Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR)
Academic excellence and innovation for today and tomorrow’s students
Penn State is engaging in a University-wide academic portfolio and program review (APPR) of all undergraduate and graduate programs across our campuses beginning in 2024.
By evaluating the current University academic portfolio, Penn State will be poised to align offerings across locations with student and market demand, create stable enrollments, foster strategic growth, and connect academic offerings with the University’s mission and goals.
This effort will be a fluid process, and plans will evolve based on learnings and feedback. Check back regularly as this website will continue to be updated as this process moves forward.
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Last updated: 11/4/2024
Goals
Penn State will emerge as the top land grant university for academic innovation. Our goal is to build on our strengths as a University and to remain a student-centric institution with a comprehensive and cohesive academic portfolio that meets our educational mission sustainably and aligns with students’ preferences, societal and workforce needs, and Penn State’s research strengths and priorities. Our work will focus on:
Structure and Roles
Academic leaders, faculty, staff, and students will be partners in the APPR effort, serving as members of the steering committee and project work teams, and through opportunities to provide guidance and input.
Role of External Consultant in APPR
Penn State is engaging with an external consultant, Hanover Research group, to offer guidance and recommendations throughout the process. Hanover will not have decision-making responsibilities. Their role will be to:
- Provide expertise and bandwidth to objectively and efficiently deliver the review processes
- Provide market data and peer benchmarking
- Support the development of measurements and metrics to assess existing (including newly started) and future programs
- Take a University-wide approach to assessing current and future offerings to maximize Penn State’s impact and mission
Work with Hanover began in October 2024, the result of an extensive RFP process that took place summer 2024. The APPR RFP Selection work team, in consultation with representatives from the Graduate Council, University Faculty Senate, and University Staff Advisory Council, recommended Hanover Research group. They are a research firm with experience in higher education research and data collection and analysis, including work on portfolio and program review projects.
Workstreams
In October 2024, the APPR tri-chairs created a new Workstreams group to help map out priority projects, or “workstreams,” with Hanover. Each workstream, of which there will be many, is identified as a priority research project for Hanover to gather data with Penn State.
The research process is fluid: As data is collected, assessed and measured, metrics established, and reports created, information will be analyzed for immediate use and new workstreams will be launched as necessary.
The topics for the first three workstreams have been identified*:
Project 1 – Bachelor’s and Associate’s Degree Portfolio Review
- Reviews all bachelor’s and associate’s degrees across Penn State for student interest and employment alignment
- Classifies each program degree into one of the following categories:
- High Growth
- Emerging
- Established
- Low Growth
- Insufficient Data
- Uses multiple data sources to holistically evaluate degrees
- Evaluation is done at the state and regional level (region is PA, NY, NJ, MD, DC, and DE, which conforms to current IPEDS data)
- Provides a starting point for more in-depth research questions
Project 2 – State Labor Assessment
- Evaluates current and likely future employment needs across the state of Pennsylvania
- Breaks down employment at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level and the county level (as data permits)
- Identifies likely competitors for programming
- Provides information on where employment/credential gaps are likely to exist at a level of detail useful for program planning across the Commonwealth campuses
Project 3 – Campus and College Programming and Employment Alignment Dashboard
- Identifies where program overlaps exist between campus and colleges
- Identified where program gaps exist based on local employment needs and opportunities.
- Provides a filterable dashboard based on Penn State’s campus and college-level program data supplemented with employment data from Hanover’s proprietary data sets.
*Disclaimer: These are high-level overviews of the initial workstreams. This is a fluid process and the APPR leadership team understands there may be questions. Participation in the Insight Sessions is encouraged to ask questions about the workstreams and engage with the APPR team. Questions can also be emailed to appr@psu.edu.
APPR Work Teams, Representatives, and Structures
Systematic Analysis Tool Development Team
Develop the tools used to systematically assess and analyze data gathered by consultant.
