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Program Reviews

Assessment is a priority for Marquette University. Since 2012, Student Affairs has engaged in a regular cycle of annual program for to assess functional areas. The Office of the Provost has an annual program review cycle as well.

The process of program review contributes to the creation of a culture of data-driven reflection and improvement, as well as opportunity for collaboration between partners across the division and university. Program review is designed to assist departments in self-improvement and provide a vehicle to communicate strengths and opportunities for growth to various stakeholder groups. Student Affairs’ reviews are based on the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) or other discipline-specific standards.

The three primary phases of the program review process include:

Self-study and Evidence Collection — conducted by the department, a standard set of documentation and evidence is compiled, using the guidelines for the selected review standards.
Campus Review — led by a team of Marquette administrators and faculty from outside the department/functional area, the documentation from the department is reviewed and additional questions/comments for the external reviewers are added.
External Review — a team of professionals with expertise in the functional area reviews the information from the Internal Review and Campus Review teams, visits the campus to interview with various stakeholder groups, analyzes the information in the context of the national standards, and develops a final report with findings and recommendations.

Following completion of these three phases, the self-study team generates an action plan to address reviewer recommendations. One year following the completion of this action plan, divisional leadership meets with the self-study team to review progress in implementing this action plan.