UAPC Recommendations on Program Review

(Adopted May 1995)

Ten-Year Cycle

Periodic review of all UW-Madison's "programs" (departments and associated majors) is required by the UW-System
Regents. This guideline is generally interpreted as requiring review once every ten years. The University Academic
Planning Council (UAPC) has recommended review on this cycle. Specialized accreditation reviews may be
"counted" as program reviews if appropriate. It is clear that there are some programs that have never been
reviewed or are very much "overdue" for review.

Whether a program warrants a review, or whether merger with another program or elimination is more appropriate
should be considered. Reviews require a great deal of FACULTY TIME AND EFFORT, which should be devoted to
reviewing and strengthening programs that will be continued.

Reporting Program Reviews

The UAPC's current policy regarding reporting program reviews is that the UAPC receives:
-- A summary of the findings of the review (but not the complete review). This summary can be the same as the
one prepared for reporting to the Regents.
-- The Dean's letter explaining the action that he/she will take to follow up on the recommendations of the review.
This policy allows the complete review, with details of personnel and programmatic issues, to stay at the
school/college level.

Low Enrollment Majors

Particular attention should be given to low-enrollment majors, defined as those in which enrollment is very low and
very few degrees have been granted in recent years. These majors should definitely be scheduled for review, as part
of the on-going review process. In general, the expectation is that unless a compelling case can be made for
continuation, these majors will be phased out.

The following possibilities for handling low-enrollment majors should be considered:

  1. Merge the major into an appropriate larger major with a more inclusive scope.
  2. Merge several low-enrollment majors into one more inclusive title. For example, the Education and
    (subject area) Master's degrees (e.g. Education and Mathematics) might be combined into a joint
    program and offered under a single title.
  3. Make the major available to the occasional student through the Individual Major at the Bachelor's
    level or the Special Committee Degree at the Master's level.
  4. If the major is a combination of two existing UW-Madison majors, handle this major as most other
    double majors, instead of separately enumerating it. For example, the major in "History and History
    of Science" is currently a separately listed major that might be handled as a double major, one in
    "History" and one in "History of Science". "Computer Science and Statistics" is a similar case.

If there appears to be no satisfactory alternative to continuing a particular low enrollment major, the need to retain
it should be evaluated in light of the following criteria, as well as others the school/colleges may wish to add:

  1. What evidence demonstrates a genuine student need and/or community demand -- even at a low level -- for
    graduates with this specific degree?
  2. What is the cost of the program? No program can be assumed to be "without cost". All programs incur minimal
    costs in terms of record-keeping for the school/college, the Registrar's Office, the Graduate School, and others.
    In addition, faculty time is a cost -- even if special courses are not involved. Time must be devoted to review
    of the program, recruitment of students, curriculum development, and similar activities.
  3. What are the COMPELLING reasons why none of the options outlined above (merging this major into a larger
    major, or offering it as an individual major) are viable alternatives?
  4. Is the degree in question a Master's degree which is associated with a corresponding Ph.D.? If so, does it make
    sense to evaluate the Master's in conjunction with the doctoral degree? If there is a sufficient number of
    doctoral degrees, there seems little reason to eliminate the Master's degree.
  5. In addition to such special criteria, all normal program review criteria, such as program quality, uniqueness
    and coherence, apply to low enrollment majors.