Program Review
AAPT recognizes that undergraduate physics programs benefit from receiving feedback on the quality of the program. In order to assist physics programs that are planning a review, AAPT maintains a list of reviewers whose name will be supplied to institutions submitting requests.
For Potential Reviewers
To be a reviewer, you must be an active AAPT member and meet (or have met in the past) the following two qualifications:
- Tenure in a physics and/or astronomy department at the home institution, senior rank at a community college or high school, or rank as a senior instructional support specialist.
- Extensive knowledge of current ideas and practices in laboratory equipment, computers, curriculum design, and texts at the level to be reviewed (e.g., university, four-year college, two-year college, technical institute, or high school).
You also must meet three of the following five qualifications:
- Experience in program review for your department;
- Experience as an external reviewer for another department or program;
- Administrative experience;
- Experience in the accreditation process (e.g., ABET, regional accreditation association);
- or
- Experience in communicating with the upper-level administration of your home institution regarding education policies.
If you want to help your colleagues and gain professional recognition at the same time by serving as a program reviewer, send a one-page letter explaining your qualifications to eo@aapt.org. Be sure to include your name, address, e-mail address, daytime phone, education (highest degree first), area of specialty, experience (in reverse chronological order) and an up-to-date c.v.
For Physics Programs Interested in a List of Reviewers
AAPT maintains a list of reviewers whose name will be supplied to institutions submitting requests to eo@aapt.org. Requesting institutions are responsible for selecting, contacting, and contracting the reviewer. Please note that reviewers represent themselves, not AAPT.
Resources for Program Reviews
AAPT has a number of useful resources to aid undergraduate physics programs undergoing review. These include:
- EP3 has many resources associated with program review.
- How to perform an undergraduate performance review: (https://ep3guide.org/guide/how-to-undertake-an-undergraduate-program-review).
- How to serve as an undergraduate program reviewer” (https://ep3guide.org/guide/how-to-serve-as-an-undergraduate-program-reviewer).
- AAPT Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum
- AAPT Recommendations for Computational Physics in the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum
- Guidelines for Self-Study and External Evaluation of Undergraduate Physics Programs
- Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics: Project Report
- Making and Sustaining Changes in Undergraduate Physics Programs at Research Universities
For more information about this project, call (301) 209-3311 or email eo@aapt.org.