Self-Study Timeline and Checklist
Department/Program ____________________________________________
Proposed semester of visit from outside reviewers _____________________________
____ Initial meeting between the department chair/program coordinator and the Associate Dean to begin self-study process (approximately one year before reviewers visit campus)
____ The department chair/program coordinator sends a list of 6-8 potential reviewers to the Associate Dean (discussed and approved by department members) – ranked in order of preference and group according to their specific niches.
____ Preferred Dates for reviewers to visit:
_____________; ______________; ______________; ______________
____ The Associate Dean confirms reviewers and date of visit with the department/program Chair. At least one reviewer must be from a liberal arts college; at least one reviewer must be from a research university; at least one reviewer must have had experience chairing a department.
____ The Dean's Office obtains CVs for each reviewer and arranges transportation and lodging for the external reviewers' visit.
____ The department/program meets to frame the main issues for the self-study and to begin gathering the materials necessary for the self-study document. The department chair/program coordinator is responsible for the overall organization, but is not the sole author of the self-study.
____ The department/program sends the complete electronic version of the self-study document to the reviewers no later than two weeks before their visit. It also delivers one hard copy of the self-study to the Associate Dean (to be shared with the Dean) and one to the President, along with electronic copies. Reviewers who request hard copies of the self-study document should receive one no later than two weeks before the scheduled external review visit.
____ The department/program is responsible for putting together the two-day schedule of the reviewers' visit, in consultation with the Associate Dean.
____ The external reviewers submit their report to the Dean approximately one month following the visit, after which the Dean's Office issues the stipends.
____ The Dean's Office forwards the external reviewers' report to the President and to the department/program and other administrators for review.
____ The department/program arranges a meeting with the Dean and the Associate Dean to discuss the report's recommendations (one month after receiving the report).
____ The Educational Quality Committee of the Board hears a summary of the self-study and external review within a year of the visit.
____ The department/program submits a follow-up report to the Dean, with a copy to the Associate Dean, one year following the reviewers' visit. The chair/coordinator meets with the Dean to make a progress report. After the report has been reviewed by the President and other administrators, the Dean then makes recommendations for further action as appropriate.