A126: Program Excellence

DEFINITIONS

Communities: These include Southwestern Ontario and strategic provincial, national, and international labour markets.

Quality: The alignment and consistency of College programs with Fanshawe's vision, mission, and values, Strategic Goals, and Strategic Mandate Agreement.

POLICY

College programs will meet Quality requirements to facilitate student success and meet the labour market needs of Fanshawe's communities.

3.1 Scope

This policy applies to all College programs.

3.2 Principles

3.2.1

Programs will be developed according to a comprehensive process that ensures Quality.

3.2.2

Programs will be monitored annually to keep them current and relevant with the labour market, provincial standards, Board of Governor's policies, and to ensure that recommendations arising from previous program reviews have been considered and addressed.

3.2.3

Programs will comply with legislative and third-party accreditation requirements, where relevant.

3.2.4

Programs will be evaluated through evidence-based (formal) review processes to ensure continuous Quality improvement.

3.2.5

Programs that no longer meet their Quality or enrollment requirements will be considered for suspension of program intakes and/or full suspension or cancellation.

3.3 Administration

3.3.1

Associated addenda to this policy may be amended by authority of the Policy Sponsor.

REFERENCES

Board of Governor's Polices

• A05: Mission and Vision
• A40: Meeting Labour Market Needs
• D35: Commitment to Quality
• D36: College Programming

Minister's Binding Policy Directive

• Framework for Programs of Instruction Minister's Binding Policy Directive

Ontario College Quality Assurance Service

• College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP)

ADDENDA

• PROCEDURE 1: Program Development
• PROCEDURE 2: Continuous Program Quality Improvement
• PROCEDURE 3: Formal Program Review
• PROCEDURE 4: Program Suspension and Cancellation
• APPENDIX 1: Program Excellence Model

Procedure 1: PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Issued By: Sr. Vice-President, Academic
Effective: 2022-04-20

2. DEFINITIONS

Stage: Stages are sets of activities designed to gather, collate, and analyze data and information. This information is synthesized into deliverables that are unique to each credential type.

Gate: Gates are opportunities to evaluate the deliverables from the preceding Stage using a set of criteria to inform decision-making.

3. PROCESS

3.1 Overview

Fanshawe College's program development process is a quality assurance mechanism designed to ensure the strategic development and delivery of current, compelling, and competitive programs that align with Fanshawe College's mission, vision, and values, Strategic Goals, and Strategic Mandate Agreement.

This process ensures that program learning outcomes are established for the program; consistent with the program's intended purpose, and appropriate to the employment requirements for program graduates. Additionally, the process ensures that the program conforms to current government policy related to design and delivery.

New program development is a rigorous, comprehensive process that depends on quality measures. These measures are achieved through Fanshawe's modification of the Stage-Gate® Model.

Each item listed below is composed of both a Stage and a Gate.

3.2 Stages and Gates

3.2.1 Ideas and Discovery

New program ideas are reviewed and evaluated for their ability to address labour market demand and/or societal need, and student demand.

3.2.2 Feasibility

Anticipated expenses and revenues for the proposed programs are evaluated to determine the feasibility of developing and delivering the program.

3.2.3 Planning

Program curriculum is proposed and evaluated for its ability to align with the needs of the labour market and students. The available resources and expertise required to develop and deliver the program are assembled.

3.2.4 Launch

New programs are initialized, developed, and launched. Activities in the Launch Stage, which encompasses the first year of delivery, address four key areas: curriculum, enrollment, human resources, and infrastructure.

3.3 Process Implementation

The Centre for Academic Excellence will provide coordination and support in alignment with Section 3.2 for new program development.

Procedure 2: CONTINUOUS PROGRAM QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Issued By: Sr. Vice-President, Academic
Effective: 2022-04-20

2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS

2.1 Collection, Collation, and Analysis of Data

Programs will collect, collate, and analyze data and information from various sources and stakeholders that are related to program quality.

2.2 Assessment of Program Performance

Data collected will be used to assess program performance and inform recommendations for continuous improvement.

2.3 Implementation of Recommendations

Recommendations and action plans arising from this Procedure will be implemented in a clear and transparent manner.

3. PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION

Annual assessments will collect data and information appropriate to the credential type (e.g., those subject to additional regulatory or legislative constraints) in order to create recommendations for improvement, and program teams will follow through on those recommendations.

