Program Prioritization

2015-2016
Academic Task Force Report

Submitted by the Academic Task

Force
April 30, 2016

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NIU PROGRAM PRIORITIZATION 2015-2016

FINAL REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC TASK FORCE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Senior leadership at Northern Illinois University (NIU) initiated a systemic Program Prioritization
process in the Fall of 2014 in response to a variety of factors: the recent hiring of a new university
President as well as an Executive Vice President and Provost, a report by the Higher Learning
Commission Site Team in 2014 that noted a lack of connection between budgets and the institutional
mission, constriction in budgets as a result of regional and national economic crises, and the lack of
participation and support of units of NIUs shared governance structure. The Program Prioritization
process was originally undertaken in order to assist senior leadership align expenditures with NIUs
institutional mission, however the higher education budget crisis in Illinois in 2015/2016 brought
financial issues to the forefront of the campus communitys attention. Despite that, the Program
Prioritization process at NIU differed from those conducted at other institutions in that the NIU task
force charters had no specific charge with regard to the economic impact of the outcomes of its work.
NIUs Program Prioritization Coordinating Committee, made up of 14 members drawn from various
shared governance bodies across campus, initiated a process for selection of members of an Academic
Task Force (AcTF). That task force was charged with the evaluation and categorization of 223 existing
academic programs and 10 newly proposed programs with the ultimate goal of assigning those
programs in relatively equal proportions to one of five (5) categories.
A challenge of the Program Prioritization process has been creating and balancing quantitative and
qualitative metrics for analysis of programs across disciplines. The AcTF recognized the need to respect
both type of metrics when evaluating program narratives.
The AcTF also recognized the financial efficiency with which programs at NIU are operating while
providing quality education and degree programs at a significantly lower cost than other academic
institutions of comparable size and purpose nationally and in Illinois.
The following is a general overview of the AcTF program placements:

Category 1 Candidate for enhancement: 44 programs (20.6%). Programs in this category are of
high importance to NIU and are high performing making efficient and effective use of their
current resources. Programs in this category were recognized for having unmet demand or
potential for growth and that NIU is missing the opportunity to excel without resource
enhancement.
Category 2 Candidate for unchanged resources: 45 programs (21.0%). Programs in this
category are important and necessary to NIU and are making good use of their current
resources. Programs in this category are generally meeting demand and doing well with current
resources. However, the potential for growth is not as great as for the enhanced resource
category.
Category 3 Candidate for reduction in resources: 40 programs (18.7%). Programs in this
category may be underperforming or may have excess capacity or less potential for growth
relative to other programs at NIU.
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Category 4 Candidate for transformation: 44 programs (20.6%). Programs in this category

need to transform to improve importance, performance, and/or use of resources.
Transformation may involve an increase in resources to a program or a refocus of current
resources. These programs appear to have greater potential than their performance indicates.
Category 5 Candidate for review: 41 programs (19.2%). Programs in this category, relative to
category 1-4 programs, are lower performing and of lower priority to the NIU mission. There
may be internal and external demand for some of the programs in this category, but there are
too few student to make the program feasible. Some of these programs were slated for
deletion by their offering department. Prior to elimination, further review is intended for these
programs. Any program elimination will follow NIU policy.

The following are specific task force recommendations in no particular order of importance:

Ensure programs are built with a clear foundation of tenure track faculty.
Bring more attention to academic programs through high quality program marketing.
Examine teacher licensure in an institutional context.
Develop an institutional plan for making Graduate Assistant (GA/TA/RA) stipends more
competitive.
Ensure student outcome data are available for all programs.
Engage in a campus-wide discussion of what diversity means and address the graduation rates of
underrepresented students.
Address the institutional barriers to the success of interdisciplinary programs.

The evaluation of academic programs and thinking strategically about the future is of importance to
higher education generally, and of importance to NIU specifically. The distribution of revenues in
alignment with future projections will assist the university with the provision of robust and wellrounded educational programs.
The Academic Prioritization Task Force endeavored to evaluate the performance and future potential
of programs impartially, impersonally, logically and thoughtfully based on qualitative and quantitative
information and discussion amongst task force members. It is the hope of the Academic Task Force
that this work enhances Northern Illinois Universitys mission to provide an excellent educational
experience for all students that is affordable, enriching and beneficial for their personal and
professional goals.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.

Introduction ....................................................... written by administrative staff ................ pg. 1

Background and Context ............................ ............................................................... pg. 1
Goal, Guiding Principles and Key Elements . ............................................................... pg. 2
Phases, Timeline, and Evaluation ................ ............................................................... pg. 4
Task Force Selection, Orientation and Support ........................................................... pg. 5

II.

Task Force Methodology ................................... written by the Academic Task Force ....... pg. 8
Early Task Force Processes .......................... ............................................................... pg. 8
Task Force Ground Rules and Norming Process........................................................... pg. 8
Scoring Rubric and Categories..................... ............................................................... pg. 9
Program Review and Voting Procedures ..... ............................................................... pg. 11

III.

Results ............................................................... written by the Academic Task Force ....... pg. 14

Recurring Themes ....................................... ............................................................... pg. 14
General Category Characteristics ................ ............................................................... pg. 16
Creation of New Programs and Voluntary Elimination of Existing Programs ............... pg. 22
General Comments and Broad Recommendations ...................................................... pg. 22

IV.

Categorization of Programs ............................... written by the Academic Task Force ....... pg. 25

V.

Appendices ........................................................ ............................................................... pg. 75

Appendix A: Task Force Nomination Forms ....... ............................................................... pg. 75
Appendix B: Task Force Charge and Charter ...... ............................................................... pg. 77
Appendix C: NIU Academic Program Prioritization Criteria Questions............................... pg. 79
Appendix D: Scoring Rubric and General Guidelines for Program Authors ......................... pg. 82
Appendix E: Categorized Programs Sorted by College and Department............................ pg. 85
Appendix F: Categorized Programs Sorted Alphabetically by Program Name ......... pg. 152

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I.

INTRODUCTION
1. Background and Context
This report is a product of the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Program Prioritization Academic Task
Force. To preserve the autonomy of this group, only this first introductory chapter has been written by
administrative staff at NIU. The purpose of this opening chapter is to provide background information
related to the Program Prioritization effort undertaken at NIU and to offer context for this report. The
remainder of the report is solely authored by the Academic Task Force.
NIU began work in the fall of 2014 on a comprehensive program prioritization process. The impetus for
the process was multifactorial: (1) strong enthusiasm and support for program prioritization arose
following key changes in senior leadership including the arrival of a new President in 2013 and the
appointment of a new Executive Vice President and Provost (EVPP) in 2014, both of whom were
dedicated to maximizing the alignment of NIUs resources with its mission to advance the university
and NIUs cornerstone goal of student career success; (2) the Higher Learning Commission Site Team
that completed NIUs 10 year comprehensive accreditation visit in 2014, cited a lack of a demonstrable
link between budget and mission and encouraged NIU to consider a process such as program
prioritization to address this deficit; (3) a commitment by NIU to maintain good stewardship of public
funds was gaining increased importance at a time when the campus was confronting the economic
reality that state funding would continue to decrease in an environment where tuition increases would
be incompatible with NIUs mission of access and affordability; and (4) these factors resulted in an
exploration of program prioritization undertaken in the fall of 2014 by a group of 11 individuals
representing various shared governance bodies across the university. In November 2014, the individuals
in this group were named by the EVPP to the NIU Program Prioritization Coordinating Team that has
guided this process for the past 18 months. Shortly after this group initiated their work, three
additional members were added to the team, two students and one staff member-at-large. The
Coordinating Team members and their affiliations include:
Table 1.1: NIUs Program Prioritization Coordinating Team
Team Member Name

Home College/Unit

Bill Pitney

College of Education

Andy Small

College of Liberal Arts and

Sciences

Jeff Reynolds
Ibrahim AbdelMotaleb
Marc Falkoff
Denise Schoenbachler

Academic Analysis and

Reporting
College of Engineering and
Engineering Technology
College of Law
College of Business

Affiliation/Role
President of Faculty Senate and Executive
Secretary of University Council
Former President of Operating Staff
Council and Chair of the State University
Civil Service Systems Employee Advisory
Council
Data/Reporting Support and Supportive
Professional Staff
Chair of the Resources, Space, and
Budget Sub-Committee of the University
Council
Vice-chair of the Academic Planning
Council
Representative for the Council of Deans
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Brett Coryell
Dillon Domke
Brian Cunningham
Kelly Wesener
Michael
Diana Robinson

Lisa Freeman
Carolinda Douglass*
Susan Mini

Division of Information
Technology
College of Liberal Arts
College of Law

Representative for the Senior Cabinet

Representative for undergraduate
students
Representative for graduate students

Division of Student Affairs

and Enrollment Management

Member-at-large

Division of Outreach,
Engagement, and Regional
Development
Academic Affairs

Member-at-large

Academic Affairs

Vice Provost for Academic Planning and

Development
Vice Provost for Resource Planning

Academic Affairs

Executive Vice President and Provost

* denotes Coordinating Team Facilitator

2. Goal, Guiding Principles and Key Elements
From the start, Program Prioritization at NIU was undertaken as a way to better align resource
allocation with NIUs mission and priorities. It was not designed as a cost-cutting exercise. Specifically:
The goal of Program Prioritization at NIU is to allocate our resources to maximize the impact of our
institutional program portfolio, across both academic and administrative programs. Further, the program
prioritization process is a data-informed process aligned with NIU's vision, mission and strategic
framework.
While some universities undertake program prioritization as a cost-cutting exercise, this was not the
primary purpose of program prioritization at NIU. That said, the recent budget impasse in the state of
Illinois has led to an absence of state funding for all public higher education institutions for the past 10
months. Therefore, the need to better align our resource allocation with our priorities has gained
increased significance. The campus now looks to program prioritization not only as an endeavor to
align resource allocation with mission, as it was initially intended, but also as a potential means of
addressing the continued lack of state funding support through strategic allocation of limited resources
and responsible stewardship of available funds.
There are three Guiding Principles of Program Prioritization at NIU:

All academic and administrative programs will be reviewed

All contracts with all employees will be honored

All students will be guaranteed to be able to complete their current academic programs

With this goal and its associated guiding principles in mind, the program prioritization process at NIU
was built upon four key elements that are crucial to NIUs culture and operations:

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The first of these is that program prioritization was to be inclusive of all campus stakeholders. This
element was first enacted through the composition of the Coordinating Team which included
representatives from faculty, staff, and students. It was further demonstrated in the development
of Program Prioritization Criteria by gathering input from the university community and
empowering shared governance groups to determine the final criteria and their weighting. Finally,
the selection process and ultimate composition of the Task Forces charged with conducting the
review of academic and administrative programs included representation from multiple campus
constituencies.

Second, program prioritization was to be standardized and data-informed with the best available
data delivered through central sources and in a centralized data platform for program authors
(those writing the narratives for their programs) in support of their data analysis efforts and the
creation of their narratives. Though data provided centrally were primarily quantitative in nature,
program authors were encouraged to include additional data, both quantitative and qualitative, to
elucidate their program narratives.

The third key element of program prioritization at NIU was that it was to be an open and
transparent process. Toward this end, communications about the process were issued through a
number of channels including open Coordinating Team meetings; presentations to multiple
audiences including formal shared governance groups as well as informal student groups, faculty
groups, and staff groups; discussions at Presidential Town Hall meetings; articles in NIU Today
(NIUs online campus communication) and Northern Star (NIUs student newspaper); and, most
notably, through a comprehensive and highly active program prioritization website at
http://www.niu.edu/program-prioritization/. Further, communication has been designed as a
reciprocal practice. Feedback has not only been welcomed but expected across all divisions and
from faculty, staff, and students at multiple points in time. Individuals wanting to provide feedback
on this report may do so via the program prioritization website. Feedback (anonymous or
otherwise) will be accepted through May 23, 2016 and distributed to the appropriate individuals
charged with developing action plans during the implementation phase.

The fourth key element of NIUs program prioritization process was that it should be conducted with
rigor and integrity. At every stage in the process, evaluation has been executed for the dual purpose
of generating formative data for creating process improvements in the current round of program
prioritization and providing summative data for the overall assessment of the process.
Understanding what was accomplished, how it was achieved, and what was positive and negative
about each phase of the process is critical to the rigor and integrity of the process and essential to
NIUs institutional culture.

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3. Phases, Timeline, and Evaluation

To date, the program prioritization process at NIU has included five phases with distinct purposes
although, at times, temporarily overlapping time periods:
Phase 1. Planning and Launch: including the development of the Coordinating Team and its subgroups;
establishment of planning documents to guide the process; and development of a communications
plan for increasing awareness of program prioritization on campus. As part of this planning and
launching phase, the program prioritization process was designed with NIUs unique culture in mind
and with attention to all of the key elements. One example of this is the inclusion of all campus
stakeholders as demonstrated by the ways in which NIU has brought in student voices at multiple points
in the process.
Phase 2. Process Development: including the creation of support teams; the establishment of Program
Prioritization Criteria through a campus-wide process that had at its core the key element of inclusion of
all campus stakeholders; the selection of Task Force members; and the execution of an ongoing
evaluation process, all of which were developed through methods conducted with rigor and integrity.
Phase 3. Data Platform Development and Population: including the construction of program definitions
and inventories; the selection and specialized customization of a data platform, Prioritization PlusTM;
the identification and population of data within that platform; and the training of campus constituents
in the use of the platform.
Phase 4. Program Narrative Writing: including providing training, assistance, and communications in
support of completing 223 Academic Program narratives and 236 Administrative Program narratives.
Phase 5. Task Forces Scoring and Report Development: including supporting the Task Forces with
resources, meeting space, technical support, and communications assistance during the scoring of
program narratives and report development.
Although the Coordinating Team has overseen each of these phases, multiple individuals and groups
have been drawn into the process at various points based upon their occupational expertise and
campus perspectives. Thus far, nearly 500 distinct individuals have played an important role in program
prioritization at NIU. This number is expected to increase in the upcoming Phase 6, Implementation.

Planning and
Launch

Process
Development

Data Platform
Development and
Population

Program
Narrative Writing

Task Force
Scoring and
Report
Development

Implementation

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A full description of each phase of Program prioritization is beyond the scope of this report. In
alignment with the key elements of an open and transparent process, creating standardized and datainformed practices, and having program prioritization conducted with rigor and integrity, a Program
Prioritization Evaluation Report will be issued by the Evaluation Team, a subgroup of the Coordinating
Team, to the university community in fall 2016. That report will include descriptions of all components
within each phase of the process, associated evaluations of each of those components, and
recommendations for the future. At this juncture, a description is needed of the manner in which the
Academic Task Force was selected, how the members were oriented to their task, the charge they were
given, and the support that was provided to them during their work on program prioritization (aspects
of Phases 2, 3, and 4).
4. Task Force Selection, Orientation and Support
The Task Force Selection process began in March 2015. The Coordinating Team developed a
nomination form (see Appendix 1-A) that was distributed widely and communicated in an open and
transparent process via the program prioritization website, NIU Today (the online communication for
the NIU campus), and through shared governance groups. As can be seen on the nomination form, the
Coordinating Team believed that individuals chosen to serve on the Academic Task Force should:

Understand and embrace NIUs mission as a student-centered research and teaching institution
with a strong commitment to engagement within our region.
Enjoy the respect of their peers and have achieved a high level of credibility.
Have participated in university-wide initiatives such as service on committees, task forces, shared
governance bodies, etc.
Have a reputation for getting things done and meeting commitments within a specific timeframe
Have the ability to consider the universitys long-term vision and participate as a representative of
the entire university, not just his/her own department or unit (i.e., have a trustee mentality).
Be committed to the principle of confidentiality in all task force work.
Be willing to take the time needed to fully participate in all task force activities.

