Graduate
Program Review
Ten-year review
Issues important to the review of a graduate program
Background/quality of program and faculty: How did the program begin? Has its focus changed since the last review? How is the department viewed nationally? What are marks of faculty accomplishment? What curricular changes have been instituted in the graduate program, and for what reasons?
Recruitment: What effort has the department/program made to enhance diversity and have those efforts been successful? How do you know? For instance, what are the characteristics of the applicant pool, and how diverse is the student population? What is the quality of the graduate applicants, as indicated by GPA, GRE, competitive awards, and other measures appropriate to the field? What are the admissions criteria and procedures? What percentage of students are on probation? How many applicants are admitted? Enrolled?
Funding: How are graduate students supported by the department (fellowships, TA’s, PA’s RA’s, traineeships, etc.)? What percentage are funded? How are those funding decisions made? What are the sources of this funding?
Advising/degree committees: How are advisers assigned? At what stage? What process do students employ to change advisers? How many advisees does each faculty member have? How often do students meet with advisers? Do students receive written feedback on their academic progress? How do students choose their degree committees? Are there written guidelines for the reading of theses and dissertations and the scheduling of defenses?
Satisfactory progress guidelines: How is satisfactory progress determined? Does actual practice coincide with published criteria? (The published criteria for each program can be found in the Graduate School Catalog.) How do department criteria compare to those in similar programs?
Professional development opportunities for graduate students: Are there opportunities and funding available for graduate students to attend and present at professional meetings? Does the department/program provide/require education in the responsible conduct of research to its students, faculty, and staff (e.g., data management, mentor/trainee relationships, publication practices, peer review, collaborative science issues, human subjects, research involving animals, research misconduct, conflict of interest)? Are there resources and guidance for exploring academic and non-academic careers? Does the program have flexibility that allows students to experience teaching opportunities that advance their careers?
Department or program climate: Is there a climate of an institutional home (community) within the program? Does the program routinely survey its student population and its alumni? Is there a space for meeting? Is there a graduate student organization in the department/program? Are students aware of grievance procedures? Are there formal and informal opportunities for faculty/staff/student interaction? Does the program offer graduate students opportunities to participate on program governance committees?
Department information accessibility: How does the program communicate standards (student handbooks, web sites, notification of progress or lack of progress)? Does the department web site publish satisfactory progress criteria, guidelines for graduate study, admission criteria, faculty interests, curriculum? Is the information on the program's web site consistent with that published in the Graduate School Catalog?
Continuous Assessment: Does the program collect evidence to assess if student learning meets the program's goals and expectations? Does the program regularly ask who they are, what do they do, and why do they do it? For instance, does the program solicit from students, faculty, university, or disciplinary trends that demand the program do something different? Does the program maintain placement records of graduates? Is the program competitive for the highest quality graduate students, and how do they know this? If changes take place, how does the program evaluate the success or failure of those changes?