A thorough academic review will be scheduled every five to seven years or as needed. Responsibility for initiating the academic reviews rests with the Dean of the Faculty. At the outset, the Dean of the Faculty will consult with the relevant divisional dean, department chair, and/or program director to initiate the review, taking into account any factors that may optimize the review outcomes. 

The academic review requires several months to complete since the self-study, the first step of the review process, touches the entire department and includes data gathering, discussion, and reflection. Academic units undergoing a review in the fall of the academic year should plan on completing their self-study during the preceding spring term and summer. Similarly, academic units undergoing a review in the spring term should plan to engage in the self-study during the preceding fall term.

Data can be useful in evaluating various dimensions of an academic unit: the Faculty; demographic diversity; research; graduate program; undergraduate program; and budget. With the support of Institutional Research in the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty will provide these data at the beginning of the review process. These data are not transparent; they require interpretation. Nonetheless, it seems clear that no serious self-study can proceed without reference to these statistical and comparative baselines.