A. Department Reports

Department Reports entail a review of the core elements of academic department and program engagement including Academic Assessment. Department Reports are required of departments once every four years. Assessment data and/or artifacts are to be collected annually, with assessment analysis due every four years as a component of the quadrennial Department Report. The External Review process is integrated with assessment via the Department Report process. This integration provides departments and programs with the consistent opportunity to reflect on ways to improve programs, curriculum, and the learning experience.

1. Department Report Requirements

The following questions are to be addressed as departments and programs undertake their Department Reports.

a. Goals:  What is the Mission Statement of the department/program? What are the specific learning goals for students and how do they relate to the mission statement?

b. Curriculum: Briefly describe the requirements for the major, minor, and/or concentration, with emphasis on any changes to the curriculum since the last review.  How does the curriculum meet the learning goals described above? Are any changes to the curriculum needed? If so, why? How does the curriculum compare to other colleges and universities?​

c. Broader Impact of Curriculum: General Education - Describe your contributions to General Education. Is the department or program adequately serving the needs of non-majors? Interdisciplinary programs - Describe your contributions to interdisciplinary programs, if applicable. Other curricular contributions? (W101, Denison Seminars, etc.)

d. Student Learning Opportunities - Describe and evaluate the effectiveness of opportunities for majors to engage in advanced work (e.g., summer research, senior research), and opportunities made available to students outside the classroom (e.g., engagement with visiting scholars, practitioners of practice, travel opportunities associated with the program). Any other high-impact or innovative pedagogical practices associated with your department or program?

e. Academic Advising: Describe faculty contributions to advising (e.g., academic advising, Advising Circles, orientation programs). How does your department or program work to develop a culture of engaged advising?  

f. Commitment to Inclusive Learning Environment: How does your department or program support and demonstrate the institution's commitment to fostering an inclusive learning environment?

g. Academic Assessment: Departments and programs are advised to consult the Academic Assessment Toolkit for information regarding the assessment process and analysis. Describe the measures used to regularly assess the extent to which the department or program’s learning goals are being achieved. Include the assessment plan as an appendix to this report. Summarize the results of your assessment efforts since the last department review or report. To what extent are the learning goals described in V.A.1.a being achieved? Do the results of assessment indicate that changes are needed in the curriculum or pedagogical approaches of the department/program? How does the department utilize assessment outcomes to develop its curriculum and broader engagement?

h. Outreach and Partnerships: Describe the department or program’s contributions to Admission efforts. Describe the department or program’s engagement with campus partners such as the Lisska Center, Global Programs, Denison Museum, Library, etc. Describe the department/program’s engagement with career and internship advising (e.g., programs, partnerships with the Knowlton Center).  How does the department/program facilitate students’ launch into their post-Denison vocations? Describe the department or program’s work in staying in touch with alumni.  How does the department track outcomes for their majors after graduation? How do you work to develop an understanding of outcomes post-graduation?  What have you learned? How does your department create awareness of its news and accomplishments (features on website, partnerships with University Communications, etc.)? 

i. Faculty: Do the staff and expertise of the faculty reflect the diversity of the discipline? To what degree has the department kept abreast of developments in the field, and how does that engagement relate to the curriculum? Do faculty maintain scholarly or creative engagement?  Are they sufficiently supported in that work? How does the department cultivate awareness and engagement with campus, governance, and professional service opportunities? Describe and comment upon the department/program’s plan for mentoring faculty.

j. Resources: Is the department or program adequately staffed?  If not, what are the shortcomings and perceived effects on student learning? Are the department’s or program’s physical resources adequate (e.g., offices; computers/printers; student lounge area; learning spaces including classrooms, laboratories, and studios)?

2. Department Report Data

The following data is to be included with the Department Report:

a. Enrollments by course and by semester

b. A list of faculty teaching in the department/program by semester

c. Numbers of majors and minors by year

d. Numbers of advisees carried by faculty in the past year or any representative year(s) in the review period

e. Numbers of student research projects including annual number of summer research projects and senior research projects. Numbers of directed & independent annually offered may also be included.

f. Any data related to alumni placement

g. Assessment plan, assessment data, and any associated rubrics or supporting documents

h. Curriculum vitae for faculty in the department or program

i. Sample course syllabi (in years of an external review only)

B. Department Report Process and Timeline

Evidence used to assess student learning and the effectiveness of the department or program should be collected each year according to the department’s or program’s assessment plan. Departments may choose to evaluate and discuss this evidence each year, however, Department Reports are due only once every four years.

