Creating Engaging Virtual Annual Program Review Experiences to Evaluate Current Online Graduate Education Practices

Abstract

Although graduate academic institutions implement diverse annual review processes, their overall intent is focused on ensuring continuous improvement of program quality (National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, 2020). Through program review processes, university leaders (e.g., department chairs, program leads) analyze student performance and department procedures to inform future actions and policies. This mixed-methods case study examined an online campus’s program review structure. Specifically, a description of how administrative faculty (i.e., department chairs and associate department chairs) reported their program’s strengths, challenges, and future directions and the collaborative scholarly interactions that resulted from these sessions are discussed. Findings from all study participants revealed that administrative faculty perceived program review processes as beneficial and provided a unique opportunity for collaboration across diverse university programs.