Further, potential nominees were informed that the work of the Task Force would be time-intensive,
and estimated to take at least 6-10 hours a week over a five month period. (In actuality, the task was
even more time-intensive than originally believed, taking many Task Force members twice as much,
and in some cases, three times as much time as initially anticipated.) Because of the heavy time
commitment predicted by the Coordinating Team and the possibility of power differentials among Task
Force members, the Academic Task Force membership was limited to tenured faculty and non-tenure
track instructors only. Faculty who were on the tenure track but not yet tenured and students were not
invited to participate in the Task Force. However, In keeping with our key element of being inclusive of
all campus stakeholders, nominations could be made by all campus constituents including faculty of all
types, staff, and students. Nominations were open for four weeks from March 16 to April 10, 2015. A
total of 63 individuals were nominated for the Academic Task Force.
The Coordinating Team supported the creation of an ad-hoc Task Force Selection Group, with
representation from shared governance groups, to select the members of the Academic Task Force.
This was seen as a way to further underscore NIUs commitment to being inclusive of all campus
stakeholders. (See Table 1.2).
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Table 1.2: NIUs Task Force Selection Group

Member

Title

Group Represented

Lisa Freeman

Executive Vice President and Provost

Senior Cabinet

Bill Pitney

Executive Secretary, University Council and

President, Faculty Senate

University Council and

Faculty Senate

Melissa Lenczewski

Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts and

Sciences

Faculty Senate

Greg Long

Distinguished Teaching Professor, College of

Health and Human Sciences

Faculty Senate

Richard Siegesmund

Associate Professor, College of Visual and

Performing Arts

Faculty Senate

Jeanne Meyer

Director, Office of Student Conduct

Supportive
Professional Staff

David Long

Operations Manager, Holmes Student Center

Operating Staff
Council

Nathan Lupstein

President, Student Association

Student Association

The Task Force Selection Group was asked to select 20 members for the Academic Task Force based on
the nomination criteria and to ensure that there was at least one member on the Task Force from each
of NIUs seven colleges. Keeping in mind that all Task Force members were expected to participate as
representatives of the entire university, not just their own departments or colleges, the Coordinating
Team felt it was also important that the perspective of each college be included in composition of the
Task Force. The Task Force Selection Group identified members, alternates, and a chair for the
Academic Task Force. The chair later had to step down from that role due to personal reasons and the
Task Force voted to appoint two co-chairs to lead the group.
Academic Task Force Members

John Bentley (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

James Byrd (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Rod Caughron (College of Education)
David Changnon (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Therese Clarke Arado (College of Law)
Alan Clemens (College of Education) **
Brianno Coller (College of Engineering and Engineering Technology)
Alexander Gelman (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Janice Hamlet (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Anne Hanley (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Bernard Harris (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Jeanne Isabel (College of Health and Human Sciences)
Jeanette Rossetti (College of Health and Human Sciences)
Brad Sagarin (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Rebecca Shortridge (College of Business)
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George Slotsve (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) **

Francisco Solares-Larrave (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Molly Swick (College of Education)
Kendall Thu (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)***
Josephine Umoren (College of Health and Human Sciences)
Laura Vazquez (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

**Task Force Co-chairs

***Served on the Task Force until April 23, 2016

The Academic Task Force was first convened as a group on September 4, 2015 and completed an initial
training that day with Larry Goldstein from Campus Strategies, LLC. The Task Force members were
informed that they were to sign a charge and charter agreement form to help ensure that this stage of
program prioritization would be conducted with rigor and integrity (See Appendix 1-B), and they were to
utilize the Program Prioritization Academic Criteria developed through a campus-wide survey and
shared governance group process in early 2015. (See Appendix 1-C.) The Academic Criteria were linked
to specific program questions and centralized data sources, where available, for individuals who
authored program narratives. In subsequent meetings, the Task Force was trained to use the data
platform, Prioritization PlusTM, and was given assistance in customizing the platform for scoring
purposes by members of the Data Support Team.
During the months that ensued, and particularly during the months in which the Task Force was
reviewing program narratives and categorizing programs, the Task Force Support Team supported the
efforts of the Academic Task Force. This included meeting with Task Force Co-Chairs biweekly to
assess current progress and needs of the Task Force; providing training and customization to the
scoring system as needed; providing meeting rooms and materials for weekly Task Force meetings; and
working with Task Force Co-Chairs to provide relevant communications to the university community.
However, throughout this time period, members of the Task Force Support Team were not privy to the
content of the Task Force deliberations nor to the evaluative work they performed in order to generate
this final report. Now that we have reached the conclusion of the Task Force work, we thank the Task
Force members for their commitment, diligence, and trustee-mentality and we look forward to
reviewing the results in this report.

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II.

TASK FORCE METHODOLOGY

1. Early Task Force Processes

Preparation for the work of the AcTF began September 4, 2015 with a full-day workshop facilitated by a
consultant with extensive Program Prioritization experience (see page 7).
Public panel discussions were scheduled for the benefit of program authors seeking advice and
feedback; in addition, closed panel discussions between the AcTF and Program Prioritization alumni
from other institutions were held October 14-15, 2015. The closed discussions highlighted the range of
procedures used across their institutions and emphasized the need for the AcTF to define its own
operational procedures.
Toward that end the AcTF met on October 20, 2015 for purposes of establishing the procedural rules
(voting thresholds, absentee policies, etc.) and operational protocols (voting procedures, conflict of
interest standards, etc.) that would define its operation. (Voting procedures are outlined in detail on
page 11.) In the week subsequent to the meeting of October 20 the AcTF developed a scoring rubric and
general guidelines document for program narrative authors. The rubric and general guidelines
documents are discussed further on page 9 and included in Appendix D.
On November 13, 2015, the AcTF received training on interpreting the institutional and other data that
was likely to appear in program narratives, training on the software to be used during the program
prioritization process, and further refined its operational rules and protocols. At this meeting the AcTF
formally made the decision to separate the processes of scoring each program against the rubric and
assigning each program to a formal category.

2. Task Force Ground Rules and Norming Process

Ground rules for the AcTF were first established at the initial orientation and training. They consisted
of a set of overarching principles encompassing the task forces operation. There were five in total:

Maintain an institutional perspective

Come prepared and on time to meetings
Civil and respectful interactions
Focus on the task
Have respect for the integrity of the schedule

These directly contributed to the development of a number of the operational protocols for the group:

Advocacy for a program based on personal interest, or based on knowledge outside of the
scope of data provided within the narrative, was prohibited.
Every academic program would be read and evaluated by each member of the AcTF.
Voting would be open (not by secret ballot) for all votes. (Voting should not be confused
with scoring, which is discussed on page 11.)

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A critical aspect of the AcTFs work related to confidentiality regarding the process and materials
generated as a part of the process. AcTF members elected to use Blackboard (NIUs learning
management system, which includes supporting space for non-instructional groups and committees)
for the transmission and storage of messages and documents.
Scoring occurred in two phases:
1. AcTF scored each program within the rubric
2. AcTF placed individual programs into their final category.
Phase One: On December 16, 2015, the AcTF conducted a practice session during which a small sample
of programs (six in total) were scored for the purpose of norming each of the eight criteria and
confirming procedural protocols. At the conclusion of the meeting the AcTF decided that the narratives
scored during the practice session would be rescored as part of the full schedule of scoring.
Additionally, the AcTF decided to review all programs within a department in the same week. A
schedule was laid out for reviewing the 223 programs which distributed the programs from each college
as evenly as possible over the scoring period and ensured that programs from different colleges were
discussed each week.
Phase Two: Phase two began on March 18, 2016 and continued through April 22. After completion of
the scoring of all programs in the inventory, the AcTF held a series of meetings related to the
placement of programs into the Program Prioritization categories. The task force also refined the
operational meaning of each of the five categories during this period with the addition of the phrase
candidate for to the title of each category.

3. Scoring Rubric and Categories

Narrative authors for existing programs were provided eight criteria (see Appendix C) that would be
used in the evaluation process; narrative authors for proposed programs were provided a subset of six
of those criteria (omitting Quality of Faculty and Quality of Students, since faculty assignments and
students enrollments were only hypothetical). The AcTF created a scoring rubric (see Appendix D)
based on its interpretation of the criteria and a document titled General Guidelines for Program
Evaluation that provided the authors general advice relevant to writing their program narratives.
Access to both documents was provided through the NIU Program Prioritization website. According to
the rubric, the set of possible scores for each criterion was: 1 (below expectations), 5 (meets
expectations), or 9 (exceptional).
The ultimate objective of the program prioritization process was to place every academic program
offered at NIU into one of five categories listed in Table 2.1. The names of some categories were
modified slightly from the form presented at the AcTF orientation to include the words Candidate for
The wording acknowledged that final decisions, including magnitude, type, and scope of action,
would be determined by the administration upon further review in the steps that followed submission
of this task force report. As will be discussed further in the Results section, ultimately 13 programs were
not categorized.

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Table 2.1: Category Descriptions

Category
Category 1.
Candidate for
Enhancement

Description
High importance and excellent performance relative to other NIU academic
programs
Efficient use of available resources, as demonstrated by scholarship/artistry,
teaching, and/or service
High potential to improve quality of scholarship, artistry, teaching, and/or service,
and NIU would be missing an opportunity to excel without such enhancements.

Enhanced resources recommended may include additional faculty lines, graduate

assistantships, professional development, funding for program activities,
enhanced marketing and improvements to equipment and/or laboratories
Category 2.
Candidate for
Unchanged
Resources

Category 3.
Candidate for
Reduction in
Resources
Category 4.
Candidate for
Transformation

Category 5.
Candidate for
Review

Sufficient importance and performance relative to other NIU academic programs

Adequate use of current resources as demonstrated by scholarship/artistry,
teaching, and service
Program should continue at current resource levels

Programs placed in this category may possess strong importance or performance

elements, however they have one or more of the following characteristics:
o Relatively high levels of resources compared to existing demand; may
require adjustment to achieve balance
o Underperformance relative to other programs at NIU
Transformation needed to improve importance, performance, and/or use of
resources
Recommendations for programs placed in this category suggest one or more of
the following :
o Refocus on areas that are more productive or more viable
o Seek more appropriate balance of scholarship/artistry, teaching, and/or
service
o Resize the program to better serve existing and future constituencies
o Reorganize to leverage complementary components
Transformation may require an increase of resources to a program or refocus of
current resources
Does not demonstrate an effective/efficient use of institutional resources
Unclear whether programs value and viability would improve with continued
investment
Further review necessary to re-evaluate the program
Possible candidate for phase-out and eventual elimination

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4. Program Review and Voting Procedures

On Friday, January 8, 2016 the AcTF held the first of a series of meetings for the purpose of assigning
scores to each of the eight criteria for every program. Prior to each weekly meeting task force
members were assigned 21 to 24 program narratives to read, record observations and score. Individual
AcTF member scores were entered anonymously into a data collection system designed and developed
by NIUs Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Each of the criteria was scored as a 1 (below
expectations), 5 (meets expectations), or 9 (exceptional). On Thursday of each week, the individual
programs criteria scores were locked and summary statistics of results for each program were posted.
This allowed task force members to review their program notes prior to the Friday meeting.
Meetings during this period were dedicated to reaching consensus on each of the eight criterion scores
for each of the 223 academic programs. Consistent with the advice of the consultant, the AcTF
determined that 17 out of 21 votes were needed to assign a consensus score for each criterion within a
program. If the anonymous preliminary scoring produced consensus on a particular criterion, that score
was locked and relevant notes from AcTF members were recorded. In cases were the preliminary
scoring failed to produce consensus, discussion followed of relevant data drawn from the submitted
program narratives; the AcTF did not allow information that was outside the narrative to enter into the
discussion of a program. AcTF members were additionally not allowed to advocate for their own
programs. Subsequent to those discussions, open votes were taken on scores until consensus was
reached.
Given the intense scrutiny of each criterion score for each program, the Friday meeting time was
lengthened from 4 hours to 4.5 hours, and eventually to 8 hours each week. During the scoring process,
detailed notes were taken for each program as well as general notes on the program prioritization
process and recurring themes present across multiple narratives.
An additional ten proposed programs were scored separately after existing programs were scored.
These proposed programs were scored using a subset of the original eight criteria.
Finally, the AcTF reexamined the criteria scores for programs scored during the first few weeks. The
scores appeared consistent with the scoring done in later weeks, so the scores were left unchanged.
Starting in March, 2016, after all criterion scoring was completed, the AcTF began the process of
categorization. Programs were initially categorized without explicit consideration of the number of
programs in each category. Unlike the initial scoring, programs were categorized individually, and not
by department. Degree granting programs and minors were categorized first. Thereafter, other
programs (e.g., certificates) were categorized using the same procedures.
Programs were ordered for categorization decisions based on the rubric scoring results. The rubric
evaluation criteria were divided into two groups:
Program Performance criteria:

Faculty quality and outcomes (16%)

Student quality and outcomes (16%)
Financial efficiency (11%)
Contribution to diversity (5%)

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Program Importance criteria:

Internal demand (14%)

External demand (11%)
Importance to NIU mission (16%)
Program potential (11%)

Criteria weights are reported in the parentheses. Using the criteria weights as sub-weights, a
performance score and an importance score were calculated as well as an overall score. The
overall score was the sum of the performance and importance scores. All programs were then
ranked by the overall score. In cases where more than one program had the same overall score the
programs were then ranked according to their importance score and finally according to their
performance score.
It is important to recognize that these numerical rankings were employed by individual members or by
the AcTF as a whole only to provide an initial ordering of programs as an aid to structuring discussion.
Particular categorization of any program was both a qualitative and quantitative process; scores
informed the categorization process but scores did not solely determine the outcome. As with initial
scoring, a vote of 17 out of 21 was needed for placement of a program into a category. Any member
could request reconsideration of the category for a program. Re-categorization required 17 out of 21
votes; all votes were open.
During this process, the AcTF identified six M.A./M.S. programs that were closely linked to their
associated Ph.D. programs. These programs are identified in the categorization tables in Section IV
and are referred to as bundled programs. The factors used to make those decisions involved both a
quantitative and qualitative analysis. The relevant variables considered included:

Whether the masters degree could be reasonably considered a terminal degree in its own right,
or if it either a) had been functionally combined with the doctoral degree to produce an
accelerated program path, or b) existed as an option for those students who opted not to
complete the associated doctoral program.
Whether there was any differentiation in faculty between the masters and doctoral degree
programs.
Whether there was any difference in the sequence of courses between the masters and
doctoral degree programs.

In the six cases where the task force determined that the two academic programs were sufficiently
inseparable, the programs were combined and treated as a single program for categorization. (The task
force considered this a removal from categorization, and thus this reduced the total number of
programs being categorized from 223 to 217).
Newly proposed program narratives were reviewed in the same fashion as the other existing programs
using six of the eight criteria. After review, the AcTF concluded that the criteria used to evaluate
existing programs were ill suited to the task of evaluating the proposed programs, and decided not to
categorize proposed programs, but to discuss them in the final report. Similarly, the AcTF decided not
to categorize three programs that were unique in that they existed in the official program inventory but
had not yet enrolled students. These three were included with the proposed programs in the final
report, further reducing the number of programs in the inventory from 217 to 214. At the time
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prioritization narratives were drafted, it was not possible for authors of these new programs to include
critical data necessary to evaluate the programs on the same basis as others.
Once all programs were initially categorized, the AcTF examined the proportion of programs in each of
the five categories to determine the number that would need to be moved to achieve approximately
equal distribution, which was a charge of the task forces original charter. Programs were reviewed if
the commentaries being prepared for the report seemed inconsistent with the category within which a
program had been placed. Only a modest number of programs were moved as a result of either
process, and the movement of each program required 17 out of 21 votes.

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III.

