Step-by-Step Five-Year Review Preparations

Step-by-Step Five-Year Review Preparations

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Step-by-Step Five-Year Review Preparations

In recognition of UMSL’s commitment to continuous improvement and campus wide assessment strategies all administrative units, academic departments and centers, and Endowed and Curators’ professors are reviewed every five years. This process is vital to ensuring each unit, center, and department is helping to fulfill the campus mission and for seeking out opportunities for improvement. 

An academic review consists of two parts—a self-study prepared by the unit/department and a review of the department prepared by both an external review and an internal Campus Review Team (CRT). The review process is led by the Academic Affairs office and overseen by Dr. Alicia Hutchings, Faculty Fellow. 

Below is an overview of the five-year review process. Please feel free to contact Alicia Hutchings (hutchingsa@umsl.edu), if you have any questions about the process.

ONE YEAR BEFORE REVIEW DATE

1. To initiate the self-study process and set a date for the review the Faculty Fellow will contact the Unit Director/Chair of Department to inform them that the unit/department is up for review. The Faculty Fellow then sets up a meeting with the Unit Director/Chair and they will go over the following:
   1. The Review Process
   2. Data Needs
   3. Schedule of review activities 
   4. Names of potential external reviewers 
      1. i) Departments will suggest 2-3 names for potential external reviewers. Along with the names and email addresses of those suggested please be sure to include a short description of the reviewer’s qualifications. 
         • Please also note that external reviewers should not have a conflict of interest (e.g., research collaborators with faculty in the department, graduated from the same program as faculty members, etc.).  The goal is to make sure the review is not unduly influenced and the reviewer can remain impartial. 
      2. ii) Departments of potential internal reviewers
         • Departments will recommend 2-3 departments or units that are related to theirs or that they work with and would be able to provide valuable feedback.

• iii) Potential dates for the review (3-4 are recommended)

2. The potential dates for the review are forwarded to the Provost/Chancellor and checked for availability. If a Unit is under a College, the Dean’s schedule is also checked. 

3. After schedules have been reviewed, potential dates are set and the Faculty Fellow contacts the first external reviewer. If they are unavailable the Faculty Fellow contacts other potential external reviewer candidates until an available external reviewer is found.

4. Once an external reviewer is identified and confirms one of the potential dates:
   1. The Faculty Fellow (or representative) sends all paperwork to the external reviewer
   2. The Faculty Fellow confirms the date of the review with the Provost/Chancellor, Dean (if applicable), and Unit Director/Chair. The date is also posted on the five-year review calendar. 

5. The Faculty Fellow contacts potential CRT members and confirms a chair and two members 

6. Each Unit/Department is expected to begin their self-study at this time. The self-study is due six weeks prior to the review date, no exceptions.

SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE REVIEW

1. The Faculty Fellow meets with the Unit Director/Chair to create a rough draft of the itinerary and answer any questions about the self-study and review process. The itinerary will include:
   • One and a half days of review sessions

1. • Launch meeting with the Provost/Chancellor, Dean, Chair, external reviewer, CRT, and Faculty Fellow
   • Dinner following the first day of sessions between review external reviewer, Unit Director/Chair, and Campus Review Team chair
   • Meetings with stakeholders (Staff, NTT Faculty, Tenured and TT Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, Program directors, Associate Deans, current students, alumni, community partners/stakeholders) as appropriate
   • An open session where the campus (when appropriate) is invited to participate
   • Meeting with Dean and unit director/chair separately
   • Tour of College& Facilities
   • Exit interview with the Provost/Chancellor, external reviewer, and faculty fellow at the end of the review
   • **Note sessions should provide a space for open dialogue. Do not schedule individuals with supervisor responsibilities/oversight in the same session.

SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE REVIEW

1. The Unit/Department submits electronic copies of the self-study to the Faculty Fellow, who reviews the documents to make sure all required elements are present. If anything is missing the Faculty Fellow will request edits to the self-study.
2. The Unit/Department will send out save the date emails to all constituents/stakeholders requesting their attendance at the review.

