Guidelines for Structuring a Self-Study

Self-Study Overview

The self-study provides an opportunity for departmental and program faculty to think in a focused and strategic way about the value and quality of the programs they deliver, their scholarship and creative activity, their service and value to the University, their college, and their state. A self-study should be in the range of 15-25 pages, not including appendices (links to websites are preferred, especially for syllabi or CVs.) Guiding principles for the self-study include:

• Building a basis for continuous self-evaluation and improvement in scholarship, teaching, learning, engagement, service, and extension activities.

• Focusing on the recent past and key points over the previous review period as context for present and future improvements.

• Concentrating on the academic degrees delivered, the undergraduate and graduate, student experience, and the scholarly, engagement, extension, service, and other contributions of the department or program.

• Reviewing program learning goals and assessment of learning in undergraduate and graduate programs.

• Understanding the current student experience with regard to academics, advising, climate, and career development.

• Understanding the current faculty composition and profile, the range of faculty scholarly activity, and how the department culture supports the development of excellence.

• Identifying program strengths and recommendations for improvements.

In some cases, a review will need to address specific program or department issues that are outside of these questions. In such cases, the initiating memo from the dean should specify these other program issues.

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Components of the Self-Study

   A.  Response to Previous Program Review Recommendations
Summarize recommendations from the previous program review and how they were acted upon.   If the 
program has not been reviewed recently, this is not required.

 

   B.  Overview of the Program

Describe the mission and goals of the program and how its structure (both of the program and of its 
governance) support them.  Consider the following questions:

•    Who are the current departmental faculty, by rank?
•    What are department’s resources, including facilities, and other assets such as collections, 
data resources,   computing   resources,   studios,   rehearsal/performance   spaces,   
laboratories,   and budgets?
•    What  is  the  program’s  external  accreditation  status,  if  any,  or  other  external  
review  results recently done?
•    Provide  current  degree/major  requirements  as  approved  for  both  undergraduate  and  
graduate offerings.
•    How   does   the   mission   of   the   degree   programs   fit   with   the   home   
department/unit,   the school/college, and the mission of the university?
•    What are the approved learning goals for each of the degree programs offered (i.e. bachelor’s, 
master’s or doctoral degrees?)
•    What are the degrees’ structures?  For example, is there a single undergraduate program in the 
department, or does it have informal tracks/concentrations, formal named options or certificates?
•    Describe any substantial and structured collaborations with other programs, such as dual, 
double or  joint  degrees,  and  any  2+2  articulation  agreements  with  Wyoming  or  other  
community colleges, and benefits of these arrangements.
•    If there are several degrees in the same academic department, how are they related to one 
another and what impacts do they have on student learning?

 

   C.  Current Departmental Faculty

Outline faculty job descriptions, expectations, and accomplishments, including:

•    What are the teaching loads of faculty?  Advising and mentoring loads?  Research loads?
•    Describe the grant and external funding activities of the faculty, if applicable.
•    Using  internal  and  external  gauges  of  scholarly  productivity,  describe  the  quality 
of  scholarly work in the department.
•    Describe significant university, community, statewide, national, and international 
contributions of  the  department’s  faculty,  including  scholarly  publications,  creative  
activity,  service  to  the university and state, extension and experiment station work, et al.
•    What are the T tenure and promotion guidelines used by the department and college?

   D.  Departmental Community and Climate for Students and Faculty
Describe the efforts taken to foster a sense of professionalism and  community by considering the 
following:
•    Discuss efforts to welcome, orient, and retain new students.  What is offered to connect 
students within the program, as well as with the greater campus community?
•    Discuss efforts to welcome, orient, and retain new department faculty and staff.   What is 
offered to connect faculty and staff within the program, as well as with the greater campus 
community?
•    What  efforts  are  there  to  enhance  faculty/staff/student  of engagement?  How does the 
unit rate its ability to attract and retain a diverse faculty?

 

  E.  Departmental Governance and Resources

Describe the department’s structure, resources, and accreditation status.

•    How  do  the  department’s  governance  model,  committees,  and  hiring  criteria  lead  to  
active faculty engagement?  How does succession planning work for leadership?
•    What  are  department’s  resources,  including  facilities,  collections,  data  resources,  
computing resources, laboratories, and university budgets?  What are the department’s grant 
budgets?
•    What  is  the  program’s  external  accreditation  status,  if  any,  or  other  external  
review  results recently done?