3.1 Post-Secondary Programs

3.1.1 Program Excellence Self-Assessment Survey (PRESS)

The PRESS survey is a self-assessment mechanism that reviews the ongoing quality of programs in relation to the quality framework provided by the College Quality Assurance Audit Process Standards and other program specific variables.

The survey requires that programs assess themselves with program-specific data, including the Program Health Tool, annual Key Performance Indicator results, the most recent Program Review Action Plan, and the College's Integrated Master Academic Priorities Plan.

3.1.2 Program Advisory Committees

Program Advisory Committees are groups that advise the College concerning the development, currency and community acceptance of its programs. These committees, mandated by the Ministry, are provisioned by the Board of Governors through policy D-30.05: Program Advisory Committees and College Council and ToR27: Program Advisory Committees.

The Committees are comprised of a cross-section of persons external to the college who have a direct interest in, and a diversity of experience and expertise related to, the particular occupational area addressed by the program.

3.2 All Other Programs

All other non-post-secondary programs will follow a modified version of the process described in Section 2.

3.3 Program Curriculum Modification

In accordance with the process described in Policy A113: Programs and Courses, programs may engage in Curriculum Modification in order to ensure accurate information is offered to students and comply with quality and integrity responsibilities from the Ministry. For post-secondary programs, these modifications often result from recommendations made through the PRESS Survey and Program Advisory Committees.

Procedure 3: FORMAL PROGRAM REVIEW

Issued By: Sr. Vice-President, Academic
Effective: 2022-04-20

2. FORMAL PROGRAM REVIEW

2.1 Program Review Overview

Fanshawe College's program review process is a quality assurance mechanism designed to ensure the ongoing delivery of current, compelling, and competitive programs that align with Fanshawe College's mission, vision, and values, Strategic Goals, and Strategic Mandate Agreement.

2.2 Formal Review Process

2.2.1 Collection, Collation, and Analysis of Data

Programs will collect, collate, and analyze data and information from various sources and stakeholders that are related to program quality.

2.2.2 Assessment of Program Performance

Data collected will be used to assess program performance and inform recommendations for continuous improvement.

2.2.3 Implementation of Recommendations

Recommendations and action plans arising from this Procedure will be implemented in a clear and transparent manner.

2.3 Process Implementation

The Centre for Academic Excellence will provide coordination and support in alignment with Section 2.2 for formal program reviews.

Formal reviews will collect data and information appropriate to the credential type (e.g., those subject to additional regulatory or legislative constraints) in order to create recommendations for improvement, and programs will follow through on those recommendations. For post-secondary programs, this process occurs on a five-year cycle.

Procedure 4: PROGRAM SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION

Issued By: Sr. Vice-President, Academic
Effective: 2022-04-20

2. DEFINITIONS

Program Intake Suspension: A program intake that is suspended such that Level 1 applicants must be advised of the suspension during the application cycle.

Program Suspension: A program that is not admitting Level 1 students prior to the application cycle. Students may still graduate from the suspended program.

Program Cancellation: A program that is no longer offered by the College. Students may no longer graduate from the program.

3. PROGRAM PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

3.1 Program Intake Suspension

Program intake suspensions are a reactive decision and will normally occur due to insufficient student demand.

Students and/or program applicants will normally be advised as soon as possible after the decision is made and advised of other program alternatives.

3.2 Program Health

All full-time post-secondary programs will be reviewed on an annual basis to assess their overall program health. These health indicators align with Provincial priorities and the College's Strategic Goals.

3.3 Program Suspension

A program suspension decision is made proactively for the next application cycle.

Based on the overall outcomes of Program Health assessments, a program may be further assessed based on additional metrics. These metrics include revenue generation, cost/resource utilization, and quality measures.

Based on this assessment, programs that are unsuccessful in implementing improvement strategies may be considered for suspension.

The Sr. Vice-President Academic will notify the necessary stakeholders when a program is to be suspended.

3.4 Program Cancellation

The Ministry is informed by the Sr. Vice-President Academic when a program is to be cancelled.

4. REFERENCES

College Policy

• A122: Graduation from Approved College Programs

Appendix 1: PROGRAM EXCELLENCE MODEL FOR POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS

Issued By: Sr. Vice-President, Academic
Effective: 2022-04-20

A similar approach is used for all programs; this is an example for post-secondary programs.