ONE MONTH BEFORE THE REVIEW

1. The Unit/Department submits the final copy of the Self-Study to the Faculty Fellow (if any edits were requested)
2. The Faculty Fellow (or representative) makes hotel reservations for the external reviewer and confirms their flight details.
3. The Faculty Fellow confirms all details of the itinerary and finalizes the itinerary with the Unit Director/Chair.
   1. The Faculty Fellow sends the completed itinerary to the external reviewer, CRT, and Provost/Chancellor.
   2. The Unit/Department sends out emails to all constituents/stakeholders requesting their attendance, providing date, time, and location. The Unit/Department will create Zoom links for sessions, where appropriate, and publish them on the itinerary.
4. The Faculty Fellow will work with the Unit/Department to determine who will order food from Sodexo for the review and charge it to the department.
   1. Launch meeting- Continental Breakfast
   2. Working Lunch-Boxed lunch from Sodexo. The Faculty Fellow will send out a survey identifying CRT and External Reviewer orders.
   3. Closing Lunch- ordered by the Faculty Fellow depending on the location.
5. The Unit Director/Chair is responsible for arranging the dinner following the first day of the review with the external reviewer and the chair of the CRT.
   1. $150 is reimbursed by the Academic Affairs

DAY OF THE REVIEW

1. The Faculty Fellow will be on-call throughout the review day to assist with anything the unit or department needs.
2. The Faculty Fellow will attend:
   1. The launch meeting
   2. Working lunch with review team
   3. Organizational team meetings
   4. Closing meeting
3. The Faculty Fellow is responsible for:
   1. Working with the unit/department on pre-ordering the breakfast for the launch meeting/working lunch and charging it to the department
4. The Unit Director/Chair is responsible for:    
   1. Arranging the dinner following the first day of the review with the external reviewer and chair of CRT 
   2. Being on-call throughout the review days to assist with review as needed
   3. Creating zoom links for sessions, where appropriate
   4. Managing the logistics for the review and getting the external reviewer and CRT members to each meeting on time
   5. Inviting stakeholders to the appropriate session(s)
   6. Driving the external reviewer to and from the airport/hotel as needed 

3-4 WEEKS AFTER REVIEW

1. External reviewer’s report is due to Faculty Fellow (hutchingsa@umsl.edu)
   1. The Faculty Fellow sends external reviewer’s report to the CRT members
   2. A Thank You is sent to external reviewer.
   3. Payment is sent to the external reviewer
      
      

2-3 WEEKS AFTER RECEIVING EXTERNAL REVIEW

1. Review from the Campus Review Team is due to Faculty Fellow (hutchingsa@umsl.edu)
   1. A Thank You is sent to the review team
2. Faculty Fellow sends both the external reviewer’s report and CRT’s report to the Unit Director/Departmental Chair. A response from unit/department is required. 
   
   

4 WEEKS AFTER BOTH REVIEWS ARE IN

1. The Unit Director/Chair sends the unit/department response to the Faculty Fellow, who forwards the Unit Response to the Dean of the College (if applicable) and the Provost/Chancellor

AFTER THE UNIT RESPONSE IS RECIEVED

1. The Faculty Fellow or representative will contact the Unit Director/Chair to set up a closing meeting with the Provost, Dean of the College (if applicable), Chair of Unit, and Faculty Fellow.
2. The Faculty Fellow will post the Self-Study, Campus Review Team, External Reviewer’s Report, and Unit Response to SharePoint (Institutional Research-Five Year Reviews from Academic Affairs)

Unit Check List

One Year Prior to the Review

• 2-3 Names of potential external reviewers
• 2-3 Departments for potential internal review team members
• 3-4 Potential dates for the review
• Schedule a meeting to go over the review process
• Being the Self-Study

Six Months Before the Review

• Create a rough draft of the itinerary

Six Weeks Before the Review

• Complete self-study and send to Faculty Fellow hutchingsa@umsl.edu
• Email a “Save the Date”
• Send Mo-Code to Faculty Fellow

One Month Before the Review

• Submit a final copy of the self-study
• Submit a final copy of the itinerary (including zoom links where appropriate)
• Invite all constituents/stakeholders to the meetings
• Arrange the dinner following the first day review

Day of the Review

• Managing the logistics (rooms/IT/zoom links) for the review day and getting the external reviewer and CRT members to each meeting on time
• Drive the external reviewer to and from the airport & hotel
• Attend the review team dinner

After the Review is Complete

• Complete the Unit Response
• Attend the Closing Meeting