|
Decennial reviews, which are overseen by the Provost’s
Office and the Committee on Academic Priorities, are an essential
part of Smith’s curricular planning procedures (see CAP's Criteria for Academic Priorities at Criteria for Acadmic Priorities). The
self-study and campus visit of the external committee are
designed to give each department/program the opportunity
to review in a reasonably objective manner its educational
mission and effectiveness. Mission in this context
comprises both the general education of Smith students and
their more specialized training in the major field. The
department or program should discuss in detail the means
used to assess whether students are realizing the goals of
its academic program. This should also be a topic discussed
with the visiting committee.
Departments and programs are urged to utilize this review
as a means to plan for the future. Although budgetary
realities cannot be ignored, you are urged to use the review
as an opportunity to engage in serious long-term planning,
including the possibility of new academic initiatives.
We would like each department and program to use these guidelines
to shape its review, as far as is practicable. Each
department or program should prepare the self-study through
discussions involving members at all ranks, and strive to
have the report to the visiting committee reflect as broad
a consensus as possible. As this review is prepared,
please bear in mind that you will be asked to participate
in a mid-term follow-up review approximately five years after
your decennial is completed.
All academic departments and programs that have academic
staff (or partial FTEs) assigned to them from the faculty
salary pool or that offer a major will participate in this
evaluative process. New programs or new majors will,
if possible, be evaluated within three years of receiving
staffing or offering a major.
Normally, visiting committees will be composed of three
members of the teaching faculty from comparable institutions. In
consultation with the Provost, departments/programs will
be asked to identify potential members of the visiting team. The
majority of the visitors should be selected from liberal
arts institutions similar to Smith with one member coming
whenever possible from a women’s college. As
far as possible, departments/programs should select experienced
senior members of the profession to serve as visitors. The
Provost will invite the members of the visiting committee
to serve, and will designate a chair. Members
of the visiting committee will be compensated $700 plus travel
for a 2 1/2 day on-campus visit and a joint evaluation report
submitted to the Provost for circulation to the department/program
and members of CAP.
As your department or program goes through the review process,
and particularly as you prepare your self-study, you are
encouraged to consider the following issues and questions. You
should not be limited to these, but should use them to initiate
your discussions and work.
Mission: What is the mission of your department or
program? Is this mission clear from your curricular
offerings? What means are used to assess the effectiveness
of your mission? What are the major challenges to carrying
out your mission? How does your mission relate to CAP
and other College priorities? (See the Smith Design for Learning at a Strategic Planning.)
Critical issues for
the Visiting Committee: What areas
would you find it useful for the visiting committee to address
in their review? What are the significant elements
in your department or program that this review process should
take into account?
Curriculum: How does your curriculum demonstrate the
variety of topics, methods, and approaches important in your
discipline today? Where is your discipline heading
over the next five to ten years? How has your curriculum
changed in the last five to ten years? What constraints
do you face in curriculum development? What are the
strengths of your current course offerings?
How effectively are you pursuing improvement of writing for your majors? What
means do you use to improve and assess student writing in
the major? How effectively are you pursuing improvement of quantitative skills for your majors? What means do you use to improve and assess student capacities. (See the list of intellectual capacities at Capacities.)
What do your majors do after graduation? How does
the major prepare them for their choices? How do you
serve non-majors?
How does the department or program interact with other departments
and programs? Would you want to have more interaction?
Enrollment: What changes have you observed in enrollment
patterns and student interest in the last five to ten years? What
projections can you make about future enrollment trends? How
do you plan to connect these projections to curricular and
staffing issues? Please note that all departments/programs
are asked to use the most recent version of “Facts
at Your Fingertips” as the source for enrollment information.
Individual Work with
Students: What level of involvement
does the department or program have in honors theses and
special studies projects? In what other ways does the
department or program foster one-on-one work with students?
Staffing: What significant staffing changes has your
department or program experienced in the past five to ten
years? What staffing needs do you anticipate in the
future? How are teaching responsibilities determined? How
is advising and other department service distributed? What
is the mix between tenured and tenure-track staffing?
Faculty Development: How are junior members of your
department or program mentored with respect to their teaching,
scholarship, and departmental contributions? How is
leadership in the department encouraged and developed? How
are connections across disciplines encouraged?
Resources: What would you like to do more of (for
majors and for non-majors)? How adequate are facilities
and support for your academic program (support personnel,
space, equipment, operating and library budgets)? How
have you utilized Five College resources? Is there
potential for greater Five College cooperation and complementarity
in your field? Are you communicating with Five College
colleagues about plans for retirements and replacements in
your (and their) departments or programs?
The attached sample schedule for the on-campus visit reflects
the spectrum of participants in the site visit and the range
of interactions that have been found to be most useful to
visiting committees. Please note that students
should be included in the schedule. You may wish to
utilize majors, minors, liaisons, or other appropriate students
in this process and to consider student input by email as
well. The enclosed sample self-study provides you with
a model for your reference and use. The enclosed “CAP’s
Criteria for Academic Priorities” offers a helpful
framework as you undertake this review. |
