Program Review

Professional Technical Programs:

Professional Technical Programs undergo program review in a three-year cycle. This process consists of an External Program Review (EPR) and an Internal Program Assessment (IPA). Currently the EPR is conducted by an external consultant, in conjunction with our Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Program Dean(s), and the program Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The IPA process is a collaboration between the faculty in the Program, the Program Dean(s), our Assessment Office, and the Vice President of Instruction. During the IPA process all of the various stakeholders internalize the findings of the EPR and develop action plans to address the specific areas that could be improved.

College Transfer Programs:

College Transfer Programs at South started to carry out their own process of program review in 2023 that has been developed and led by faculty from both the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and Math, Science and Business Divisions. This program review process is faculty led and focuses on specific tasks each year that help the programs understand what leads to greater student and program success. Once faculty complete their analyses the information is shared with Deans, the Assessment Committee and the Vice President of Instruction and a specific action plan is developed and carried out with set points for accountability identified and checked.

During the 2024-2025 academic year College Transfer Programs carried out Program Review activities that focused on writing and assessing revised Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Business (AB) and Associate of Science (AS) Degree Outcomes. Extensive conversations occurred around norming the rubric language for determining achievement levels of students from “Not Met” to “Developing” to “Proficient” and finally to being deemed “Transfer Ready”. These DOs were then assessed by faculty using a Canvas feature that allows individual students to be assessed easily and then the data is collected for the entire quarter and added to the Student Learning Dashboard. The Student Learning Dashboard is then used to help programs see a more holistic view of student learning in their areas and address gaps or underdeveloped achievement levels for certain courses or programs as a whole.