Faculty Reviews of Academic Programs
Evidence‐based reviews of academic programs are a crucial component of Dalhousie’s quality assurance activities. Cyclical program reviews support strategic, academic program planning, continuous improvement and enhance the effectiveness and student focus of our program offerings. By undertaking such reviews, Faculties demonstrate responsibility and transparency, and critically assess progress towards their own goals.
Reviews of Academic Programs within a Faculty are the responsibility of the Dean. Reviews of graduate-level programs are a joint responsibility of the Dean and the Faculty of Graduate Studies (Senate Policy for Faculty Reviews of Academic Programs).
This page is a resource for Faculties. The primary point of contact for individual Review Committees and progams developing their self-study is the Faculty (typically the Associate Dean Academic).
Scheduling and Reporting Reviews
Dalhousie is required to provide annual reports to external stakeholders on program review activity. To support this work, schedules of planned reviews and confirmation of reviews undertaken should be provided to the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic. Once a review is complete (report and action plan submitted), the Dean's Office should please contact the Academic Quality Assurance Manager to provide confirmation/dates.
For programs subject to accreditation, please continue to submit official documentation and results as they become available (no need to report as above-see Accredited Programs). Additionally, in advance of your next accreditation site visit (or immediately thereafter), please follow the procedures in Appendix C of the Senate Policy for Faculty Reviews of Academic Programs.
Additional Resources
- Departments or programs in the early stages of a program review or accreditation process can schedule a consultation with the Senior Educational Developer, Curriculum in the Centre for Learning and Teaching and take advantage of CLT’s resources to design learning outcomes and map the curriculum
- Dal Analytics works with academic units to generate program-level data dashboards and may also, upon request and consultation, provide customized data for programs under review
- Learning Outcomes Mapping Matrix template (Excel)
- Guidelines for the Selection of External Program Assessors-MPHEC
- Guidelines for Hosting Virtual Site Visits-MPHEC
- Templates for use in planning and executing reviews (below). Please feel free to use and modify as appropriate.