Response and Action Plan

Once the final Program Review Team Report has been received, the academic unit chair/director will negotiate and develop a formal Response and Action Plan for each program. The Response and Action Plan should be considered and discussed with the faculty in the academic unit. Likewise, the Response and Action Plan should be developed in consultation with the dean who will confer with the provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and may solicit information input from the associate provost, associate vice president for Academic Affairs (curriculum), and the dean of The Graduate College before providing comment.

The Response and Action Plan will include descriptions of actions planned and actions already taken in response to the review. It should specifically address each recommendation for improvement as noted by the Program Review Team in their report and should include a suggested timeline for each action. In some cases, deans will also require a suggested budget for the actions planned. Typically, actions will not include plans to consider actions at a future date.

Responses and Action Plans must be submitted using the format on the provided Template for Response and Action Plan (docx) and must be signed by the program coordinator, school director/department chair, and academic dean.

The academic unit has four weeks from the receipt date of the final Program Review Team Report to complete the Response and Action Plan. When the Response and Action Plan is complete, it will be signed by the program coordinator and director/chair and submitted by the director/chair to the college dean. The college dean signs the document and immediately submits the Response and Action Plan to assistant vice provost for Program Accreditation and Assessment who, in turn, provides a copy to the provost.

Within a month of submission of the Response and Action Plan, the academic unit will receive written reply from the college dean. In preparing the reply, the academic dean will consult with the provost. The academic dean will also provide a copy of the reply to the assistant vice provost for Program Accreditation and Assessment at the time the reply is sent to the academic unit.

The approved Action Plan should be integrated into the strategic plan of the academic unit. Actions should be implemented as planned and according to schedule. Progress will be monitored through the regular strategic plan review process.