Program Reviews

Feather River College Program Review

These webpages have been designed to provide support and organization to the program review process at Feather River College. An overview of the concept of program review is provided here in addition to links to archived annual program reviews, comprehensive program reviews, templates and papers on program review. It is our hope that you find these materials practical and informative for your continuing work in the college program review process.

Program review can be defined as a process of reflection and assessment of program effectiveness with program improvement as the intended outcome. Although ideally this process is ongoing where program constituents gather data and engage in collaborative discussions, program reviews are required at a minimum to occur annually and then every three to four years it must be done in a comprehensive manner. Academic, administrative and student service programs complete annual and comprehensive program reviews, and they are archived here accordingly.

The importance and value of the program review process cannot be overstated. There are numerous books and articles dedicated to the theory and practice of program reviews (some listed elsewhere on this site), but a synopsis of what opportunities program review can bring to a college include the:

1. examination of the extent to which a program is meeting its mission and contributing to the mission of the college
2. development of an understanding of a program’s challenges and successes
3. usage of data and evaluation findings to develop goals and actions that can lead to program improvement
4. information contributions in support of the college’s Strategic Planning process
5. satisfying, in part, of accountability and accreditation mandates, and
6. guidance on program additions, revisions and resource allocation.

For more information regarding program reviews, contact the Institutional Researcher, Sean Whaley and/or the VP of Instruction, Dr. Derek Lerch.