UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Jan. 22, Penn State President Bendapudi and the senior administration shared a road map for Penn State’s future and outlined several initiatives to position the University for future success. Bendapudi asked the Penn State community to share their questions as one mechanism for faculty, staff and students to participate in addressing the University’s financial challenges, business model, and several change initiatives over the next 17 months.
The following is the fifth in a series of Q&As to answer the most frequently asked questions shared with senior leaders. This installment provides additional insight on Penn State’s new Academic Portfolio and Program Review, which accounted for about 15 of the submitted questions.
As Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz recently discussed with Faculty Senate, the Academic Portfolio and Program Review is a process that will begin this February to make sure the University is meeting the needs and interests of students.
“We are looking at ourselves through the lens of students, of research and creative scholarship, and of the goals President Bendapudi has presented. Our goal is to emerge from the APPR as a university that remains student-centric with a comprehensive and cohesive academic portfolio that meets our educational mission sustainably and aligns with our research strengths and priorities,” Schwartz said. “We are at the very beginning of this effort and will be seeking participation and engagement from deans, chancellors and faculty across our campuses to shape and build this process. As part of this effort, we will also be creating processes that will allow us as a University community to continuously engage in this holistic kind of work in the future so we can consistently address student needs and opportunities.”
Initial conversations about the APPR have taken place with Faculty Senate on Jan. 23 and with the Academic Leadership Forum (ALF) on Feb. 7. The ALF session was an opportunity for academic leaders to hear from Schwartz and other executive sponsors, ask questions, participate in robust breakout sessions, and offer insights to inform the design, development and processes by which the APPR will be conducted.
A similar session will take place for Faculty Senate on Feb. 22 for individuals to engage in conversations to help shape the process. During this conversation, senators will have an opportunity to discuss the objectives, scope, and roles and responsibilities of the APPR teams.
Updates about the process will continue to be shared with the community as work gets underway, including through a new APPR website, which will be updated as this process moves forward. Questions about this initiative can be sent to appr@psu.edu.
1. Who will be participating in the Academic Portfolio and Program Review? Will you consider feedback from all stakeholders?
A mix of faculty, staff and students, along with academic leaders, will be involved directly in this process, and there will be a number of mechanisms for broader community input throughout the project’s lifetime. Opportunities for community-wide engagement such as discussion sessions and confidential mechanisms for individuals to share input are being planned.
The project’s executive sponsors are Schwartz, Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor; and Michele Stine, chair of the University Faculty Senate and teaching professor in the College of Health and Human Development.
Currently, the executive sponsors are continuing to build a core project team to represent faculty, staff and students from across the University, and also plan to build out additional project teams with individuals from across Penn State to engage in this work in future phases of this process. The current core team is listed below, and additional faculty members and representatives from Student Affairs and other critical areas will also be added.
Members of Faculty Senate will be engaged throughout this process, including by serving as members of both the executive and core project teams. In addition, the Senate Council, Faculty Advisory Council, committee chairs, and caucuses will also be included throughout this process. Faculty members across Penn State’s campuses who are not part of Faculty Senate will also be involved.
The core APPR Steering Commitee members currently include:
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Jeremy Bean, assistant vice president of enterprise change and transformation
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Jonna Belanger, associate teaching professor in the College of Health and Human Development; HHD Faculty Senate Council Chair
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Kathy Bieschke, vice provost for Faculty Affairs
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Rick Brazier, interim dean of University College
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Bill Clark, associate dean of the Graduate School
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Lindsey Droz, senior director in the Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
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Renata Engel, vice provost for Online Education
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Terra Ingram, past chair of University Staff Advisory Council; administrative support coordinator for the SAFES Institute
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Matt Melvin, vice president for Enrollment Management
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Scarlett Miller, administrative fellow; professor of engineering design and industrial engineering in the College of Engineering
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Kerry Newman, director of strategic communications in the Office of Undergraduate Education
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Juliet Pinto, administrative fellow; associate professor in the Department of Journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
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Maggie Slattery, assistant dean for general education in the Office of Undergraduate Education
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Josh Wede, chair-elect of Faculty Senate; teaching professor of psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts
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Liz Wright, chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Hazleton
In addition to the steering committee, the other core project groups will focus on:
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Developing rubrics to assess data, mapping out a decision-making process and who will be involved, and defining metrics
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Working with the consultant to gather data and engaging with constituent groups to solicit information and feedback
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Using data collected by the consultant and project team to make recommendations as defined by the established rubric, metrics and decision-making process
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Engaging the Penn State community in the APPR process and sharing updates
