5th-Year Review of a New Degree or Statutory Certificate Program
The Education Committee of the University Senate conducts an evaluation of each new degree or certificate program after it's implementation, to determine if it is meeting the educational objectives described in the original proposal prepared by the school. That review normally occurs in the fifth year of the program's operation, but the University Senate can, as part of the resolution authorizing the program's creation, specify that the review occur in a different year.
The purpose of the 5th-Year Review is to assure the University Senate that the program objectives on which its original approval was based, are being achieved and to assess whether any changes in the plans it was originally asked to review have materially altered the nature of the program. The Education Committee does not conduct a full review of the program. It asks, instead, that the program director complete a questionnaire which can be downloaded by clicking on the 5th-Year Review Questionnaire.
The Vice Provost for Academic Administration sends the questionnaire to the programs early in the fall of the academic year of their evaluation. The completed questionnaire should be returned to the Vice Provost who then submits the completed questionnaire to the standing 5th-Year Review Subcommittee of the Education Committee which assesses the program's effectiveness and recommends to the full committee whether the program's approval should be affirmed.
Following its review of the questionnaire, the Education Committee may reaffirm its approval of the program, seek changes in the content and organization of the program or, in extreme cases, recommend to the full Senate that the program be closed. Programs that receive a favorable 5th-Year Review are subject to further evaluations only if they are substantially changed.