Program Reviews
Overview
Public Universities and Health-Related Institutions
To assess and improve the quality of programs, institutions engage in periodic review of their degree and certificate offerings. New doctoral programs are required to submit reports in the first, third, and fifth years of operation to determine if commitments made during the proposal process are being met. Existing master’s, doctoral, and professional programs are required to submit the results of external reviews on a ten-year cycle. Coordinating Board staff also review academic programs on a rolling five-year basis to ensure that they meet Board-mandated minimal thresholds of productivity.
Annual Progress Report
As part of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s approval of new doctoral programs, the institution is required to submit three reports during program years one, three, and five to the Coordinating Board following implementation of the program.
The reports should document the institution’s progress in providing the faculty and other resources to which it has committed as part of the approval of the program. The reports should also provide an assessment of student progress.
Graduate Program Review
Chapter 2, Subchapter I, Section 2.181 of Coordinating Board rules provides criteria and procedures for the review of existing graduate programs. The rule creates a 10-year period during which institutions are required to review all master’s and doctoral programs.
The Coordinating Board has an online system that records and tracks the graduate review schedule of each institution, allows institutions to submit review materials, and gives institutions feedback from Board staff.
Institutions choose a person to serve as the single point of contact for graduate program review (GPR). That point of contact works with Board staff to set or change the review schedule, works with other institutional personnel to ensure that reviews are conducted appropriately and on schedule, and submits review materials through the GPR system in a timely fashion.
In order to access the GPR system, the point of contact will need to request a CBPass ID and password. Links to the instructions for requesting a CBPass ID and password and instructions for using the online application are provided below.
Alterations to the schedule of review are possible, but they must be formally requested. An institution wishing to make changes to its schedule of review should send a formal request to the point of contact in the Division of Academic and Health Affairs listed below. This request should include a list of the programs, their CIP codes, and review dates being altered, accompanied by a justification for the changes being requested. In no case shall an institution be allowed to move the review dates for its programs beyond the limit of the current 10-year cycle.
Low-Producing Program (LPP) Reviews
In July 2013, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted changes to its rules for the annual review of the number of graduates produced by degree programs at institutions of higher education, codified as Texas Administration Code, Title 19, Chapter 4, Subchapter R, Rules 4.285 to 4.290, which were first adopted in April 2010. Rules are based on Texas Education Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter C, Section 61.0512 (f), amended by Senate Bill 215, 83rd Legislature, Regular Session 2013. As of September 1, 2013, the Coordinating Board issues recommendations for consolidation or closure to the institutions’ governing boards for programs that have had consistently very low numbers of graduates.
Standards for Low-Producing Degree Programs
Standards for numbers of graduates of low-producing degree programs are:
- fewer than 25 graduates in five years for undergraduate programs,
- fewer than 15 graduates in five years for master’s programs, and
- fewer than 10 graduates in five years for doctoral programs.
New degree programs are exempt from LPP review for the first five years of operation. Master’s degree programs that lead directly to a doctoral program are also exempt.
Completers of career technical certificates are included with the count of similarly applied associate degree completers.
Doctoral programs include research programs leading to the award of the doctor of philosophy (PhD) and practice or special professional degrees often required to practice, such as the Juris Doctorate (JD), Doctor of Medicine (MD), and Doctor of Audiology (AUD), etc.
LPP Recommendations and Institutional Responsibility
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board posts an annual list of programs based on its annual Low-Producing Program review of degree programs.
List of Low-Producing Programs – Annual Review [DOC]
Coordinating Board staff may recommend to an institution’s governing board the consolidation or closure of any non-exempt degree program (see below) that has been on the annual list of low-producing programs for three or more consecutive years (Coordinating Board Annual Report). If the governing board does not accept the recommendation, then the university system (or the institution, where a system does not exist) must identify the programs recommended for consolidation or closure on its next legislative appropriations request. In those situations, a system or institution also needs to develop a plan for the degree program to achieve the minimum standard for the degree awarded, or if the standard is not attainable, the institution needs to provide a rationale describing the merits of continuing the degree program.
Contact
Inquiries regarding doctoral Annual Progress Reports or Graduate Program Reviews should be sent to Jessica Acton, Director, Acadmic and Health Affairs.
Inquiries regarding Low-Producing Program reviews should be sent to Andrew Lofters, Director, Academic and Health Affairs.
