9 Mid-Cycle Update
A challenge we often face in post-secondary education is, once reporting is complete, faculty and administrators often resume their routine work without reflecting on results (Kim, 2018). To address this gap, we encourage postsecondary institutions to adopt a mid-cycle reporting process to the academic planning committee mid-way through the seven year program review cycle.
The update details how the program has addressed the program’s goals for improvement. The Module 7 Action Plan also serves as the foundation for the Mid-Cycle Update four years following completion of the Program Review Course and asks faculty to reflect upon their progress over the preceding years, including noting whether goals are in progress, completed, modified, or removed; and asks programs to list steps taken to address issues or barriers that may have arisen since the time that the goals were originally drafted.
Instructions for Deans and Program Review Teams
Timeline: May 1 – October 1
Due Date: October 1
Deans are notified by the office of quality assurance on May 1 that they are scheduled to provide a Mid-Cycle Update to APPC in October. This allows for five months to complete the Mid-Cycle Update template, which is a modified version of the Module 7 Action Plan template.
Below is a step-by-step breakdown of the development, approval, and presentation of the Mid-Cycle Update:
| Responsibility | Action Item |
|---|---|
| Program Review Team | Program review team write the report using the template provided, detail how the program has addressed the program’s goals for improvement mid-way through the 7 year program review cycle. |
| Dean | Dean reviews the Mid-Cycle Update. Once approved, the Dean forwards the Update to the office of quality assurance by October 1. |
| Office of quality assurance | A quality assurance practitioner receives the Mid-Cycle Update and checks it for completion. Once the review is completed, it is forwarded to the Provost (or designate). |
| Provost (or designate) | Provost (or designate) receives the Mid-Cycle Update and considers the program’s progress. If the Provost has concerns or questions about the Mid-Cycle Update, the Provost communicates these concerns with the Dean to seek clarification. Once approved, the Provost returns the Mid-Cycle Update to the office of quality assurance. |
| Office of quality assurance | A quality assurance practitioner submits the Mid-Cycle Update to the academic planning committee of Senate. |
| Dean | Dean attends an academic planning committee meeting to answer any questions that may arise. |
References
Kim, G. (2018). An exploratory case study of a quality assurance process at an Ontario university. University of Western Ontario, Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5857. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5857
