Program Review

Program Review is an important piece of the Student Life Strategic Plan. The process uses organizational performance indicators that allows departments within the Office of Student Life to:

• Examine current programming, services, directions and resource capabilities;
• Validate strengths;
• Identify opportunities for improvement;
• Align activities with student needs and the Office of Student Life’s strategic goals.

Program Review also serves as a valuable mechanism for communication and collaboration within departments, with the Office of the Senior Vice President, with central administration and the Board of Trustees. 

Overview

In 2003, all departments at The Ohio State University were asked to undergo Program Reviews on an ongoing basis. The Office of Student Life used the opportunity to develop a model that fits its unique needs and timeframes.

Within the Student Life Program Review process, departments participate in a program review every five years. Departments complete a self-evaluation usually using the Council on the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education review criteria, although alternative criteria may be selected on a case-by-case basis. An external committee then conducts an evaluation, typically through a virtual site visit. Once the external committee has submitted their final report, departments have thirty days to assemble a response and action plan. Regular updates on the action plan will be provided by the department to the program review analyst and senior leadership in the Office of Student Life.

Please refer to the Student Life Program Review Guidebook for more detailed information.

For additional information, please contact:

Tori Rehr
Senior Program Review and Strategic Planning Analyst
rehr.1@osu.edu