Palm Beach State Program Review Process
Program Review at Palm Beach State is a process in which every academic program is reviewed every three years. Areas of the program review process begin with a review of the annual assessment plans (Program Learning Outcomes Assessment) for the prior three years, analyzing the five-year Performance Health Indicator report of each program, and preparation of responses to questions related to the viability, sustainability, and quality of each academic program.
Following a review of all available information, action plans are made regarding program viability and for improvements that are designed and implemented.
Annual Assessment of Program Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities students have attained because of their involvement in a particular set of educational and learning experiences. By developing educational experiences based on what students should be able to do with their knowledge, the learning outcomes approach helps faculty, staff, and students understand the point of the educational activity, be it a program or course.
Learning outcomes are developed at the institutional, program, and course levels. Program Learning Outcomes are approved when new programs are
sent through the state (Frameworks) and college (Curriculum) committees. Once approved, they are posted on the College website and assessed on an annual basis, with results being reported annually. All Learning outcomes can be found at www.pbsc.edu/LearningOutcomes
Annual Assessment of Program Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities students have attained because of their involvement in a particular set of educational and learning experiences. By developing educational experiences based on what students should be able to do with their knowledge, the learning outcomes approach helps faculty, staff, and students understand the point of the educational activity, be it a program or course.
Learning outcomes are developed at the institutional, program, and course levels. Program Learning Outcomes are approved when new programs are sent through the state (Frameworks) and college (Curriculum) committees. Once approved, they are posted on the College website and assessed on an annual basis, with results being reported annually. All Learning outcomes can be found at www.pbsc.edu/LearningOutcomes
Program Health Indicators
The Program Health Indicators (PHI) report constitutes the major quantitative portion of program review at Palm Beach State. For the associate in science degree, college credit certificate, vocational certificates, applied technical diploma, advanced technical certificate, and bachelor’s degree program, the PHI report presents a comprehensive data review. The report contains five-year trend data on program completers (broken out by degrees and certificates nested within the program, if applicable), FTE, headcount, number of sections offered, success and withdrawal rates in core curriculum, average student ratings of the instructors in the core curriculum, and other program measures.
Other Relevant Information
The other types of information available to programs for purposes of program review vary by program and by assessment. Many programs have business partnership councils. The Councils provide qualitative feedback to the programs regarding the performance of program graduates in the workplace and the currency or relevancy of the program curriculum. They may also provide informal feedback as to the current local job market for graduates of the program.
Many programs also have a program-specific accreditation agency. When a program has just completed a reaffirmation or new accreditation process, the feedback from the accreditor is typically included in the program review.
Action Plans for Improvement
In every three-year cycle, academic programs are required to identify action plans for those outcomes not meeting the achievement target, and/or the data reflect a need to improve enrollment, completion, and retention. The action plan requires additional information regarding business partnership councils/advisory boards, accreditation possibilities, curriculum improvements, changes in the PLO or course sequencing, etc.
The office of academic assessment office may be requested to provide occupational projections that may have implications for the future viability of the program as a whole or specific certificates embedded within the program. Program review may result in recommendations to revise or eliminate programs based on changing market needs.
The strategies written into improvement plans vary. Strategies might involve changes in a course, such as requiring students to practice more on a specific skill or revised instruction of that skill. Other strategies might involve the need for additional equipment, staffing, recruitment, or marketing. Still other plans might include revisions in the program curriculum. If the change involves program curriculum, it must undergo the Curriculum Review Process through the Curriculum Committee described below.
Curriculum Review Process
When faculty members, with input from program managers, administrators, or business partnership councils, create or update a course or a program, the first step of a continuous flow of information and quality control is initiated. Any curriculum action can potentially affect more than just the discipline proposing the change, so a carefully constructed process ensures that any revisions will benefit the institution and avoid unintended negative consequences.
Any curriculum action on courses or programs must be voted upon first by the faculty cluster. Additionally, if the program works with a Business Partnership Council (BPC), the BPC must also approve. Proposed actions must also be sent to the cluster liaison (associate dean) and academic dean. With all approvals, the action moves forward to the Curriculum Committee for review. If approved at this committee level, the action must then be evaluated by the Academic Deans’ Council and, in some cases, the District Board of Trustees (DBOT). This level of review evaluates the impact the curriculum action will have on the College as a whole, such as budget, facilities, need for additional faculty, or accreditation, as well as any impact it may have on other programs.
Program additions, deletions, and extensive revisions must be approved by the DBOT, and new programs not currently offered in the State of Florida must be reviewed and approved by the Division of Workforce Education.
For new career programs and when needed for existing programs, an additional process called “Developing a Curriculum” (DACUM) may be required. This process utilizes a focus group of experts in a storyboarding workshop to produce a comprehensive job analysis. The analysis identifies the duties, tasks, knowledge, skills, and traits related to a specific job or occupation in a chart format, which provides input for needed curriculum revision or development.
Program Review Process: What, When, Who and How
Program Review is an all-inclusive process completed by faculty, associate deans, vice presidents (VPs), and the Cabinet for the purpose of continuous improvement.
The three-year cycle for program review includes senior-level administrators meeting through a Microsoft Teams opportunity to discuss results and projects that will become initiatives for the next three years. These meetings are scheduled at the beginning of each academic year with the faculty, associate deans, deans, and VPs to present their findings for those programs reviewed the prior year.