RESULTS
1. Recurring Themes
During the review of the narratives, the AcTF encountered a variety of themes mentioned within
multiple narratives, or made observations across the review of multiple narratives that cannot be
appropriately addressed in comments to any individual program.
Structural realignments in personnel: The recent loss of tenured and tenure-track faculty due to
retirement and migration has had a significant impact on an overwhelming number of programs. The
replacement of full-time faculty with Visiting Assistant Professors, instructors, and in some cases
graduate teaching assistants (TA) has damaged faculty morale and significantly impacted the
educational experience of students enrolled (vis--vis the quality of the learning experience, student
advising, and mentoring) in a variety of programs.
Graduate stipends: Graduate stipends that support Graduate Assistants (GA), Teaching Assistants, and
Research Assistants (RA) were consistently highlighted as lower across disciplines than external and
competing graduate programs, making it very difficult for NIU to compete with other institutions for
top-notch graduate students. Attracting graduate students across is important for maintaining NIUs
research high status. Those graduate students not only contribute to the vitality of the graduate
programs within which they are enrolled, but additionally contribute as GAs and TAs to the strength of
undergraduate programs across campus.
Program financial efficiency: The nature of this process focused attention on program performance over
the past five years, a period during which the country struggled with recovery from a devastating
economic crisis. The AcTF recognized the financial efficiency with which programs at NIU are
operating, frequently providing degree programs at a significantly lower cost than competitors in the
region and peer institutions of similar size and purpose to which we are compared in national
databases. It was often the case that nearly 100% of the operating costs of any particular program
were dedicated to employee salaries, indicating that many programs across campus have stripped
away almost all other operational expenses in an effort to retain employees. The AcTF is concerned
that operating in this manner is not sustainable and, in fact, puts the integrity of many programs at risk
over the long term.
Program marketing: The evidence of the need for an improved institutional marketing strategy for
academic programs was present both explicitly and implicitly across the program narratives. Many
authors raised concerns about the visibility of their programs, particularly in exploration of Program
Potential (Criterion 5) and Internal Demand (Criterion 7). The AcTF noted a number of additional cases
in which an academic program appeared well designed and well aligned to market conditions but still
appeared to be struggling with enrollments, and frequently a key element of that struggle appeared to
be remediable through effective promotion.
Teacher licensure: Revisions to certification/licensure, reduction in budgets, and an increasingly critical
public discourse about education, have all contributed to fluctuating enrollments in a variety of teacher
preparation programs across campus. These are primarily housed in the College of Education (COE),
but the impacts have been felt in programs in Mathematics, Art, History, and others outside of the
COE. Structural issues such as the organization and purpose of departments in the COE, the
14 | P a g e

relationships between academic and administrative offices providing services to education, and
programmatic issues all appear to be contributing to a situation where some programs are
overburdened and others lack sufficient enrollment or support to continue. Some of these issues were
referenced within narratives, and others became apparent in the analysis across teacher licensure
programs.
Reliability/consistency of data: A significant challenge to comprehensive analysis of this type is its
dependence on the accuracy of data being drawn from a variety of systems on campus used to collect
and report that data. It was common for data received from Institutional Research (an office in NIUs
Division of Academic Affairs) to be inconsistent with data received from the Office of the Provost, and
again inconsistent with data extracted from MyNIU (the institutional portal used by faculty and
students to interface with registration and records systems, financial systems, etc.). Rapidly growing
reporting requirements and particularly the data collection and reporting requirements of a process as
extensive as Program Prioritization only serve to highlight the inconsistencies in those data systems.
An additional challenge to a process of this type relates to the difficulty in creating metrics for analysis
of academic programs across disciplines. Some disciplines are more disposed, by their nature, to
quantitative analysis than others. In some cases this manifests itself in data that appears to be
objective like enrollment or faculty load statistics, but which must be considered within the context of
disciplinary standards or other external mandates. In other cases this manifests itself in the difficulty of
quantifying the qualitative: how does one compare the expertise or productivity of units that develop
and stage artistic performances for the local community with units whose expertise is in the solicitation
of grant funds for the operation of research laboratories? The AcTF recognized the need for processes
like Program Prioritization to retain a respect for the qualitative aspects of our colleagues work and of
the broader higher educational enterprise, and recognized repeated references to that complexity
across program narratives.
Interdisciplinary programs, minors and certificates: While many programs were commendable, the AcTF
observed that interdisciplinary efforts were the most difficult to assess due to inconsistent reporting.
Often there was little data on faculty identity or productivity, student enrollments and learning
outcomes. Some of these programs faced inadequate oversight, lack of commitment to a programs
teaching requirements and/or problems with regular course offerings.

Graduation Rates for Underrepresented Students: For a considerable number of undergraduate

programs, there is a wide gap between the number of underrepresented students that enroll and the
number that successfully graduate. An inconsistency existed in the degree to which that gap was
addressed in the narratives, suggesting that some programs were more cognizant of this gap than
others, or that programs were not addressing the problem.

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2. General Category Characteristics

The AcTF was charged with reviewing all academic programs and placing them in relatively equal
proportions into the five categories. The AcTF was originally given 223 programs, and as discussed
previously, six programs were combined with other programs and three new programs were placed
with the group of proposed programs, resulting in a total of 214 categorized programs. The 214
programs were placed in five categories for an average of 43 per category. The assignment of programs
into categories was based on an initial scoring of individual programs across the eight criteria, followed
by a review of every programs scores and Task Force comments for category placement. A summary of
all program categorizations is listed below, providing a glimpse of the distribution of programs via three
lenses: by category (see Table 3.1), by college or unit (see Tables 3.2-3.7), and by type of program (see
Table 3.8-3.11).
Minors and certificates tended to be placed more frequently in Categories 3 to 5. Category 5 includes
eleven programs that requested elimination. Individual program categorizations with commentary
sorted by category and college or unit are provided in Tables 4.1-4.5 in Section IV.

Table 3.1: Distribution by Category of all Programs

Category

Number of Programs

Percent of Programs

Category 1

44

20.6%

Category 2

45

21.0%

Category 3

40

18.7%

Category 4

44

20.6%

Category 5

41

19.2%

Total categorized

214

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Program categorization by College is listed below. The results indicate variation across colleges. The
Colleges of Business, Health and Human Sciences, and Liberal Arts and Sciences have a higher
percentage of programs in Categories 1 and 2. The Colleges of Education and Engineering and
Engineering Technology have higher percentages of programs in Categories 4 and 5. The College of
Visual and Performing Arts has a relatively large number of programs in Categories 3 and 4.

Table 3.2: Distribution of Programs within the College of Business

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

17%

Category 2

25%

Category 3

25%

Category 4

13%

Category 5

21%

Table 3.3: Distribution of Programs within the College of Education

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

9%

Category 2

26%

Category 3

15%

Category 4

10

29%

Category 5

21%

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Table 3.4: Distribution of Programs within the College of Engineering and Engineering Technologies
Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

18%

Category 2

5%

Category 3

18%

Category 4

18%

Category 5

41%

Table 3.5: Distribution of Programs within the College of Health and Human Sciences
Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

32%

Category 2

20%

Category 3

12%

Category 4

16%

Category 5

20%

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Table 3.6: Distribution of Programs within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

21

25%

Category 2

21

25%

Category 3

14

17%

Category 4

15

18%

Category 5

12

14%

Table 3.7: Distribution of Programs within the College of Visual and Performing Arts
Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

19%

Category 2

13%

Category 3

44%

Category 4

25%

Category 5

0%

Other programs categorized included:

The College of Law placed in Category 1

The Division of Research and Innovative Partnership had three programs, one each in
Categories 2, 3 and 5
The Division of Academic Affairs - Office of the Provost had four programs, three in Category 4
and one in Category 5
The Graduate School had two programs, one in Category 4 and one in Category 5

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Table 3.8: Distribution by Category of Degree Granting Programs

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

39

30%

Category 2

40

30%

Category 3

20

15%

Category 4

25

19%

Category 5

6%

Table 3.9: Distribution by Category of Academic Minors

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

5%

Category 2

0%

Category 3

30%

Category 4

35%

Category 5

30%

(Note: The minors in this chart are minors not connected to a degree-granting program, and thus listed
and evaluated independently in the program inventory.)

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Table 3.10: Distribution by Category of Certificates of Study

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

0%

Category 2

7%

Category 3

11

25%

Category 4

14%

Category 5

24

55%

Table 3.11: Distribution by Category of Other Academic Programs

Category

Number of Programs

Percentage

Category 1

22%

Category 2

11%

Category 3

17%

Category 4

33%

Category 5

17%

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3. Creation of New Programs and Voluntary Elimination of Existing Programs

NIUs implementation of the program prioritization process made the option available for academic
units to propose new programs. Commentaries for each of the 10 programs that chose to submit
proposals, as well as the three programs in the existing inventory that had not admitted students are
included in Tables 4.6-4.7. As a result, these programs were not categorized.
In addition, academic units were offered the opportunity to voluntarily request the elimination of
programs within their inventory. Requests were received for the elimination of 11 programs. Those
programs were all placed in Category 5 and appear in Table 4.5 without commentaries.

4. General Comments and Broad Recommendations

The AcTF recognizes that NIU has a significant number of nationally and internationally acclaimed
programs in addition to a number of high performing programs with aspirations of growth that are
candidates for support. The overall results highlight the strong academic foundations essential for
operation of a research-high institution. However, the results also reveal problematic issues within
program development and suggest the need for institutional leadership. The AcTF recognizes that NIU
needs to focus human and capital resources to maintain quality and meet the needs of our students and
the greater society that we serve.
Program Prioritization was introduced to Northern Illinois University in response to a number of
internal and external factors highlighted below. These factors lend contextualization to the process
and afford a richer understanding of the AcTFs findings. A national economic crisis, the ongoing
budget crisis in the State of Illinois, decreases in state funding support for higher education, continuing
increases in the cost of operations, demographic changes in the state and the resulting decrease in the
number of high school graduates, have all contributed to an operational climate within which
maintenance of the status quo is no longer possible.
Rapid changes to the State Universities Retirement System have precipitated the departure of faculty
and staff in a premature and non-strategic manner, including the loss of high-impact personnel in a
variety of offices and disciplines. Some of the consequences of this loss of personnel include decreases
in enrollment, retention and graduation rates. The remaining personnel have been tasked with
responding to this challenge while academic salaries remain static, even as some administrative salaries
continue to rise, and conditions create a general state of instability, leading to a general decline in
morale across campus.
The current administration at NIU has attempted to respond to a variety of these issues with an
extensive catalogue of aggressive remedies, including modifications to the admissions process and
institutional financial management practices. Despite some inconsistency in their success, the AcTF
recognizes that these initiatives represent real attempts to address the myriad challenges our
institution faces. NIU needs to continue to change and the AcTF recognizes that Program Prioritization
was selected as a process through which the NIU community could clarify its priorities and lend
cohesive direction to our continuing change and growth.

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The challenges notwithstanding, the AcTF believes that realizing the goals of Program Prioritization are
essential while remaining cognizant of the fragile state of the university. To use the nomenclature of
Program Prioritization, the recent history of budget constriction has effectively placed every program
in Category 3, a continued reduction of resources. Prioritization, if implemented with fidelity, provides
an opportunity to identify priorities and purposefully direct the future of Northern Illinois University.

The following are specific task force recommendations in no particular order of importance:
Ensure programs are built with a clear foundation of tenure track faculty. While recognizing the valuable
and often high-quality contributions of instructors, teaching assistants, adjunct faculty and other
members of the instructional faculty, the long term success of academic programs is dependent on the
presence of tenure track faculty with active research agendas and a commitment to the health of their
program and the institution. The AcTF recommends the institution ensure the long term health of
academic programs by committing to fill vacant tenure-track faculty positions for the variety of
academic programs that can demonstrate the crises being created by these critical shortages.
Bring more attention to academic programs through high quality program marketing. One recurrent
problem among many programs (particularly stand-alone minors and certificates, but including a
variety of degree programs) was the low number of participants and the lack of awareness of their
existence. This purportedly led to low enrollments and participation. While reading program
descriptions, the AcTF encountered several admirable programs that have been poorly promoted and,
as a result, are not sufficiently populated. In order to effectively communicate the existence of these
programs, the AcTF suggests a renewed focus on the promotion of our outstanding catalogue of
academic programs, including high-level efforts by the offices tasked with institutional marketing and
departmental or local/internal efforts that could include the following:

Program coordinators communicate with academic advisors: Minors and certificates frequently
suffer from neglect because they are not well known outside their home departments. This
problem may be solved if the coordinators of these programs consulted with or at least
contacted academic advisors from other academic units to promote these programs among
new pools of students.
Students visit classrooms and promote these programs among their peers: Students
participating in minors or certificates can visit sections of courses with potential students, and
speak to them about these programs. Students are often better at answering questions or
addressing concerns of other students than advisors or coordinators.
Promote these programs through electronic and print means: NIU must aggressively and
creatively promote all programs through websites, social media and print, emphasizing the
interconnectedness and strength of its academic programs.
Courses taken for minors and certificates: Minor and certificate participation could be
improved by sharing courses and allowing students to count them for more than one program.
This strategy would strengthen programs giving students enhanced educational opportunities.

Examine teacher licensure in an institutional context. Issues with enrollment in and the performance of a
variety of teacher licensure programs on campus were explored on page 14-15. The artifacts of NIUs
history as a normal school include the distribution of academic and administrative offices across
23 | P a g e

campus. The AcTF recommends that the review and analysis of programs in teacher licensure should be
inclusive of the variety of programs and offices across campus connected to this programmatic
offerings and reflect the sort of institutional leadership previously mentioned in these comments.
Develop an institutional plan for making Graduate Assistant (GA/TA/RA) stipends more competitive.
Already addressed under Recurring Themes, the AcTF believes an essential element to the success of
NIUs graduate programs is its ability to attract and retain the highest caliber of graduate student. The
quality of our graduate programs is reflected in the steady flow of applicants for admission, but authors
consistently highlighted stipends as an underlying reason why their programs struggled to convert
those applications into enrollments. The AcTF strongly recommends the university demonstrate its
commitment to graduate education by improving the competitiveness of graduate student stipends
across campus.
Ensure student outcome data is available for all programs. A variety of authors struggled to provide
student outcome data for their programs, highlighting the need for improvement in both the systems
used to collect that data, and the collective commitment of academic programs to monitor the
progress of their students, particularly in non-degree granting programs. The AcTF strongly believes
that an institutional commitment to collection and provision of data is an essential component of
effective program review and decision-making in the future.
Engage in a campus-wide discussion of what diversity means. The range of responses to Criterion 8
(Diversity) reflected a lack of focus or understanding of an institutional definition of diversity. Given
NIUs reputation as a leader in respect for and support of diversity issues related to sexual orientation
and gender identity, for example, narratives reflected broad inconsistency in what academic programs
appeared to be trying to accomplish vis--vis diversity. The AcTF encourages NIUs administration to
bring strong leadership and focus to an exploration of what diversity means in a fashion that permeates
our campus community. This includes addressing and improving a disturbingly low graduation rate
among underrepresented groups.
Address the institutional barriers to the success of interdisciplinary programs: A variety of institutional
barriers exist that inhibit the success of interdisciplinary programs. NIU has encouraged the
development of these programs as a response to market conditions. However programs suffer from
inadequate resources, outdated operational rules, and/or a culture which does not sufficiently
incentivize cooperation among academic units. The institution must respond with comprehensive
action plan if these programs are to have any chance of long-term success.

The quality of narratives, data, and approver reviews varied significantly. The quality of the
institutionally provided data varied significantly across types of data and programs. The AcTF believes
that evaluating programs and thinking strategically is important to the future of higher education and
NIU. Distributing revenues based on a forward-looking view of programs is the only way for universities
to thrive and provide a strong, well-rounded education for students. We have endeavored to evaluate
programs based both on performance and future potential. Members of the AcTF have dedicated time
and attention to this project as evidence of the collective commitment to the institution and its
continued excellence. We hope our efforts help the university thoughtfully consider its strategy moving
forward.
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IV.

CATEGORIZATION OF PROGRAMS

Table 4.1: Candidate for Enhancement

Candidate for Enhancement
College

Department

CBUS

Accountancy

CBUS

Accountancy

CBUS

Oper Mgmt &

Info Sys

Program Name
B.S. in Accountancy

AcTF Comments
This nationally ranked program has a high
student CPA exam pass rate. It has
demonstrated commendable support for
student diversity. The AcTF suggests the
program open up more seats in classes in
high demand areas.

Master of Accounting A nationally ranked program that is very

Science
successful. AcTF applauds its plans for
diversity and interdisciplinary
actions. Program has been authorized by
IBHE for off campus delivery, but funding to
do so is unavailable.
B.S. in Operations
and Information
Management

A nationally ranked program with good

interdisciplinary efforts, international
partnerships, study abroad opportunities,
and service to other programs. Strong job
demand has supported steady enrollments
and consistent degree conferral in time of
overall declining enrollments. Narrative
reflected thoughtful diversity actions
including good scholarship opportunities for
underrepresented groups. Positive
graduation rates for minority students.
AcTF encourages NIU to enhance support
for faculty research.

