Durham College Policy and Procedure

Transcription

1 Durham College Policy and Procedure TYPE: Academic TITLE: Academic Program Review and Renewal NO.: ACAD-105 RESPONSIBILITY: Vice-President, Academic APPROVED BY: Durham College Leadership Team EFFECTIVE DATE: February 2017 REVISED DATE(S): REVIEW DATE: February Introduction 1.1. Excellence in academic programming is a cornerstone of realizing the mission and vision for Durham College. As an integral component of quality assurance, Durham College utilizes a set of program performance measures and assessment tools to review and renew academic programs. The review and renewal process identifies areas for improvement and innovation, and ensures program responsiveness to economic and societal needs, as well as the expectations of students and employers The Government of Ontario requires colleges to undertake regular and comprehensive review of the quality of their academic programs to ensure that programs are appropriate to the credential and the outcomes expected of the graduate; are consistent with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) program standards (where they exist), the Minister s Binding Policy Directive, Framework for Programs of Instruction; the Ontario Qualifications Framework; the standards and requirements of the College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP) ; and the degree level standards as articulated in the Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) Handbook for Ontario Colleges (Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000) Durham College quality assurance and program review processes are designed to support the standards and requirements of the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS) and the College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP). Page 1 of 10

2 2. Purpose This policy and procedure informs the need for regular program review and provides a standard framework for the review and renewal of all academic programs offered at Durham College. The review and renewal process ensures that programs and curriculum are continuously assessed against program standards and undergo continuous assessment. Review outcomes will improve program delivery and design and ensure that programming is consistent with the College priorities and mission including determining the currency of the program within the existing program mix at Durham College. 3. Definitions Refer to Durham College s Standard Definitions. 4. Policy statements 4.1. The intent of program review and renewal is to continuously assess and improve the quality of Durham College programs to ensure program relevance and teaching and learning excellence Overall alignment of academic programs, policy and procedures with CQAAP standards and requirements will ensure continuous improvement of the quality of the teaching and learning experience in the delivery of programs Academic programs of instruction that are funded through a MTCU operating grant are subject to program review and renewal every five to seven years For inter-institutional programs that are partnered with an Ontario university, the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance (OUCQA) program review processes will apply (e.g.: Collaborative BScN degree program) Externally accredited programs are subject to review as aligned with the external regulatory requirements, in addition to the Annual Program Review (APR) and Comprehensive Program Review (CPR) processes. Documents and/or assessments required by the accreditation review will be accepted as meeting the criteria for the CPR where it is deemed to be duplicate and within reasonable timelines to the comprehensive review cycle New academic programs will be scheduled into the CPR roster subject to the completion of all semesters/year levels. This will not exceed five years from the first student intake unless the graduate data is not yet available Each year, the Academic Leadership Team (ALT) will designate and approve a schedule of academic programs for review and renewal. The CPR roster will ensure that programs are reviewed within a window of five to seven years. The roster of programs under review may be altered by the vice-president, academic (VPA). Revisions to the roster will be approved through consultation between the appropriate Executive Dean/Dean/Director. Page 2 of 10

3 4.8. Each year, all academic programs will complete an APR exercise, using the APR report template During the comprehensive and annual review of an academic program, any program that is also delivered in an alternate format (e.g. online, part-time); and/or also delivered by the School of Continuing Education will be also be included in the process. A representative from the School of Continuing Education will be assigned by the Director to the Program Review Team. The recommendations from the program review will be implemented with all delivery formats The recommendations resulting from the review and renewal process will be documented, communicated and implemented in a timely manner and as resourced within the College priorities CPR external assessors (curriculum and labour market experts) will be armslength from the program (i.e. not Program Advisory Committee members, no working or professional relationship with the program under review within the previous five years). 5. Procedure 5.1. Annual Program Review Each Spring, the Executive Dean/Dean/Director will review the APR process with the Program Coordinator and Program Team (all faculty teaching in the program) The APR report will be completed by the Executive Dean/Dean/Director and the Program Team, as determined by the template criteria The APR report will be completed by June 15 of each year The APR report will be reviewed and signed by the executive dean/dean/director and submitted to the Office of the Vice-President, Academic. The Manager, Program Review and Renewal may provide feedback before submission to the Associate Vice-President, Academic (AVPA) The AVPA will review and approve the APR report, along with recommendations and action plan The Executive Dean/Dean/Director will provide an update on the recommendations and action plan, at the six-month point, to the Manager, Program Review and Renewal The AVPA will review and approve the status update. Page 3 of 10

