APR - Department Chair Resources

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This page is organized to help department chairs navigate their part in the Academic Program Review (APR) process. It is separated into sections for Accredited Programs and Non-Accredited Programs. Note: the general overview information, policy document, Degree Review Timeline and Overview and other general resources are available in the left navigation.

 

Department Chair’s APR Resources for ACCREDITED Programs

Academic Program Review Roles and Responsibilities - Accredited Programs  Outlines roles for all constituencies participating in APR, accredited

APR Undergraduate Accredited Self-Study Template  Program self-study template for Undergraduate programs—program coordinators use this template to write the bulk of the self-study

APR Graduate Accredited Self-Study Template Program self-study template for Graduate programs—program coordinators use this template to write the bulk of the self-study

Department Chairs Directions for Submitting APR ACCREDITED Self-Study in PortfolioDetailed directions to help department chairs manage the workflow of submitting the self-study report

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Department Chair’s APR Resources for NON-ACCREDITED Programs

Academic Program Review Roles and Responsibilities - Non-Accredited Programs Outlines roles for all constituencies participating in APR, non-accredited

APR Undergraduate Non-accredited Self-Study Template Program self-study template for Undergraduate programs—program coordinators use this template to write the bulk of the self-study

APR Graduate Non-accredited Self-Study Template Program self-study template for Graduate programs—program coordinators use this template to write the bulk of the self-study

Creating a Review Committee & Selecting External Reviewers for Non-Accredited Programs Department chairs collaborate with deans to create review committees; Department chairs nominate discipline-specific reviewers who are external to WKU and check their availability and interest; deans select members internal to WKU but external to the discipline; deans ultimately select and charge review committees after consulting with department chair

Email Template for External Review Committee Pool Department Chairs may use or adapt this email template as they are inviting colleagues from other universities to join the pool of possible reviewers.  

General Workflow for Financial Parts of APR This resource provides a general overview with information needed to ensure payment for the external reviewers.

Review Committee Initial Charge Letter from Dean Template After dean has consulted with department chair on committee membership, department chair has confirmed availability of external reviewers, and dean has confirmed availability of WKU members, dean sends this memo

Sample Itinerary for Site Visit  Department chairs are responsible for organizing the site visit and collaborating with Dean’s Office and Provost’s office on availability of personnel

Tips for Department Chair Managing APR Site Visits This list includes some random tips to help department chairs manage site visits.

Department Chairs Directions for Submitting APR NON-ACCREDITED Self-Study in Portfolio Detailed directions to help chairs manage the workflow of submitting self-study report within the Anthology-Portfolio system

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Helpful Data Sources

CPE Interactive Data Center  This web site provides a range of helpful data across Kentucky institutions. 

SteppingBlocks Data  This web site provides helpful employment information about graduates from specifica WKU programs and is filterable by a number of factors, including graduation year.

CAPE Results  This document provides the results and comments from the Comprehensive Academic Program Review (CAPE) process from 2018-19 for majors, minors, and select certificates.  For non accredited programs in particularly, this data is used to address Section 1 Response to previous program review recommendations on the templates on the APR Templates