Program Improvement Plan

Purpose:

The Program Improvement Plan should establish and outline the criteria against which each program can determine their performance on or toward a certain improvement goal. There is no limit to the number of goals each program must report each year, this is a program-level decision and should be guided by the program needs for continuous improvement. This should be considered a “living document” as it is possible that the proposed objectives, implementation, or timeframe may vary as a program undertakes these improvement processes. Programs should propose their best plan for improvement and continue to review this document and update information through the academic year.

Elements of the Plan Template:

Below you will find guidance on each column in the template. This template is intentionally at a high level to allow for the necessary variation of improvement across the diverse programs in your division. This guidance is to help Programs understand what information is needed, not to proscribe a process by which Programs must improve. These goals and objectives are to come from the Programs themselves. The template is a documentation for a cycle of continuous improvement.

Program Improvement Goals:

The improvement goal of the Program Improvement Plan is to outline the annual or longer-term goals of each program and identify objectives and a timeline to achieve these goals. A goal should be a broad statement about an annual or longer-term expectation of what one would expect as a result of a candidate matriculating through this program. It should serve as a foundation for establishing program objectives.

Improvement Objectives:

The improvement objectives are the measurable steps needed to achieve the improvement goal. Each objective should be rooted in evidence/data that are used to contextualize and articulate the rationale necessary to justify each action step required to meet the objective.

Supporting Evidence:

Please list the data you used as evidence to support the articulation of this improvement objective. Examples of data include but are not limited to enrollment data, course evaluation forms, qualitative feedback from candidates, standard changes, or trends in the field. You should be able to use data to show some justification for why an objective is present.

Detailed Implementation:

Articulate the action steps required to meet each objective. This can include, but is not limited to actions related to planning, program review, or evaluation guiding the curriculum. Each of these steps must be a measurable action where data are collected to provide evidence of completion.

Evidence of Goal Completion:

Document the data sources that will be analyzed to determine the progress on or completion of each goal. These data sources should be in direct alignment with the action steps underlying each objective. Data sources can include, but are not limited to qualitative analysis of curriculum, policy, procedures, or candidate assignments, enrollment data, candidate grades, course evaluation data, or surveys of candidate preparation. The evidence reported in this section may or may not currently exist, and it is important to articulate the need if data are not currently available.

Person Responsible:

For each implementation element, there should be an individual within the program who is responsible for seeing this action through to completion.

Timeframe for Implementation:

Articulate a proposed timeframe for implementing each action for each improvement objective. There is no requirement that this timeframe be limited to the current academic year, rather it should be a feasible timeline for task completion.

Outcome:

Programs should note the outcome of each improvement objective. Note what has been completed and what is ongoing. Since this is a living document, update annually if this is a new or ongoing action.

End of Academic Year Summary:

This section requests a review and summary of the program improvement work across the academic year. This can be completed at the end of the academic year and reflect on the successes and challenges faced in implementing each objective and meeting each articulated goal. If the work was successful, note your evidence to support the statement of completion. If the work will carry into the next academic year, note the evidence of progress and what steps remain ongoing. The goal here is to show data/evidence of the work completed during the academic year. There should be an analysis of data to illustrate and support any claims.