Co-Leads:
- Jonna Belanger, College of Health and Human Development; Faculty Senate Committee Curricular Affairs
- Maggie Slattery, Assistant Dean for General Education; Undergraduate Education
Team Charge:
- Develop systematic tools to collect and analyze metrics to inform evaluation of programs. These metrics will not be assessing academic quality of programs or academic credibility of programs, as this is already established in the current curriculum processes.
- Share tools with our consultant to begin collaboration with their work.
- Work closely with the Process Development Team and Data and Information teams to increase coherence.
RFP Selection Team
Will review the proposals from potential consultants and make recommendations to the Steering Committee
Co-Leads:
- Liz Wright, Regional Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer
- Karen Paulson, Coordinator of Online Programs & Teaching Professor of Education (HIED); Education Policies Studies Department
Team Charge:
- Responsible for reviewing the submissions from 5-8 external consultants and narrowing it down to 3 for interviews
- Develop the scorecard for down selection and interview process
- Engage Senate Council in the interview process
Process Development Team
Develop the process for how we will engage in data gathering and validation in collaboration with our consultants specific to programs and portfolios.
Co-Leads:
- Jeff Adams, Senior Associate Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education
- Mary Shenk, Graduate Council Chair-Elect, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Asian Studies
Team Charge:
- Develop the process for how we will engage in data gathering and validation in collaboration with our consultants specific to programs and portfolio
- Create a decision-making process map that leads to the identification of program/portfolio strengths, shortcomings, opportunities and recommendations for academic leaders
- Create a process for academic leaders to respond to the APPR recommendations
- Create a continuous review process for programs and portfolios
Data and Information Team
Develop oversight for how we collect and work with data.
Co-Leads:
- Rick Brazier, Dean of University College
- Bill Clark, Associate Dean of the Graduate School
Team Charge:
- Provide oversight on how data is collected, delivered to and from OPAIR, the consultant, and various committees
- Collaborate with the Systematic Analysis Tool Development Team to determine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be used in the portfolio and program reviews
- Consultant Engagement
- Academic Analytics
Communications and Engagement Team
Will work to engage Penn State community in APPR processes and provide timely updates on APPR progress
Co-Leads:
- Kerry Newman, Director of Strategic Communications, Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs
- Juliet Pinto, Associate Professor of Journalism, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Team Charge:
- Responsible for working with co-leads and University communication partners to strategize and execute plans to communicate APPR project updates.
- Responsible for strategizing ways to engage the University community about APPR project.
- Responsible for co-planning content for website, newsletter, emails, stories, and other marketing communications channels, as needed.
APPR Steering Team
Responsible for monitoring the outcomes and guiding principles of the overall process, provides valuable input and representation of the Penn State Community
Project Support Team
Work closely with the consultant to ensure they are getting the support, data, and information they need to do their scope of work.
Workstream Team
Team Members
- Lance Kennedy-Phillips, Vice Provost for Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research
- Karen Paulson, Coordinator of Online Programs and Teaching Professor of Education (HIED)
- Booker Stephen Carpenter, Dean of the College of Arts and Archetecture
- Todd Camp, Business Administrator, Penn State Harrisburg
- Josh Wede, Professor of Psychology, University Park
- David Vanness, Professor of Health Policy and Administration, University Park
- Rob Mathers, Distinguished Professor, Penn State New Kensington
- Lauren Altenburger, Associate Professor, Penn State Shenango
- Liz Wright, Regional Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer
- Renata Engel, Vice Provost for Online Education, World Campus
- Daniel Jackson, Associate Professor of Physics, Penn State Lehigh Valley
Team Charge
- Responsible for working with the project tri-leads to brainstorm and identify workstream projects for consultant to execute.
