Academic Program Review

On the recommendation of the University Faculty Senate, Academic Program Review (APR) was established, as a function of the Office of the Provost in conjunction with the University Faculty Senate, to evaluate the quality, productivity, and role of each academic unit and program. (*The term unit herein refers to an academic department, a college, or to a program.) The APR serves to encourage self-study and planning within units, to insure comparability among review reports, and to strengthen the linkages connection the planning agendas and practices of individual units with those of their colleges and of the University as a whole. Reviews inform budgetary planning decisions at every level of administration. APR replaces the Council on Program Evaluation (COPE).

The University Provost selects units for review. Academic units will normally be reviewed at ten year intervals, but this schedule may be accelerated in individual cases at the discretion of the Provost. Wherever possible, APR reviews will be combined with accreditation or other mandated reviews. The provost assigns the coordination of each review to either the vice provost for academic affairs or to the associate provost for graduate studies. Each review is conducted by a review panel, composed of five members, all from disciplines related to that of the unit under review. Three of the panelists will be University of Delaware faculty and two will be faculty from other institutions:

• one University of Delaware member chosen by the dean of the college whose unit is under review, or, in the case of the review of a college, by the provost;
• one University of Delaware member chosen by the Faculty Senate Coordinating Committee on Education;
• one University of Delaware member chosen by the unit under review from the faculty of another unit;
• two external members representing the discipline of the unit under review chosen by the review coordinator in consultation with the head of the unit and the dean of the unit's college. No more than one of the external reviewers may be an administrator (chairperson or director).

Further information on the Academic Program Review may be obtained from the Office of the Provost, 129 Hullihen Hall.