 

   F.  Degree Programs - Assessment and Evaluation
Summarize  the  assessment  plan  used  to  evaluate  the  extent  to  which  students  are  
meeting departmental or program learning goals and how the department is engaged in a coherent 
process of continuous curricular and program improvement.
•    What  has  the  department  learned  through  assessment  of  its  curricular  learning  
goals?  Provide evidence.
•    What changes have been made to curriculum structure or content as a result of assessment?
•    What are the emerging changes in the discipline?  What is being done and can be done to move 
forward and seize emerging/future opportunities for degrees?
•    If relevant to the program, how do leaders within industry, business, government, or 
non-profit organizations  become  involved  in  offering  advice  and  perspectives  on  the  
program  and  the curriculum?

 

   G.  Student Recruiting and Enrollment
Analyze current practices and trends to determine if enrollment levels are consistent with plans 
and resources.  Discuss relevant program data in the context of the following:
•    Are enrollment levels consistent with plans, program resources, and career outcomes?

•    What  effort  has  the  department/program  made  to  enhance  student  access, enrollment, 
and success?  Have those efforts been successful?
•    If applicable, what do trends in enrolled students signal about program strength?

 

   H.  Student Advising and Student Support

Discuss  the  process  by  which  students  get  regular  advising  and  accurate  program  
information. Reflect upon the following:

Undergraduate
•    Who does advising for the department?   Describe how advisors are hired, selected, and trained 
within the context of the centralized UW advising model.  How are students transitioned between 
advisors when personnel changes?
•    What is the ratio of advisors to students?  How often do students to meet with an advisor?
•    What other responsibilities do the advisors have in the unit?
•    What material is available to support advising of undergraduates?  How is that information 
kept up to date and accurate?
•    How are advisor performance reviews conducted?
•    How is the impact of the advising assessed?   Is advising in alignment with the UW Advising, 
Career, and Exploratory Students Center (ACES) guidelines?

Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate
•    How  are  advisors  assigned  and  matched  to  students?  How  many  advisees  does  each  
faculty member have?
•    How often are program contacts and program information updated and made available online?  Is 
the program information inclusive of program learning goals, program requirements as well as a 
program-level grievance procedure?
•    How are students transitioned between advisors when personnel changes?
•    How often and in what manner is satisfactory progress monitored?   Do students receive written 
annual feedback on their academic progress? How is the impact of the advising assessed?

   I.   Degree Completion and Time to Degree
Referencing relevant institutional data and campus goals, describe efforts to help students make 
timely progress to degree.  Include the following in your discussion:
•    Use   institutional   data   sources   to   examine   and   evaluate   progress   to   degree  
 metrics   and comparison to peers.
•    What efforts have been made to improve progress to degree performance and completion rates?
•    Are  students succeeding within the program at rates comparable to students in similar 
programs at competitor institutions?   Does student success vary among demographic groups?

   J.   Career Services and Post-Graduation Outcomes

Evaluate student career outcomes, exit survey, and alumni survey data, and reflect upon how these 
outcomes are consistent with program goals.
•    What do students do after graduation?  How does the program prepare them for careers or 
further academic training?
•    What career resources are available to students?
•    What is the range of student career outcomes, and are these outcomes consistent with program 
goals? Does the program track the career progression of its graduates?

   K.  Graduate Student Funding
Discuss the department’s student funding data and mechanisms, along with any goals for providing 
funding guarantees. Include a discussion of funding issues, such as:
•    How is the program ensuring masters and especially doctoral students have adequate funding and 
taking steps to provide a multi-year funding guarantee upon admission, subject to success and 
progress  towards  degree?  Are  there  opportunities  for  graduate  students  to  secure  
individual extramural support?
•    To what extent is the program making use of funding for recruitment efforts?

 

   L.  Graduate Student Professional Development and Breadth

Discuss the professional development opportunities of graduate students and consider the following:

•    How does the program encourage graduate students to participate in professional development 
opportunities that will enhance their skills and support their career goals?
•    What resources and guidance are available for exploring academic and/or non-academic careers?
•    What opportunities and funding are available to attend and present at professional meetings?
•    To  what  degree  does  the  program  offer  teaching  experience  and  teaching-related  
professional development to graduate students?
•    How does the typical graduate’s program ensure exposure to breadth training? Does the program 
require a doctoral minor for doctoral students or evaluate other breadth requirements?

 

   M.  Overall Analysis of the Self-Study and the State of the Department or Program
What  have  you  learned  from  the  process  of  this  self-study?     Outline  key  findings  
from  the departmental/program’s  self-study,  including  primary  strengths  and  challenges,  and 
 priorities  the department/program  has  identified  for  improvement.    Highlight  in  your  
analysis  the  value  the department/program  contributes  to  the  university,  innovations  made  
in  degrees  and  curricular offerings, fundraising and grant-getting accomplishments and goals, 
research and creative work, and other  departmental/program  goals  and  changes  that  have  been  
made  to  adapt  to  changes  in  the
rofession and higher education.