APPR Process Progression and Draft Timeline
Committee and Team Membership
Executive Sponsors
Tracy Langkilde, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost; the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science
Margo DelliCarpini, Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor
APPR Tri-chairs
Renata Engel, Vice Provost for Online Education; World Campus
Daniel Jackson, Associate Teaching Professor of Physics; Penn State Lehigh Valley
Liz Wright, Regional Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer
APPR Leads
Liz Wright, Regional Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer (RFP Selection Team co-lead and APPR co-chair)
Karen Paulson, Coordinator of Online Programs & Teaching Professor of Education (HIED); Education Policies Studies Department (RFP Selection Team co-lead)
Jonna Belanger, College of Health and Human Development; Faculty Senate Committee Curricular Affairs (Systematic Analysis Tool Development Team co-lead)
Maggie Slattery, Assistant Dean for General Education; Undergraduate Education (Systematic Analysis Tool Development Team co-lead)
Kerry Newman, Director of Strategic Communications, Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs (Communications and Engagement Team co-lead)
Juliet Pinto, Associate Professor of Journalism, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications (Communications and Engagement Team co-lead)
Rick Brazier, Dean of University College (Data and Information Team co-lead)
Bill Clark, Associate Dean of the Graduate School (Data and Information Team co-lead)
Renata Engel, Vice Provost for Online Education, World Campus (APPR co-chair)
Elizabeth Fegert, USAC Chair; Business Consultant, Penn State Small Business Development Center
Mary Shenk, Graduate Council Chair-Elect, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Asian Studies (Process Development Team co-lead and Grad Council Chair-elect)
Jeff Adams, Senior Associate Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education (Process Development Team co-lead)
Josh Wede, Chair, Faculty Senate; College of the Liberal Arts (Faculty Senate Chair)
Kevin Schuyler, Student Trustee; Graduate Student in Business Analytics, Smeal College of Business
Steering Committee
A core steering committee is monitoring the outcomes and guiding principles of the overall process while providing valuable input and representation of the Penn State Community.
Current Members
Jeff Adams, Senior Associate Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education
Jeremy Bean, Assistant Vice President; Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
Jonna Belanger, College of Health and Human Development; Faculty Senate Committee Curricular Affairs
Kathy Bieschke, Senior Vice Provost and Interim Dean of Undergraduate Education
Victor Brunsden, Associate Professor of Mathematics; Penn State Altoona
Rick Brazier, Dean of University College
B. Stephen Carpenter II, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean; College of Arts and Architecture
Bill Clark, Associate Dean of the Graduate School
Lindsey Droz, Senior Director, Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
Renata Engel, Vice Provost for Online Education; World Campus
Janet Hughes, Biological Sciences Librarian; STEM Libraries
Daniel Jackson, Associate Teaching Professor of Physics; Penn State Lehigh Valley
Joshua Krause, Speaker of the Commonwealth – Council of Commonwealth Student Governments; Student, Project and Supply Chain Management; Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus
Allen Larson, Associate Professor of Communications, Penn State New Kensington
Frank Marko, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, Penn State Hazleton
Matt Melvin, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Kerry Newman, Director of Strategic Communications, Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs
Karen Paulson, Coordinator of Online Programs & Teaching Professor of Education (HIED); Education Policies Studies Department
Juliet Pinto, Associate Professor of Journalism, Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Robert Rabb, ACUE; Associate Dean for Education, College of Engineering
Kevin Schuyler, Student Trustee; Graduate Student in Business Analytics, Smeal College of Business
Mary Shenk, Graduate Council Chair-Elect, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Asian Studies
Maggie Slattery, Assistant Dean for General Education; Undergraduate Education
Paul Smith, Senior Academic Coordinator in the College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education
Shelli Stine, Immediate Past Chair, Faculty Senate; College of Health and Human Development
David Vanness, Grad Council Chair-Elect; Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Graduate Professor-in-charge
Josh Wede, Chair, Faculty Senate; College of the Liberal Arts
Liz Wright, Regional Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer
Former Members
Terra Ingram, Past Chair, USAC; Business Manager, SAFES Institute
Scarlett Miller, Administrative Fellow; College of Engineering
Denise Potosky, Professor in Management and Organization; Penn State Great Valley
Project Support
Jeremy Bean, Assistant Vice President, Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
Lindsey Droz, Senior Director, Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
Travis Johnson, Marketing and Communications Specialist, Office of Enterprise Change and Transformation
Dominic Pugliese, IT Project Manager, Outreach and Online Education
Cecelia Merkel, IT Project Manager, Outreach and Online Education
Shared Governance Auditor
Amit Sharma, Edward Friedman and Stuart Mann Professor of Hospitality Management, School of Hospitality Management
Judy Ozment, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Interim Division Head – Science and Engineering, Penn State Abington
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will make decisions about academic portfolio and program changes?
