Academic Program Review

Academic Program Review at KSU

Academic Program Review seeks to evaluate the performance of curricula, departments, faculty, and/or students at a degree granting institution of higher education (Hanover Research, 2012). At Kennesaw State University, we believe the APR process enables the faculty, programs, departments, colleges, and the institution to evaluate and reflect on the programs within the academic portfolio by engaging through five important activities.

  1. Examine the effectiveness of academic programs by examining the quality, viability, and productivity of efforts in teaching and learning, scholarship, and service as appropriate to the institution’s mission.
  2. Collect and review quantitative and qualitative data holistically to inform conclusions about the program.  
  3. Evaluate the quality and relevance of courses and programs as well as the qualifications and sufficiency of full-time faculty and resources.
  4. Identify areas for continuous improvement based on a culture of evidence.
  5. Support the justifications for needed program and college level resources.

The purpose of APR is NOT to evaluate programs against each other or rank them as good or bad across the institution. The purpose is support the review of the program against its own goals or outcomes to identify areas in which the program will engage in continuous improvement strategies with the next several years.

Academic Programs Without Specialized Accreditation

If your program is preparing to engage in the APR process, please contact Dr. Leigh Funk at lfunk@kennesaw.edu to gain access to the Academic Program Review D2L shell which contains the APR Orientation as well as all of the documents and resources needed to complete this process.

Academic Programs with Specialized Accreditation
Mini-APR Resources

Accredited programs undergo a rigorous review of their programs and according to the USG, accreditation review documents can be used as part of the Academic Program Review Process. However, according to the USG Academic & Student Affairs Handbook Policy 2.3.6 – Comprehensive Program Review, “Programs accredited by external entities may not substitute an external review for institutional program review, but material submitted as part of an external accreditation process may be used in the institutional review.”

To incorporate the accreditation review into the APR process, KSU is using a Mini-APR process which will occur the spring semester after the accreditation review concludes.   

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