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CBUS

Oper Mgmt &

Info Sys

M.S. in Management
Information Systems

Strong program experiencing impressive

growth that might explain modest
indicators of scholarly productivity.
Proactive program revisions from
assessment evidence produced updated
curriculum to reflect the current technology
environment and enhance quality of
program. AcTF suggests the program might
explore further collaborations with CSCI
and STAT and enhance scholarly
productivity.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

B.S. in Industrial and

Systems Engineering

Narrative rich in data on student excellence,

outcomes, and placements. This program
displays excellent service to engineering
students in other disciplines. Growing
demand, strong outreach to the region.
Diversity profile and efforts were well
contextualized in comparison to other
engineering programs in the state. It also
recommends enhancing resources and
right-sizing the program, as well as
improving the balance between faculty
research and teaching. Resources should be
allocated with attention to enhancing
scholarly productivity.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

M.S. in Industrial and

Systems Engineering

Narrative reflects a rapidly growing

program with good student outcomes.
Active scholars with very good community
engagement. The degree is in demand.
AcTF notes that reversing the drop in
female students should be an area of focus.
It also recommends enhancing resources
and right-sizing the program, as well as
improving the balance between faculty
research and teaching. Resources should be
allocated with attention to enhancing
scholarly productivity.

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CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering

Highly accomplished faculty. Program

exhibits strong enrollment, high student
satisfaction, and good outcomes for job
preparation and employment. Program has
high visibility and strong ties to the region.
Already very large, it has potential to grow
with more faculty. AcTF recommends
improving the balance between faculty
research and teaching, enhancing
resources, and right-sizing the program.

CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering

Outstanding faculty oversees a growing

student body, maintaining excellence in
spite of being understaffed. The program
potential is considered to be very high. The
narrative did not do a good job of explaining
the programs importance to the
universitys mission. Demand and diversity
measures are strong. The AcTF
recommends right-sizing the program by
adding more faculty.

CHHS

Allied Health
& Comm
Disorders

B.S. in Medical
Laboratory Sciences

Faculty are stretched in this strong

program. Dedication to undergraduate
program has produced high pass rates and
outreach to the community is very good.
New resources should go to adding faculty
lines.

CHHS

Allied Health
& Comm
Disorders

Doctor of Audiology

Excellent student outcomes, laudable

collaboration with other departments,
impressive humanitarian work abroad.
Program has had an impact outside of the
department. Impressive efforts in diversity,
especially teaching cultural competencies.
AcTF supports more faculty lines to increase
students in program.

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CHHS

Allied Health
& Comm
Disorders

Doctor of Physical
Therapy

Program is in high demand and has

excellent student outcomes in graduation
rate, licensure rate, and employment
success. Its faculty and students have a
very good level of engagement in the
university and regional community. It has
made impressive efforts to foster a diverse
faculty and student body. New resources
should go to more competitive faculty
salaries.

CHHS

Allied Health
& Comm
Disorders

M.A. in
Communicative
Disorders

A strong program with good engagement

and 100% placement of graduates. It has
the potential to offer continuing education
credits but cannot due to resource
constraints. This is an area of potential
growth. New resources should be
committed to faculty hires.

CHHS

Allied Health
&
Communicati
ve Disorders

B.S. in Health
Sciences

Laudable curricular changes to improve

graduation rates. This program needs
faculty in order to be successful with only
2.1 FTE for 700 students. Enhancements
could include resources to provide career
counseling that will benefit students. AcTF
strongly recommends additional faculty
hires to enhance scholarly productivity and
reduce student/faculty ratio.

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

B.S. in Nutrition,
Dietetics, and
Hospitality
Management,
Comprehensive
Major

Impressive hands-on program that heeded

recommendations of their external review.
Admirable awarding of degrees and minors.
Program needs to focus on increasing
degrees conferred to minority students.
AcTF agrees that hospitality should be a
separate program. AcTF also strongly
recommends additional faculty hires to
enhance scholarly productivity and reduce
student/faculty ratio.

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CHHS

Nursing &
Health
Studies

B.S. in Nursing

An important programs at NIU that is very

short-staffed. Number of students exceeds
capacity, which will hurt the potential of
program. Size has had a negative effect on
scholarly productivity; scholarship infuses
their teaching. There is a need for
restructuring the program, advising and
right-sizing the program to better align
numbers of faculty and students.

CHHS

Nursing &
Health
Studies

M.S. in Nursing

A strong program with high graduation

rates and excellent performance on
licensure exams. It appears to be cost
efficient, but this may be at the expense of
attracting high caliber faculty. Effective
response to faculty shortage, particularly
the online offerings as a way to manage
student numbers. AcTF recommends that
resources be committed to additional
faculty hires to lighten teaching loads and
enhance scholarly productivity.

CLAS

Anthropology

B.A./B.S. in
Anthropology

Narrative showcases impressive scholarship

by the faculty. Future addition of faculty
will enhance the demand for the program.
Important to address how the faculty will
deal with increasing the enrollment of the
program. Loss of faculty in archeology a
serious concern and must be addressed.
AcTF recommends faculty hires to replace
recent losses.

CLAS

Biological
Sciences

B.S. in Biological
Sciences

A strong program that is doing well in spite

of reduced funding. Faculty productivity
may be enhanced through future hires.
Strong demand from students from CHHS.
Impressive plans for the programs future,
which could include collaboration with HHS.
AcTF acknowledges the important service
provided by the cadaver lab.

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CLAS

Center for SE
Asian Studies

Center for Southeast

Asian Studies

Impressive level of interdisciplinary efforts.

Global experience fulfills an important NIU
goal. Excellent tracking of student
outcomes, although enrollment drop is a
point of concern. Excellent fundraising
efforts. Program needs to fill open faculty
lines to maintain strengths.

CLAS

Chemistry &
Biochemistry

Ph.D. in Chemistry

A good program that is closely aligned with

NIUs mission, with strong regional ties and
good student engagement components. It
is proactive in plans for improvement,
especially ideas to move it beyond the
traditional educational model. It needs
more money to support doctoral students
and faculty research. This program may
benefit from faculty hires and facility
improvement.

CLAS

Center for
Latino & Latin
American
Studies

Center for
Latino/Latin
American Studies

Center is very important to mission of the

university engaging in new planning and
programming to connect to the campus
community. Program has doubled number
of minors; demographic changes will
increase demand. AcTF recognizes the
need to hire a Mexicanist and encourages
continued application for external grants to
support program development.

CLAS

English

B.A. in English

Narrative supports a program with

outstanding scholarly production and high
teaching evaluations. Faculty engaged in
outreach to other departments and
community via teaching and cultural
events. Important engagement via
Freshman English, CHANCE composition,
teacher licensure. Detailed and wellconceived plans for the future. AcTF
recommends enhanced resources to
encourage and support faculty research and
publication.

30 | P a g e

CLAS

English

Ph.D. in English

Noteworthy faculty publication record.

AcTF appreciates efforts on student
placement. Impressive course offerings
that expose students to diverse topics.
Concern noted about the lack of student
diversity. Resources may be needed for
research and publication support.

CLAS

Environmenta
l Studies

B.A./B.S. in
Environmental
Studies

Substantial scholarly production by faculty

associates in program. Largest program in
Environmental Studies in Illinois, attracting
students who would not otherwise come to
NIU. Demonstrated need for additional
faculty and for dedicated academic space.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature 1

B.A. in Spanish

A strong program with great contribution to

student career success, including significant
work with Spanish minors. AcTF
encourages program to continue
investigating work with external partners.
Resources required for hiring translation,
business, health and/or education faculty.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature 1

Minor in Japanese
Studies

A strong minor that aligns well with

university mission. AcTF noted strong
outreach with business and applauds efforts
to bring foreign students to the university.
Minor is well suited to become a major due
to healthy student enrollment, external
demand, excellence in teaching and
scholarship. AcTF endorses this promotion
to major with appropriate resources.

CLAS

Geography

Ph.D. in Geography

This relatively new program has good

potential and demand for its students, but
its resources are stretched thin. The AcTF
has real concerns about program capacity.
It strongly advises that new faculty lines are
necessary for it to address the demands of
all the departments programs in order for
this PhD program to be viable.

31 | P a g e

CLAS

Mathematical
Sciences

B.S. in Mathematical
Sciences

Program attracts high quality students and

is delivered by productive faculty. Proactive
reforms include laudable redesign for nonmajors and impressive EMPORIUM concept.
Strong tutoring and retention efforts,
including all-women sections of courses to
increase women majors. Resources will
benefit continued expansion into
contemporary fields of math as well as
much-needed facility expansion.

CLAS

Mathematical
Sciences

M.S. in Mathematics

Strong job growth with many students

enrolled in combined M.S./Ph.D. More math
education faculty are needed. M.S. students
have high pass rate to Ph.D.

CLAS

Mathematical
Sciences

Ph.D. in
Mathematical
Sciences

Program exhibits good faculty productivity

and financial efficiency, with strong
demand for graduate assistantships.
Programs internship requirement held up
by external reviewer as a model for other
programs. AcTF applauds the actions to
encourage women to pursue the degree,
and was impressed at the growing number
of women students in the program.
Separating MATH and STAT into two
departments would enhance both
programs. Resources will benefit continued
expansion into contemporary fields of math
as well as much-needed facility expansion.

CLAS

NGO
Leadership &
Development
(NGOLD)

B.A./B.S. in
Community
Leadership and Civic
Engagement

The program has exhibited strong growth in

numbers of students and student diversity.
Program reaches large number of nonmajors through course offerings, which
should only increase the enrollment in the
program. Resources will benefit program
facilities and allow for additional hires.

32 | P a g e

CLAS

Physics

M.S. in Physics
Bundled with Ph.D.

A strong program with exceptional faculty

and financial productivity. Excellent student
outcomes in terms of graduation and
publication. AcTF was concerned that
attention paid to the graduate program had
potentially negative impact on
undergraduate program, as large undergrad
sections are taught by GTAs. Committee
also noted the low attention to minorities
and women in the diversity plan. Valuable
program that needs enhanced material and
equipment, improved undergraduate
teaching, and improved diversity actions.

CLAS

Physics

Ph.D. in Physics
Bundled with M.S.

Strong program with exceptional faculty

and financial productivity, and excellent
student outcomes in terms of graduation
and publication. The AcTF was concerned
that the attention paid to the graduate
program had potentially negative impact on
undergraduate program, as large undergrad
sections are taught by GTAs. Committee
also noted the low attention to minorities
and women in the diversity plan. Valuable
program that needs enhanced material and
equipment, improved undergraduate
teaching, and improved diversity actions.

CLAS

Political
Science

B.A./B.S. in Political
Science

The narrative presents a solid program with

compelling evidence of student
engagement. Loss of faculty has weakened
the program somewhat. The AcTF
recognizes the need for faculty hires to
balance offerings in US and international
fields.

33 | P a g e

CLAS

Political
Science

Ph.D. in Political
Science
Bundled with M.A.

Narrative presents a solid program with

strong existing and potential interactions
with other CLAS programs. Loss of faculty,
especially in International Relations,
constrains program and its future. The MA
is bundled with the PhD as a pass through
program that serves to prepare students for
continuation to the Ph.D. at NIU. Based on
the programs historical strength, AcTF
feels that providing additional TTE faculty
will likely enhance it.

CLAS

Political
Science

M.A. in Political
Science
Bundled with Ph.D.

M.A. in Political Science appears to support

the Ph.D. as its mission. The narrative was
unclear what graduates do with the M.A.
degree other than go on to a Ph.D. AcTF
recommends creation and implementation
of a plan to increase diversity within the
program.

CLAS

Psychology

M.A. in Psychology
Bundled with Ph.D.

High admissions requirements in this

quality program. It has good faculty
quality, admirable grantsmanship, and
significant outreach into the community.
Applications are high. Future potential
appears sound. The program is doing
satisfactorily in terms of demand and
diversity actions. Resources are needed to
hire a faculty member with background in
quantitative analysis.

CLAS

Psychology

Ph.D. in Psychology

Faculty has won many awards of excellence

and is strong in obtaining grants, while
students, admitted through a highly
selective process, are engaged in
scholarship and publication. The program
has excellent engagement in the
community. Resources are needed to hire a
faculty member with background in
quantitative analysis.

Bundled with M.A.

34 | P a g e

CLAS

Psychology

Psychology Services
Center

Excellent program offering psychological

counseling to the community. Integral part
of graduate student training for licensure;
strong student outcomes as measured by
percent of licenses attained. Excellent
service, impressive pro bono work, but
demand for services far outstrips ability to
deliver. Program is strongly related to PhD
and MA programs and should have been
included in the narratives for those
programs. Excellent and under-resourced.
Program requires additional resources to
meet demand for services as well as for
electronic records system, which Center
might explore in conjunction with Speech
Clinic.

CLAS

Public Admin

Master of Public
Administration

Narrative highlights programs alignment

with NIU mission, but gave cause for
concern over the out-migration of faculty
and its effect on programs ability to grow.
AcTF appreciates that the program has a
developed strategic diversity plan. It needs
to hire additional faculty.

CLAS

Statistics

M.S. in Applied
Probability and
Statistics

Program boasts high scholarly productivity,

high student satisfaction and outcomes,
and strongly supportive reviews from
employers. Program has good plans for
interdisciplinary programs with CSCI, ISYE,
and Public Health. AcTF agrees with
separation of Math and Statistics as it
would enhance both departments. It is
appropriate to add resources to a program
separating from an existing department.

35 | P a g e

CLAS

Womens
Studies

Women, Gender and

Sexuality Studies
Area

Narrative emphasizes excellent student

learning outcomes. Strong focus on
development of student creative and
reflective skills. Programs financial
efficiency appears to be low because of
accounting conventions, but program
should not be penalized for how resources
are allocated to cover salaries of jointappointed faculty. AcTF endorses resources
to transform the minor into a major.

CEDU

Counseling,
Adult &
Higher Ed

Ed.D. in Counseling

CEDU

Educational
Tech Res &
Assessment

M.S.Ed. in
Instructional
Technology

Program demonstrated strong student

engagement and alignment to university
mission. Job growth is strong. Enrollment
and credit hours increasing. AcTF noted its
ability to bring in outside funding. Program
may need more faculty. Needs resources to
develop a fully on-line program.

CEDU

Educational
Tech Res &
Assessment

Ed.D. in Instructional
Technology

A well regarded program with strong faculty

productivity, high student satisfaction, and
rapidly growing enrollments. Recently
approved by IBHE to change from Ed.D. to
Ph.D., although the narrative was unclear
how this would affect the program in the
future. Largest and most cost-effective ITEd.D. program in Illinois. AcTF was deeply
concerned that 40% of classes are taught by
adjuncts and felt that this had a potentially
negative effect on the quality of the
program. Program needs additional faculty
to enhance research and scholarship as they
transition to a PhD.

Nationally accredited program that while

low in faculty scholarly productivity has
high engagement, commendable pro bono
work, and very good outreach through its
clinic. AcTF expressed concern about the
recently approved change to a Ph.D.
program with such limited faculty
resources. Increased enrollment will put a
strain on the faculty. New resources should
be used to improve faculty research and
scholarship.

36 | P a g e

CVPA

Music

Master in Music

Program recruits and enrolls highly qualified

international students, and is well known
across the campus and community due to
student outreach and service activities.
International diversity of students and
faculty leads to diverse program offerings.
Excellent program, but operates on scarce
resources and cannot do more without
enhancements, particularly for equipment.

CVPA

Theatre &
Dance

CVPA

Theatre &
Dance

M.F.A. in Theatre
Arts

A strong, nationally recognized program

with creative faculty, outstanding artistry,
very good student outcomes. Contribution
to diversity through choice of playwrights
and production themes. Program faces
severe budget constraints in spite of good
fundraising. Production budget should be
expanded.

LAW

College of
Law

Doctor of
Jurisprudence

The program deemed of high importance to

the university mission. They need to
improve graduating diverse students.
Faculty have a higher credit-hour rate per
T/TT and retention rate than state peers.
Student to professor ratio is higher than
peers. Program has excellent reputation.
Resources may be required to hire faculty.

B.F.A. in Theatre Arts Narrative highlights an important program

and need for an increased production
budget. AcTF looks forward to
reconstruction of the theatre building and
potential revitalization this completion may
bring to the program.

AcTF recommends that FLAL develop a strategic plan for comprehensive management of the foreign
languages. Perhaps they can discover another way to organize the department that still maintains the
integrity of the languages taught without the burden of degree offerings that cannot be sustained.

