External Review
Upon completion of the self-study, the unit director is invited to have a meeting with the Student Affairs assessment team. During the meeting, the unit director is asked to share and identify national and local organizations and experts to be considered to conduct the external review. In the spirit of independence and to avoid a conflict of interest, unit directors are asked to not share names of experts that they have a personal relationship with. Unit directors are also asked to identify key stakeholders who should be invited to participate in the external review. Finally, unit directors are asked to provide potential dates for the external review.
After the meeting, the list of potential reviewers is vetted by the Assessment and Planning team. In particular, the team looks at experience, education, contribution to the field, and values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. After they are vetted, reviewers are reached out to and invited to participate as an external reviewer. An information sheet is shared with them, including information related to compensation and reimbursement. Once reviewers are finalized, they are set up as vendors and provided the internal self-study, relevant links related to UIC, and the schedule.
Reviewers come to campus to conduct the external review. Throughout the external review, reviewers meet with many different stakeholders including the unit director, supervisor, and team, the assessment team, the vice chancellor for student affairs, Student Affairs directors, and additional key partner groups. Typically, each external review is two days, though they have ranged from one to three-and-a-half days depending on the size of the review and the number of stakeholders necessary to meet with.
Upon completion of conducting the external review, the reviewers write an external review report using guidelines provided by the assessment team. Reviewers are asked to provide a draft of the report within two weeks of completing the review. After the report is received, they are provided feedback to be incorporated into their final report. When the final report is received, the report is shared with the unit director, their supervisor, and the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.