ACADEMIC SENATE GUIDELINES FOR THE SITE VISIT
(Revised October 2001)
1.
Introduction
The site visit is an essential part of the academic
program review process at UCLA. It
brings together off-campus disciplinary experts, UCLA faculty and students to
meet with students, faculty, staff, and administrators associated with the
program being reviewed. Prior to the
site visit, review team members will have studied the program’s self-review
report and other written materials.
Through interviews, examination of written materials,
and discussion among themselves during the site visit, the review team will
further develop its understanding of the program. The aim is to arrive at a balanced assessment
of the academic program’s strengths and achievements, its future goals and
plans, and areas in need of improvement.
Such an assessment is important to UCLA’s efforts to recognize, support,
and promote excellence in all its undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
2. Site
Visit Structure
The basic elements of the site visit are established
well in advance by the Undergraduate Council (UgC)
and Graduate Council (GC), the UCLA Academic Senate (faculty) committees
responsible for program reviews.
Decisions are made in consultation with the academic unit whose program
is being reviewed, relevant academic administrators, and other Senate sources.
A.
Composition of the Review Team. The
composition of the review team is flexible, depending primarily on the size and
complexity of the academic program. A review
team examining both undergraduate and graduate programs may be composed of: 1)
1-2 UgC members, 2) 1-2 GC members, and 3) 1 or more
Extramural Reviewers. The norm is 2 of
each type. The immediately incoming and
immediately outgoing UgC and GC Chairs will be
responsible for identifying each program review team
and its chair, who will be one of the UgC or GC
members.
B.
Duration of the Site Visit. The
duration of the site visit is also flexible, again depending on the size and complexity
of the academic program. The norm is 2
days, with a review team dinner before the first day. However, site visits may be scheduled for
longer and shorter periods. The
immediately incoming and immediately outgoing UgC and
GC Chairs will establish the duration of the site visit. Normally, all
review team members conduct the full site visit together.
C.
Preliminary Site Visit Schedule. The
chair of the review team and the chair of the unit whose program is being
reviewed will set up a preliminary schedule for the site visit (see section
5). The review team may alter the
schedule if that seems desirable during the site visit.
3. Student
Participation
Student representatives to UgC
and GC have the opportunity to participate in several aspects of the program
review process. They serve as a link
between students in the academic programs under review and the review team and
as a voice for student concerns. Specific contributions of the student
representatives may include the following:
a) serving as contact persons for students who wish to provide
information to the review team, b) summarizing this information for the review
team, and c) attending meetings with undergraduate and graduate students during
the site visit and providing written comments to the review team. Because they attend all UgC
and GC meetings, the student representatives also have the opportunity to
participate in all Council discussions of the review and its outcomes.
4. Information Provided Prior to the Site Visit
Prior to the site visit, review team members shall
receive a packet with the following information: a) any letters sent to or prepared by UgC and GC summarizing issues identified as important for
review by the Council on Planning and Budget (CPB), UgC,
GC, relevant academic administrators, the unit chair, and the Faculty Executive
Committee (FEC) and/or unit faculty, b)
the self-review report of the unit whose programs are under review, including
relevant statistical information, c) the prior review report and closure
(previously termed follow-up) report, d) Appendix XVI, e) this document, f) a
roster of review team members, including contact information, and g) the
preliminary site visit schedule.
Not included in the packet, but available to review
team members in the Senate’s program review office (and on-site during the site
visit) will be the faculty CVs and any available faculty surveys. Student
surveys as well as an explicit statement regarding methods for obtaining the
survey data, response rate to the survey, and any information necessary for
clarifying the degree to which the survey can be viewed as representative of
the total sample of students involved with the program will be distributed to
the review team and the unit chair.
Open-ended comments will be shown to the unit chair only if the
respondent has authorized the release of this information
Prior to the site visit, the internal review team
(at least two members) should meet with the relevant dean and chair before the
site visit to discuss problems, areas of focus, and needs for additional
information. This will help to focus the
review, although the review team need not limit their inquiries and
recommendations to the areas identified by the chair and dean.
5. Site
Visit Schedule
Each review team shall conduct its site visit at
UCLA. The site visit will begin with a
closed organizational session for team members only and end with an exit
meeting in which team members share their reactions with selected UCLA faculty
and administrators. In between, a
variety of required and optional elements will be scheduled. Sample schedules are attached to the end of
this guide.
A. Initial
Organizational Session. This meeting
is for review team members only. It has
the following goals: a) to introduce
review team members, b) to identify major questions that need to be examined
during the site visit, c) to review the preliminary schedule for the site
visit, and d) to determine how the review team would like to structure the site
visit to complete the work. The review
team chair is responsible for the meeting and for any follow-up site visit
arrangements that need to be made. This
session can be held either the night before the first full day of the site
visit or early in the morning of the first full day of the site visit.
