Program review is a three-semester process that is completed approximately every five years for each degree-granting department and/or program. When possible, these reviews are timed to coincide with outside accreditation processes if applicable. The program faculty complete a self-study report, schedule and host an on-site visit, review and respond to site visit recommendations, commendations, and suggestions, and forward their response to the program Dean. Each Dean, in turn, crafts a response to the faculty response for submission to the Provost.
The process continues with a program/department presentation to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (for undergraduate programs) or the Graduate Council (for graduate programs). Those bodies will review each program review including recommendations and faculty/department responses to those recommendations to make a final recommendation to the Provost.
The final step in the program review is a meeting with the program director (if applicable), the department chair, the relevant dean, and the Provost. This generally occurs in the fall term following the site visit. The output of this meeting is a signed memo-of-understanding that outlines the resources the program has identified as needed, the dean and provost's commitment to supporting those resources, and the program's commitment to improvement.
A report summarizing each program review is submitted to WSU's Board of Trustees.
