The ingredients of an academic program development plan, with special attention to the processes and criteria supporting decisions on program priorities, are delineated. External and internal inputs to decision-making are discussed and three case examples are given. Major considerations involved in integrating budgetary decisions are identified.…

State program review, generally asosciated with efforts to assess quality and enforce accountability, has also encouraged the states to look beyond traditional measures in evaluating their support for and investment in higher education. When access and finance issues meet head on, quality concerns may give way. (Author/MLW)

Traditional approaches to defining academic quality (reputational, resources, and outcomes or value-added) are criticized as not providing useful information. An alternative perspective is offered, focusing on fundamental course-level academic processes and defining the quality of such processes as the level of understanding of course content…