Program Assessment

Program assessment pertains to the institutional/strategic, curricular/pedagogical, and operational/administrative structures that direct and support our educational mission. The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) plays a key role in evaluating programmatic aspects of the overall curriculum, including our general education curriculum (e.g. distribution, foreign language, and writing requirements), the nature of our overall curriculum (e.g. the approval of new majors or programs of study), the structural components of the curriculum (e.g. minors, concentrations), and academic aspects of co-curricular experiences (e.g. study abroad, internships through the Academic Centers).

The annual budget planning process incorporates an assessment of departmental level success in meeting the College’s programmatic and institution-level goals, a process that is led by President and Senior Staff in consultation with the Administrative Advisory Committee (AAC). Resource allocation involves an annual assessment of goal attainment that links resultant planning to resource requests. Haverford’s Budgeting Principles strive for the elusive but important goal of maintaining four conditions simultaneously: operating budgets must be balanced, human assets developed and nourished, physical assets preserved, and the endowment’s purchasing power protected. An important corollary is that we provide access to a Haverford education to the most highly-qualified students regardless of their ability to pay. As part of the annual review of Haverford’s financial health, there is an assessment of how well we are meeting these goals each year. The newly implemented Kuali open source accounting system will greatly facilitate the construction and monitoring of departmental budgets going forward.

Periodically, both academic and administrative departments undergo thorough external review, often accompanied by self-study. This intensive process evaluates the extent to which departmental goals are being achieved and how each department is contributing to the accomplishment of the College’s overall mission. The relevant Senior Staff member recommends for scheduling and oversees the process of administrative departmental review. In the case of academic departments, the Provost’s Office oversees the processes of Academic External Review.

• Learn more about Administrative Department Review
  

  Members of Senior Staff may recommend that an administrative unit undergo external review. These reviews are conducted as needed, either in response to the necessity for departmental reorganization, or new developments in technology, best practices, or College initiatives. Similar to Academic Department reviews, there is a self-study component followed by a visiting team review. Recommendations from the visiting team are shared with the relevant Senior Staff member, the President of the College, and the Department undergoing review. View the schedule of recent administrative department reviews.

• Learn more about Academic Department Evaluation
  

  On an approximately 10-year cycle, academic departments undergo a formal external review. As part of that process, departments engage in self-study, involving discussions among its faculty members about the mission, condition, and aspirations of the academic program, and including analyses of assessment procedures and best practices in the discipline. Current students and alumni should be included in these deliberations as departments gather evidence in support of their self-assessment. Where appropriate, reviews are conducted together with the counterpart department at Bryn Mawr. Departments may request a review in preparation for a retirement or curricular revision. The schedule for external review is determined at least one year in advance of the scheduled review by the Provost in consultation with the Provost at Bryn Mawr College. Recommendations from the visiting team are shared with the Provost, the President of the College, and the Department undergoing review.