Each department and program submits to the Provost’s Office a Department Report once every four years. A schedule of upcoming Department Reports can be obtained from the Provost’s Office. The report should address the topics indicated in section V.A1. 

Every third Department Report (that is, once every 12 years) entails an External Review. The composition of the external team and the process of the external review are provided in section V.C.

Departments may add topics or questions to be addressed, or include additional data, in their Department Reports, however, changes to the above list of topics must be approved by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

Department Reports will be due to the Provost’s Office in September of the fall in which they are due. (A schedule of Department Reports can be obtained from the Provost's Office).

Departments will receive written feedback on their Report from the Department Report Review Committee (DRRC) in years when an external review is not required. The DRRC will be appointed by the Provost and composed of one faculty member from each division of the college plus the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. 

In some cases the Provost may determine that a particular program which is due for a review does not need a full external review team visit. In these cases, in cooperation with the program, the Provost will appoint an internal review team. The program prepares a Report which addresses the questions and prompts described above, and the internal review team, comprised of Denison faculty and students, fulfills the role that an external review team would play.

C. The External Review Process

Once every twelve years the Department Report will be followed by a visit from an external review team. The Department Report written in advance of an external review addresses the same questions as the standard quadrennial report as detailed in V.A.1. At the External Review stage of the twelve-year cycle, departments and programs often provide more detailed responses to those questions. Thus, the Department Report written in anticipation of the External Review is referred to as the Department Self-Study in order to signal the different stage of the cycle. Contact the Provost’s Office for an up-to-date schedule of Departments Reports, and the Department Self-Study & External Review.

The External Review Team will be selected by the department or program in consultation with the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. It will include one individual in the field from a college comparable to Denison who chairs the team, and another person in the field from a Ph.D.-granting institution.

The third member of the team will be a Denison faculty representative from the same academic division as the department under review. This faculty member, selected by the Office of the Provost in consultation with the department or program under review, will take part in all aspects of the external team's activities except for meetings with individual members of the department.

The department, in consultation with the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, has the option of adding a Denison graduate to the committee.

The External Review Team will be invited to campus for a two-day visit to familiarize themselves with the department or program. It will have access to the Department Self-Study, and to faculty and students in the department or program. The two external reviewers will draft the External Review Report, with the other member(s) of the team serving in an advisory capacity. In its report the External Review Team will respond to the following questions:

a. Comment upon what you think to be the most important issues raised in the self-study. How does the department's program compare with programs at similar institutions? Has the department kept abreast of developments in the field and how are they reflected in the curriculum? What distinctive strengths do you find in the department's program? What weaknesses do you find in the department's program?

b. Curriculum: Comment on the structure of the major. Would you propose changes? Assuming the staff size remains the same, what changes would you suggest in the department's array of course offerings, including offerings for majors and non-majors? 

c. Student Learning: Do students have a grasp of the discipline? Are they able to talk both specifically and comprehensively about the discipline? Do you find evidence of student interest and involvement in the intellectual life of the department? Do you find evidence that students receive adequate training in research, laboratory, studio, or performance skills? Comment on the quantity and quality of student involvement in research, laboratory, studio, or performance activities.

d. Resources: Where appropriate, please comment on the department's physical resources. What changes would you suggest? Are there compelling reasons to change staff size? Do you find library and other academic support resources (technology, tutoring, etc.) adequate to support the department's curriculum? What areas of acquisition would you suggest?

The chair of the External Review Team shall send the External Review Report to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs who will share it with the chair of the department or program under review and the Denison faculty representative on the External Review Team. The External Review Report is to be treated as an internal document with limited access granted to all faculty upon request to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

The chair or director of the department or program under review will write a brief response to the External Review Report. It should include mention of possible changes to be made as a result of the review and significant areas of disagreement, if any, with the report. All members of the department or program and the Denison faculty representative on the External Review Team shall be provided with a copy of this response and have an opportunity to supplement it with statements of their own. 

Once the department has delivered to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs a written a response to the External Review Report, the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs shall share the Department Self-Study, the External Review Report, and the Departmental Response with the Academic Affairs Council. The chair of the department or program and the Denison faculty representative on the External Review Team will meet with the Academic Affairs Council to discuss appropriate action to be taken as a result of the review. This group will decide which actions should be initiated by the department or program and which, if any, should be initiated by the Academic Affairs Council or the Administration. AAC reviews the Department Report process and documents only once in every three Reports, that is, once in the twelve-year cycle when an external review may have been conducted.