About K-State's Program Review Process

The Kansas State University program review process, Academic Program Review and Revitalization, or APRR, aims to establish a common framework, process and set of metrics to:

Gain a more holistic view of our academic portfolio of offerings to students.
Identify programs for further review, improvement, investment and growth.
Provide an internally developed decision support tool for faculty and academic leadership.
Drive innovative curriculum and continuous program improvement.
Promote academic excellence and accountability.
Support the long-term financial viability of K-State by assuring we meet contemporary student and market demands.

APRR serves as a valuable and forward-looking process to assess academic programs’ activities and to identify actions that serve the mission of the academic program and of the department. This annual process is data-informed, collaborative and faculty-driven, engaging all department constituents while remaining grounded in discussions informed by centrally provided data, self-study and external accreditation requirements (if applicable).

Kansas State University’s full program review policy may be found in the University Handbook, Section L.

Outcomes

The APRR process should help the University:

Build a culture of collaboration and partnership by aligning program visions to aspects of university, college and/or department strategic plans.
Serve as the foundation for completing any internal or external accreditation or reporting required.
Make data informed decisions and strategic investments based on strategic goals and opportunities.
Provide each college with a planning tool that serves their long-term strategic planning process and decision-making process (i.e. budget allocation, faculty hires, new program development, mergers, program changes, etc.).

At the academic program and department level, APRR will ensure that each academic program has,

Long term goals for providing high quality education connected to a strong research, creative, and artistic portfolio.
Action items to achieve long-term goals.
A foundation for discussion with college- and university-level leadership about the program.

Program Review Components

APRR is formed of two components: A long-term program plan and an annual creation of action items to realize this vision and accompanying goals.

Long-term program plan

At least once every five years, departments will create a vision statement and set of three to five long term goals for their programs that include three to five outcomes. The APRR process serves as the annual implementation process for the long-term plan.

Externally accredited academic programs will use their accreditation report goals as their long-term plans.

Annual program review and revitalization (APRR)  
Every year departments are expected to discuss and analyze the data provided by DAIR and to establish annual goals aligned with long-term plans. For each program offered, departments will submit an annual report of their discussion of the data analysis and the action items developed in support of their long-term goals. The annual report serves as the basis for eligibility for college and university-level investments.  


Externally accredited academic programs will use their accreditation reports as their APRR submission on years when they must submit to external accreditors. 

Additional Review

The Provost‘s Office may conduct in-depth review of academic programs in circumstances such as, but not limited to, significant changes in the program’s health and viability, requests from the College and/or the Graduate School, changes in KBOR rules and expectations, and inconsistent participation in annual program review.

APRR Process

Click a step below to learn more about each component of the APRR process.

1. Establish a long-term program plan.

On a five-year cycle, each department will create a long-term program plan that lists 3-5 goals that align with the department, college, and/or university strategic plan. The APRR process serves as the annual implementation process for achieving the long-term goals.

The department members will discuss the following:

Alignment of academic program’s goals with the College’s and University’s goals.
Service that academic program provides to discipline, university, state, and global community.
Strengths and impact of faculty on curriculum, research, student success. Identify areas of change.
Strengths of curriculum and curriculum impact on students.
Opportunities and challenges for the next 5 years.
Areas for growth or adjustment.

Based on this discussion, the department will establish a long-term vision and 3-5 goals.

2. Discuss data, establish annual goals, submit report.

3. Reports assessed and distributed.

The Office of Data, Assessment and Institutional Research makes the reports available to review teams.
Undergraduate Programs: An Undergraduate Program APRR Committee will evaluate undergraduate program reports to ensure quality of the review. The APRR assessment team may suggest future action as appropriate, including but not limited to the following actions:
- A more detailed or extensive program review.
- Provost office consultation with college deans and department heads about action plans.
- Strategic investment.