Graduate Program Reviews

Chapter 5, Subchapter C, section 5.52 of Coordinating Board rules provides criteria and procedures for the review of existing graduate programs. The rule creates a 10-year period during which institutions are required to review all of their master’s and doctoral programs. The link to Section 5.52 is:

The Coordinating Board has an online system that records and tracks the graduate review schedule of each institution, allows institutions to submit review materials, and gives institutions feedback from Board staff.

Institutions choose a person to serve as the single point of contact for graduate program review (GPR). That point of contact works with Board staff to set or change the review schedule, works with other institutional personnel to ensure that reviews are conducted appropriately and on schedule, and submits review materials through the GPR system in a timely fashion.

In order to access the GPR system, the point of contact will need to request a CBPass ID and password. Links to the instructions for requesting a CBPass ID and password and instructions for using the online application are provided below.

Additional Information on the Implementation of Rule 5.52

During any given year of a cycle, an institution may review no more than 20% of its graduate programs. New graduate programs must be reviewed no later than the seventh year after the start date of the program.

Alterations to the schedule of review are possible, but they must be formally requested. An institution wishing to make changes to its schedule of review should send a formal request to the point of contact in the Division of Academic and Health Affairs listed below. This request should include a list of the programs, their CIP codes, and review dates being altered, accompanied by a justification for the changes being requested. In no case shall an institution be allowed to move the review dates for its programs beyond the limit of the current 10-year cycle.

During the 10-year cycle, each program is reviewed using the criteria listed in Section 5.52. The process must include a programmatic self-study and a review by external consultants with discipline expertise who are employed by institutions of higher education outside of Texas. Doctoral programs shall be reviewed by at least two external consultants and master’s programs by at least one.

Programs that are accredited by an external body may use the results of their accreditation review to satisfy the review requirements under Rule 5.52. No additional external review is necessary.

No later than 180 days after the conclusion of each review, the institution’s point of contact shall submit electronically a report of the outcomes of each review through the GPR system. This report must include a summary of the programmatic self-study, as well as the full text of the external reviewers’ evaluation and the institutional response to the external evaluation.

Board staff will review and analyze each report, followed by an official response to the institution which may include requirements for program improvement.

Contact

Graduate Program Reviews

Inquiries regarding graduate program reviews should be directed to James Goeman.

Email James Goeman