers should seek to improve their competence and endeavor to set the content, objectives, methods, and results of research in an individual discipline within the framework of a coherent world vision. Christians among the teachers are called to be witnesses and educators of authentic Christian life, which evidences an attained integration between faith and life, and between professional competence and Christian wisdom. All teachers are to be inspired by academic ideals and by the principles of an authentically human life" (EC 22).

"Students are challenged to pursue an education that combines excellence in humanistic and cultural development with specialized professional training. Most especially, they are challenged to continue the search for truth and for meaning throughout their lives, since "the human spirit must be cultivated in such a way that there results a growth in its ability to wonder, to understand, to contemplate, to make personal judgments, and to develop a religious, moral and social sense" (EC 23).

"The Church, accepting 'the legitimate autonomy of human culture and especially of the sciences,' recognizes the academic freedom of scholars in each discipline in accordance with its own principles and proper methods, and within the confines of the truth and the common good" (EC 29).

[1] Cf. Saint Augustine, Serm. 43, 9: PL 38, 258. Cf. also Saint Anselm, Proslogion, chap. I: PL 158, 227.

[1] Cf. The Magna Carta of the European Universities, Bologna, Italy, 18 September 1988, "Fundamental Principles".

[1] Cf. Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, n. 59: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1080; Declaration on Catholic Education Gravissimum Educationis, n. 10: AAS 58 (1966), p. 737. "Institutional autonomy" means that the governance of an academic institution is and remains internal to the institution; "academic freedom" is the guarantee given to those involved in teaching and research that, within their specific specialized branch of knowledge, and according to the methods proper to that specific area, they may search for the truth wherever analysis and evidence leads them, and may teach and publish the results of this search, keeping in mind the cited criteria, that is, safeguarding the rights of the individual and of society within the confines of the truth and the common good.

[1] John Paul II, Allocution to the International Congress on Catholic Universities, 25 Aprii 1989, n. 4: AAS 81 (1989), p. 1219. Cf. also Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, n. 61: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 1081-1082. Cardinal Newman observes that a University "professes to assign to each study which it receives, its proper place and its just boundaries; to define the rights, to establish the mutual relations and to effect the intercommunion of one and all". (Op. cit., p. 457). 

[1] VATICAN COUNCIL II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, n. 59: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1080. Cardinal Newman describes the ideal to be sought in this way: "A habit of mind is formed which lasts through life, of which the attributes are freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation and wisdom". (Op. cit., pp. 101-102).

[1] Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, n. 59: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1080.

ADDENDUM 2

 

Information Literacy DefinedInformation literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." 1 Information literacy also is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. Because of the escalating complexity of this environment, individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices--in their academic studies, in the workplace, and in their personal lives. Information is available through libraries, community resources, special interest organizations, media, and the Internet--and increasingly, information comes to individuals in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability. In addition, information is available through multiple media, including graphical, aural, and textual, and these pose new challenges for individuals in evaluating and understanding it. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information pose large challenges for society. The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed citizenry without a complementary cluster of abilities necessary to use information effectively.

Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. An information literate individual is able to:

- Determine the extent of information needed

- Access the needed information effectively and efficiently

- Evaluate information and its sources critically

- Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base

- Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose

- Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

Excerpt from: Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. (2002) Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm#ildef