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CLAS College Center and Institute Reviews: Procedures and Guidelines

The requirement for reviewing centers and institutes is established by the Board of Governors in the following excerpts from the WSU Statutes.

Board of Governors: Wayne State University statutes

2.23.01 Centers and Institutes; Policy on Creation, Operation, Review and Discontinuance

2.23.01.070 Charter Requirement

A center must have an approved charter that sets forth its mission, its organizational structure, including provision for an advisory board, its operating procedures, the procedures for its review and its classification as a college center or as a Type I or Type II university center. The charter lapses after six years unless it is renewed. The usual renewal period is for six years. A charter may be renewed provisionally for a period shorter than six years under appropriate circumstances.

2.23.01.260 Periodic Review of Centers

External Review. Each center shall be subjected to periodic review by a committee external to it. Such review shall occur at least one year prior to the time the charter would lapse if not renewed. ... For a college center, the review shall be conducted by a committee appointed, in consultation with the provost, by the dean of the college (school) where the center resides, under procedures established by the college in consultation with the provost.

Procedures

The review of college centers and institutes includes the self-study written by the center/institute, the review committee's evaluation of the center/institute and its self-study and the final recommendation(s) by the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The self-study

Information should be collected starting from the year of the last review through the fall term of the current review.

The self-study should address the following issues:

1) Mission and strategic plan

  • What are the mission and goals of the center/institute?
  • Citing specific measures, what is the evidence that the center/institute is achieving its stated mission and goals?
  • Citing specific measures, what is the evidence of concern that the center/institute is falling short of its stated mission and goals?
  • Should the mission statement be revised or changed? Is the current mission statement still appropriate? Why or why not?
  • Over and above the fiscal benefits derived from grants described in Section 3, what benefits and activities of a non-fiscal nature does the center/institute bring to the university in the pursuit of its mission?

2) Management operations

  • Is the center/institute in compliance with the BOG statutes? That is, does the center/institute have an approved charter, has it gone through periodic reviews, is there an advisory board, etc.?
  • Describe the center's/institute's organizational structure and its processes for review, evaluation and improvement
  • Explain whether the organizational structure is appropriate for the size, mission and strategic plan of the center/institute
  • How does the director make use of an advisory board(s)?
    • What is the structure of the advisory board and should this structure be revised?

3) Fiscal operations

  • Provide an analysis of how the center is funded and how these funds are used. Include (a) a breakdown of any funds obtained from the University general fund budget, as well as in-kind budget items such as office space and (b) an analysis of the number and income from grants, gifts, or endowments
  • The center/institute should submit the attached spreadsheet as part of its self-study (Prior Year Budget Report and Projection for First Year of Re-Charter). To the extent that the reported years
  • Describe how the center/institute has enabled faculty and/or administrators to obtain more funding from grants and outside agencies. Cite specific grants and the center's role in detail
  • Describe the development and fundraising efforts and plans. What are the results (in dollars) of these fundraising efforts?
  • Are center/institute facilities appropriate?

4) External relations

  • Describe your key internal and external constituents and the progress in developing relationships between constituencies and the center/institute to advance its mission
  • How does the center/institute present itself externally? Is the website up to date? Does the website contain a copy of the charter and mission statement? What else is on your website?
  • Summarize the progress, strengths and opportunities for improvement in the areas of external relations

5) Appendices

The center/institute should also include the following appendices in the self-study:

  • Appendix A. Brief description of the last review and how the center/institute has addressed prior recommendations
  • Appendix B. The charter and mission statement
  • Appendix C. CV of the director and associate director, if applicable
  • Appendix D. Copies of the two most recent budgets and annual reports, if any
  • Appendix E. Annual memberships of the advisory board since the last review

Review committee and its evaluation report

The committee to review the center/institute is appointed by the dean or her/his designee, in consultation with the provost or her/his designee. Each review committee will consist of three to five tenured faculty members from within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. At least some of the nominees should have expertise in the same or related field and may not have adjunct or part-time status in the center/institute or be involved with the center/institute in such a way as to present a conflict of interest.

This review committee will assess the unit's self-study and interview a balanced sample of students, faculty and staff, as well as the unit administrator(s). The committee may request additional relevant information and/or documentation in order to complete its evaluation. Once completed, the review committee will prepare an evaluation report a narrative that addresses all of the issues that the center/institute considered in its self-study (i.e., the four major areas identified above).

In addition, the report should specify the strengths and weaknesses of the center/institute and make (a) specific recommendations for improvements and (b) a recommendation concerning the renewal of the charter for a maximum period of six years. A charter can be renewed for a shorter period under appropriate circumstances. If it is recommended that the charter should be renewed, (c) should it also be revised? If so, why?

Dean's final recommendations

Finally, the dean will meet with the director of the center/institute to discuss the self-study and the review committee's evaluation report.

Process for the self-study and review committee

Self-study steps

  • CLAS notification of review
  • Provide the dean's office with 3 one-day dates for the committee review
  • Self-study preparation (5 months prior to committee review)
  • Appoint college center or institute's writing team
  • Send final self-study document to dean's office

Review committee steps

  • Dean consults with provost about proposed committee membership dean gives committee its charge
  • Committee receives self-study
  • Committee schedules date for review visit to center/institute Committee submits report to dean
  • Committee meets with dean, if appropriate

Approved by the Office of the Provost on Jul. 15, 2008.