Continuous improvement
Our University thrives on continuous improvement, which is comprised of the processes of assessment, program review, and accreditation activities. As a student-centered institution, continuous improvement is especially important to CI, as it allows us to be responsive to changing student needs in any individual classroom, within an academic program, and at the University-level, while additionally feeding into to our WSCUC accreditation. With a Thematic Pathway Reaccreditation (TPR) and reaccreditation on the horizon (2024), everyone can contribute to these ongoing efforts in different ways. Intentional actions of continuous improvement are what help us do what we came to CI to do – to serve students and to make meaningful social change. We invite you to jump in, keep involved and stay abreast of our accreditation efforts.
Program Review
The review of academic programs and assessment are at the heart of the teaching and learning processes facilitating the development of meaningful and effective curriculum. Through the strategic and methodological processes of inquiry directed at teaching and student learning, faculty, staff, and students contribute to assessment through the collection and analysis of data to improve and enhance teaching methods and curriculum design. Regularized academic assessment of this nature undergirds the program review process, whereby academic programs conduct self-analyses on their operations and progress, as well as inviting in external experts to offer feedback. Together these processes are the mechanisms through which academic programs close the loop and define action items to ensure that their curricula and teaching and learning processes deliver the intended benefits to students and evolve as necessary.
The Academic Programs Office at CSUCI oversees, collects data on, and provides training, mentorship, and support related to continuous improvement, consisting of program-level assessment and program review. Program Learning Outcomes for the CSUCI current academic programs are published and kept current here (PDF, 211KB).
All programs, as well as General Education, are subject to program review within the guidelines of campus policy. Non-degree granting programs in the Division of Academic Affairs may be subject to periodic program review at the request of the Provost. Accredited programs will satisfy the requirement for program review via the accreditation or re-accreditation process. The self-study prepared for accreditation, and the resulting decision letters from the accrediting agency, must be filed with the Vice Provost and the Associate Vice President of Academic Programs in order to fulfill the program review requirement.
A program review may take as long as two years, but never longer. Per Chancellor's Office instructions, the campus Academic Master Plan (AMP) (PDF, 232KB) informs the next date for each program review, being the year of the final report, which takes place every 6 years. The process and timeline for program review follows campus policy and CSU requirements. CI's general process and timeline are summarized in its separate, specific timeline page.
The current program review cycle(PDF, 116KB) for all csuci programs is updated and published annually to the CO.
For general information regarding program review, email Elizabeth Showers (Academic Programs Coordinator) or email Kristen Linton (Faculty Director of Assessment).
Contacts for all Academic Programs staff are accessible through the side banner specific link.