In any given year there may be campuses which are not reviewing individual programs but rather conducting comprehensive studies of institutional goals and priorities. While each campus has developed its own review procedures, as shown in Table 1, there are several review mechanisms which are being employed on most campuses. Most reviews begin with a departmental self-study, which is generally submitted to the appropriate dean for review and comment and then forwarded to a campus committee for its consideration. Often the committee will conduct its own evaluation of the area under review. Some campuses conduct studies of their students and alumni and survey employers and agencies who utilize program graduates.
Most campuses also seek input from individuals and agencies external to the campus.
Individuals selected to serve as outside evaluators are usually faculty from other institutions whose expertise relates to the program under review. While the review itself may not appear to address thoroughly some questions of efficiency and economy, the qualitative review may nevertheless influence later campus decisions on resource priorities. At a time when campuses cannot afford to offer courses which fall below enrollment limits, resource reviews are conducted continuously on a campuswide basis. The existence of the qualitative reviews helps to insure that when resource decisions are made, the departments are better prepared to make adjustments which do the least harm to the curriculum. On the other hand, many reviews have revealed resource lacks of a sufficiently serious nature to warrant an adjustment in campus allocations.