B. Other Required
Site Visit Elements. The following
elements shall be part of each site visit:
private time each day for the review team to discuss its work; private
meetings with the unit chair, academic dean; individual or group meetings with
a representative sample of faculty; individual or group meetings with
representative samples of students in each degree program under review; open
time for faculty and students to sign up for individual or group meetings (as
they choose); and unscheduled time in the latter part of the site visit when
the review team may meet alone or with other individuals as needed. Due to differences in the expertise of
different members of the review team, as well as the broad coverage required in
the site visit, site visitors may choose to divide some tasks up and meet in
subgroups to ensure that adequate opportunities exist to speak with as many
individuals and groups as possible.
C. Optional Site
Visit Elements. Several other elements
are often part of the site visit. They
include meetings with staff undergraduate and graduate advisers; meetings with
faculty responsible for undergraduate and graduate programs; tours of program
facilities (e.g., offices, labs, studios, computer facilities, lounges,
libraries); reviews of student projects, papers, or performances; and an
administrative luncheon. Some may be
part of the preliminary site visit schedule.
The review team may choose to delete them or add others.
D. Exit Meeting. An exit meeting will be held at the close of
the site visit. Participants will
include: the review team; the unit
chair; the academic dean to whom the unit reports; the academic administrators
responsible for graduate and undergraduate programs (Provost for Undergraduate
Programs and Dean of the Graduate Division); the Executive Vice Chancellor; and
the Chairs of UgC and GC. The exit meeting will be chaired by the Chair
of the Council to which the review team chair belongs.
The Exit Meeting allows the Council chairs, and appropriate
administrators to hear the review team’s, and
especially the external reviewers’, initial assessment of the program under
review. It allows for a last exchange of information (or correction of
misinformation) before the external reviewers depart to compose their written
reports. The review team recommends any immediate action that might be required
before the final report; the team’s comments also allow Council chairs and
administrators to plan ahead for the rest of review process by indicating the
degree of seriousness of any problems identified during the site visit.
The
Exit meeting may, at the Council chairs’ discretion, be divided into several
parts. A first part, when the program is assessed and facts checked,
will include all participants, including also the chair of the program under
review. A second part, held without the program chair, may cover leadership
issues. A final part, involving the review team and Council chairs alone, may
be needed to discuss Council procedures and issues about the report.
The Program Review Manager will attend the exit
meeting and immediately prepare an extended summary. This summary may serve as a basis for part of
the review report.
6. Special
Concerns
The review process requires judgment and sensitivity
on the part of review team members. A
few special issues that the review team may confront are raised here.
A. Representative
Samples. During the site visit, the
review team needs to be certain it has discussed the program with
representative samples of faculty and students.
While the meaning of representative will vary according to the program,
it most likely will include consideration of subdisciplinary
area, degree program, faculty rank, and student year in a program. In many cases, it will also include gender,
ethnicity, and (particularly for graduate students) international vs. resident
status. A representative sample will
rarely be achieved if interviewees are all self-selected. The team and unit chairs will have made an
effort to arrange the preliminary site visit schedule to include representative
samples of faculty and students. When
numbers are small, all faculty or all students in a given program may be
scheduled. As the site visit progresses,
the review team may decide it needs to schedule additional or different
interviews to be certain it has heard from a representative cross section of
faculty and/or students about the program in general or about any particular
matter that has arisen during the site visit.
B. Evidence. The review team needs to be sensitive to
evidence, particularly for allegations of inadequate performance, misconduct,
or wrongdoing. In some cases, the review
team will need to ascertain whether an opinion (e.g., that a program is
seriously underfunded or that the unit chair is
inattentive to his or her duties) is widely shared. In other cases, the review team will need to
be able to provide enough specifics (e.g., who did what when to whom) to permit
verification or rebuttal. If such matters
arise during the site visit, the review team should adjust the site visit
schedule or make other arrangements (see below) to investigate them adequately
before including them in any oral or written review report.
C. Confidentiality. Review teams will sometimes become privy to
information that may need to remain confidential. Issues of confidentiality should be raised
first with the person who presents the potentially confidential information. How to handle the information may then be
discussed with the review team chair and/or the UgC
or GC Chairs. Clearly confidential
information needs to be respected in all oral and written communications of the
review team.
D.
Wrongdoing. Occasionally, allegations of serious
misconduct (e.g., harassment, falsification, misappropriation) will be made
during a site visit. It is not the
review team’s responsibility to handle these.
They should be reported to the review team chair, who will discuss them
with the UgC and/or GC Chair, who will refer them to
the appropriate UCLA officials.
