Academic unit/program review is an essential component of the University’s continuing efforts to maintain and improve the quality of its academic offerings. Proper application of the review process assists the University as it strives to achieve academic excellence.
All academic units and programs at Mississippi State University undergo a cyclical review. The major purpose of this review is to achieve academic excellence consistent with the University mission. As a consequence, the results of academic reviews are incorporated into the University planning process. The academic review process will allow the units under review to
- define the unit's mission in the University;
- evaluate the effectiveness of the unit in terms of satisfying the University's mission;
- establish goals and objectives for the unit;
- establish strategies for attaining goals and objectives;
- develop means to measure learning outcomes;
- evaluate unit effectiveness based on measured outcomes;
- incorporate changes in the academic unit responding to measured outcomes as well as State and national needs.
The academic structure of the unit under review will become stronger as a result of the review. The process may, in rare cases, lead to a recommendation for a reduction, to the elimination, or to a consolidation of programs. All recommendations for such actions are generated by the review and are based, along with other input, on the strength, need for, demand for, and/or the significance of the program to advance the University mission.