4 The Manager, Program Review and Renewal will support the process and ensure submission of the completed APR template and the sixmonth status update The APR template questions and criteria will be reviewed annually by the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and may be updated for relevancy and to support College priorities Comprehensive Program Review Annually, the Academic Leadership Team (ALT) will designate a number of academic programs for review and renewal The roster of programs scheduled for review and renewal will be posted electronically on the Office of the Vice-President, Academic ICE page The Executive Dean/Dean/Director assigns a Program Review Team An orientation meeting, led by the Executive Dean/Dean/Associate Dean/Director, will be scheduled to provide an overview of the process and outcomes to be achieved by the Program Review Team. The Manager, Program Review and Renewal will attend and assist in planning and orienting the Program Review Team The CPR process will be informed through the analysis of a variety of program performance information: a) Provincial program standards (where applicable); b) Curriculum mapping reports; c) Completed APR templates; d) Program Health Matrix Report Cards (PHM); e) Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Report Cards; f) Program Retention Reports; g) Program Information Package (PIP); h) Feedback from stakeholders: students, graduates, Program Advisory Committee (PAC) members and employers; i) External Assessment Report/Survey (where applicable); j) Program faculty credentials, experience, professional development; and k) Accreditation Status (for relevant programs) PIP content will be determined in consultation with the Executive Dean/Dean/Director, the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and the Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE). Page 4 of 10

5 The Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFE) will facilitate a curriculum review and mapping session that will include an on-line mapping survey to assist program teams to review program standards, outcomes, Essential Employability Skills, teaching-learning strategies, and evaluation/assessment methods One student focus group per program will be facilitated to collect feedback on the student experience. The focus group will consist of students (seven to twelve participants) across year level(s), balanced by gender, age and other variables, as appropriate. The student focus group will be facilitated by the Manager, Program Review and Renewal (or designate) Employer and industry feedback will be solicited using a focus group (five to seven participants), a survey tool or external assessment as deemed appropriate by the executive dean/dean/director Graduate and PAC feedback will be solicited as deemed appropriate by the Executive Dean/Dean/Director (e.g.: focus group, survey, inclusion in the external assessor site visit) In selected programs, external assessors will be contracted to provide feedback on the program. Assessors will be selected for their academic and labour market expertise Using the program performance information, the Program Review Team will identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and trends and forward them to the Manager, Program Review and Renewal. The Manager, program review and renewal will facilitate a discussion meeting to develop the draft set of recommendations for program improvement An assigned faculty member (assigned by the Executive Dean) will prepare a final report with recommendations and submit to the Executive Dean/Dean/Director for review and approval The Executive Dean/Dean/Director will review the final report and forward to the Manager, Program Review and Renewal. The AVPA will review the final report prior to submission to the Vice-President, Academic for approval A summary of the CPR findings, will be reported to the Academic Council by an assigned faculty member (assigned by the Executive Dean). The final report will be posted on ICE The Office of the Vice-President, Academic will monitor the completion and implementation of the recommendations A six-month status update on recommendation implementation will be provided to the Manager, Program Review and Renewal. Page 5 of 10

6 5.3. Procedure Targeted Program Review The Executive Dean/Dean/Director of a program will determine, in consultation with the Office of the Vice-President, Academic, if a program should undergo a targeted program review Review requirements (criteria, data collection/assessments) and focus will be determined by the Executive Dean/Dean/Director Review results and Action Plan (if developed) will be shared with the Manager, Program Review and Renewal and folded into the subsequent annual or comprehensive review. 6. Roles and responsibilities 6.1. Vice-president, Academic Overseeing Durham College s quality assurance processes; Approving the hiring of up to two external assessors for CPR; Approving the CPR Roster; and Approving the CPR final report and recommendations generated from the program review process Executive Deans/Deans/Directors Overseeing the quality of the programs offered by their respective Schools; Overseeing the APR and CPR program review and renewal process ensuring that timelines and deadlines are met; Selecting the faculty members assigned to the CPR; Providing time for program review on the Standard Workload Formula (SWF) for participating faculty; Providing orientation to the review process; Collaborating with the Program Review Team to support compliance with the program review process; Providing input into the decision and selection with respect to external assessor(s), as appropriate; Completing of the relevant CPR and APR appendix templates (e.g.: faculty names and highest credential attained); Page 6 of 10

