Tennessee Technological University reviews its undergraduate programs that do not undergo accreditation review and all graduate programs on a regular cycle.

 All public higher education institutions in the state must participate in a program of instructional assessment administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). An additional five- percent of each college or university's base budget is tied directly to the results of these annual evaluations. As a part of the THEC assessment system, each program must be checked for standards of quality by an external consultant. The standards have been adapted from the monograph "Components of Quality in Masters Degree Programs" published by the Tennessee Conference of Graduate Schools and "Program Review of Undergraduate Programs" developed by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

 WHAT IS TO BE REVIEWED?

 The broad categories of curriculum, faculty, finances and facilities, students, and administration are normally reviewed by the peer team. At times, the consultants may be asked to focus on particular issues or activities. Reports are tailored to the needs of the department and the character of the consultants, but for ease of analysis of the results of the review, the report to the university should be written to address the strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations in the above broad categories.

 The daily schedule is developed by the department chairperson and faculty, college dean and/or graduate dean, in consultation with the reviewers. In addition to the materials included in this packet, additional materials on the department and the program will be forwarded prior to your visit. Requests for other data should be made through the office of the college dean for undergraduate review or the Dean of the Graduate School for graduate programs.

The program review team is hosted by the department to be evaluated, but reports directly to the office of the college dean for undergraduate reviews or the Dean of the Graduate School for graduate reviews. An exit interview with the vice president for academic affairs, associate vice presidents for academic affairs, college dean, department chair, departmental faculty, and the graduate dean (for graduate programs) is scheduled for the final day of the visit. The president will attend if his schedule permits.

The checklist from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission is submitted by the reviewers at the end of the visit. The narrative report is submitted to the college dean for undergraduate programs or to the graduate dean within one month.

Off-campus reviewer(s) will receive a lump sum following the receipt of the written report as indicated in a contract with Tennessee Technological University. The lump sum includes all travel expenses and an honorarium.

Checks are normally in the mail two or three days after a request is made by our office to Accounting. Please call the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at (931) 372-3224 if there is an excessive delay in a reimbursement.

The external reviewer(s) and two internal reviewers normally make up the review team. The external reviewers are professionals in the field under review, and are selected based on TBR guidelines and approval. Internal reviewers usually are selected from departments whose programs will be reviewed in subsequent years or from a related program. Occasionally, the wisdom and experiences of a faculty member from a "distant" discipline may provide a valuable perspective.

The first responsibility of the review team is to read carefully the self-study document before the actual review, and to note questions and concerns to be addressed during the review process. A brief orientation for the reviewers will be held prior to the review, and all team members are expected to participate throughout the three days of meetings. An exception for on-campus reviewers may be a scheduled class. The external reviewers complete the form, Post-Approval of Academic Programs, prior to the concluding session. The team discusses its major findings and recommendations with the department and other members of the central administration in the exit interview and agrees upon an outline of its reports before adjourning on the final day. The internal and external reviewers prepare separate narrative reports, both of which are sent to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs within a month after completion of the on- campus review.

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