Recommended Practices for Reviewing Programs Offered Across Units and/or Divisions – Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs, University of Toronto

Applicable to: Life Sciences; Rotman Commerce; Master of Science in Biomedical Communications; programs offered in association with Colleges (constituent and federated); Faculty of Arts and Science undergraduate programs in Music and Forestry; and tri-campus graduate programs* (PDF).

Not applicable to: Programs offered with external institutions (e.g., joint programs with Sheridan/Michener/Centennial; conjoint programs with the Toronto School of Theology; dual degrees); collaborative specializations; combined or double degree programs.

The Commissioning Officer (in the case of decanal reviews) should work with the head of the unit(s) (see examples below) involved in the offering of the program(s) under review throughout the review process, on the following:

When establishing the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the review, confirm:

which program(s) will be reviewed
timing of the review
any special terms beyond what is required under the University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP)

When nominating reviewers, to ensure:

disciplinary coverage
appropriate graduate/undergraduate program expertise

When announcing the review, to ensure that:

all units involved in the offering of the program are aware of the site visit dates, names of the reviewers, ToR and program(s) included in the review

During the development of the self-study, to ensure that:

relevant information is provided to the reviewers about program design, requirements, innovations, faculty and other resources, demand, etc.
standardized and supplementary data are included where appropriate

When scheduling the site visit, to ensure:

participation of the head(s) of the collaborating unit(s) and/or program(s)
participation of relevant faculty, students and staff

When managing the external reviewers’ report, ensure that:

any report templates provided to reviewers cover all program(s) and ToR
head(s) of collaborating unit(s) can flag factual error(s) before the report is finalized
the report is shared with the collaborating unit(s)

When preparing the administrative responses to the review report, ensure:

coordinated short-, medium- and long-term plans for implementing reviewers’ recommendations

During the governance and reporting phases, ensure:

finalization of the FAR/IP prepared by the VPAP Office
attendance at AP&P and Academic Board
monitoring and following up on the implementation of recommendations

Examples:

Program(s)	Commissioning Officer	Other Unit Heads to Involve
Life Science undergraduate programs	Dean, Faculty of Medicine	Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science
Rotman Commerce	Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science	Dean, Rotman School of Management
Master of Science in Biomedical Communications, MScBMC	Dean, Faculty of Medicine	Dean & Vice-Principal Academic, University of Toronto Mississauga
Music, BA (normally part of Music provostial review)	Vice-Provost, Academic Programs	Dean, Faculty of Music; Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science
Undergraduate programs associated with constituent/federated Colleges	Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science	College Principal

Contact

David Lock
Academic Reviews & Planning Specialist
416.946.3421

Emma del Junco
Academic Reviews & Planning Specialist
416.978.5015