Office of Assessment

Institutional Assessment

Seven Year Program/Department External Review

USM requires a program review for all academic degree programs every seven years. The 7-year program review process is extensive and consists of an internal self-study of each program within the context of the discipline as a whole and the department in which it resides.  Each review must include feedback from an external reviewer and a comprehensive plan for improvement.

The self-study must demonstrate how the curriculum supports student learning outcomes, how outcomes are assessed and how assessment results are used to improve practice. Other issues addressed include developing a departmental strategic plan, the quality of faculty teaching, comparison of program quality to peer programs, enrollment trends and program demands, and cost-effectiveness of the program.  

The program review offers an opportunity to engage faculty in the assessment process. USM requires that programs under review identify a Comprehensive Plan for Improvement based on the recommendations of the external reviewer, including ways progress will be assessed.   Program reviews require the signatures of the dean of the college in which the program resides and the Provost.   

Degree programs accredited by external agencies develop assessment practices that align with accrediting agency standards.  External accreditation has a positive effect on the success of programs in these discipline areas. These external accrediting agencies tend to have higher standards that are tailored to their fields relative to the internal standards used for all other programs. If the site visit is within one year of the scheduled program review, the visiting team report can be substituted for the external consultant review requirement associated with the USM 7-Year Program Review process. Programs will however, need to prepare the Report on Periodic Review of Academic Programs form and the Comprehensive Plan for Improvement.  

These accrediting agencies include:

• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
• Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education  
• Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant  
• American Association for Health Education  
• American Chemical Society  
• American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
• American Library Association
• American Occupational Therapy Association  
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association  
• Association for Childhood Education International  
• Association of University Programs in Health Administration  
• Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business  
• Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education  
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education  
• Council for Exceptional Children
• Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology  
• Educational Leadership Constituent Council
• International Reading Association 
• National Association for Sport and Physical Education
• National Association for the Education of Young Children  
• National Association of School Psychologists  
• National Association of Schools of Dance - Commission on Accreditation  
• National Association of Schools of Music - Commission on Accreditation  
• National Association of Schools of Theatre - Commission on Accreditation  
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
• National Council for the Social Studies  
• National Council of Teacher of English  
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics  
• National Science Teachers Association  

Office of Assessment
Administration Building, Room 311-C

Phone: 410-704-2557
Fax: 410-704-6091
E-mail: assessment@towson.edu