Academic Programs for Review

The following programs were up for review in 2020–21:

Program Review Process

All academic programs that confer a degree and that are not included in the scope of review conducted by an external special accreditor are required to participate in NPU’s program review process. A program must have had the authority to confer degrees for at least five years prior to its first review. In addition, select programs that do not confer degrees and are not subject to an external accrediting body will be expected to participate in program review.

Outlined below are the processes and procedures for Academic Program Review. The five-year program review process assumes the administrator and faculty of each unit have developed and maintained a program plan and collected data during the period since the last review of the program.

1. The Office Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) notifies the program administrator (the person within the program responsible for coordinating the program review, usually the program chair/director) and appropriate dean of a scheduled review one year in advance.
2. The program administrator, after consulting with the faculty, provides the Director of Academic Assessment, Evaluation, and Achievement with a list containing the names and contact information of at least three potential reviewers. The list of potential reviewers should satisfy the following criteria:
   • the list is comprised of potential reviewers located within a one day drive of the campus,
   • the potential reviewers are listed in order of preference, and
   • the list should contain the names of at least three
3. Upon request from the program, the Program Review Committee (PRC) will review and offer feedback to the program regarding its draft self-study provided that the committee receives the draft two months before the scheduled external reviewer.
4. The program administrator and faculty complete a final draft of the self-study, including both a written report and a summary presentation of evidence/data. One month before the external reviewer’s visit, the program administrator distributes copies of the self-study to the external reviewer, the PRC Chair, the Provost and to the appropriate
5. The program administrator and faculty host the reviewer’s visit. The program administrator in consultation with the external reviewer sets the visit agenda. The visit includes, but is not limited to, individual meetings with the Provost (or Associate Provost), the appropriate dean, and the PRC.
6. As part of the external reviewer visit, the external reviewer will participate in an “exit” group meeting with the program chair/director, the appropriate dean, and the
7. The external reviewer submits to OIE an evaluation report preferably within one month after the visit; copies are sent to the program administrator, the appropriate dean, the Provost, and to the PRC.
8. The program administrator shall prepare a response to the external reviewer’s report within one month of receipt of the reviewer’s report. The program administrator then submits the self-study, the external reviewer’s report, and the program’s response to the PRC.
9. In a timely manner within the academic year, the PRC reviews all three documents and prepares a response; discusses its response with the program administrator and faculty; and submits the response to the Provost, the appropriate dean, and to the program chair/director.
10. Within one month after distributing the committee’s response, the PRC Chair calls and hosts a meeting with the program chair/director, the corresponding dean, and the Provost to discuss the program’s
11. Approximately 3 years prior to the next scheduled review, the PRC via OIE solicits updates from the program chair and appropriate administrators regarding action items identified in the PRC’s response to the program’s review. Updates shall be reviewed by the PRC at its next scheduled meeting.

Program Review Timeline

Program Review Five-year Calendar

Program Review Calendar