37 | P a g e

Table 4.2: Candidate for Unchanged Resources

Candidate for Unchanged Resources
College
Department
Program Name
CBUS
Accountancy
Master of Science
in Taxation

CBUS

College of
Business

Experiential
Learning Center

CBUS

College of
Business

Master of Business
Administration

CBUS

Management

B.S. in
Management

CBUS

Marketing

B.S. in Marketing

CBUS

Marketing

Certificate in
Professional
Selling

CEET

Engineering
Technology

B.S. in Technology

AcTF Comments
AcTF noted this is an exceptional program
offering specialized knowledge to working
professionals. Report did not clearly
identify who teaches in the program,
important information for assessing faculty
quality.
Impressively, center is run on corporate
funds. Report did not showcase how
students were chosen nor what the demand
was for the center. Would have been helpful
to have specifics related to sponsoring
agencies so external demand could be
assessed.
Good self-sufficient program with costs that
are lower than peer group. Report lacks
data on scholarship. Students give positive
feedback of their program and have high
graduation rate.
Overall the program is doing well.
Applications are up, enrollments are up
slightly. External demand for occupations
in this area is lower.
Program has good outreach and service.
Number of minors has increased
significantly but major enrollments
declining. Online classes appear to be very
popular. AcTF expresses concern about
lowering the minimum GPA for admission
to grow enrollments.
Program is offered by highly productive
faculty and is sought out by students.
Organizations on campus seek input from
the programs students and faculty.
Fundraising efforts are impressive.
Program is innovative and reflects well on
the university. Expansion is limited by
university resources and threatened by
competition from ISU.
Positive student enrollment numbers.
Program provides impressive service to
students in other programs in the
university. Overall quality of written report
was weak and did not back up assertions
with data.
38 | P a g e

CHHS

Allied Health &

Communicative
Disorders

B.S. in
Communicative
Disorders

CHHS

College of Health
& Human
Sciences

Ph.D. in Health
Sciences

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

B.S. in Family and

Child Studies,
Comprehensive
Major

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

M.S. in Applied
Family and Child
Studies

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

M.S. in Nutrition
and Dietetics

CLAS

Anthropology

M.A. in
Anthropology

AcTF notes program has reached saturation

and suggests right-sizing. Report made it
difficult to differentiate the graduate verses
B.S. program. Alignment to the university
mission unclear. Consideration needs to be
given to programs future potential and
increasing faculty scholarship.
AcTF notes that Ph.D. in Health Sciences is
a new program to the CHHS. AcTF is
concerned about the future viability of the
program with only 5 faculty but realizes the
significant amount of interdisciplinary
faculty in the college. Report indicated need
for graduate students to enhance faculty
research. This is a degree for NIU
employees, which AcTF found to be and
which may be a narrow focus for a PhD.
The program does an excellent job
graduating a diverse student population.
Commendable efforts on increasing
minority faculty and staff. Better data on
external demand and degrees conferred are
needed. Encourage program to continue
recruiting male students into the program.
Program with impressive service provided
to those in need. AcTF notes diversity of
students is good and encourages
recruitment of males. Concern raised over
the low minority graduation rate.
Excellent student pass rates on professional
credential exam, and strong external
demand for its graduates. Faculty
scholarship data was missing. Program is at
capacity and seeks ways to generate new
revenues. AcTF encourages increasing grant
funding, diversifying their student body and
increasing availability of internships to
expand.
Strong program that fulfills the NIU
mission. Highly interdisciplinary and could
potentially be strengthened by the addition
of a Ph.D. program at some point in the
future. Declining enrollment is a concern,
and external demand not clearly
demonstrated.

39 | P a g e

CLAS

Biological
Sciences

M.S. in Biological
Sciences

CLAS

Biological
Sciences

Ph.D. in Biological
Sciences

CLAS

Chemistry &
Biochemistry

B.S. in Chemistry

CLAS

Communication

B.A./B.S. in
Communication
Studies

CLAS

Communication

Certificate in
Digital Media
Production

CLAS

Communication

M.A. in
Communication
Studies

Program generates significant funds from

tuition but grant funding could be
improved. Impressive outreach to high
schools and quality employment secured by
graduates. AcTF noted the competitive
advantage of the Anatomical Sciences
Program. Consider creating
interdisciplinary programs. AcTF
appreciates diversity in student body and
encourages increase in faculty diversity.
AcTF appreciated the candor of the
narrative regarding mid-level faculty
productivity. Due to impending faculty
retirements it is imperative to support
young research active faculty. AcTF
believes that program is headed in the right
direction.
Well-written report that highlighted strong
service teaching and assessment of student
learning. AcTF appreciated the candor
related to identified weaknesses of the
program. Excellent diversity with female
faculty was noted. AcTF recommends
pursuing external funding more specifically.
Strong student diversity and migration
from business school noted in program
report. Faculty scholarship and diversity
could use improvement. AcTF suggests the
program focus attention on future plans for
growth and ways to retain students.
A new program with little available student
data, but they have data collection and
tracking in place for future assessment. The
program will benefit from more studios to
meet the high growth expectations.
Interdisciplinary efforts are useful to other
programs. This program is innovative, a
21st Century idea.
Commendable interdisciplinary efforts and
alignment with university mission.
Exemplary service to internal departments
at NIU. External demand for the program
on a national level is excellent with strong
future job growth. Unclear why enrollment
numbers are down here at NIU while rising
at other institutions.

40 | P a g e

CLAS

Computer
Science

B.S. in Computer
Science

CLAS

English

M.A. in English

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

M.A. in Spanish

CLAS

Geography

B.S. in
Meteorology

CLAS

Geography

Certificate in
Geographic
Information
Analysis

CLAS

Geography

M.S. in Geography
Not Bundled with
Ph.D.

Report did not adequately address the

criteria. Some faculty are exceptional
scholars. Narrative focused on programs
weaknesses more than potential.
Questionable comments made regarding
women in computer science. Enrollments in
the program are diverse but degrees
conferred are not. AcTF suggests focusing
on improving faculty research and retaining
more women and minorities in the program.
Strong program vital to the universitys
mission with engaged learning
opportunities for students. AcTF noted the
importance of training Teaching Assistants
and the need for resources to expand
TOFEL.
Program has commendable diversity of
students and support of international
students. No clear distinction offered
between undergraduate and graduate
program in Spanish. Curriculum which
offers a blended course format does not
distinguish what is unique to the graduate
program.
The AcTF acknowledges the programs
award winning faculty and its collaboration
with the community. Significant loss of
faculty has impacted the program. AcTF
suggests improved marketing to assist in
future growth of the program.
A strong and impressive online program
that has a great deal of potential. AcTF
recommends the program be marketed
both internally and externally to increase its
recognition.
Report speaks to faculty hired to teach in
baccalaureate program but does not
address how this impacts M.S. Strong
faculty research a positive for the graduate
program. Convincing enrollment trend
data. Commendable efforts to recruit and
include women. M.S. will benefit from
increasing resources suggested for the
Ph.D. program.

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CLAS

Geology and
Environmental
Geosciences

CLAS

Geology and
Environmental
Geosciences

CLAS

History

CLAS

Philosophy

CLAS

Philosophy

CLAS

Psychology

CLAS

Sociology

B.S. in Geology
Narrative highlights a program that
and Environmental produces graduates who are licensed for
Geosciences
teaching. Good employment outcomes, but
data are unclear on current enrollment
declines. Faculty generate significant grant
funding. Data on financial efficiencies
needed clarification.
M.S. in Geology
Narrative makes clear that students are of
high quality and are carefully monitored by
the program. Impressive large grant and
grant funding overall. External demand
was high in 2011 but has decreased since
then.
Ph.D. in History
An excellent graduate program with strong
faculty scholars well suited for their
students. The AcTF acknowledges the
impact on the program of current
insufficient graduate assistant positions and
low stipend offerings to students. Would
increasing enrollments be beneficial to the
program?
B.A./B.S. in
Narrative speaks to a fundamental program
Philosophy
that epitomizes the university mission.
Impressive service to other majors. Concern
noted regarding high attrition rate and low
student numbers. AcTF appreciated
suggested programmatic changes.
M.A. in Philosophy Strong program with increased student
enrollment and impressive placement in
Ph.D. programs. AcTF could not determine
the connection to university mission from
report and uncertain of program potential.
B.A/B.S. in
Narrative showcases strong internal
Psychology
demand for the program. Weak retention
of students should be addressed. Program
would benefit from a dedicated advisor
and/or an Introduction to career course.
B.A./B.S. in
Program embodies NIUs goals for
Sociology
interdisciplinary education and engaged
learning. Program potential was well
described. Impressive service teaching by
faculty. Program is doing commendable
work supporting its students. Need to focus
on building enrollments.

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CEDU

Kinesiology &
Physical Educ

CEDU

Leadership, Educ
Psyc & Found

CEDU

Leadership, Educ
Psyc & Found

CEDU

Special and Early

Education

CEDU

Special and Early

Education

CEDU

Kinesiology &
Physical Educ

CEDU

Leadership, Educ
Psyc & Found

M.S. in Sport
Management

Student demand for this program is high,

higher than supported by job market upon
graduation. Impressive recent launch of
certificate offering in this area. Making
efforts to incorporate diversity into the
program. Program appears to need
additional faculty to meet the current
demand.
Ed.D. in
Good narrative on future plans for the
Educational
program. Seems to focus on quantity over
Administration
quality. Faculty support is needed to help
Bundled with Ed.S. guide quality dissertations so that
graduates can complete in a timely manner.
Ed.S. in in
AcTF suggests the clarification of this
Educational
programs role in the degree structure. This
Administration
program appears to be more of a
Bundled with
professional certificate than an academic
Ed.D.
degree.
Certificate in
Program has well qualified instructors and
Director of Special would benefit from tenure track faculty.
Education
Strong student engagement in local school
district placements. Exam pass rates of
graduates are impressive. AcTF commends
the reflective action taken, temporarily
suspending admissions so the program
could be properly evaluated. Narrative does
not explain why students obtain this
certificate.
M.S.Ed. in Special Employment rates for this programs
Education
graduates are low given national demand.
Actions that have been taken to become
financially efficient seem to have
undermined the quality of the program.
B.S. in Kinesiology Program does good work with diverse
student population but this is not reflected
in degrees conferred. AcTF recommends
the program focus on improving enrollment
and retention rates.
M.S.Ed. in
The AcTF noted that due to changes in state
Educational
policy the enrollment data highlighted in
Administration
the narrative may not be accurate. AcTF
appreciates the effort to make
improvements to the program.

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CEDU

Leadership, Educ
Psyc & Found

M.S.Ed. in School
Business
Management

CEDU

Leadership, Educ
Psyc & Found

Ph.D. in
Educational
Psychology

CEDU

Literacy and
Elementary Ed

M.S.Ed. in Literacy
Education

CVPA

Music

B.M. in Music

CVPA

Theatre & Dance

B.A. in Theatre
Studies

RIPSDIV

VP Research and
Innv Prtnrshp

Northern Illinois
Center for
Accelerator and
Detector
Development

A good program with strong potential and

external demand. Classes effectively
delivered by a mix of professors and adjunct
faculty. AcTF suggests calling the program
a professional certificate program.
Impressive faculty whose research brings
recognition to the university. Significant
grant funding noted. Assessment of
student learning was highlighted well in the
narrative.
Strong program that is well aligned with
university mission. AcTF commends
facultys strong scholarship and teaching
evaluations despite heavy teaching loads.
External demand is strong and unique in
that schools financially support their
teachers earning degree.
AcTF impressed by programs outreach and
performances in the community. Program
would benefit from a student retention
plan.
AcTF noted concern for low and static
budget. Commend strong student
diversity, although faculty not diverse.
Good plan to increase numbers of students.
Completion of Stevens building will offer a
home base and catalyze growth of the
program.
AcTF found this to be important to the
university. Strong faculty with stellar
research programs.

44 | P a g e

Table 4.3: Candidates for Reduction in Resources

Candidate for Reduction in Resources
School /
Division

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

Finance

B.S. in Finance

Narrative provided insufficient data on the

program. Program costs are higher than
peers despite statement regarding low
salaries. Mission statement does not refer
to students. Data on attracting a diverse
student population is good. Efforts should
be made to stabilize declining enrollments
and degrees.

CBUS

Finance

Certificate in
Finance
(Graduate)

Certificate is a marketing tool for the MBA.

There was insufficient data to assess the
importance/purpose of the certificate.

CBUS

Management

Social
Entrepreneurship
Area

Narrative lacked assessment data for

student learning outcomes as well as
faculty data. Also lacked information on
student work in creation of businesses that
deal with socially responsible issues. Accy
288 roadblock needs to be resolved.
Insufficient data regarding external
demand. Data charts did not match
narrative.

CBUS

Management

B.S. in Business
Administration

Narrative admits that program is not

meeting needs of some students but
makes no suggestion as to how this can be
accomplished. Student transfer
enrollment was discussed but no
explanation why students leave major at
larger rates than other majors in CBUS.

CBUS

45 | P a g e

CBUS

Oper Mgmt &

Info Sys

Certificate in
Information
Systems

There seems to be low demand for

certificate. Narrative does not clarify
whether certificate is enough to obtain
high demand positions. AcTF found that
program potential section was not well
developed. Like most certificates,
narrative states that this is a no-cost
enhancement.

CBUS

Oper Mgmt &

Info Sys

Certificates in
Business
Analytics Using
SAP Software
(Undergraduate,
Graduate)

AcTF was impressed that there was no

similar certificate program in Midwest.
Narrative is unclear regarding data on
faculty performance. No data on external
demand or diversity within the program.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

Certificate in
Integrated
Manufacturing
Systems

Narrative was not well-written making

certificate difficult to assess. AcTF
recognizes the usefulness of the certificate
as a way to attract students to degree.
Narrative asserts that this is a cost neutral
certificate.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

Certificates in
Lean Six Sigma
(Undergraduate,
Graduate)

All certificates from the department failed

to include data. Certificate focus provides
value for students and should be
maintained for department to remain
competitive.

CEET

Engineering
Technology

M.S. in Industrial
Management

Data in the narrative was difficult to

assess. Scholarly research seemed lacking
with no justification. In general there was a
lack of substantive data in narrative. Little
effort to promote program. Enrollment
has decreased and narrative admits there
is less need for UGs to pursue this degree.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

Certificates in
Logistics
(Undergraduate,
Graduate)

Narrative was written to reflect the nature

of the BS in Industrial and Systems
Engineering and not the certificate.
Therefore it was difficult to assess.

46 | P a g e

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

General Minor in
Family,
Consumer, and
Nutrition
Sciences

Minor might have potential but narrative

doesn't demonstrate it. Demand looks
promising. AcTF found program difficult to
assess without student data but appears to
be growing and should continue.

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

B.S. in Fashion
Merchandising
(previously B.S.
in Textiles,
Apparel and
Merchandising)

Narrative lacked data on financial

efficiency. Also needed to provide evidence
of faculty artistry or scholarship. Although
the number of students enrolled declined,
the degrees conferred were stable.

CHHS

Military Science

Minor in Military
Science

It is unfortunate that this program has

fallen short of goal of officers
commissioned. Program funding does not
rely on institutional support and thus was
ranked accordingly so as not to compete
with scarce resources.

CLAS

Chemistry &
Biochemistry

Center for
Biochemical and
Biophysical
Studies

Faculty contributions dont truly fit

designed rubric. No data on centers
teaching activities. These factors made
centers argument for resources difficult to
assess. Grant production seems weak
compared to peers.

CLAS

Communication

B.A./B.S. in
Journalism

The narrative did not make a strong case

for new faculty as the enrollment and
graduation numbers are declining. This
was not explained while it appears that
there are job opportunities. The AcTF does
recognize that the program benefits from
foundation resources which many other
programs do not have.

47 | P a g e

CLAS

Computer
Science

M.S. in Computer Narrative had no information on the

Science
quality of graduate students and was not
convincing regarding potential except for
the BS. It was not clear how
admission/enrollment was to be balanced
with necessary support. There was no
explanation as to why the number of
degrees was decreasing while enrollment
was increasing.

CLAS

English

Certificate in
Creative Writing

Certificate has very few students. More

faculty needed to contribute to course
offerings. Need for internal marketing to
recruit students to the certificate.

CLAS

English

Minor in
Linguistics
Studies

Very little data for assessment. AcTF

recognizes that it is hard to coordinate an
interdisciplinary program and appreciates
the effort put into this one. AcTF liked
that the program had a dedicated advisor
for the minor, something many programs
fail to do.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

B.A. in French

Program has undergone major changes

with loss of all faculty in 2014. AcTF wants
to continue to support their
transformation but questioned if program
should simply be a minor as there are few
students. Two newly-hired faculty have
good scholarly records. If the program
revitalizes it should be supported.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

Minor in Chinese
Studies

Program is poorly resourced. Only has

a .75 instructor. AcTF does not believe it
should continue without sufficient support.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

Minor in Classical
Studies

Program is taught by instructors. There

was no data on student outcomes or
potential student demand. Numbers are
stable though small. Students perform at
a high level.

