Program Evaluation

The primary goal of the Graduate School is to improve graduate education at NC State. Program evaluation offers a way of achieving that goal by providing guidance to improve individual programs. This page focuses on the two forms of program evaluation supported by the Graduate School, the external review and outcomes assessment.

External Review of Graduate Programs

Information for Reviewers
The external review is very important to graduate education and research at NC State. A diagram of the external review process provides a schematic summary of the review. In the external review, a team of reviewers consisting of one or more external reviewers, an internal reviewer, and a representative of the Graduate School produces a written report. Special information for external reviewers is available to answer logistical questions they may have.

Information for DGPs and Department Heads
To find out when your program is slated for its next external review, see the Comprehensive Program Review Schedule. A diagram of the external review process offers a schematic summary of the review, and a guide to the external review process provides a more detailed introduction to it. You can use a checklist for managing the review process as a guide to organizing the logistics of the review.

A critical part of preparing for the review is writing a self-study document. Self-study guidelines and a template for faculty CV’s provide help with that document. Likewise, a guide for creating an agenda assists you in making a schedule for the review. After the review, you can record progress in implementing the reviewers’ recommendations in your biennial reports.

Outcomes Assessment of Graduate Programs

Answers to most of your questions about outcomes assessment may be found in an introduction to outcomes assessment at NC State, which contains an overview of this process and links to PowerPoint presentations from workshops on creating an outcomes assessment plan and then gathering, analyzing, and reporting assessment data. One of the critical components of this process is describing your findings and any actions taken as a result of those findings by answering the six questions on the biennial report.

To find all these links and more, go to Quick Access to All Links.