Sample Letter of Invitation to External Consultants

Dear ___________:

The Wisconsin Board of Regents policy requires a comprehensive program review of all academic programs.  The University of Wisconsin – La Crosse requires that non-accredited programs be reviewed every seven years.  Our _________ program is scheduled for program review during this academic year.  The program is preparing its self-study and will be ready for external reviewer/consultants to visit during the Fall semester.  We would like to invite you to participate as the external consultant for the _________ program.

The responsibilities of the outside consultant include reading the self-study report prior to the campus visit, visiting with various members of the university community during the visit, and preparing a final written report.  The report is shared with college and department academic leadership, program faculty, a campus-wide faculty committee, faculty senate and campus and system administration.  Program review is very important for college- and university-level planning.

Your consultation will influence the future directions of the program.  We ask that you consider carefully the evidence of program quality, student learning, and service to stakeholders as is consistent with our institutional mission, the university strategic plan, and program mission.  Information about University of Wisconsin La Crosse’s mission and planning can be obtained from our website. http://www.uwlax.edu/hr/mission-uwl.htm; http://www.uwlax.edu/StrategicPlanning/

Please focus on the following types of questions, as you review the self study, visit the program, and prepare the report. 

• Are there external trends or conditions (academic, research, services) that present opportunities or threats to the unit's ability to achieve its vision, mission, goals, and objectives?
• Is the unit prepared to meet the emerging needs of the field?   Is the curriculum preparing the graduates to meet the emerging needs of the field? 
• Does the unit provide sufficient assessment evidence of student learning?  Are the assessment plan and the assessment measures appropriate?
• Did the unit adequately address concerns from the past program review?

[FOR the 5 year review post implementation, change question to read: Did the unit adequately meet the goals asserted in the implementation plan?]

• From your perspective, is the unit's infrastructure (human, physical, and financial) sufficient to achieve its vision, mission, and goals?
• What are your specific recommendations relevant to the program under consideration?

The University of Wisconsin – La Crosse offers a $1000 honorarium, all travel and lodging costs, and per diem for meals.  The department will assist you with travel arrangements.  The honorarium and per diem expenses will be paid upon receipt of the consultant’s report.

I hope you will be able to serve as an external consultant for our program and will be available during the above-mentioned time frame.  Please reply to me by mail, phone of email contact and I will work with you to arrange visit dates and a schedule.

Sincerely,

DEPARTMENT CHAIR