Program Review Committee
The Program Review Committee (PRC) is a standing faculty committee that serves at the request of the Vice President for Instruction. Composed entirely of faculty members, this committee encourages and fosters curriculum development and faculty participation in program planning and maintenance of academic standards, primarily through program reviews and course reviews.
The PRC conducts reviews of programs on a rotating schedule (approximately every four years). A committee member facilitates each review. Program faculty and the appropriate administrator are responsible for producing written reviews according to PRC guidelines and for attending an oral review meeting with PRC. Related programs within the same division may be combined into a single review.
Program Review Committee Goals:
- Promote student success through curriculum improvement
- Develop relevant content for students and industry
- Implement self-reflective process
- Ensure effective assessment practice
- Support peer professional development
The Program Review Committee will:
- Review programs and their curricula on a four-year cycle
- Alternate coordinating responsibility for program reviews
- Read and respond to curriculum reports and materials, including PAVS, Course outlines, syllabi, and assessment reports
- Produce review reports and recommendations
- Define "programs" to ensure that the review process is efficient and meaningful in relationship to college-wide and program or degree learning outcomes
- Determine if course-level learning outcomes are in alignment with the appropriate program and college-wide learning outcomes
- Promote faculty conversations about curriculum
- Foster collaboration among programs
- Suggest new solutions to challenges
- Work with Instructional Assessment Committee to strengthen assessment practice and reporting
Chair
The PRC chair is appointed by the Vice President. The chair receives one third (1/3) release time or other arrangements as agreed upon to carry out PRC responsibilities. The chair serves a three-year term
Membership
Faculty representatives from each academic division recommended by the Dean or administrator. PRC members serve a three-year term. Representation includes at least:
- Humanities/Social Sciences – one from each
- Science and Math – one from each
- Library – one
- Business, Information Technologies,and Creative Arts – two
- Basic Studies – one each from ABE and ESL
- Health and Human Services -- one
- Counselors – one (two preferred)
Members
- Attend all meeting
- Review program reviews and provide feedback to the program faculty
- Chair program reviews as assigned
- Take on projects that facilitate PRC operation
Missed Meetings
After a member has missed three consecutive meetings, the chair will contact the member to discuss whether a replacement should be sought.
Chair
- Establishes meeting schedule, develop agenda items, and conduct meetings
- Ensures the development and acceptance of short-range objectives and long-range goals for the committee
- Makes provisions for recording and distributing minutes for each meeting
- Facilitates program reviews by advising program review chair and communicating with the administrator and Vice President as necessary
- Informs faculty and administrators of the PRC process and provides training or guidance as needed; informs the Vice President for Instruction of policies recommended by the PRC
- Maintains or delegates responsibility for maintaining a PRC Web site, including schedule, forms, instructions, and other information
- Maintains a records of PRC activities, program reviews, policies and procedures, and other activities
- Communicates with the other two curriculum committee chairs in the district
- Provides an annual review of committee activities to the Vice President for Instruction
- Serves on the Curriculum Coordinating Council
- Works closely with the other curriculum committee chairs
Program Review Process
Process Overview
The PRC establishes and follows a rotating schedule to review programs each quarter. A committee member serves as chair for each program review, communicating with the faculty and administrator, and providing support for the process. The program’s administrator is responsible for ensuring faculty participation in the process.
Program faculty and the administrator produce a brief program review according to the guidelines provided by the PRC, and they attend an oral review of their program. PRC members read program reviews, participate in a scheduled oral review, and provide feedback to the program.
Timing and Deadlines
The PRC establishes an annual schedule of deadline for written and oral program reviews. The chair works with the administrator to ensure that program reviews do not conflict with major obligations or workload issues (such as a move or change in faculty) within a given program.
To allow the committee time to review the written review, oral reviews are typically held 3-4 weeks after the written review is submitted. Within two weeks after the oral review, the review chair provides the program with all feedback, questions, concerns, and recommendations from the committee. When there are questions or concerns, the program has 90 days (not including summer) to respond.
The program review chair prepares minutes from the meeting and a program review summary, typically in memo form that describes the committee’s findings and recommendations. The memo is addressed to the Vice President for Instruction.
Documentation and Notification
- Program Review: four copies submitted for committee review
- Program Review: After the review, two copies are retained and two copies are returned to the program
- Minutes and Program Review summary
- Vice President
- PRC Chair and members
- Program faculty and administrator
- Copy placed in the Program Review binders
Extensions, missed deadlines, and failure to provide a written review
Under extreme circumstances, a program may request to extend the deadline for the written report and/or to reschedule the oral review. The program review chair and PRC chair will work together to revise the oral review date.
If a program fails to provide a written review, the program review chair will write a memo addressed to the Vice President for Instruction, the appropriate program administrator, and the PRC chair explaining actions taken to inform the program of its obligations. The administrator is responsible for corrective actions; the PRC chair will work with the administrator to re-schedule the review for a later date.