ePAR and Program Review

Our Processes

We produce ePAR and program reviews by division following specific processes for:

ePAR Planning Process

The college’s planning processes are integrated with resource allocation decisions through two distinct but connected processes that occur at the departmental level: 1) Program Review and 2) Electronic Program Assessment and Review (ePAR).

Program Review is a cornerstone of the District’s institutional planning. It is a self-study that is conducted every three years by every program and department to assess program effectiveness and resource requirements. Each program must address how its functions align with the District’s mission and strategic goals.

The Program Review committees for Academic and Student Services and Operations evaluate programs, develop a summary analysis of the review process and its findings, and present these results to their respective senates. Following this review, the analyses are discussed at Strategic Council (the college’s highest governance body whose membership includes faculty, management, classified, and students), and its subcommittee, the Planning and Resource Allocation Committee (PARAC). Program Review evaluations and the executive summary provide assessment evidence for resource allocations.

The annually submitted electronic Program Assessment and Review (ePAR) is another cornerstone, providing the mechanism for departments to connect Program Review outcomes to resource requests. Resource requests include faculty, classified and management positions, as well as facilities and equipment requests. Each resource request is linked to one or more of the District’s strategies contained in the District’s Strategic Plan. The ePAR requests are reviewed and prioritized at every level of the college: departmental, division, and each executive branch, where the top-tier list is prioritized for final consideration.

The top tier from each executive branch is submitted to PARAC. PARAC also receives an annual report from the Program Review and Program Vitality Committees before making a final recommendation to Strategic Council for requests to be integrated into the budget process. Additionally, beginning with the 2013-2014 budget development cycle, line item departmental budgets were submitted in a revised format to identify their alignment with each of the District’s primary goals.

Program Review Process

Ideally, the writing of a Program Review Report should be a collaborative process of full-time and part time faculty as well as the appropriate educational administrator, instructional assistants, classified staff members and students who have an interest in the present and future vision of the program at all sites throughout the district. The Program Review Committee needs as much information as possible concerning the present and future of the program to assess and recommend the resources needed to keep the program viable and robust.

  1. Relevancy: This section assesses the program’s significance to its students, the college, and the community.
  2. Currency: This category assesses the currency of program curricula as dictated by Title 5 and the currency of efforts in meeting accreditation standards as well as improving pedagogy and engaging in professional development.
  3. Effectiveness: This section assesses the effectiveness of the program in light of traditional measurements.
  4. Resources: This category assesses the adequacy of current resources available to the program and describes and justifies the resources required to achieve planning goals by relating program needs to the assessments above. (Refer to the bottom row of your DSR in your response to this category. You may include budget information if you have it.)
  5. Summary/Closing