48 | P a g e

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

Minor in Russian

AcTF believes that this program is

significantly under resourced and should
be transformed. It is not viable in its
current form.

CLAS

Geology and
Environmental
Geoscience

Ph.D. in Geology

Excellent grantsmanship but it was

difficult to assess the purpose of the Ph.D.
Is the M.S. degree sufficient? There was no
focus on where this Ph.D. is going in 5-10
years.
The program has very few students and
there is very little unmet demand. Program
may be too narrowly focused and needs
some change to right size.

CLAS

History

B.A./B.S. in
History

The AcTF notes the centrality of the

subject, the high quality of the faculty and
the large quantity of service teaching in
general education courses. Concern was
expressed about the drastic decline in
credit hour production, the decline in the
number of majors and the high cost per
credit hour relative to other institutions. It
appeared that some of these concerns
were connected.

CLAS

History

M.A. in History

AcTF recognizes that the History graduate

program is strong. Most programs used
iPeds data for cost comparison but this
program appears to be costly even using
the IBHE data. Cost snapshot taken at an
unfortunate time for the program in terms
of new hires and enrollment declines.
Internal recruitment is mentioned but
there is no evidence of its effectiveness.
Low GA stipends are hurting student
recruitment.

49 | P a g e

CLAS

Philosophy

Certificate in
Applied Ethics

Certificate aligns particularly well with

NIUs mission but narrative lacked
information on both faculty and students
that could have been provided. Internal
demand almost non-existent due to lack of
marketing plan for such an important
program. AcTF suggests more effort be
put into marketing certificate if it is to be
successful.

CLAS

Public
Administration

CEDU

Kinesiology &
Physical
Education

B.S. in Athletic
Training

No narrative stipulation for resources at

this time. Little diversity in program and
no plan to make changes. Program is
already in transition from B.S. to M.S. and
should be re-evaluated once transition is
completed.

CEDU

Kinesiology &
Physical
Education

B.S.Ed. in
Physical
Education/K-12
and 6-12
Educator
Licensure

Despite the fact that the narrative states

that this is the strongest such program in
Illinois, enrollment is dropping and
retention is low.

CEDU

Kinesiology &
Physical
Education

M.S.Ed. in
Kinesiology and
Physical
Education

Faculty performance in research is about

average. Program does not have a plan for
moving forward except to add a Ph.D.
AcTF does not support this at this time.
Current student demand for this program
is not strong. Given market trends there is
some concern for this program.

Certificate Public Narrative does not address certificate

Management
directly and no data on students. AcTF
acknowledges that certificate is a good
idea because it serves as marketing
strategy for MPA.

50 | P a g e

CEDU

Literacy and
Elementary
Education

Certificate in
Postsecondary
Developmental
Literacy and
Language
Instruction

There is little demand for this certificate

though it seems to provide a service to
community colleges. Additional
benchmarking data would have been
helpful. It may simply need more time to
develop.

CEDU

Special and
Early Education

M.S.Ed. In Early
Childhood
Education

Program generates few credit hours.

There is a lack of demand for this program
at this time.

CVPA

Music

Performers
Certificate in
Music

Narrative does not explain why there is a

drop in certificates recently. AcTF unable
to discern the difference between this and
the MM degree. Certificate impacts the
programs resources due to the need for
individualized instruction. AcTF
recognizes that program offers many
public concerts to community enhancing
NIUs reputation. Narrative not convincing
as to importance of certificate.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design

B.F.A. in Studio
Art

Data regarding the quality of faculty was

difficult to interpret as there was no
contextualization for disciplinary norms.
Portfolio review mentioned in narrative
but lacked student learning outcomes.
Narrative would have benefited from a
more substantive discussion regarding
regional engagement and program
growth. AcTF supports an arts program for
NIU and the digital design area needs
support in order to develop. Program
would benefit from more focus on
retention, particularly on graduating
minority students.

51 | P a g e

CVPA

School of Art
and Design

B.S.Ed. in Art and Data on scholarship and financial efficiency

Design Education is not consistent across programs.
Program is expensive but it may be that
data provided is for all art and design.
Demand for art education is not high, per
data provided; growth in this field is < 1%.
Very diverse students enrolled but little
diversity in degrees conferred.
Enrollment is down.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design
(ART)

B.A. in Art

Faculty data was unclear and difficult to

discern. Narrative provided no benchmark
data to compare faculty with other
institutions. No student learning
outcomes.
Degrees have dropped in half, which is
worrisome.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design
(ART)

M.A. in Art

Narrative does not identify who teaches

this program. Financial information
doesn't seem to be specific to the program.
Program potential is formulated in very
vague terms. Author states that
enrollments will be a challenge in the
future. Program cannot continue to
operate as it currently configured.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design
(ART)

M.F.A. in Art

Impressive quality of faculty

accomplishments. Large decrease in credit
hours and enrollment is dropping.
Facilities are in need of upgrading. Like
other programs in Art, this program needs
review.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design
(ART)

Ph.D. in Art
Education

Narrative stated that there is potential for

an interdisciplinary program but did not
explain what that entails. There is modest
enrollment. No job growth reported. This
is a very costly program and in 7 years
there have only been 4 degrees. Need to
consider growth to stabilize the program.

52 | P a g e

RIPSDIV

VP Research
and Innovative
Partnership

Institute for
Nano Science,
Engineering and
Technology

AcTF recognizes this is a strong

interdisciplinary program but insufficient
data related to student involvement.
Excellent program but the AcTf does not
believe that Institute should be consuming
scarce resources at this time.

Table 4.4: Candidate for Transformation

Candidate for Transformation
School /

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

College of
Business

BELIEF,
COMPASS,
Passport

Program is impressive. Changes in diversity

are very positive. Narrative needed more
information on faculty participation. Perhaps
programs could be transformed into academic
programs to further enhance positive values in
business education.

Division
CBUS

CBUS

CBUS

Management Minor in Business Program is excellent conceptually but lacks

Innovation &
engagement and outreach. Narrative had no
Entrepreneurship examples of projects so the unique nature of
the minor was not clear. Program has high
completion rate for few faculty.
Transformation could include emphasis on
engagement and outreach, and improving
programs identity.
Marketing

Certificate in
Interactive
Marketing

Narrative provided little data for assessment

on faculty or students. Program is underresourced, with no TTF, despite high internal
demand. Certificate should be transformed to
better align with demand. Additional
resources will promote transformation via
certificate growth and new interdisciplinary
ties.

53 | P a g e

CEET

Electrical
Engineering

B.S. in Electrical
Engineering

Growing program with good student

outcomes, but low faculty scholarship and
modest student excellence for its size.
Narrative needed to address right-sizing which
is an issue for this program. An important
major delivered at cost much lower than peers.
Many narrative inconsistencies suggest
program needs internal review to focus efforts
for future direction. More faculty needed to
meet aspirational goals. Diversity issues need
to be taken more seriously.

CEET

Electrical
Engineering

M.S. in Electrical
Engineering

Faculty scholarly productivity a concern,

particularly in regards to effect on training
graduate students. Alignment to university
mission and outreach to community should be
more clearly articulated and pursued. AcTF
concerned about the facultys ability to
manage large numbers of students.
Transforming program should consider rightsizing, either by hiring faculty with an
emphasis on improving scholarship or by
limiting admissions.

CEET

Electrical
Engineering

Minor in
Biomedical
Engineering

Narrative did not provide data on student

outcomes nor differentiate between major
(B.S. in Electrical Engineering) and minor in
many criteria. There may be high potential for
growth but no data provided regarding
internal demand. Job growth is high
warranting transformation for this program.
Program needs to accurately track students in
the minor.

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

Minor in
Sustainable
Engineering

Sustainable Engineering should be in demand

but program is not well promoted - only 2
minors completed since inception. Students
cannot complete if they don't begin early.
Consider collaboration with Environmental
Studies program. Potential growth program
with marketing and reorganization.

54 | P a g e

CHHS

Gerontology
Program

Gerontology
Area

Program is important but seriously

underfunded. Narrative says there are other
gerontology programs in state but does not
clarify where this one fits. AcTF is concerned
that there are no faculty to support this
program. Despite potential external demand,
this program is not succeeding. Program would
benefit from transformation.

CHHS

Nursing &
Health
Studies
(NURS)

B.S. in Public
Health

Program has impressive engaged learning

practicum and good student outcomes.
Narrative has clearly articulated plans to
improve programs potential. AcTF
recommends that program receive additional
resources to pursue those plans, including
eliminating degree-completion option and
pursuing accreditation. Enhanced resources
for student academic success needed as well.

CHHS

Nursing &
Health
Studies
(NURS)

Master of Public
Health

Excellent teaching and engagement, but

difficulties recruiting admitted students. AcTF
recognizes attempts made to improve program
by collaboration and recommends program
continue eliminating face-to-face delivery.
Program needs marketing, outreach and full
transition to on-line delivery.

CHHS

Nursing &
Health
Studies

Minor in Health
Education

Program taught almost entirely by instructors

and needs more TT faculty involved. Necessary
for coaches and PE teachers; in demand by
KNPE. Transformation might consider moving
program to another department or college.

CLAS

Chemistry &
Biochemistry

M.S. in
Chemistry

Faculty demonstrates good scholarship

however needs to improve grantsmanship.
Graduation production is rather small, but
appears to be growing. Pass rates need
improvement. Are poor pass rates because
admission requirements are too low, or too
few faculty to monitor student progress?
Perhaps program could benefit from
transformation to increase faculty lines,
enhance quality, and diversity of students.

55 | P a g e

CLAS

College of
LA&S

Certificate in
Adolescence

Program suffers from neglect, needs a

departmental home and a dedicated
coordinator. Duplication of courses offered in
COE. Transformation could consider a merger.

CLAS

College of
LA&S

Minor in
Cognitive
Studies

Faculty are productive scholars. Enrollments

are very low and narrative included no
information on students enrolled in the minor.
Program requires transformation, a
departmental home and/or enhanced
leadership.

CLAS

Communicat
ion

Minor in
Professional
Communication

Narrative lacks data about students taking the

minor. Promoting the program and tracking
students who enroll could address problem of
low enrollments. Improving assessment of
student outcomes will identify areas of
strength. Minor could be valuable to students
in many areas. Program needs marketing.

CLAS

Computer
Science

Certificate in
Mobile
Programming

New and innovative, a lot of potential and

supports the mission. No data on diversity.
Report had missing data with nothing written
specific to certificate. Program appears to need
better follow up data on students. Perhaps
transformation in addressing technology
needs.

CLAS

Economics

B.A./B.S. in
Economics

Program struggles with faculty departures. An

important program that should be
transformed to attract students and improve
overall quality. AcTF strongly asserts that the
program needs support to grow including
faculty lines to improve faculty productivity.

56 | P a g e

CLAS

Economics

M.A. in
Economics
Bundled with
PhD

Program struggles with faculty departures. An

important program that should be
transformed to attract students and improve
overall quality. AcTF strongly asserts that the
program needs support to grow including
faculty lines to improve faculty productivity.
New hires should include senior scholars with
high scholarly profile. New minor and
certificate in financial engineering looks
promising. AcTF recognizes that department is
capitalizing on its strengths despite limited
resources. Narrative de-emphasizes M.A.
Program could perhaps benefit from
reorganization.

CLAS

Economics

Ph.D. in
Economics
Bundled with MA

This is an important program and should be

transformed to attract students and improve
overall quality. AcTF strongly asserts program
needs support. They also need faculty lines for
senior hires. Enrollments need to be
stabilized.

CLAS

English

Certificate in
Technical
Writing

AcTF believes that this is an important

program with great potential that needs to be
transformed. Its high credit hour requirement
suggests either rethinking its design as
certificate or considering becoming a minor for
better visibility. Either way, it needs enhanced
marketing.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature 1

B.A. in German

German faculty productivity is very good but

student demand is very low. AcTF recognizes
the importance of foreign languages and that
faculty does service teaching for all BA
programs. Program needs to be transformed in
order to continue.

57 | P a g e

CLAS

Geography

B.A./B.S. in
Geography

High quality faculty doing impressive engaged

learning; good community ties and activities
for career development. Program has
experienced deep cuts and is strained. Despite
high projected job growth and quality
program, demand is down. Needs to evaluate
all department offerings to focus and
streamline. AcTF encourages transformation
to increase enrollments perhaps by increasing
faculty and raising profile of program through
marketing and promotion.

CLAS

Geography
(GEOG)

Certificate in
Geographic
Information
Systems

Interdisciplinary potential is good and its

importance to university is apparent.
Certificate needs better tracking of students
and could benefit from more resources to meet
demand. This program needs to consider how
to continue certificate delivery in face of
faculty departures. Faculty hires in
department will address this concern, as well
as issues in B.A./B.S. (see above).

CLAS

Geography

Minor in Global
Studies

Minor strongly aligned with baccalaureate

outcome expectations but currently not well
organized nor administered; needs
administrative oversight, management and
promotion. Better advertising is likely to
improve enrollment. Course material may be
covered in other departments but
interdisciplinary option is good. Program could
benefit from transformation.

CLAS

Physics

B.S. in Physics

Exceptional faculty research but program

needs to improve teaching outcomes. While
retention is high, number of degrees is not.
Narrative states that there is a need for
resources to improve undergraduate facilities
and student success. AcTF recommends
approaches in transformation that will improve
teaching and retention of students.

58 | P a g e

CLAS

Sociology

M.A. in
Sociology

Degree demand and conferral is reduced.

Program takes more time than other MAs to
complete. AcTF encourages alternative
programmatic enhancements to bolster the
program. Program needs transformation to
remain viable. Focus on criminology should be
reconsidered as a possible option to help
bolster admissions.

CLAS

Statistics

Statistical
Consulting
Services

Program important resource to NIU. Needs

better marketing plan for internal and external
constituencies. Needs clear billing structure.
Narrative gave no data regarding services
rendered, who directs center or who provides
services. Program would benefit from
transformation and marketing.

CEDU

Counseling,
Adult &
Higher Ed

M.S.Ed. in Adult
and Higher
Education

Program costs are lower than peers, but AcTF

concerned about number of students served
and potential impact on quality of program.
Narrative cites student interests moving away
from adult and higher ed. towards student
affairs and administration. May necessitate
significant curriculum modifications or
program transformation.

CEDU

Counseling,
Adult &
Higher Ed

M.S.Ed. In
Counseling

Grantsmanship is impressive but overall

scholarly production quite low. AcTF is aware
program has lost five faculty leaving large
numbers of theses (or projects) for remaining
faculty to oversee. AcTF is concerned that this
situation is leading to lower scholarly
production. Transformation efforts are needed
to improve faculty scholarship and research.

59 | P a g e

CEDU

Educational
Tech Res &
Assessment

M.S. in
Educational
Research and
Evaluation

Strong teaching evaluations, but program

serves a very small number of students.
Faculty Ph.D. committee load may be
excessive and hurt program quality. Concern
that narrative does not address this. On-line
offerings may improve enrollments and
degrees. Current format of program does not
demonstrate enough demand. ACTF
recognizes good deal of service provided by
faculty but program needs to improve degree
production and/or be transformed.

CEDU

College of
Education

College Learning
Enhancement
Program

Program is important to the university, but

outcomes are not very well articulated. This
program seems more related to tutoring than
to undergraduate education. Because of its
value to some students, it should become an
academic program. AcTF recommends that it
be re-conceptualized.

CEDU

Counseling,
Adult &
Higher Ed

Ed.D. in Adult
and Higher
Education

Program relies heavily on adjuncts, which is a

concern for a graduate program. Enrollment
may be too high for the number and
experience of current faculty. Program should
consider right-sizing in order to focus on high
quality student outcomes.

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

Ed.D. in
Curriculum and
Instruction

Scholarly productivity is weak for a doctoral

program; AcTF believes that the program
needs to be right-sized so faculty can be more
productive in terms of research. Program
currently very expensive and needs
transformation to improve faculty research
and reduce costs.

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found
(LEPF)

M.S.Ed. In
Educational
Psychology

Program is very small and there is little

demand for degree. Internal demand in
narrative is based on service to undergraduates
rather than on demand for MS. AcTF
recognizes importance of the service courses
taught by program faculty, but struggles to
see the potential as a graduate degree.
Program could benefit from transformation.