2. What will the role of the consultant be?
The University will engage a consultant in an advisory capacity and is currently in the RFP process to request proposals, which will be evaluated by the Faculty Senate Council and a core team that will engage with the consultant throughout the APPR process. Using a rubric that will be developed, recommendations will be shared with the steering committee to select the consultant.
Penn State is engaging a consultant to offer guidance and recommendations throughout this process; they will not have decision-making responsibilities. The University’s internal team will lead the project and make decisions in accordance with a collaboratively developed decision-making process. The scope of the external consultant’s work will focus on benchmarking, data gathering and analysis, and they will:
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Provide expertise and bandwidth to objectively and efficiently deliver the review processes
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Provide market data and peer benchmarking
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Support the development of measurements and metrics to assess existing (including newly started) and future programs
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Take a University-wide approach to assess current and future offerings to maximize Penn State’s impact and mission
3. What is the timeline for the APPR?
Initial planning is now underway, which includes creating the project structure, appointing project teams and selecting an external consultant. We know that we need to have the time to get full input and engagement from our community, but we also do need to make progress and make changes that are responsive to current trends and needs. The plan is to complete initial work by the end of fall 2024, and implementation of these recommendations may start as early as spring 2025.
The steps of the approach include:
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Roadmap (January-February 2024): Team creation and scope, objectives and role creation
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Data gathering (spring-fall 2024): Consultant engagement, stakeholder input, and pre-implementation planning
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Initial recommendations (fall 2024): Team is engaging with Academic Leadership Forum and Faculty Senate to develop a more detailed project timeline.
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Implementation (beginning spring 2025): Rolling implementations and evaluations
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Continuous review (ongoing): Cyclic review process established and maintained, stabilization and continuous improvement
4. How granular will the review be? Will it consider academic departments, degree programs, minors, and extracurriculars?
The details of the scope of this process are part of a continuing dialogue and there will be additional information to share following the upcoming Faculty Senate meeting on Feb. 22. While many details still need to be worked through, it’s likely that the APPR will include all academic programs, including undergraduate and graduate majors and minors, offered across all campuses, including Penn State World Campus. Penn College, law and medical programs, and extracurricular and co-curricular activities are not considered within the scope of the review, but this decision is being reviewed based on feedback from the Academic Leadership Forum.
5. What metrics will the Academic Portfolio and Program Review use to determine quality?
Initial planning is still underway, and a comprehensive list of specific metrics has not been determined. A dedicated team — which will include faculty expertise — will be established to develop the metrics, rubrics and decision-making process. The review will likely focus on a variety of information, including student demand, enrollment trends, student performance, and geographic and marketplace data, as well as pricing structures, alignment and synergy with research, efficacy of various pedagogies, employer and community needs, and our commitments to student success that extend beyond some of these traditional metrics. Both quantitative and qualitative metrics will be used and may vary depending on the type of program.
This data will be used to help inform recommendations about where the University may need to offer an additional program, create a new program or whether there need to be changes to existing programs.
6. Is the elimination of academic programs on the table?
The outcomes of this process will likely include recommendations to leave programs unimpacted, create new programs, make changes to existing programs and to eliminate programs, among other options. However, until this process is further along, it is too early to say whether or how specific academic programs will be impacted. The aim of this effort is academic innovation and to leverage our strengths as a University to continue be a leader in the coming decades. We want to make sure that Penn State is offering the right mix of residential, online and blended programs — where demand exists — that align with the University’s mission and that address the preferences and needs of students, society, and employers locally, regionally and nationally. To create a sustainable program portfolio, we will look at what programs are being offered, where they are offered and how they are delivered. Programs will capitalize on the strengths of Penn State’s world-class faculty and align with the University’s research strengths.
Additional Q&As in the series include topics on:
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story referenced the Academic Program Portfolio Review. The name has been changed to the Academic Portfolio and Program Review.