LHE-7400: Academic Program and Curriculum Development in Higher Education

Martin, M., & Vale, D. (2005). Developing a program-assessment plan. Athletic Therapy Today, 10(5), 40-42.
Martin and Vale (2005) provide a brief overview of the rationale and process of creating a program assessment plan. They include definitions of key terms in assessment and discuss not only closing the loop, but describe the continuous loop of program evaluation for continuous improvement.

Garfolo, B. T., & L’Huillier, B. (2015). Demystifying assessment: The road to accreditation. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 12(4), 151-169.
Garfolo and L’Huillier (2015) provide a somewhat comprehensive description of program evaluation and student assessment for continuous improvement of academic programs. Figure 1 provides an excellent overview of the program evaluation process for continuous improvement.

Office of Educational Technology. (2017 January). Reimagining the role of technology in higher education: A supplement to the National Education Technology Plan. U. S. Department of Education.
This resource provides a multitude of roles technology can play in higher education. The brief case studies presented demonstrate how technology can be employed to engage students, assess students, and evaluate programs. Several case studies are focused on OERs and many include various technology systems created to not only collect student assessment data but to also fully close the loop by implementing technology in unique ways to increase graduate rates in underserved populations and so much more.

ABET. (2019). ABET self-study report for the Engineering Technology program.
This resource is a sample self-study report provided by ABET for those programs completing a self-study for continuing accreditation. Be sure to review the many tables as they provide excellent examples of how to communicate the plan for continuous improvement to include alignment of program-level outcomes and course outcomes with methods of assessment and timelines.

Oregon Health and Sciences University. (2019). Academic program review: 2019-20 handbook & guidelines.
This resource is one example of the program review process followed for academic programs at an institution. This institution is aligning with the program review requirements of its regional accreditation agency. Most institutions implement a similar program review process, though they may implement varied timelines. Note the use of data from CLOs and PLOs in the program self-study, the requirement for reflection and analysis of the data, and the inclusion of program action plan for continuous improvement. Also, note the annual collection and reporting of data as well as the 5-year program review requirements. The included flowchart provides a nice overview of the process.

Radford University. (2020). Academic program review.
This resource is another example of an institution’s program review process. Pay particular attention to the program review template provided. Peruse this resource to more fully understand the many different metrics programs can be evaluated on during an academic program review.

SUNY-Oneonta. (2013). SUNY-Oneonta self-study report.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (2009). Program review: Setting a standard.
This resource provides an excellent overview of the rationale for common procedures followed and outcomes of an academic program review.