7. Review
Team Report
The review team chair is responsible for submitting
the review report within 4 academic-session weeks after the site visit. Extramural scholars and the community representative,
if there is one, shall each submit an individual report within 2 weeks after
the site visit. For details, see
separate guidelines for the final report.
SAMPLE SITE VISIT SCHEDULES
Normal
Schedule
Prior
to Day 1
7:00 p.m. Dinner meeting: Initial organizational session for review team members only (to be arranged by ASO.
Day
1
8:00 Breakfast discussion with unit chair and
vice chair. Catering arranged by ASO.
9:00 Meeting
with Academic Dean.
10:00 Meetings with representative groups of
faculty in major programs, by subdisciplinary area
and/or degree program.
12:00 Lunch. Catering
arranged by ASO.
1:15 Meetings with representative undergraduate
(UgC members and student representatives) and
graduate (GC members and student representatives) students in major programs.
2:45 Review
of Teaching Assistant Program. Meetings with selected faculty and students.
3:15 Review
of Advising. UgC and GC members review undergraduate
and graduate advising respectively.
4:00 Closed session for review team only.
5:00 Additional
meetings if the team needs them, perhaps a party or dinner especially for the
external reviewers, or free time.
Day
2
8:30 Open
meetings with faculty and students who want them. This may also include time
for a tour of the department and affiliated facilities.
12:00 Lunch. Catering
to be arranged by ASO.
1:00 Meeting
with other staff, lab personnel, development officers, etc.
2:00 Final
review team meeting with chair and vice chair(s).
3:00 Closed session.
4:00 Exit meeting. The meeting includes
Review Team, Chair of Department, Executive Vice Chancellor, Provost, Academic
Dean, Graduate Division Dean, UgC and GC Chairs.To be arranged by ASO.
Schedule
for a Small Program
Offering Both Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Day
1
Breakfast Initial
organizational session for review team members only. Catering
to be arranged by ASO.
8:30
Meeting with academic dean.
9:00 Meeting
with unit chair and vice chair.
10:00 Meetings with all faculty, perhaps in small
groups.
12:00 Working lunch, probably talk with unit staff. Catering to be arranged by ASO.
1:00 Meetings with representative undergraduate
(UgC members and student representatives) and
graduate (GC members and student representatives) students in major programs.
2:00 Review
of Advising. UgC and GC members review undergraduate
and graduate advising respectively.
3:00 Additional
meetings with faculty or student groups. This may also include time for
a tour of the department and affiliated facilities. Open time.
4:00 Closed session.
5:00 Exit meeting. The meeting includes
Review Team, Chair of Department, Executive Vice Chancellor, Academic Dean,
Provost and/or Graduate Division Dean, UgC and/or GC Chairs.To be arranged by ASO.
Schedule
for a Large Program
Offering Both Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Day
1 (external reviewers only)
8:00 Breakfast discussion with unit chair and
vice chair(s). Catering to be arranged by ASO.
9:00 Meeting
with Academic Dean.
10:00 Meetings with representative groups of
faculty in major programs, by subdisciplinary area
and/or degree program.
12:00 Lunch.
1:00 Meetings with representative groups of
faculty in major programs, by subdisciplinary area
and/or degree program.
4:00 Meetings with representative groups of
graduate and undergraduate students in major subdisciplinary
areas of program.
5:00 Closed session for external reviewers only.
Day
2
Breakfast Closed
organizational session for review team only. Catering to be
arranged by ASO.
9:00 Meetings with representative undergraduate
(UgC members and student representatives) and
graduate (GC members and student representatives) students in major programs.
11:30 Meeting
with unit chair and vice chair(s). This may also include time for a tour of the
department and affiliated facilities.
12:30 Lunch. Catering to
be arranged by ASO.
1:30 Meetings
with selected faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students as
determined by the review team in their breakfast meeting, presumably guided by
the written materials available prior to the site visit and the external
reviewers’ experiences during Day 1.
3:00 Review
of Teaching Assistant Program. Meetings with selected faculty and students.
4:00 Review
of Advising. UgC and GC members review undergraduate
and graduate advising respectively.
5:00 Closed session for review team only.
Day
3
8:30 Open
meetings with faculty and students who want them. Review team may split up.
12:00 Lunch. Catering
to be arranged by ASO.
1:00 Meeting
with other staff, lab personnel, development officers, etc..
2:00 Final
review team meeting with chair and vice chair(s).
3:00 Closed session.
4:00 Exit meeting. The meeting includes
Review Team, Chair of Department, Executive Vice Chancellor, Provost, Academic
Dean, Graduate Division Dean, UgC and GC Chairs. To
be arranged by ASO.