| (a) Each public institution of higher education, in
accordance with the requirements of the institution's approved accreditor,
shall have a process to review the quality and effectiveness of existing
degree programs and for continuous improvement.
(b) Board Staff shall develop a process for conducting
a periodic audit of the quality, productivity, and effectiveness of
each existing master's, doctoral, and professional degree program
at a public institution of higher education.
(c) Board Staff will meet the requirements of program
review established by Tex. Educ. Code §61.0512(e) by reviewing
program data reported in the Accountability System for each undergraduate
degree offered by a public institution of higher education in Texas.
(d) Each public university and public health-related
institution shall review each of its master's, doctoral and professional
degree programs at least once every ten years.
(1) On a schedule to be determined by the Commissioner,
institutions shall submit a schedule of review for all graduate programs
to the Assistant Commissioner with oversight of academic program approval.
(2) Each institution shall begin each review of a graduate
degree program with a rigorous self-study.
(3) As part of the required review process, an institution
shall use at least two external reviewers with subject-matter expertise
who are employed by institutions of higher education outside of Texas.
External reviewers must be provided with the materials and products
of the self-study and must participate in a site review.
(4) External reviewers must be part of a program that
is nationally recognized for excellence in the discipline.
(5) External reviewers must affirm that they have no
conflict of interest related to the Board, the institution, or program
under review.
(6) Closely-related programs, defined as sharing the
same four-digit Classification of Instructional Programs code, may
be reviewed in a consolidated manner at the discretion of the institution.
(7) Institutions shall review master's and doctoral
programs in the same discipline simultaneously, using the same self-study
materials and reviewers. Institutions may also, at their discretion,
review baccalaureate programs in the same discipline as master's and
doctoral programs simultaneously.
(8) Institutions shall submit a report on the outcomes
of each review, including the evaluation of the external reviewers
and actions the institution has taken or will take to improve the
program, and shall deliver these reports to Board Staff no later than
180 days after the reviewers have submitted their findings to the
institution.
(9) Institutions may submit reviews of master's, doctoral,
and professional programs performed for reasons of programmatic licensure
or accreditation in satisfaction of the review and reporting requirements
in this subsection.
(10) Each institution shall submit a report of the
outcomes of each review, including the evaluation of the external
reviewer(s) and actions the institution has taken or will take to
improve the program, and shall deliver these reports to the Assistant
Commissioner with oversight of academic approval not later than 180
days after the reviewer(s) have submitted their findings to the institution.
(11) Each institution may submit reviews of graduate
programs performed for reasons of programmatic licensure or accreditation
in satisfaction of the review and reporting requirements in this subsection.
(e) Board Staff shall review all reports submitted
for a master's, doctoral, or professional degree program and shall
conduct analysis as necessary to ensure high quality. The Commissioner
may require an institution to take additional actions to improve its
program as a result of Board review.
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