President Bendapudi has clarified that Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde, as Penn State’s chief academic officer, and the future permanent provost will determine the best path forward after meaningfully collaborating with three key groups: 1) the deans and chancellors of the academic units across Penn State, 2) the APPR initiative members, and 3) the University Faculty Senate and the Graduate Council.
The external partner that Penn State hires to assist with the APPR project will not possess any decision-making responsibility or authority.
Why did the APPR name change?
The APPR steering committee decided to change the name of the project from “Academic Program and Portfolio Review” to Academic Portfolio and Program Review” in April 2024 in response to feedback from the stakeholders, faculty, and staff who were concerned the project was an effort by a third-party to assess the quality of Penn State’s academic programs and to potentially eliminate programs. The emphasis on ‘portfolio’ reflects the focus on comprehensive and cohesive assessment of the academic portfolio University-wide, with the goal of best positioning Penn State for success in the future.
Is the administration expecting the APPR initiative to solve the budget challenges?
No. The APPR project process and the budget process are independent. Penn State’s leadership team (at campuses, colleges, administrative units) is not waiting on the results of the APPR process to decide how to move forward in addressing their budgets.
Budget planning is happening now, and changes are being made based on current information at the University. While the data gathered from APPR will help inform future decision-making, the administration is not looking at APPR as a budget initiative. Rather, this is an attempt to make sure students are best served across the institution.
The APPR is a process that Penn State would (and should) be engaged in regardless of the budget. At most institutions, there is a regular program review process that occurs periodically. The APPR initiative creates an opportunity to restart this important process at Penn State. In addition, a regular portfolio review helps the University stay connected to the marketplace of students that Penn State aims to recruit and serve. One of the goals of the APPR initiative is to develop a fluid process for the future, to undertake a review approximately every 7–10 years, similar to the process undertaken by peer institutions.
Is the APPR an attempt to eliminate small programs, humanities, and the arts?
No. The humanities and the arts are a critical part of Penn State and that will not change. Similarly, Penn State offers many small programs that are incredibly successful, highly ranked, and in demand. Being small is not an indicator of being unsuccessful.
The goal of APPR is to build on Penn State’s strengths and to analyze the comprehensive and cohesive academic portfolio to make sure it meets the University’s educational mission sustainably and aligns with students’ preferences, societal and workforce needs, and Penn State’s research strengths and priorities. This is a process to help leadership understand the current reality, so Penn State is best positioned to succeed in the future.
What are the implications for the campuses? Is the goal to get rid of programs entirely at certain campuses?
There are no predetermined outcomes set for the APPR initiative. The analysis will help determine the right degree portfolio by location and provide the data and rationale for more flexibility across offerings. Information will be used to help coordinate programs across the state, meet student needs, and invest strategically in high-demand areas and programs.
The outcomes will likely include recommendations to leave programs unimpacted, create new programs, make changes to existing programs, and to eliminate some programs, among other options. The APPR process will help provide information that results in an understanding of the best offerings for each location.
Is APPR connected to re-imagining the future state of the campuses?
The projects are independent, but APPR will happen in parallel with the ongoing work at the Commonwealth Campuses to plan for the future. The APPR steering committee expects that data and recommendations from the ongoing work of the APPR teams will be shared in real-time with chancellors and deans to help with planning efforts.
Is there an updated timeline and what are the next steps?
