Faculty Handbook 2020-2021

F.4.d. Department and Program External Review

Report on Self-Evaluation

Each department and program conducts a self-evaluation approximately once every seven years. The Provost, in consultation with the Committee on Faculty, sets the schedule for self-evaluation and initiate the process annually with the selected departments and programs. The report has three parts: an initial self-evaluation narrative, a consultant’s report and response, and a departmental final response. The final full report comprising all three parts is given to the Committee on Faculty and is kept on file in the Office of Academic Affairs.

Narrative

The initial self-evaluation narrative should describe the following:

  • The character of the discipline and the place of its content and methodology in liberal arts study;
  • The character of the department and its approach to the presentation of the discipline at Hendrix;
  • The learning goals of the department for the general student and the major;
  • Offerings and the typical path or paths of study for the general student and the major, and the connection between departmental aims and offerings;
  • Typical teaching and learning activities in and out of the classroom, and the connection between learning goals and these activities;
  • The connection between the program, and the mission of the College with respect to liberal learning;
  • A commentary on the role of the department in implementing the Vision for Student Learning;
  • The outcomes of the program, together with supporting documentation specifying the methods used to reach conclusions about these outcomes;
  • A description of and commentary on the human, budgetary, and other resources available to the department;
  • The results of the department's self-evaluation and the plans for addressing problems or needs that have been identified.

A subsequent self-evaluation narrative should describe the following:

  • Updated information from the previous self-evaluation narrative highlighting any changes in the goals, character, approach, staffing, funding, and offerings of the department or program.
  • Discussion of the resolution or continuance of any issues raised in the previous evaluation.
  • Evaluation of and recommended revisions to the student learning assessment plan including plans for integrating assessment into the planning process.

Consultant’s Report

The report of the department’s external consultant should contain an evaluation of the material included in the self-evaluation narrative and a verification of the narrative in light of the site visit, together with recommendations and suggestions for improvement. The report should also contain a specific evaluation of the student learning assessment plan.

Departmental Response

The response by the department to the consultant’s report should address the consultant’s recommendations and suggestions. The department should state the results of the department’s self-evaluation and the plans for addressing problems or needs that have been identified. This should include an articulation of the goals for program enhancements and strategies to achieve them over the next seven years. The response should also contain a copy of the final version of the student learning assessment plan.