Procedures for Department & Program Reviews

A department/program review offers members of a department or program, along with the Dean for Academic Affairs and the President of the College, an opportunity to deliberate together about the structure of its curriculum, the nature and quality of its course offerings, the coherence of its major and minor programs, the representation of its discipline, the allocation of its staff and resources, the nature and extent of engagement with related departments and programs of the College, and any other issues of concern. The review process provides an occasion for departments and programs to ask respected colleagues in their field to help them review their offerings, identify strengths and gaps, envision the future shape of the curriculum, and consider the implications of intellectual, technological, and pedagogical developments in their discipline. Visiting committee members may also advise the department or program and the College on the use of present resources and identification of others. Review committees are requested to act as consultants to the department or program and the administration, offering critical and empathetic counsel rather than evaluation. But in many ways, the central value of the review comes from extended, collective self-examination. Thus, the key to the review is the self-study described in detail below.

Ideally, a review of each department and academic program is carried out every seven or eight years, though variations in this cycle may be expected to accommodate institutional and departmental needs. Visiting committees are appointed by the Dean for Academic Affairs after consultation with the department or program. Normally, visiting committees consist of three members and include tenured faculty from liberal arts colleges and larger research institutions. All of the members should have attained some prominence in their discipline and together should represent a variety of disciplinary orientations and viewpoints.

Review committees ordinarily spend two days on campus, whenever possible toward the end of the week, from Wednesday evening until Friday afternoon. The committee meets individually or as a group with department or program members. It also meets privately, usually at lunch, with majors and minors and a few students randomly selected from current courses, who are invited to this session by the Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs. In addition, the dean's office invites faculty members from cognate disciplines to meet with the committee. The review schedule also includes an entry interview with the Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, an exit interview with the department or program, and an exit interview with the academic deans and the President. The overall schedule (see attached sample) is put together by the dean's office in consultation with the chair of the review committee and the department chair or program director, who shares it with departmental or program colleagues. The scheduling of times for individual faculty and staff to meet with the visiting committee is arranged within the department or program.


The Self-Study

To prepare for the review committee's visit, the chair should convene the department or program to write a statement that will be given to members of the visiting committee before its visit. The statement both provides descriptive information to the visiting committee and creates an opportunity for departments/programs to identify key issues for discussion, and to engage in that discussion both internally and with the committee. Typically, a series of meetings is
needed to prepare the statement and to make the best use of the review process.

Following is a set of questions for departments/programs to consider in identifying issues for discussion, as well as a list of descriptive information that should be incorporated into the self-study.

Issues/Questions for Discussion:

  • The department's or program's understanding of its mission, its goals for majors, and its rationale for the structure of its curriculum, including discussion of how its areas of teaching reflect the state of the discipline and, if appropriate, comments on ways in which it might be unusual in comparison with departments or programs in similar colleges. Within this discussion, a description of the department's/program's sense of recent or developing changes in the discipline, along with its curricular responses to such changes is valuable.
  • An assessment of the department's or program's effectiveness in meeting its goals for majors, including a discussion of the role of upper level courses, independent studies and honors projects, study away, and any non-course opportunities for majors (e.g., internships, research fellowships, research assistantships, lab assistantships, tutoring or teaching assistantships, etc). Consultation with Christine Cote (Office of Institutional Research) about ways of assessing effectiveness is encouraged.
  • An assessment of the department's or program's effectiveness in meeting its goals for non-majors, including a discussion of courses offered at the introductory level and its participation in the first-year seminar program.
  • A discussion of the curricular relationship between the department or program and other departments/programs, including reflection on the potential for further strengthening of interdisciplinary relationships, as well as an evaluation of any constraints that may limit the development or effectiveness of such relationships.
  • A discussion of approaches to teaching represented in the department or program, including the use of technology and issues of diversity of experience and learning styles, and mechanisms within the department/program for discussing pedagogy.
  • A discussion of the role of and expectations for faculty research/artistic work within the department or program, both independent of and in relation to teaching and to independent work with students.
  • An evaluation of the effectiveness of current resources in meeting department or program goals, identifying areas of concern and including discussion of how resource needs are likely to change in the coming years.
  • A description of department/program governance, including discussion of mechanisms for ongoing reflection about the issues and questions raised herein, and for communicating expectations and information to new faculty and supporting them in their work.
  • Questions or concerns about any other issues that the review committee might address. This is an opportunity to focus the committee on subjects of special interest to the department or program that grow out of the self-study.

Descriptive Information:

The following descriptive information should be incorporated into every self-study. Statistical information to supplement that already available in the department/program can be requested from the Office of Institutional Research.

  • A summary of the department's or program's curriculum and staffing for the last five years.
  • A list of present faculty indicating ages, dates of employment at Bowdoin (indicating visiting status where applicable), Ph. D. institutions and dates, and principal research and teaching interests.
  • Curricula vitae for all members of the department or program, if possible in abbreviated form.
  • The department's or program's requirements for the major and minor, its honors requirements, and policies concerning off-campus study for majors.
  • Numbers of majors and minors in the last five years by year.
  • Numbers of independent studies, and numbers, titles and supervisors of honors projects in the last five years by year.
  • A list of courses offered in the last five years by year, with their enrollments.
  • Copies of syllabi for all courses offered in the last two years.
  • A summary of the current department or program budget.
  • A brief description of any department or program spaces, facilities or equipment other than the standard offices and office equipment.

Timing and Follow Up

The statement should be submitted (single-sided copy) to the dean's office with a table of contents approximately six weeks before the committee's visit. Within the following two weeks, the Associate Dean reviews the statement with the chair, sometimes suggesting revision. The final statement and any supporting material should be submitted in eight copies to the dean's office approximately four weeks before the committee's visit. The dean's office sends this along with general college information to members of the visiting committee several weeks before their visit.

Following the on-campus visit, the review committee prepares a written report, usually within a month to six weeks. The report is submitted to the Dean for Academic Affairs, whose office provides a copy to the President and to the chair for distribution to the members of the department or program. The department/program then typically holds a series of meetings, or a more intensive retreat during the summer, to discuss the report and begin to formulate plans in response to its recommendations. The Dean and Associate Dean meet with the faculty of the department or program at least once to discuss the report and its implications for change.