In spring 2024, close to 500 nominations/self-nominations were submitted for the project teams. Based on this information, the steering committee is finalizing the project teams that will start working on various aspects of process, data needs and collection, communication, and engagement. One of the groups will be selecting an external partner who will assist in gathering data and identifying opportunities and important factors to consider when making decisions.
The APPR team sent out the RFP at the beginning of May and is beginning the process of selecting an external partner, which typically takes approximately 60 days. The partner will be named this summer. The team anticipates the partner will begin work by the end of July, data collection will take place through the fall, recommendations from the partner will be submitted by the end of fall semester, and validation/decision making will begin at Penn State in spring semester 2025. This is a high-level schedule and is subject to change by the APPR group or leadership team. Any changes will be shared with the Penn State community.
What is the structure of the APPR group?
Under Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde’s leadership, the APPR group structure has been refined to operate most efficiently and effectively. Langkilde and Margo DelliCarpini, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses and executive chancellor, are the executive sponsors of the initiative. Renata Engel, vice provost for online education, and Elizabeth Wright, chancellor and chief academic officer of Penn State Hazleton, are serving as project co-chairs and will lead the APPR process. The APPR steering committee, comprised of faculty and staff from across Penn State campuses, colleges, and administrative units and includes University Faculty Senate leadership, Graduate Council leadership, student leadership, and staff representation, will act as an advisory committee to the whole process. Co-leads of the five work teams developed by APPR will bring updates, questions, and recommendations from their individual teams’ work to the steering committee and leadership team for decision-making. Co-leads of the work teams are building out their work teams now.
What is the timeline for the RFP and work with the external partner? When will information be shared?
The APPR team sent out the RFP at the beginning of May and is beginning the process of selecting an external partner, which typically takes approximately 60 days. The partner will be named this summer. The team anticipates the partner will begin work by the end of July, data collection will take place through the fall, recommendations from the partner will be submitted by the end of fall semester, and validation/decision making will begin at Penn State in spring semester 2025. This is a high-level schedule and is subject to change by the APPR group or leadership team. Any changes will be shared with the Penn State community.
The process will be fluid and information shared out in real-time for colleges, campuses, and administrative units to use for planning purposes. As noted, the APPR project is happening in parallel to other Penn State work, such as the ongoing work at Commonwealth Campuses to plan for the future.
When will the external partner be named?
The APPR team sent out the RFP at the beginning of May and is beginning the process of selecting an external partner, which typically takes approximately 60 days. The partner will be named this summer, and the team anticipates the external partner will begin work by the end of July.
What is the role of the external partner?
The external partner will work with the APPR teams to conduct data gathering to aid in strategic decision making, conduct the portfolio review with suggestions for further analysis, and produce a suggested on-going academic program and portfolio review process. They will leverage their expertise in data collection and academic portfolio reviews in conducting the analysis. The partner will make recommendations to Penn State based on a thoughtful analysis, but they will not make decisions.
The external partner will not have any decision-making responsibility or authority.
What impact will the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) now underway have on the budget for fiscal year 2025-26?
The APPR is about realigning our programs based on student and workforce needs and is not directly tied to the 2025-26 budget. The University is looking at the APPR not as a budget initiative but rather as a way to make sure Penn State is doing its very best to serve students, provide high-quality programs, and be innovative to meet their needs. The goal of the initiative is to set Penn State up for the future and is a practice every university should do on a regular basis.
Insight Sessions
Insight Sessions are an opportunity for the APPR leadership team to provide regular updates and engage the Penn State community in the APPR project. Each session will include time for participants to ask questions and provide feedback to APPR leaders. All members of the Penn State community are invited to attend.
Next session: Thursday, November 21, from noon to 1:30 p.m., on Teams.
Insight Sessions will be recorded; link here for meeting recordings.
Newsletter
Sign up for our monthly newsletter to receive updates on the APPR initiative. Read past issues here.
Contact
We want to hear from you – community input will be a critical part of this process. Please send questions and ideas to the APPR team at appr@psu.edu.