Academic Program Review

When students graduate, it is important they have a degree that prepares them for employment in their chosen field. The Council’s academic program review process ensures that degrees awarded from Kentucky’s public universities and KCTCS help students compete in a global economy.

KRS 164.020(16) grants CPE the authority to conduct statewide program reviews. CPE’s policy was updated in July 2021 to outline a three-pronged approach consisting of institutional program review efforts, statewide data analysis, and a focus on implementing the statewide postsecondary strategic agenda.

Annual Reports

Reports are due annually on July 15th.

State Universities

Universities will submit reports that:

Summarize the institutional program review process for the previous academic year;
Highlight the programmatic decisions made during the previous academic year; and
Discuss plans for institutional program review for the upcoming year.

KCTCS

The KCTCS System Office will submit a report that:

Provides recommendations (grow, sustain, fix, or sunset) for each reviewed program;
Describes the strengths and/or opportunities of the program compared to the other similar programs offered across the KCTCS institutions;
Describes the weakness and/or threats of program compared to the other similar programs offered across the KCTCS institutions;
Describes the variations (e.g., similarities and/or differences in strengths/opportunities and weaknesses/threats) across institutions offering each program; and
Summarizes any program improvement plans.

Policies and Forms

Unnecessary Duplication: Statewide Data Analysis

Program replication may be necessary to meet the academic needs of the state. However, KRS 164.020 compels CPE to prevent unnecessary duplication, generally defined as programs in the same CIP code that have low enrollment and demand. CPE staff will analyze enrollment trends, as well as demand data through Gray Associates, which facilitates efficiency in and contiuous improvement of Kentucky's academic portfolio.

Four-Year Universities

CPE staff will analyze data across public universities to determine if any program meets all the following criteria:

Multiple programs in the same CIP code;
Low and declining enrollment, defined as 40 or fewer students with a downward trend for three years;
Low new student demand, defined as fortieth percentile or lower, according to Gray Decision Intelligence (DI) data; and low market demand, defined as fortieth percentile or lower, according to Gray DI data.

Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS)

For KCTCS programs undergoing the program review process, CPE staff will analyze enrollment trends, degree/credential production trends, and market data through Gray DI to identify any programs with:

Low enrollment, defined as 10 or fewer students;
Declining enrollment for the previous four years;
Declining number of degrees or credentials conferred for the previous four years;
Low regional student demand, defined as 40th percentile or lower according to Gray DI data; or
Low regional market demand defined as 40th percentile or lower according to Gray DI data;

Statewide Strategic Agenda

In concordance with Kentucky’s strategic agenda, CPE staff will facilitate statewide discussion and initiatives to:

Understand existing policies and practices at institutions related to the priority;
Identify obstacles to full implementation of initiatives related to the priority;
Provide professional development opportunities related to the priority; and
Evaluate campus plans to create, implement, or expand initiatives related to the priority.

For more information about academic program review, contact Sheila Brothers at sheila.brothers@ky.gov.

To view a catalog of all of Kentucky's academic programs, view the Academic Program Inventory.

Last Updated: 12/10/2024