60 | P a g e

CEDU

Literacy and
Elementary
Ed

B.S.Ed. in
Elementary
Education

Extensive field experiences are valuable.

Faculty performance is low and student
retention is a concern. Program needs to
improve efforts to help minority students
complete degree. Enrollments may be
constrained by licensure issues. AcTF suggests
that ESL/Bilingual area needs program
transformation.

CEDU

Special and
Early
Education

B.S. in Early
Childhood
Studies
(interdisciplinary
degree FCNS)

CEDU

Special and
Early
Education

B.S.Ed. in Special AcTF recognizes that program is very

Education
important but it is not doing well. Costs are
high. Though external demand is potentially
high, it is not reflected in enrollments.
Perhaps transformation or program reorganization would strengthen this program.

CVPA

College of
Visual &
Performing
Arts (CVPA)

Certificate in
Museum Studies

Narrative contained little data making it

difficult to assess program. Program provides
exceptional hands-on experience for students.
Program supports other programs at NIU but
needs critical transformation to be
competitive.

CVPA

Music
(MUSC)

B.A. in Music

Program does not appear to be a priority or

have a clear identity. Few applications, very
low retention and graduation rates. Based on
the narrative, AcTF was unable to identify a
clear need for this program. Faculty needs to
review how this fits in music program and
consider what students seeking this degree
need. BA is too close to BM in terms of
curriculum and BA enrollments are too small.
AcTF recommends transformation.

Interdisciplinary program that leads to

licensure and thus is important; enrollments
are low, out-migration because of program
structure. New government commitment to
early childhood education suggests future
demand for graduates. Program needs to be
transformed to boost enrollment and remain
competitive.

61 | P a g e

CVPA

School of Art
and Design

M.S. in Art

Enrollment and demand are very low and

program cost is high. Program needs to focus
on raising minority degrees. Transformation
should include further development of online
option for degree delivery.

CVPA

School of Art
and Design
(ART)

B.A. in Art
History

Program is very small. Strong service teaching

to other departments acknowledged by AcTF.
Courses are important for all students, though
degree may not be viable. Transformation
could explore converting this program into a
minor.

GRADSTDIES

Graduate
School

Master of Arts in
Teaching

Program has little connection with NIU faculty.

Narrative does not clarify student demand.
Transformation should contemplate an
academic home in COE.

Vice Provost

Center for
Black Studies

Center for Black

Studies

Minor in Black Studies needs an academic

home. Narrative contained no proper student
assessments and no learning outcomes.
Completion of minor is very low. Curriculum
should be re-examined and quality of the
educational experience should be transformed.
AcTF highly recommends that Centers
academic role should be separated from its
student support and cultural programming
aspects. The Centers student support and
cultural aspects are vital to NIUs mission.
Author admits that they cant currently do all
that they are attempting.

Vice Provost

First &
Second Year
Experience

UNIV 101/201
(FYSE) and UNIV
105 (UNIVLIB)

Program is very valuable and needs consistent

financial support. Transformation should
consider relocating program to a
college/department. AcTF impressed that top
faculty teach in program. Recommends that
the program be required of all new students.

62 | P a g e

Vice Provost

Vice Provost

Bachelor of
General Studies

AcTF believes that this is an important

program and recognizes the value of a
generalist degree that meets the needs of
working students. It is suggested that
Provost's office not oversee academic
programs but that each college have a BGS
specific to its program offerings.

Table 4.5: Candidate for Review

Candidate for Review
School / Division

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

CBUS

College of
Business

Certificate in
Entrepreneurship

Only one student in the past 5

years. Data is from MBA program
and does not represent
Entrepreneurship Certificate. This
certificate is offered at little cost
but has not been promoted. This
potentially important certificate
is underperforming.

CBUS

College of
Business

Certificate in
Managerial
Leadership

This is not a stand-alone program

- it is embedded in the MBA.
Data is from MBA and not from
certificate. Narrative did not
make a case for continuance.

CBUS

College of
Business

Certificate in
Strategic Marketing

This is not a stand-alone program

- it is embedded in the MBA. Data
is from MBA and not from
certificate. The certificate should
be better marketed within the
college. Otherwise its continued
existence is questionable.

63 | P a g e

CBUS

College of
Business

UBUS 310/UBUS 311

Narrative makes it difficult to

assess, absent contextualization.
No attempt to respond regarding
external demand. These are
single courses and should not be
evaluated as programs. UBUS 310
and 311 may have value, but need
to be embedded in a program.

CBUS

Oper Mgmt &

Info Sys

Certificate in Service
Management

Narratives written for business

certificates did not sufficiently
address each certificates
individual value to NIU or
students. In terms of potential,
an identical narrative was
provided for all certificates. The
program awarded 36 certificates
in 5 years and only one in the last
year.

CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

Certificate in
CAD/CAM
Development,
Simulation and
Fabrication

As with the other certificate

narratives from this department,
the single paragraph narrative did
not justify the potential of this
certificate.

CEET

College of Eng &

Eng Tech

Certificates in
Homeland Security
(Undergraduate,
Graduate)

Narrative lacks data and

recognizes need for
reorganization. Low completion
rate for the certificate is
alarming. It will need care and
consistent support in order to
continue.

64 | P a g e

CEET

College of Eng &

Eng Tech

Certificate in
Nanotechnology

Narrative lacks sufficient data to

assess program and faculty. No
clear leadership to sustain or
promote program. Financing
uncertain, using remnants from
other programs. Very low
enrollment. Program needs
review for re-growth to occur.
Lacks leadership and grant
funding required for continued
support.

CEET

Engineering
Technology

TECH Certificates

Narratives lack data. There

appears to be little interest in the
Tech Certificates.

CEET

Engineering
Technology

TECH Minors

CEET

Industrial &
Systems Eng

Certificate in Quality
Control of
Manufacturing
Processes

CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

Certificate in
Applied Mechanics

Program lacks faculty resources

and cannot be offered currently
as is.

CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

Certificate in
Thermal, Fluid, and
Energy Systems

Narrative has little data. Faculty

achievements are impressive but
no other data was provided.
Certificates seem to have strong
potential but the case is not
made for continued support.

Narrative does not make a case

for program continuation. It
takes too long for students to
earn this minor making it cost
prohibitive. Perhaps solved by
reorganization.
Underperforming with 3 students
earning the certificate in 5 years
and insufficient faculty to teach
required courses.

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CEET

Mechanical
Engineering

Certificate in
Narrative lacks sufficient data to
Vibration, Robots,
assess this program. Robotics is a
and Control Systems high value subfield in engineering
but constraints have not allowed
productive pursuit.

CHHS

Allied Health &

Comm Disorders

Minor in Deafness
Rehabilitation

Data provided is insufficient.

Narrative does not make a case
for program continuation.

CHHS

College of
Health & Human
Sci

Certificate in
Healthcare Policy
and Management

Requests elimination

CHHS

Family,
Consumer &
Nutrition

M.S. in Family and

Consumer Sciences

Requests elimination

CHHS

Nursing &
Health Studies

B.S.Ed. in Health
Education

Requests elimination

CHHS

Nursing &
Health Studies

Certificate in Health
Education

Requests elimination

CLAS

Biological
Sciences

Plant Molecular
Biology Center

The purpose of the center needs

to be clearly articulated to attract
interest and resources.
Identifying specific student
learning outcomes for those
students participating in the
center would be helpful. This is a
no-cost add-on for the
department.

CLAS

College of LA&S

Center for
Secondary Science
and Mathematics
Education

Narrative fails to accurately

describe this program. The
licensure data was unclear.
Narrative uses data from the
department that is not specific to
this center. There is no longer
external funding to support this
center.

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CLAS

College of LA&S

Certificate in Asian
American Studies

Narrative was lacking in student

data. Program depends on one
emeritus faculty member and
lacks direction. Program should
have an academic home and not
be under the Vice Provost's
Office.

CLAS

English

Certificate in
Education in English
Language Arts

Narrative lacks sufficient data to

assess faculty. This is a unique
program, so enrollments should
be higher. The program needed
to be properly marketed.

CLAS

English

Minor in
Comparative
Literature

Program needs substantial

transformation and promotion.

Sunset mandated by the state.

Only 2 students in 5 years.

Program cannot continue to
operate as it currently configured.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

M.A. in French

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

Certificate in Foreign
Language
Instructional
Technology

This program has not been

properly marketed. University
needs to offer more support for
marketing. Narrative did not
address program potential.
Program appears to be passively
managed and may not be needed
due to very low enrollment.

CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature 1

Certificate in
German Language,
Literature, and
Culture

Few students in program.

Narrative gave no information to
support program potential need
numbers of schools teaching
German to support claim. No
demonstrated external demand
for this program.

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CLAS

Foreign
Language &
Literature1

Minor in Italian

Narrative did not provide student

performance measures. No
discussion of how to enhance
potential especially with only 1
faculty member. Number of
minors awarded has dropped
drastically.

CLAS

Geography

Minor in Urban
Studies

Same small group of faculty as in

Global Studies. Program was
handed over to Geography to run
without resources to support it.
Not being managed or
developed. It has interesting
potential but needs oversight.

CLAS

Political Science

Minor in Public
Administration

Requests elimination

CLAS

Sociology

Certificate in
Religious Studies

Requests elimination

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

M.S.Ed. in
Foundations of
Education

CEDU

College of
Education

Certificate in
Professional
Teaching Practices Requested for
Elimination

There is very little demand for

this program. One degree
awarded in 5 years. Faculty
provides significant
undergraduate service teaching.
Program may not need to exist as
a degree. The faculty is essential
for service teaching.
Requests elimination.

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CEDU

Counseling,
Adult & Higher
Ed

M.S.Ed. in Adult and

Higher Education

Program costs are lower than

peers. However, there was
concern about the number of
students served and potential
impact on quality. AcTF noted a
significant drop in credit hours,
due to declining enrollment.
Narrative cites student interests
moving away from adult and
higher ed towards student affairs
and administration. This may
necessitate significant curriculum
modifications or program
elimination.

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

M.S.Ed. in
Curriculum and
Instruction

Faculty productivity low in

scholarship. Program is more
expensive than peers and
production is low. Supports
university by teaching
undergraduate courses. Very
little demand for degree. This
program is important but it is just
not working here.

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

M.S.Ed. In
Educational
Psychology

Case for mission was not made

for this program. Program is
necessary for service to
undergraduates rather than due
to internal demand. Few
students, no plan for diversity.
The AcTF recognizes the
importance of the service courses
that the faculty teach.

CEDU

Literacy and
Elementary Ed

LEED Certificates
(Graduate)

Requests elimination

CEDU

Literacy and
Elementary Ed

M.S.Ed. in
Elementary
Education Requested for
Elimination

Requests elimination

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CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

Certificate in
Philosophy of
Education

Requests elimination

CEDU

Leadership,
Educ Psyc &
Found

Foundations of
Education and
Educational Studies
Certificate
(Undergraduate)

Requests elimination

GRADSTUDIES

Graduate School

Master of Sciences
in Teaching

The mission of the program was

to improve science education in
Illinois, however, the focus is not
clear. Narrative lacks data to
assess faculty. Loss of grant
funding resulted in a decrease in
numbers of students and the
faculty is not getting paid for
teaching. Students enrolled in
the program did not complete
due to low morale. Program
cannot continue to exist as it
currently is configured.

RIPSDIV

Inst for Lang &

Lit

Certificate in
Interdisciplinary
Study of Language
and Literacy

Requests elimination

Vice Provost

Vice Provost

B.S. in Applied
Management

This program has been neglected

and should not continue in
current state. Consider marketing
to community college graduates.
It needs an academic home and
leadership. Perhaps it will benefit
from online delivery.

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Table 4.6: Programs Too New to be Categorized

School /
Division

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

CEET

CEET

M.S. in Integrated
Systems Engineering

Program begins FA 16 so there is no data. No

way to assess the program

CLAS

Public
Administratio
n (PSPA)

Certificate in Public
Sector Leadership

Program began FA 15 so there is no data. No

way to assess the program

CBUS

Finance

M.S. in Financial Risk

Management

Program is new and could not be fully

evaluated due to lack of data.

Table 4.7: Proposed Academic Programs

Programs not currently endorsed by AcTF
School/

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

Kinesiology &
Physical
Education

Bachelors in Sports
Management

The task force found the narrative to be very

general. Existing MS and proposed BS not
differentiated clearly. Noted that partnerships
that have already been formed, but unclear
what students would get from degree. AcTF
noted much of assessment is completed, but
concerned with graduates ability to get jobs.
Projected job growth only 5%; 20 other
colleges/universities in IL with similar degree.

Division
CEDU

Concerned if new program could be run with

four existing faculty. Financial resources
needed for new faculty and facilities. Program
will not be successful without senior-level
hires; AcTF believes junior faculty hires would
be of limited value.
Program not recommended at this time.

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CLAS

School of
Public & Global
Affairs

MA in Development
Studies

Program speaks to NIUs globalization efforts.

Well-written narrative. Key considerations: Is
this program needed if already done in other
departments (Political Science, Sociology,
etc.)? Could work with these other
departments to create an inexpensive
interdisciplinary program. AcTF liked program
but narrative is written in very general terms.
Economics faculty not available to teach here
as they are already over-committed. Program
could be supported in a different economic
climate if there is enough support from units
for interdisciplinary programs.
Program not recommended at this time.

CLAS

Public
Administration

Ph.D. in Public
Affairs

Narrative provided no argument why someone

needs a PhD in this area. Program is
contingent on grants making success more
challenging. General comments on other
programs should not be included in narrative.
If more faculty are needed why are there no
numbers? Overall narrative is not convincing.
Program not recommended at this time.

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CLAS

Computer
Science

PhD in Computer
Science

Faculty scholarship is too weak to support a

doctoral program. Concerns about having
support (e.g. graduate assistantships) shifted
from crowded existing MS program to the
proposed PhD program. What effect could that
have on the MS program? Where is this
funding for new facilities coming from?
Currently there are 288 MS students with only
35 graduate assistantships available. Will MS
become the default for students who cannot
survive PhD? Broader understanding of how
the relationship between programs will evolve
is needed. Furthermore, narrative only asks
for one new faculty to assist with graduate
programs. Is this realistic? Finally, reliance on
foreign national students to build program
could lead to problems in the future, should
demand from abroad wane. CSCI should
develop a proposal based on a mix of foreign
nationals and American students.
Program not recommended at this time.

CLAS

English

Interdisciplinary MA
in Linguistics

Narrative suggests that because program is

interdisciplinary it will be popular and
"exceptional". AcTF was not convinced by the
narrative, particularly in light of reading about
several other interdisciplinary programs that
struggle to remain viable. Is there a strong
commitment from partners for this?
Conflicting faculty demands can hurt an
interdisciplinary MA. There were insufficient
data regarding external or internal demand for
program.
Program not recommended at this time.

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CLAS

Department of
Foreign
Languages &
Literatures

Minor in Deaf
Studies

AcTF applauds efforts to identify deafness in a

cultural way rather than as a disability.
Program is seen as a good idea, but this may
not be a good time to proceed. The area is
significantly understaffed in ASL and could use
resources in that specific area and that may be
more realistic than the minor.
Is it possible to add cultural aspects to the
existing CAHD minor on rehabilitation to fill
the need for cultural awareness?
Program not recommended at this time.

The AcTF supports the following four programs:

School/

Department

Program Name

AcTF Comments

CLAS

Computer
Science

M.S. / Ph.D. in Data

Science

The task force recognizes the potential for this

field. Program seems viable and fits well with
the statistics and data needs in society. Some
concern raised in relying too heavily on
international students for the success of the
program. This area is in high demand making a
balance of national and international students
possible. Also, narrative spoke to a shift of
support from the MS to Ph.D but little
information was provided on how this shift will
affect the MS enrollment. This program bears
further exploration. AcTF supports this
program if resources are available.

CLAS

STAT

Bachelor of Science
in Statistics

AcTF believes that separating statistics from

math would strengthen both programs.
Student demand is there but program needs
more faculty to maintain current operations. A
major in stats would support social sciences
that rely on stat courses and raise internal
demand. AcTF supports this program if
resources are available.

