Each undergraduate and graduate academic program is reviewed on an eight year basis. The schedule provides the list of programs that will be undergoing review within the next few academic years. If you would like to know when you’re program is being reviewed, please contact the IQAP Office.
All degree granting programs approved by Senate must undergo cyclical program review.
Cyclical Program Review is an 18-20 month process from initiation (self study) to the submission of the Final Assessment Report, Executive Summary, and Implementation Plan. The major steps and milestones in the review process can be seen in the Timeline section of the website and in Windsor’s IQAP Framework for cyclical program review. The IQAP Office provides support to units throughout the review.
Students are important stakeholders in the program review process and are involved in several ways. Each AAU's designated review team must include at least one undergraduate and/or graduate student (as appropriate) representative of each program under review. Students may also be involved in the compilation of the self study. Student feedback on the program is also gathered through student surveys and/or focus groups which are conducted specifically for the program review. Finally, groups of students also meet with external reviewers as part of the site visit. For more details on student involvement in program reviews, please contact the IQAP office.
CVs must be provided for all faculty members in the AAU as well as for instructors or faculty members from other AAUs/institutions who teach core courses or who contribute to the core curriculum of the program(s) under review.
Instructions for the IQAP CVs will be provided as part of the orientation for each review cycle and available in the self-study section of this website.
The review committee will include, as a minimum, two external reviewers and one internal reviewer not from the program under review.
Each program undergoing a cyclical review must submit the names of at least 8 external reviewer candidates to the Quality Assurance office. No more than half of the nominees should be from Ontario.
Two to three nominees from the list and one internal reviewer will be selected by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Quality Assurance to serve on the review committee. One of the external reviewers will act as chair of the committee.
Summary of the reviewer process steps:
- The AAU Head (or designate) surveys faculty members for names of potential nominees who meet both the arm’s length and expertise requirements (listed below).
- The AAU submits a list of names and then the Quality Assurance office will contact the reviewers to determine if they are willing to serve on the review team and if so they will be asked to submit a CV.
- The Dean of Graduate Studies and Quality Assurance will then review the CVs of those willing to let their name stand and will select 2-3 reviewers from the list of nominees and issue a formal invitation.
- The Quality Assurance office will notify the AAU of the selected reviewers. The AAU should not contact or correspond with the reviewers directly. All communication with potential reviewers must be through the Quality Assurance office. If it is brought to the attention of Quality Assurance office that the reviewers have been in contact with the AAU under review the reviewer(s) will be replaced.
The self-study is both a historical and forwarded-looking document. The review period covers the time period since the last review; however, the focus should be on the continuous improvement of the program.
For examples of completed self-studies, please contact Penny Kollar or IQAP. Permission to share completed self-studies will be sought by the authoring academic unit.
The AAU's designated review team should share the self-study with the broader group of faculty involved in the delivery of the program(s) for their feedback. The staff in the Quality Assurance Office are available to comment on drafts of the self-study prior to its submission and will review the final version for completeness and compliance to Windsor’s IQAP. The final draft of the self-study is submitted to the AVPA for their approval.
Following AVPA approval, the self-study brief, faculty CVs, and supporting documentation will be provided to the external reviewers in advance of the site visit. It will also be provided to the internal reviewer. All reviewers must receive the self-study at least four weeks prior to the site visit.
In order to make their recommendation to Senate, the Program Development Committee (PDC) will receive the self-study, as well as all other documentation related to the review (External Reviewers’ Report, AAU Response, Dean’s Response). Following approval by PDC, Senate, the Board of Governors, and the Quality Council will receive only the Final Assessment Report, Executive Summary, and Implementation Plan. The self-study will be made available upon request.
Program review should not be considered an exam to be passed and then forgotten, but rather as an opportunity to critically reflect on the strengths and challenges of the program and to determine actions for continuous improvement. Near the conclusion of the formal review, academic units, in collaboration with the relevant Faculty Dean(s) will be required to prepare an action plan to guide the future development of the program. The action plan will take into consideration the recommendations made by the external reviewers and PDC. Progress reports will be required for every two years of the review cycle (ie, ideally there would be 3 reports submitted in the time-period until the next cyclical review).