7 Submitting the CPR final report and recommendations to the Office of the Vice-President, Academic, with inclusion of a program feasibility statement; Collaborating with the AVPA in overseeing the implementation of recommendations, which includes submission of a six-month status update; and, For academic programs delivered by a School and the School of Continuing Education, the Director, School of Continuing Education is responsible for ensuring representation and input from the School of Continuing Education Director, CAFE and staff Facilitating the program mapping process and developing the final curriculum mapping report; and Coordinating the development of the curriculum mapping report and forwarding final report to the Executive Dean/Dean/Director and the Manager, Program Review and Renewal Program Review Team Accessing and reviewing the program performance information; Assisting in the completion of the APR templates Participating in scheduled program review meetings; Providing input in the program review process (e.g. program mapping, curriculum review/revisions, SWOT analysis, draft reports, etc.); and Developing and implementing the recommendations for program improvement Program Review Facilitator The faculty member assigned to the CPR process is responsible for: Providing academic leadership for the Program Review Team; Scheduling and chairing of Program Review Team meetings; Identifying students, graduates, employers and PAC members to obtain their feedback. Assisting with identifying two external assessors (as needed); Collaborating to complete program self-assessment exercises; Page 7 of 10

8 Preparing the final report for submission to the executive dean/dean/director within the established timelines; and Presenting the CPR outcomes to Academic Council Associate Vice-President, Academic Overseeing the implementation of recommendations for improvement and ensuring implementation in a timely manner Manager, Program Review and Renewal Leading and facilitating teams to conduct program review; Collaborating with the Program Review Team to ensure feedback is solicited from employers, graduates and Program Advisory Committee members; Facilitating student focus groups and external focus groups, ensuring completion of summary report; Facilitating discussion and analysis (e.g. SWOT) of program performance information (or ensuring a designate is assigned), and completion of summary discussion documents; Be the key contact to the selected external assessors and internal college services (H.R., payroll) to facilitate a site visit and in receiving assessment report(s); Scheduling the CPR outcomes presentation to Academic Council; Maintaining and updating the CPR roster of programs, as per ALT and the VPA; Providing unbiased support and facilitation, without advocating for any particular position on the program review results, and integrating all views, as appropriate; Maintaining (in consultation with the Office of the Vice-President, Academic) program review documents to guide and support the review such as templates, process guides, webpages, etc.; and, Preparing annual reports to communicate program review status and outcomes. Page 8 of 10

9 6.8. Manager, Institutional Research and Planning Through consultation, determine information needs for the PIP; Providing program effectiveness reports (e.g. PHM, Retention) to support the APR and CPR processes; and Presenting a summary of the PIP to the Program Review Team External Assessors Conducting a site/campus visit to review the program of studies, curriculum, labs and field placement component of the program and to consult with students, reviewing feedback from recent graduates, Program Advisory Committee members and employers to make an assessment on the quality of the program; and Providing a summary report of their findings to the Manager, Program Review and Renewal and the Executive Dean/Dean/Director. 7. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act considerations Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards have been considered in the development of this policy and procedure and it adheres to the principles outlined in the College s commitment to accessibility as demonstrated by the Accessibility Plan (ADMIN-203). 8. Non-compliance implications Non-compliance puts the College at risk. Risks may include, but are not limited to the delivery of programs that do not meet the Minister s Binding Policy Directive Frameworks for Programs of Instruction; unsatisfactory feedback from students, graduates, and employers; loss of program credibility and reputation; and belowstandard/not-met ratings in performance indicators, external program accreditation or quality assurance audits. 9. Communications plan A message will be posted on ICE alerting employees when new or revised policies and procedures are added to ICE. A message will be posted on MyCampus alerting students when new or revised policies and procedures are added. 10. Related forms, legislation or external resources Ontario Qualifications Framework Durham College Annual Program Review Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities - Minister s Binding Policy Directives: Framework for Programs of Instruction Page 9 of 10

10 Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Program Standards Ontario College Quality Assurance Service CQAAP Standards Post-Secondary Education Quality Assessment Board Handbook for Ontario Colleges. Page 10 of 10