Division

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CHHS

CHHS

Bachelors in Health
Information
Management

Proposed partnership with COB in Information

Management is good. Online aspect is a
plus. Impressed by the work they have already
done to get the pieces in order. A question: do
the jobs mentioned in 2.1 require a
bachelors? Will OMIS be able to support this
degree? Like other interdisciplinary programs,
connections and viability are in question. Could
Computer Science also be brought in as a
partner? Proposal doesnt address how the
curriculum is going to be similar to or different
from what already exists. AcTF worried about
the statement that they are working with the
Foundation to get funding. Does the
Foundation get involved in ongoing funding of
program? Program could be a significant
revenue generator for the university. AcTF
supports this program if there are sufficient
resources for new programs.

CHHS

Nursing &
Health Studies

Doctor of Nursing
Practice

AcTF recognizes high quality of the faculty and

high regard in which the nursing program is
held. There is obviously a problem in
comparison of faculty salaries with those
available outside the university. This program
has been in planning for some time. AcTF
strongly supports this program if resources are
available.

AcTF recommends that FLAL develop a strategic plan for comprehensive management of the foreign
languages. Perhaps they can discover another way to organize the department that still maintains the
integrity of the languages taught without the burden of degree offerings that cannot be sustained.

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V.

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Task Force Nomination Forms

Nominations for Membership on the NIU Program Prioritization Task Forces

NIU seeks nominations for membership on two task forces that will evaluate all academic and
administrative programs as part of the universitys Program Prioritization initiative.
While qualifications differ slightly between the two task forces, the following characteristics are sought
for nominations for membership on either group. Successful nominees will:

Understand and embrace NIUs mission as a student-centered research and teaching institution
with a strong commitment to engagement with our region.
Enjoy the respect of their peers and will have achieved a high level of credibility
Have participated in university-wide initiatives such as service on committees, task forces, shared
governance bodies, etc.
Have a reputation for getting things done and meeting commitments within a specific timeframe
Have the ability to consider the universitys long-term vision and participate as a representative of
the entire university, not just his/her own department or unit (i.e., have a trustee mentality)
Be committed to the principle of confidentiality in all task force work
Willingness to take the time needed to fully participate in all task force activities.

Task force work will be very time-consuming. It is estimated to take 6-10 hours per week during the
intensive part of the process which is expected to last approximately five months from mid-October
2015 to mid-March 2016. The university will provide support to departments for this temporary loss of
service and to individuals for additional work hours.
Academic Task Force Requirements
1) Tenured Faculty and Instructors
2) At least one member from each college
3) No more than 20 total members

Administrative Task Force Requirements

1) Staff and Faculty
2) At least one from each division
3) No more than 20 total members

Nominations
Nominations may be made from March 16 to April 10, 2015 and may be submitted electronically
through the Program Prioritization website; sent by email to cdoug@niu.edu; or printed and sent to
Office of the Provost, 215 Altgeld Hall, Attention Program Prioritization.

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Nomination Form
I am nominating the following individual to serve on the:
___Academic Task Force
___Administrative Task Force
___Either Task Force with preference for ________________________________________________

Nominees name & department ___________________________________________________________

Nominees current position

________________________________________________________________

Brief narrative explaining why the person should be selected based on the characteristics required in
the call for nominations (350 words max.)

Names of up to two other individuals who may be contacted in support of this nomination:
1) ________________________________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________________________________
Nominators name and contact information:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

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Appendix B: Task Force Charge and Charter

Northern Illinois Universitys Program Prioritization

Charge and Charter for Academic and Administrative Task Forces
Delivered September 3 and 4, 2015
This document serves as the Charge and Charter for the Academic and Administrative Task Forces for
Northern Illinois Universitys (NIU) first Program Prioritization Process.
Program prioritization challenges us to plan changes that enhance institutional quality and
effectiveness, and that encourage innovation, informed by experience and inspired by the needs of our
region. An essential component of the prioritization process is the work of the two task forces, whose
members are charged with conducting an evaluation of all academic/administrative programs at NIU.
This work will help NIU to better align resources with institutional priorities, strengthen the overall
program portfolio, and provide the highest possible value to students and other stakeholders.
The task forces will work with the criteria and weightings developed through NIUs shared governance
process with collaboration from the Academic Planning Council and the University Councils Resources,
Space, and Budgets Committee. Further, in their program reviews, the task forces will utilize data and
narratives populated by centralized data offices and local program authors within the Prioritization Plus
data platform. The task forces will work to develop scoring, decision-making, and program ranking
processes within a rigorous and equitable framework.
The task forces are charged with evaluating all identified academic/administrative programs, using the
approved criteria to determine relative strengths and weaknesses, in a fashion consistent with the core
values of: impartiality; fairness; confidentiality; integrity and efficiency. The purpose of this evaluation
is to support the classification of each program into one of five categories (to be labeled by the task
forces). The categories will correspond to recommendations regarding varying levels of future resource
commitment.
The task forces will receive administrative and logistical support from the Task Force Support Team and
expert human resources from across the campus. The task forces will also have access to advice from
Larry Goldstein, President of Campus Strategies, LLC, who will serve as a trainer-consultant to assist
with this process.
Working with NIUs President, Executive Vice President and Provost, Vice President of Administration
and Finance, and the Program Prioritization Coordinating Team, the task forces will provide
communications to ensure that the broader NIU community remains fully informed of this effort. As
such, the task forces will work with the Communications Support Team to ensure that the process is
undertaken in an appropriately transparent manner, with the review criteria, task force membership,
program lists, submission and scoring templates available to the community prior to completion of the
review process, and the program narratives and final results available for comment when the task force
work is finalized. At the same time, the task force members are expected to maintain confidentiality in
accordance with the ground rules and guidelines they establish. Recognizing the bias in favor of
process transparency, three specific items must remain confidential at all times: recommended scores
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of individual programs, votes taken with respect to individual programs, and commentary attributed to
any individual task force member.
Following training events in fall, 2015, the task forces work is expected to begin by January 4, 2016 and
continue through May 13, 2016. It will culminate with the submission of a written report to shared
governance bodies on campus for their review and comment, and ultimately, to the President of NIU.
In addition to describing the process and acknowledging the task force and support group membership,
the report should contain an alphabetical listing of the academic/administrative programs assigned to
each category. The report may also include an addendum addressing supplemental information
deemed relevant by the task forces (e.g., recommended policy changes).
In carrying out the work of the task forces, members are advised that they are expected to maintain a
focus on what is best for NIU, rather than what might be advantageous for themselves or any particular
program. They are expected to act with a trustee mentality throughout the process.

My signature below indicates acceptance of the responsibilities described within this document and my
commitment to adhere to the confidentiality principles detailed above.

Signature: _____________________________________________

Date: ___________________

Task Force Members Name (printed) ____________________________________________________

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Appendix C: NIU Academic Program Prioritization Criteria Questions

Northern Illinois University Academic Program Prioritization Criteria Questions

Criterion 1: Quality of Faculty and Faculty Outcomes [16%]
Question 1.1 Faculty Attributes: Describe and discuss how faculty credentials, skills and capacities
affect the quality of the program.
Question 1.2 Exemplary Recognition: Describe the recognition (e.g., honors and awards) the faculty
bring to the program and institution in the area of professional and public service and other exemplary
performance.
Question 1.3 Research and Artistry: Describe and quantify the track record of the program faculty in
producing research and artistry.
Question 1.4 Teaching: Describe and provide measures for the quality and quantity of teaching.
Criterion 2: Quality of Students and Student Outcomes [16%]
Question 2.1 Student Perceptions: Discuss data on student perceptions, including but not limited to
student satisfaction, student preparedness, and job placement.
Question 2.2 Student Performance: Describe student performance and present student data for five
years on external measures that your program has available (e.g., state/national exam scores,
professional licensures, certification, admission to graduate/professional schools, professional honors
or awards).
Question 2.3 Student Learning Outcomes: Discuss data that are routinely collected as part of your
assessment of student learning outcomes. Be sure to include employer satisfaction where available.
Question 2.4 Student Engagement: Discuss trends in student engagement curricular and co-curricular
activities (e.g., internships, Research Rookies, service learning, Study Abroad, etc.). Be sure to include
both number of students involved and outcomes of activities in the discussion.
Question 2.5 Persistence and Graduation: Discuss retention and graduation trends using the data
provided. Where possible comment on appropriateness of time to degree.
Criterion 3: Financial Efficiency [11%]
Question 3.1 Peer Comparisons: Describe your programs resources as compared to your peer
institutions. Use national benchmarking data where available.
Question 3.2 Fundraising Revenue: Comment on the fundraising revenue data provided and discuss
opportunities that have been pursued or could be pursued by the program to increase development
revenue.
Question 3.3 Costs and Revenues: Discuss the trend of program costs (direct/indirect), and revenues
as applicable.
Criterion 4: Importance of the Program to the University Mission [16%]
Question 4.1 Teaching and Learning: Describe how the program contributes to the promotion of
excellence and engagement in teaching and learning.

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Question 4.2 Research and Artistry: Describe how the program contributes to the promotion of
excellence and engagement in research, scholarship, creativity and artistry.
Question 4.3 Outreach and Service: Describe how the program contributes to the promotion of
excellence and engagement in outreach and service.
Question 4.4 Role in Program Portfolio: Explain why the program has an important role to play in the
universitys program portfolio.
Criterion 5: Program Potential [11%]
Question 5.1 Improved Effectiveness: Discuss opportunities that exist for improving the effectiveness
of the program (consider shared resource opportunities with other programs or units, collaborative
opportunities, etc).
Question 5.2 Interdisciplinary Efforts: Discuss the interdisciplinary opportunities that could be
undertaken by the program and how these could be achieved.
Question 5.3 Disciplinary Efforts: Describe the actions necessary in order to make the program
exemplary in the discipline, if not already.
Criterion 6: External Demand of the Program [11%]
Question 6.1 Career/Society Demand: Describe the local, state, and national trends for this program
(e.g., employer demand for the program, characteristics of prospective and enrolled students,
appropriate level of credentials, etc.). Explain whether the trends indicate a continuing need or
expansion of the program.
Question 6.2 Student Demand: Describe the extent that the program is in demand by newly-admitted
students and potential students.
Question 6.3 Unmet Demand: Describe the degree to which the demand for this program is being met
by peer institutions or competing institutions and if they are experiencing the same kinds of enrollment
numbers.
Criterion 7: Internal Demand for the Program [14%]
Question 7.1 Trends for Majors: Discuss the enrollment trend and whether there are any expected
changes in the future.
Question 7.2 Trends for Non-Majors: Describe the percentage of program enrollment, in terms of
credit hours generated, for these categories: minors, certificates, general education, or service
purposes. If relevant, describe how the program contributes to the success of other programs.
Question 7.3 Student Migration: Discuss migration of students in and out of the major using the data
provided.
Criterion 8: Programs Contribution to Diversity [5%]
Question 8.1 Student Diversity: Discuss the diversity trend of students in the program and whether
there are any expected changes in the future. Comment on recruitment and retention efforts to
increase student diversity and the outcomes of those efforts.

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Question 8.2 Faculty Diversity: Discuss the three-year diversity trend of faculty in the program and
whether there are any expected changes in the future. Comment on recruitment and retention efforts
to increase faculty diversity and the outcomes of those efforts.
Question 8.3 Diversity Actions: Describe how the program is addressing the issues of inclusion and
diversity through curriculum, research, and service.

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Appendix D: Scoring Rubric and General Guidelines for Program Authors

Criterion
Quality of
Faculty

Weight
9. Exceptional
16%
Faculty have a substantial body of
achievements appropriate to their
discipline (i.e. books, articles, films,
presentations, conference papers, artistic
pieces, awards, national and international
recognition). There is also a high quality of
teaching.

5. Meets Expectations
Faculty are typical to their peers in
achievements appropriate to their
discipline, as well as the quality of
their teaching.

1. Below Expectations
Faculty do not meet expectations
relative to their peers in
achievements appropriate to their
discipline, as well as the quality of
their teaching.

Quality of
Students

16%

Performance, graduation rates, learning

outcomes, and engagement of
students, where applicable, are
exceptionally high compared with peers
in the discipline.

Performance, graduation rates,

learning outcomes, and engagement
of students, where applicable, are
typical compared to peers in the
discipline.

Performance, graduation rates,

learning outcomes, and
engagement of students are below
expectations for the discipline.

Financial
Efficiency

11%

The program is exceptional compared to

peers in financial efficiency and there are
many opportunities for fundraising.

The program is typical compared to

peers in financial efficiency and
opportunities for fundraising.

The program falls below

expectations compared to peers in
financial efficiency and
fundraising.

Importance
of Program
to University
Mission

16%

The program greatly contributes to the

mission of the university, with high
demand for teaching and research, as well
as outreach and its role within the program
portfolio (i. e. a package of programs
appropriate to NIUs location, status and
mission).

The program contributes to the

mission of the university, with
typical demand for teaching and
research, as well as outreach and its
role in the program portfolio.

The program struggles to

contribute to the mission of the
university, with lower demand for
teaching and research, as well as
little outreach and a limited role in
the program portfolio.

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Program
Potential

11%

The program exhibits an exceptional

amount of effort to improve
effectiveness, and has created
opportunities inside and across the
boundaries of its discipline to create
connections with other units or programs.

The program exhibits an expected

amount of effort to improve
effectiveness, and has demonstrated
average effort inside and outside of
its discipline to create connections.

The program exhibits a low amount

of effort to improve effectiveness,
and demonstrates little effort
inside and outside of its discipline
to create connections.

External
Demand

11%

Demand for the program is exceptional

compared to peers, demonstrating a
positive trend of growth; it is seen as
central to the future of the university.

Demand for the program is

equivalent compared to peers,
demonstrating a neutral or slightly
positive trend of growth; it is seen
as central to the future of the
university.

Demand for the program is

declining compared to peers,
raising issues of its efficacy; it is
questionable if it is necessary to
the future of the university.

Internal
Demand

14%

Enrollment in the program is high; the

program is critical to other internal
programs; trends for majors, non-majors,
and student migration sustains a positive
trajectory.

Enrollment in the program is at

expected levels; the program is
important to other programs; trends
for majors, non-majors, and student
migration shows a neutral or slightly
positive trajectory.

Enrollment in the program is

declining or poor; the program
provides little service to other
programs; trends for majors, nonmajors, and student migration
demonstrates a declining or flatlined trajectory.

Contribution
to Diversity

5%

The program exhibits an exceptional

amount of diversity among faculty as well
as the students compared to peers; it has
demonstrated a variety of diversity actions.

The program exhibits an expected

amount of diversity among faculty
as well as the students; it has
demonstrated some kinds of
diversity actions.

The program exhibits little

diversity among faculty as well as
the students; it has demonstrated
little in the way of diversity
actions.

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General guidelines for program evaluation:

Task Force members will assign one score to each criterion. We will take into account the questions
that comprise each criterion in our evaluation, but the questions will not be scored separately. Based
on our assessment of your answers within each criterion, members will assign the score of 9 (Exceeds
Expectations), 5 (Meets Expectations), or 1 (Below Expectations) to the criterion as a whole.
The relevant context for exceeds, meets, or below for a given criterion may be your peer
institutions or it may be other programs in the university. You may contextualize your answer in the
manner that is best suited to your program for a given question or criterion, but please specify which
context you are using in your answer. How do the attributes, quality, production, demand, etc. of each
component of the criterion compare to your peer institutions? Where comparisons are internal to NIU,
we use the term program, complementary program, or internal program. We are aware that not
all questions within individual criteria are relevant to all programs. We encourage authors to address this
issue with the following: This question is not relevant to this program because and then provide a
brief sentence to say why this is so. We encourage authors not to worry about these inapplicable
questions. Programs will not be penalized for this. Task Force members will take into account the other
answers within the criterion in determining its score.
We are aware that the data authors are provided may be interpreted as incorrect, inadequate, or
inappropriate to best reflect the attributes of their program. Rather than spend your limited space to
explain the inadequacies of the data, we encourage you to briefly state that the institutionallyprovided data do not adequately reflect the value and contributions of your program. Please provide a
narrative that best informs the Task Force about the attributes of your program relative to your peers.
You may supply your own data, but please do not feel compelled to do so if you believe you can
adequately address the question in narrative form.
We are aware that some terms like diversity have many possible meanings. When writing narratives
for each question, please inform the Task Force of the definition of the term as you understand it and
are using it in your narrative.
To conclude, Task Force members encourage you to provide narratives that best help them to
understand your program so that they can best evaluate its attributes and contributions to the
university community and mission.

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